Randy Hansen – The Ultimate Hendrix Experience

It was a quiet Saturday night in Tacoma. A few locals here and there gathered at the bar unaware that the spectacle known as Randy Hansen was about to take center stage. Randy Hansen is a Seattle-based guitarist, best known for his Jimi Hendrix tribute. He is by far the closest you will ever get to the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Some call him the ghost of Jimi, and once you have the pleasure of witnessing this man in concert, you will see that they are not far off. Close your eyes and you will feel as though you’ve been transported through time. Listening to tracks such as “Purple Haze”, “Voodoo Chile”, and “All Along the Watchtower” you feel as though Randy and his band are channeling the spirit of the late, great guitarist.

His shows are unbelievably full of energy. With his power trio of Kevin John Adams on bass guitar, and Rick Spano on drums, these guys don’t use a setlist; and the songs just flow from night to night. They got the ever-growing crowd amped up and on their feet by the middle of the first song, and by their third song, “Foxy Lady” they had the crowd rocking out like it was 1960, some dancing like nobody was watching, and some playing air guitar like they were Jimi himself. It was spellbinding as Randy shredded on his guitar and Kevin and Rick blazed through on bass and drums.

After several more recognizable songs, the trio switched it up with “Whole Lotta Love” by Led Zeppelin, and “Man in the Box” by Alice in Chains. The crowd was mesmerized and it was surely a shock and awe moment for those who just came out for a beer or two at their local watering hole.

Randy Hansen is a force to be reckoned with and is something any Jimi Hendrix fan should have the pleasure of checking out.

Written by Manda Oliver

Editors Note: We here at Classic Rock History had never heard of Randy Hansen, We were sent and article on him and decided to check him out. We were completely blown away by the performer. We usually do not write about tribute bands but Randy Hansen was on a whole other level.  The man Randy Hansen has been performing the music of Hendrix for over thirty years. He has performed with members of the Hendrix Band. He has recorded Hendrix music for major motion pictures and opened for such artist as Sammy Hagar, Bob Seger and many more major label acts.  So check out this videos and be blown away by this performer.  The goal of ClassicRockHistory.com has always been to educate and write about the greatest musical acts in history. However, there is also a major entertainment aspect to our site. Randy Hansen is entertainment. And we say that with very high regards for the man.

Randy Hansen discography

 Randy Hansen , Now hear this c. 1970

Randy Hansen (Capitol Records, 1980

Monster (Herbie Hancock album) (Columbia Records, 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)

Thinking Of You’ ‘ (Rudolf Music 2000)

Tower Of Love (Grooveyard / Manni v. Bohr, 2000)

Good Intentions (Grooveyard / Manni v. Bohr, 2003)

Alter Ego (Randy Hansen, 2004)

Live in Berlin DVD (Grooveyard, 2005)

European Tour 2008 – Hendrix Live

Live In Boston – December 1980 (Rudolf Music 2008)

Big Teeth DVD

SUBSTAGE LIVE DVD

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