Few year back, I went to Italy. Jimi Hendrix and Cream were practically the only music I took with me, while I had not heard practically anything from them before (yes, I was uneducated - I still am!). I was blown away. Mitch Mitchell and Jimi Hendrix were something incredible together.

I remember just laying in the shade, smelling the hot sea air and admiring that rich, pounding sound.

Rock and roll. Yes.

that is the way of it for me too!

John,I was fortunate enough to see the Experience live a few times in Madison Square and the Fillmore East.I forgot who were the opening acts on those occasions,but I remember the second time I saw them at the Garden,the opening band was Cat Mother and the All Night Newsboys.

I vividly remember hearing Purple Haze for the first time and it changed everything.The whole first album changed my approach to drumming.I was still in grammar school at the time and most of my friends were into bands like Tommy James and the Shondels,so the contrast was striking.

I remember Clive Bunker having a similar jazz influenced style as well and I also cut my teeth on Bobby Columby.Once I heard BS&Ts version of God Bless The Child,I was hooked too.

What I loved about Mitch as well as the other two was his explosive style and no waisted space but plenty of breathing room..Everything he played complemented Jimi's music as if there was a symbiotic relationship there.

I met Mitch at Manny's on 48th street in the mid 70's.He was buying some drums sticks.We spoke for a brief period, as I felt like I just didn't want to crowd the guy,and people just flat out deserve their privacy.He was very soft spoken and gracious.

Just an FYI.A few monthe before Jimi's death in London,he,Miles Davis,and Tony Williams were talking about recruiting of all people Paul Mccartney for a supergroup.

The first time I heard this, I said no way but I just read an article on this.The Link was posted on DFO and if I knew how to.I'd post it here.

Steve B

Purple Haze was the one that got me too! A musician buddy of mine called me at the crack of dawn one Saturday morning in 1967. He was almost frantic on the phone, "You gotta get over here right away!" he tells me. He won't tell me why. After a frustrating few minutes trying to find out why all the urgency, I just gave up, put on my jeans, and headed over there.

My friend, (also named, John) greeted me at the door in his robe and slippers holding a big doobie in his hand. "Here, smoke this!" he tells me. As he reached for an album, he mutters, "You really gotta hear this, you won't believe it, but smoke this first!"

As we burned the doobie down, I told John I couldn't believe he woke me up in the middle of the night, (7 am) just so I could hear an album. He plunked the record in the machine, and the opening sounds of Purple haze started to flow from the speakers. That sound, that music that starting coming out of the speakers literally made me get out of the chair and walk over to the record player. Not only could I not believe the music/sounds I was hearing, but I didn't believe they were all coming from that record! I had never heard anything like that in my life. I asked John with my jaw on the floor, "Who is this?" "It's the Jimi Hendrix Experience" he says. I grabbed the album cover to see who the liner notes said the drummer was... Mitch Mitchell.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjMuKP1GpLY[/ame]

That morning changed music for me forever. It opened up a flood-gate. As a drummer, and as a musician, I was never the same after that. I have played in four Hendrix or SRV cover bands over the years. From 94' to 99' I worked with a band that covered off a bunch of Jimi's tunes; Crosstown Traffic, Little Wing, Manic Depression, Hey Joe, The Wind Cries Mary, etc. etc. etc. Musically, to play it, is some of the most fun I get to have as a drummer/musician. It's challenging stuff to play, it wails, and it gets me really high just to play it. I have more fun playing that stuff, speaking as a player, than just about anything else.

I owe that Englishman a lot. Rest his soul wherever he is... Bowing

John

Mitch Mitchell was a heavy influence on my playing, still is. I was saddened to hear of his passing when he died. I felt a great connection to him, even though I never had the great pleasure of meeting him.

Your description of your first encounter with JHE was great!! Thanks for sharing that! I came to hear of Hendrix by growing up and hearing songs on "classic rock" radio (i was born in 1982). I listen to those hendrix albums and still get goose bumps at times!! But, I cant imagine actually hearing Are You Experienced for the first time in 1967, like you did....like my father did. That would have been an amazing "experience" for sure!! Another album from that time that would have been amazing to hear is Dark Side of the Moon. I cant imagine putting either one of these albums on for the first time; hearing this glorious music!

Yeah John... Mitch Mitchell absolutely lands at the top of my list as well. I still am amazed when I listen to him.

Interesting that even though he was from England he is buried in Washington State.... and so, of course, is Jimi Hendrix.

Man, I used to burn up album after album playing 33 1/3 rpm records at 16 rpm and 45's at 33 1/3 just to hear the grooves and fills in slow motion, so I could figure out what he was doing. I would wear out albums by dropping the needle in the same spot over and over again to catch individual licks, or to take apart a groove. It was the pre-computer era... analog/vinyl all the way baby. It was the only way to learn that stuff. It has served me well over the years. Those licks became a part of my personal library of licks that I carry around in my head. They are useful, I have drawn on them over and over in all kinds of musical situations over the years. That stuff has a way of becoming a part of you, the way you play and the way you sound on a set of drums. I owe Mitch and a bunch of other guys a deep debt of gratitude. All I had to do was learn the stuff from them... they -invented- it. That's musicianship on whole other level that few players ever attain. Playing is one thing, inventing it is another.

He was a great, naturally talented/gifted drummer. I miss Mitch (and Jimi) very much indeed. Imagine the music they'd be making now, after forty years of polishing their craft... it makes me sad to think of what never was, all that's been lost from those two because of Jimi's untimely death.

This is the kind of stuff Jimi was writing/playing right before he died:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMuCuCFfMoI[/ame]

Like I said... just imagine what he'd be doing if he was still alive.

John

Oddly, I started late as a fan. First CD was Crash Landing and I went backwards from there. Then I bought all the bootlegs I could find. So much material, for such a short career. Anyway, Mitch and Jimi were an amazing pair of inter-players. Made for each other.

I, too, was sad to hear of Mitch's passing. I was hoping to see him in the Experience Hendrix Tour. He was too young, but maybe not, for the life he had.

Electric Ladyland is in my top 10 fav albums. Great time changes, writing and playing. Wish I could've been in the booth with Eddie Kramer, during those sessions. "Rainy day"....

B

Mitchell was a big influence on me too. Not that I could play anywhere near his ability.....I just loved listening to him, Hendrix and Redding rock out on All Along The Watchtower (that Dylan tune)....