An Interview with John McDermott – Co-Producer of Valleys Of Neptune & Hendrix historian.

By Mike Bax

www.jimihendrix.com

March 9th is going to be big for Jimi Hendrix enthusiasts. Not only will the date mark a re-issuing of all Jimi’s early catalog as Legacy Editions, but it will also mark the release of a new album of previously unreleased material entitled Valleys of Neptune.

Valleys of Neptune offers more than 60 minutes of previously unreleased Jimi Hendrix music, originally recorded, and newly mixed for the album, by Hendrix's longtime engineer Eddie Kramer. Kramer first worked with the guitarist on Are You Experienced? in 1967.

The ‘Valleys of Neptune’ single has long been one of the most sought after of Hendrix’s recordings. The song itself saw release globally on February 2, 2010, nearly forty years after Jimi finished recording the track at New York's Record Plant in May of 1970.

Other highlights on Valleys of Neptune include blazing studio covers of Elmore James' classic ‘Bleeding Heart’ and Cream's ‘Sunshine of Your Love,’ as well as premier performances of original Hendrix compositions like ‘Ships Passing Through The Night,’ ‘Lullaby For The Summer,’ and the original recording of the Jimi Hendrix Experience rendition of ‘Hear My Train A Comin'’.

Each of the essential titles in the Jimi Hendrix catalog to be reissued as Legacy Editions will feature a bonus DVD featuring newly created documentaries directed by the Grammy award winning Bob Smeaton [Beatles Anthology, Festival Express, Beatles: The Studio Recordings] and featuring interviews with Experience members Noel Redding, Mitch Mitchell, Billy Cox, original producer Chas Chandler, and engineer Eddie Kramer.

The album Valleys of Neptune is produced by Janie Hendrix, John McDermott (who contributes detailed liner notes to the album) and Eddie Kramer.

McDermott has penned three books on Hendrix (technically four books – but one of them was re-tooled and is basically the same it’s predecessor), is involved with the Experience Hendrix website and has produced a number of Hendrix albums. He was kind enough to field a few questions around the release of Valleys Of Neptune and the re-issues of the Hendrix back-catalog with me last week.



Mike: John, You have written three books on Hendrix to date so far, right?

John: I think four actually.

Mike: Four? I only found three online.

John: Well, you know, Ultimate Hendrix kind of replaced Jimi Hendrix’s Sessions; so essentially they were kind of the same in terms of the approach.

Mike: Okay, fair enough. With so many books and retrospectives available on Hendrix, many of them being kind of shabbily put together, do you yourself have a favorite book on Hendrix from another author?

John: Well, I certainly enjoyed Mitch Mitchell’s book. I thought it was interesting to hear Mitch’s perspective on things. I mean Mitch was somebody who we got to work with and know; he worked for Experience Hendrix after we started in ’97 until his death last year. Mitch always had an interesting take on things, which I thought was unique. I think there was a great respect between Mitch and Jimi mutually and I think it was fascinating to kind of gain his view on a lot of things. So I thought that was probably the one I enjoyed the most.

Mike: How old where you when you actually got into Hendrix as a musician, John?

John: Well,I didn’t get in as a musician; I got in as a fan. It was probably my Junior High School era and I heard the music, like everyone else, and it was interesting and kind of….being a fan of blues and blues rock music, it was a natural fit for me. I saw Hendrix like most people do, as an innovator on the guitar; but yet, it was the songs that kind of caught me, you know, the variety of him taking something on the left hand side, perhaps like “Red House,” to the right side like “ Voodoo Child” or “1983.” I thought it was a pretty amazing range for one artist.

Mike: Are you avid about any other musicians, like you are about Jimi Hendrix?

John: Oh, of course! I’ve worked on a lot of other projects other than Jimi, certainly I’ve done a lot of blues projects, you know, I find that music to be a really inspiring genre in terms of the songs and the artists. It’s been a deep well for a lot of the artists I enjoy; whether it’s Led Zeppelin or Paul Rogers or Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood, there’s a lot of folks in that era that dipped into that sound, be it Muddy Waters or Howling Wolf so on and so forth, I certainly enjoyed that. Plus it all depends, I’m open-minded to a lot of things that’s happening musically, but the blues route is probably my strongest favorite.

