Randy Hansen
Encyclopedia
Randy Hansen is a U.S. guitar
ist, best known for his "Rock Tribute Act" honoring Jimi Hendrix
. Hansen performs such signatures of Hendrix's style as playing a guitar with his teeth or behind his back. He composed 17 minutes of the soundtrack for the 1979 movie Apocalypse Now
,(1980 Academy Award Winner for Best Sound) and his debut album was released in 1980 on Capitol Records
.He also played in Family Entertainment comedy show with the late Sam Kinison
in 1991. Hansen's high energy guitar work has earned praise from fellow Dutch-American, legendary guitarist, Eddie Van Halen
(in Guitar Player
magazine), among others. He also was a good friend of Stevie Ray Vaughan
(writing a song about him called "Texas Twister" from his Old Dogs New Tricks CD). He has toured and played with literally hundreds of famous musicians and groups.
Hansen's Hendrix act first came to prominence with Randy Hansen's Machine Gun (1977–80), with Larry Epperly on bass guitar and Tim Kelliher on drums (Kelliher later did sessions for guitarist Daniel Jones in his band 7th Order
, whose session personnel also included British guitarist Martin Pugh
and veteran American rock guitarist Geoff Thorpe
). All three had previously been in a band called Kid Chrysler and the Cruisers. Hansen's Machine Gun performed on bills with Heart
, The Kinks
, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and others, and were written up by Rolling Stone and Guitar Player. There are now videos on a major website with Buddy Miles covering Hendrix tunes such as "All Along the Watchtower", with incredible playing by Hansen from 1997.
After his debut album, his emphasis continued to be on original releases of the Jimi Hendrix style of composition, in addition to including large numbers of Hendrix compositions in his live shows. One of the high points of Hansen's career was when he played a short series of concerts with a band that included the original Jimi Hendrix Experience drummer, Mitch Mitchell
. In the 1990s and into the 2000s, Since 1991 to the present year of 2010 Hansen tours the European market two times a year in the Autumn and Spring in addition to performing in the summertime at outdoor concert festivals. He headlined a July 26, 2008 bill in Mannheim, Germany, with Love Street (Doors
tribute) and Buried Alive Band (Janis Joplin
tribute) as openers . He continues also to play locally in the Pacific Northwest and around the U.S.
Hansen has three self-released CDs of original music in print, all available online - Old Dogs New Tricks, Good Intentions and Tower of Love . He continues to live in Seattle. There are some excellent on-line videos of Hansen and Uli Roth doing some Hendrix tunes showing great talent by both artists. As of 2008, Hansen is on the roster of Gen-X Entertainment Intl. Inc., who also represent bands ranging from the Amazing Rhythm Aces
to the current incarnation of Jefferson Starship
.
, and Paul Rodgers
.
Today Hansen’s’ audience is worldwide, through persistent demand by the fans in America and Europe, whether with The Randy Hansen Band or working with other entertainers. Steve Miller
, Paul Rodgers
(Free, Bad Company, The Firm, Queen), Buddy Miles
, Don Wilson (The Ventures), Alan White
(Yes, Plastic Ono Band, John Lennon), Sammy Hagar
, Herbie Hancock
, Stevie Ray Vaughan
, Robert Cray
, Roger Fisher
(Heart), Bob Segar and Hendrix alumni Noel Redding
and Mitch Mitchell
, are just a few of the many musicians he’s performed with.
On August 19, 2009, Randy Hansen headlined the Irvine Lakes Woodstock tribute concert. Where he played songs of Jimi Hendrix, including "Voodoo Child
", "Castles Made of Sand
, "Hey Joe
", "Purple Haze
", "The Wind Cries Mary
", and "All Along the Watchtower
".
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist, best known for his "Rock Tribute Act" honoring Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
. Hansen performs such signatures of Hendrix's style as playing a guitar with his teeth or behind his back. He composed 17 minutes of the soundtrack for the 1979 movie Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now is a 1979 American war film set during the Vietnam War, produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The central character is US Army special operations officer Captain Benjamin L. Willard , of MACV-SOG, an assassin sent to kill the renegade and presumed insane Special Forces...
,(1980 Academy Award Winner for Best Sound) and his debut album was released in 1980 on Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
.He also played in Family Entertainment comedy show with the late Sam Kinison
Sam Kinison
Samuel Burl "Sam" Kinison was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Kinison was known for his intense, harsh and politically incorrect genre humor...
in 1991. Hansen's high energy guitar work has earned praise from fellow Dutch-American, legendary guitarist, Eddie Van Halen
Eddie Van Halen
Edward Lodewijk "Eddie" Van Halen is a Dutch-American guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...
(in Guitar Player
Guitar Player
Guitar Player is a popular magazine for guitarists founded in 1967. It contains articles, interviews, reviews and lessons of an eclectic collection of artists, genres and products. It has been in print since the late 1960s and during the 1980s, under editor Tom Wheeler, the publication was...
magazine), among others. He also was a good friend of Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan and frontman for Double Trouble, a band that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Born in Dallas, Vaughan moved to Austin at the age of 17 and...