Mike: Fair enough. How do you think kids in 2010 are getting into Hendrix’s music? Do you think there is any chronological order to playing Hendrix?

John: Well I think they connect with it because I think kids are part of what I call the “search engine” generation. I think through the internet and through other kinds of social media and things like that, they want to know what’s the best, what’s the reference points, if you will. I think whether it’s Jimi or Zeppelin or the Beatles or whomever, I don’t know if they look at that and say, “That’s 70’s music,” I think they look at that as, “Okay, that’s THE GUY if you want to learn about guitar and you want to just enjoy that kind of music this is where it comes from.” Then other people…..it could be a number of ways, it could come from enjoying Stevie Ray Vaughan or John Mayer or Robert Randolph or a contemporary artist who covers Jimi, whether in concert or on their releases; and that mode leads you back just as earlier generations get hooked to Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters by Cream and Rolling Stones and people like that.

Mike: If you yourself could have input into the best way to get into Hendrix’s music for a curious new listener, what would you tell that individual?

John: Well I would say start with the records that Jimi himself authorized. You know, I think he was a perfectionist who cared very much about his sound and his music. I think if you start anywhere in the albums he released and then you build out to other things, like Valleys of Neptune or Live At Woodstock or other releases like the B.B.C. sessions, you’ll have a deeper appreciation and understanding for Jimi as a musician and a composer……but I think if you had “Axis Bold of Love”, “ First Rays of the New Rising Sun”, “Are you Experienced”, “ Electric Ladyland” any of those titles, I think that you’ll get into it. When you listen to that you’ll get the quality of Jimi Hendrix and its lasting value from any of those.

Mike: How long has Valleys of Neptune been in the works as a new release, John?

John: Oh, a couple of years at least. It’s been a project that we wanted to do and have kind of been working towards; and we finally made the decision to put it out this year.

Mike: Interest will certainly be high in the title track, which is quite rare. But I personally find that I keep replaying that version of “Sunshine Of Your Love,” which is indeed on the album. I think it’s awesome!

John: That was a favorite live vehicle for the band and the version that’s on Valley of Neptune, mirrors how they would play it live. They would always do it as an instrumental; they were big fans of Cream and Cream were obviously great admirers of Jimi and the experience. You know again, if it does anything, it just shows you how skilled Mitchell and Redding were. You know Jimi obviously was an incredible player and innovator as a guitarist but you have to tip your hat to Mitch and Noel….. Boy, they were right there and really pushing Jimi and you hear it on that track particularly, they were at the top of their game.

Mike: Yeah, when it gets nice and slow and sludgy, you can really hear that there all syncing together well. I like that.

John: Yup

Mike: What has been done to the original Hendrix recordings that are also being re-issued in March; his Legacy Series editions?

John: What we really did back in 97’ was we went back to the original tapes used by Jimi. We still have these today….there really isn’t a significant difference, I mean we re-mastered these titles but the big jump for fans was when we went back to the original tapes in 97’. If you’re a vinyl fan we made all analog versions of things like “Axis” and “Are you Experienced” and there are audiophiles that really prefer that. If you have “Are you Experienced,” that we put out in 97’, your in good shape……we added a bonus DVD, a free DVD to each of these releases, which gives you an insight into the making of some of the key songs on each of the records. So, “Are you Experienced” has things like “The Wind Cries Mary” and “Purple Haze.” Eddie Kramer and Mitch Mitchell, Noel and Chaz all kind of give you insight on how you break down the song on the control mixer and talk about how songs were developed. It was just an interesting way for us to kind of give fans a deeper look, we call it an “inside look”, into the making of every record.

Mike: Cool. You mentioned the vinyl as well, how much interest do you think there’s going to be in those vinyl re-issues?

John: Everything we’ve ever put out, we’ve put out on vinyl and it has done very, very well. I think Jimi has a big following among vinyl and audiophile fans. We’ve done everything from seven inch vinyl singles to an eight LP box set in 2000, of the Jimi Hendrix “Are you Experienced” box set. So vinyl has always been an important part of the release component.

Mike: The first pressings are limited to 5000 on those vinyl re-issues. Are there still…

John: Well the first 5000 are numbered; I think after that they sell them unnumbered.

Mike: Do you know if there are still numbered versions available or are they sold out already?

John: Honestly that I don’t know; I know they have always sold very, very well so I’m sure they’ll all sell out… they’ll sell beyond that but from a collectors point of view they like to number the first five thousand.

Mike: You mentioned you have been working with Janie Hendrix on “Experience Hendrix,” was it 1997 you said you got involved?

John: Well, yeah; I started in 1995 when the company started and the first releases came out 1997.

Mike: What is involved with Experience Hendrix for you as a contributor?

John: Well I’m very fortunate, the company was founded by Jimi’s father who passed away a number of years ago and Janie his daughter is now the CEO and President. It involves really the production and the restoration of the catalogue of DVD’s we produce, television programming and radio. We really essentially managed the Jimi Hendrix music catalogue on behalf of the family company. It’s a wonderful job obviously with projects like this. “Valleys of Neptune” is a great example of what you can do but at the end of the day it’s really just could be discovering tapes, it could be restoring film footage, it just depends on the project.



Mike: Will you be attending any of the “Experience Hendrix” tour dates that are happening in the U.S.A. through March, John?

John: Yes, that is something Janie Hendrix and I put together and have done every year, I’ll be at them. We pick the artists, we pick the songs and it’s something we very much enjoy doing; it’s a real celebration of Jimi’s music with a very diverse group of musicians who all kind of share an admiration of Jimi.

Mike: I recently interviewed Joe Satriani and he’s pretty excited about being on the bill this year.

John: Yeah, we always wanted to have Joe. He appeared at one show we did in 2004 and since that time, for whatever reason he’s been touring or it just hasn’t worked from the scheduling point of view. So this year we came up with the idea of pairing Joe with Living Colour and he was thrilled with that idea….it was just something exciting. That’s really the spirit of these shows, you can always see an artist play with somebody else but here you get to see Susan Tedeschi with Doyle Bramhall II, you get to see Ernie Isley and Billy Cox, Los Lobos and Buddy Guy and that’s the beauty of these kind of things; when you went to see Jimi you came out of there feeling you just witnessed something individual, special and unique. I think with this, it’s kind of the same feeling where in most concerts today even the encore is scripted but with this show we change the set, we change the players and we rotate special guests in. So when you see it you walk out of there saying “I saw something special”…….I saw an Eric Johnson play with Billy Cox and Mitch Mitchell, it was extraordinary.

Mike: That tour is not coming into Canada so I’ve been looking at a map to try to figure out what is the closest one for me to drive to.

John: Where are you in Canada?

Mike: I’m in London which is about two hours away from the Windsor Detroit border.

John: Jeez, we were in Detroit in ‘08

Mike: I know, I was looking at that and going, “Man, I should have gone to that one!”

John: Probably Minneapolis or Wisconsin, but I think that’s as far north as we go this year.

Mike: Two of my favorite Hendrix items actually stem from the comic industry. I really like my Todd McFarlane ‘Woodstock’ action figure and I’m a big fan of that “Voodoo Child” Illustrated legend of Jimi Hendrix hardcover by Martin Green and Bill Sienkiewicz. I don’t think that the story in that graphic novel is particularly great; I just love what Sienkiewicz did with the art work, it’s beautiful.

John: He’s a very talented artist, no doubt.

Mike: You must have some interesting pieces of memorabilia yourself, would you not?

John: No, not really, I’m not a memorabilia guy. I’ve always appreciated the history and the music but I’ve always kind of approached it as a writer and producer not really somebody that treasures that kind of thing. I’ve always found the story interesting and the people wonderful to work with; I just haven’t looked at it from that perspective, I have just always enjoyed the music and certainly enjoyed being able to contribute in a small way but I’m not really somebody who is a collector of that kind of stuff.