(writing a song about him called "Texas Twister" from his Old Dogs New Tricks CD). He has toured and played with literally hundreds of famous musicians and groups.
Hansen's Hendrix act first came to prominence with Randy Hansen's Machine Gun (1977–80), with Larry Epperly on bass guitar and Tim Kelliher on drums (Kelliher later did sessions for guitarist Daniel Jones in his band 7th Order
7th Order (band)
7th Order is an American progressive rock & roll band whose debut "extended play" CD release, The Lake of Memory, was issued on the Big Island Sounds label....
, whose session personnel also included British guitarist Martin Pugh
Martin Pugh
Martin John Pugh is a British guitarist who came to prominence after joining blues-rock band Steamhammer in 1968, staying with that band through five years and four albums. Their debut album, Steamhammer, was released in 1969 and yielded a minor hit single in Europe, "Junior's Wailing"...
and veteran American rock guitarist Geoff Thorpe
Vicious Rumors
Vicious Rumors is an American power metal band founded in 1979 in the San Francisco Bay Area, California.The brainchild of Geoff Thorpe, the band has been active on the metal scene since its inception in 1979...
). All three had previously been in a band called Kid Chrysler and the Cruisers. Hansen's Machine Gun performed on bills with Heart
Heart (band)
Heart is an American rock band who first found success in Canada. Throughout several lineup changes, the only two members remaining constant are sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson. The group rose to fame in the 1970s with their music being influenced by hard rock as well as folk music...
, The Kinks
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and others, and were written up by Rolling Stone and Guitar Player. There are now videos on a major website with Buddy Miles covering Hendrix tunes such as "All Along the Watchtower", with incredible playing by Hansen from 1997.
After his debut album, his emphasis continued to be on original releases of the Jimi Hendrix style of composition, in addition to including large numbers of Hendrix compositions in his live shows. One of the high points of Hansen's career was when he played a short series of concerts with a band that included the original Jimi Hendrix Experience drummer, Mitch Mitchell
Mitch Mitchell
John Ronald "Mitch" Mitchell was an English drummer, best known for his work in The Jimi Hendrix Experience.-Early life and the Jimi Hendrix Experience:...
. In the 1990s and into the 2000s, Since 1991 to the present year of 2010 Hansen tours the European market two times a year in the Autumn and Spring in addition to performing in the summertime at outdoor concert festivals. He headlined a July 26, 2008 bill in Mannheim, Germany, with Love Street (Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
tribute) and Buried Alive Band (Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer, songwriter, painter, dancer and music arranger. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist with her backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band...
tribute) as openers . He continues also to play locally in the Pacific Northwest and around the U.S.
Hansen has three self-released CDs of original music in print, all available online - Old Dogs New Tricks, Good Intentions and Tower of Love . He continues to live in Seattle. There are some excellent on-line videos of Hansen and Uli Roth doing some Hendrix tunes showing great talent by both artists. As of 2008, Hansen is on the roster of Gen-X Entertainment Intl. Inc., who also represent bands ranging from the Amazing Rhythm Aces
Amazing Rhythm Aces
The Amazing Rhythm Aces are an American country rock group. The band has characterized their music as "American Music" or "Roots Music" — rock, country, blues, R&B, folk, reggae and Latino...
to the current incarnation of Jefferson Starship
Jefferson Starship
Jefferson Starship is an American rock band formed in the early 1970s. The group is a spin-off from the iconic 1960s psychedelic/folk group Jefferson Airplane. The band has undergone several major changes in personnel and genres through the years while retaining the same Jefferson Starship name...
.
Jimi Hendrix Tribute
Hansen has acquired himself quite a reputation as one of the best Hendrix tribute acts in the world. He is one of the few players officially recognized by the Hendrix family. He has been successfully been honoring Jimi hendrix for years and has toured and played with Uli Jon Roth, Jack BruceJack Bruce
John Symon Asher "Jack" Bruce is a Scottish musician and songwriter, respected as a founding member of the British psychedelic rock power trio, Cream, for a solo career that spans several decades, and for his participation in several well-known musical ensembles...
, and Paul Rodgers
Paul Rodgers
Paul Bernard Rodgers is an English rock singer-songwriter, best known for his success in the 1970s as a member of Free and Bad Company. After stints in two less successful bands in the 1980s and early 1990s, The Firm and The Law, he became a solo artist. He has recently toured and recorded with...
.
Today Hansen’s’ audience is worldwide, through persistent demand by the fans in America and Europe, whether with The Randy Hansen Band or working with other entertainers. Steve Miller
Steve Miller (musician)
Steven H. "Steve" Miller is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter who began his career in blues and blues rock and evolved to a more popular-oriented sound which, from the mid 1970s through the early 1980s, resulted in a series of successful singles and albums.-Early years:Born in Milwaukee,...
, Paul Rodgers
Paul Rodgers
Paul Bernard Rodgers is an English rock singer-songwriter, best known for his success in the 1970s as a member of Free and Bad Company. After stints in two less successful bands in the 1980s and early 1990s, The Firm and The Law, he became a solo artist. He has recently toured and recorded with...
(Free, Bad Company, The Firm, Queen), Buddy Miles
Buddy Miles
George Allen Miles, Jr. , known as Buddy Miles, was an American rock and funk drummer, most known as a founding member of The Electric Flag in 1967, then as a member of Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys from 1969 through to January 1970.-Early life:George Allen Miles was born in Omaha, Nebraska on...
, Don Wilson (The Ventures), Alan White
Alan White (Yes drummer)
Alan White is an English rock drummer known for his work with the progressive rock band Yes. White was also a member of the Plastic Ono Band, playing live in 1969 at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival, which was recorded and released three months later as Live Peace in Toronto 1969...
(Yes, Plastic Ono Band, John Lennon), Sammy Hagar
Sammy Hagar
Sam Roy "Sammy" Hagar , also known as The Red Rocker, is an American rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Also sings Country Music....
, Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
, Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan and frontman for Double Trouble, a band that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Born in Dallas, Vaughan moved to Austin at the age of 17 and...
, Robert Cray
Robert Cray
Robert Cray is an American blues guitarist and singer. A five-time Grammy Award winner, he has led his own band, as well as an acclaimed solo career.-Career:...
, Roger Fisher
Roger Fisher (guitarist)
Roger Fisher is a guitarist primarily known as one of the founding members of the band Heart. His tenure lasted from 1967 until 1980.-Career:...
(Heart), Bob Segar and Hendrix alumni Noel Redding
Noel Redding
Noel Redding was an English rock and roll guitarist best known as the bassist for The Jimi Hendrix Experience.-Biography:...
and Mitch Mitchell
Mitch Mitchell
John Ronald "Mitch" Mitchell was an English drummer, best known for his work in The Jimi Hendrix Experience.-Early life and the Jimi Hendrix Experience:...
, are just a few of the many musicians he’s performed with.
On August 19, 2009, Randy Hansen headlined the Irvine Lakes Woodstock tribute concert. Where he played songs of Jimi Hendrix, including "Voodoo Child
Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
"Voodoo Child " is the closing track on Electric Ladyland, the third and final album by the Jimi Hendrix Experience. The song is known for its wah-wah-heavy guitar work. It is #101 on Rolling Stone's list of 500 greatest songs of all time....
", "Castles Made of Sand
Castles Made of Sand (song)
"Castles Made of Sand" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix and released by The Jimi Hendrix Experience on their second studio album, Axis: Bold as Love, in 1967 in the UK and 1968 in the U.S. It was available in two different stereo mixes and a mono mix....
, "Hey Joe
Hey Joe
"Hey Joe" is an American popular song from the 1960s that has become a rock standard and as such, has been performed in a multitude of musical styles by hundreds of different artists since it was first written. "Hey Joe" tells the story of a man who is on the run and planning to head to Mexico...
", "Purple Haze
Purple Haze
"Purple Haze" is a song written in 1966 and recorded in 1967 by The Jimi Hendrix Experience and released as a single in both the United Kingdom and the United States. It appeared on their 1967 album Are You Experienced...
", "The Wind Cries Mary
The Wind Cries Mary
The Wind Cries Mary is a song by The Jimi Hendrix Experience released as the band's third single, backed with "Highway Chile", on May 5, 1967. It reached no. 6 in the UK Charts. The track is an example of psychedelic blues-rock, as the song is in the key of F major, with a guitar solo primarily...
", and "All Along the Watchtower
All Along the Watchtower
"All Along the Watchtower" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. The song, which has been included on most of Dylan's greatest hits compilations, initially appeared on his 1967 album John Wesley Harding. Over the past 35 years, he has performed it in concert more...
".
Discography
- Randy Hansen , Now hear this c. 1971
- Randy Hansen (Capitol RecordsCapitol RecordsCapitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
, 1980) - MonsterMonster (Herbie Hancock album)Monster is the twenty-ninth album by Herbie Hancock.-Track listing:#"Saturday Night" - 7:15#"Stars in Your Eyes" - 7:07#"Go for It" - 7:36...
(Herbie HancockHerbie HancockHerbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
album) (Columbia RecordsColumbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
, 1980) - Astral Projektion (Shrapnel Records, 1983)
- Classics Live- "A tribute to Jimi Hendrix" (Ananaz Records, 1992)
- Metal Classics no.2 Want to Take You Higher 1990
- Hendrix by Hansen (Grooveyard / Affengeil Records, 1993)
- Old Dogs New Tricks (Grooveyard / Green Tree Records, 1997)
- Tower Of Love (Grooveyard / Manni v. Bohr, 2000)
- Good Intentions (Grooveyard / Manni v. Bohr, 2003)
- Alter Ego (Randy Hansen, 2004)
- Live in Berlin DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
(Grooveyard, 2005)
External links
- Randy Hansen, official site
- Randy Hansen at IACMusic.com