Mike: Interesting, I would have pegged you as being a total memorabilia hound and having a whole bunch of stuff in your residence.

John: No, not me.

Mike: So as 2010 unfolds and all of these releases are unleashed upon the masses once again, what next for Hendrix maybe in 2011, 2012. Do you have any plans you can reveal?

John: Well there will be a lot of releases which we hope will deepen people’s appreciation and understanding of Jimi. “Valleys of Neptune” is the first but there will be live releases, there will be DVD releases, we are hoping to release “The Royal Albert Hall” film which is a very important property. There are number of projects that are exciting and I think with the new relationship we have with Sony, I think we are going to be able to roll these out on a regular schedule as well as continuing to make available the great music that Jimi himself issued.

Mike: So if you were to pick an album yourself, John, which would be your favorite Hendrix album?

John: Well…..because I got into it a little later, I would have to say probably “First Rays of the New Rising Sun.”

Mike: Okay

John: I like the latter period things. I’m also a fan of Jimi Live, I think there is a purity to his live performance that I think is really compelling, whether its Berkeley or Woodstock, there are moments that are just him, an amp and a band; there’s really no limitations of four track recording technology or anything like that, it’s literally just him showing his skills. I’d say my choice would be “First Rays,” but certainly a live record would probably be right there with it.

*****

Experience Hendrix LLC www.jimihendrix.com and Sony Music Entertainment's Legacy Recordings will launch their monumental 2010 Jimi Hendrix Catalog Project on Tuesday, March 9, with the release of Valleys of Neptune, a newly curated album of 12 fully realized studio recordings. The collector’s item contains more than 60 minutes of music never commercially available on a Jimi Hendrix album, from the artist Rolling Stone magazine called the greatest guitarist of all time.

Experience Hendrix Tour 2010 www.experiencehendrixtour.com, the fourth edition of the biennial concert tour that features an all-star line up of music greats paying homage to the music and legacy of Jimi Hendrix gets underway in early March of next year with special performances across the country.

Featured artists who will be performing music written and inspired by Jimi Hendrix include some of the best known and most respected artists in contemporary rock and blues including Joe Satriani, Jonny Lang, Eric Johnson, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Brad Whitford (of Aerosmith), Doyle Bramhall II, Ernie Isley, Living Colour, Double Trouble’s Chris Layton, along with bassist Billy Cox. Cox, who first befriended Hendrix when the two were in the 101st Airborne Division of U.S. Army, played in both the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Band of Gypsys and performed with Hendrix at such landmark festivals as Woodstock and the Isle of Wight. Cox commented, "It's a thrill for me to play Jimi's music for audiences now as it was in the 1960s."

March 4 - Santa Barbara, CA - Arlington Theater (1)
5 - Los Angeles, CA - Gibson Amphitheater (1)
6 - Las Vegas, NV - The Joint @ Hard Rock (1)
7 - Mesa, AZ - Ikeda Theater (1)
9 - Fresno, CA - Table Mountain (1)
10 - San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theater (1, 2)
12 - Reno, NV - Silver Legacy (1, 2)
14 - Denver, CO - Paramount Theatre (1, 2, 3)
16 - Kansas City, MO - Uptown Theater (1, 2, 3)
17 - Minneapolis, MN - Orpheum Theater (1, 2, 3)
18 - Chicago, IL - Chicago Theater (1, 2, 3)
20 - St. Louis, MO - Fox Theatre (2, 3)
21 - Milwaukee, WI - Riverside Theater (2, 3)
23 - Akron, OH - Civic Theatre(2)
24 - Montclair, NJ - Wellmont Theatre (2)
25 - Red Bank, NJ - Count Basie Theater (2)
27- Atlanta, GA - Fox Theatre (2)

1 = David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas appearing
2 = Sacred Steel featuring Robert Randolph appearing
3 = Susan Tedeschi appearing