WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:06.040 Hudson River Radio dot Com. It beats listening to nothing. Oh my godness, 2 00:00:06.120 --> 00:00:11.480 Frank, Being Frank Frank, where the only way to be is Frank. 3 00:00:13.960 --> 00:00:17.640 Hello everyone, and welcome to Being Frank. We're the only way to 4 00:00:17.679 --> 00:00:21.399 be is Frank. I'm your host, Frank Leblona, and I'd like to 5 00:00:21.440 --> 00:00:26.719 thank you for joining us on what we like to call the Intelligent Conversation Podcast, 6 00:00:27.120 --> 00:00:31.960 where no conversation is out of bounds and all points of view are welcome. 7 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:35.479 We record live to tape and I give you the dates so you have 8 00:00:35.600 --> 00:00:41.280 some context. It is the twenty fifth of April twenty twenty four. When 9 00:00:41.320 --> 00:00:45.079 I was a young man growing up in the late nineteen sixties and early seventies, 10 00:00:45.159 --> 00:00:50.159 like most kids, I was mesmerized by the guitar wizardry of another young 11 00:00:50.240 --> 00:00:55.079 man named Jimmy Hendrix. But it turns out again, also like most, 12 00:00:55.240 --> 00:00:59.600 I only knew of the legend, but not the man behind it. Well, 13 00:00:59.600 --> 00:01:03.399 my guest has spent thirty years of his life working to change that with 14 00:01:03.520 --> 00:01:07.760 his new award winning film, Jimmy Hendrix a Documentary. It's a detailed look 15 00:01:07.799 --> 00:01:12.239 behind the scenes from the people who knew him best and what made the music 16 00:01:12.680 --> 00:01:19.200 and the man immortal being Frank welcomes it's producer, writer, director of mister 17 00:01:19.280 --> 00:01:22.640 David Kramer. David, thank you so much for taking some time to join 18 00:01:22.719 --> 00:01:27.599 us. Thank you, David. I guess let's start from the beginning. 19 00:01:29.400 --> 00:01:32.359 What drew you to the project in the first place? Why Jimmy Hendrix. 20 00:01:32.400 --> 00:01:34.640 You could pick a lot of people to do a documentary on why Jimmy Hendrix. 21 00:01:37.400 --> 00:01:42.040 Well, first and foremost was the music. I loved the music and 22 00:01:42.400 --> 00:01:49.680 that's what initially drew me to him. And then the whole thing about it 23 00:01:49.760 --> 00:01:56.560 was freedom. Hendrix was all about freedom, and that's probably what got him 24 00:01:56.560 --> 00:02:04.000 into trouble. He was a free spirit, nonconformist. As he sings in 25 00:02:04.599 --> 00:02:07.719 If six was nine Wave on Missed the businessman. You can't dress like me 26 00:02:08.680 --> 00:02:14.680 and stone free. You know, he says, they talk about me like 27 00:02:14.759 --> 00:02:19.120 a dog, talk about the clothes I wear, but they don't realize they're 28 00:02:19.120 --> 00:02:23.680 the ones who's square baby. So so talking to you from the beginning, 29 00:02:23.919 --> 00:02:29.080 in a sense, the music right away flicked with something inside it. Yeah. 30 00:02:29.199 --> 00:02:32.960 I just loved the freedom of it. And you know, the way 31 00:02:32.960 --> 00:02:43.000 he dressed and the way he looked and The one thing I really, I 32 00:02:43.080 --> 00:02:47.400 really thought was cool was he had all these beautiful white girlfriends, which I 33 00:02:47.479 --> 00:02:53.400 thought was really cool because it was in the it was during the civil rights 34 00:02:53.439 --> 00:02:59.479 movement at the peak, and it was pretty controversial. So I know he 35 00:02:59.560 --> 00:03:07.800 pissed some people off, like specifically Jed Cahoover to have all these white girlfriends 36 00:03:07.800 --> 00:03:12.639 interesting, and uh, I wanted to be like that, So I wanted 37 00:03:12.680 --> 00:03:17.400 to have beautiful black girlfriends interesting. So you know what it was. It 38 00:03:17.479 --> 00:03:21.840 was a big statement. You know, he made a big statement. Well, 39 00:03:21.879 --> 00:03:23.520 you know, it's a question I had further down, but let's go 40 00:03:23.639 --> 00:03:28.280 to it now because it makes sense. My favorite word segue. It's a 41 00:03:28.319 --> 00:03:34.560 good segue. What did you find out that surprised you within the documentary while 42 00:03:34.599 --> 00:03:37.000 while making it? And as I said in my intro, there was the 43 00:03:37.039 --> 00:03:40.800 public image of the man, which we kind of know. But what what 44 00:03:40.960 --> 00:03:45.360 else did you find out about Jimmy Hendrix the man that might have been a 45 00:03:45.400 --> 00:03:50.280 surprise to you and might be a surprise to others, especially considering his public 46 00:03:50.319 --> 00:03:58.680 PERSONA found out a lot of things. Uh, you know, there was 47 00:03:58.719 --> 00:04:01.280 a lot of controversy, a lot of you know, the FBI files, 48 00:04:01.319 --> 00:04:09.560 they had on him and his management stealing all his money, him getting kidnapped. 49 00:04:10.240 --> 00:04:14.039 A lot of bad things happened to him that most people don't really know 50 00:04:14.159 --> 00:04:19.920 about. So that was How did that affect him as a person? It 51 00:04:20.040 --> 00:04:23.480 had to as a young man. I mean, he was in his twenties. 52 00:04:23.519 --> 00:04:27.399 We forget that he passed away as a very young man. So this 53 00:04:27.560 --> 00:04:30.639 was happening at a time when most people are just kind of making up their 54 00:04:30.680 --> 00:04:32.839 minds, you know, maybe fresh out of school. I know I was, 55 00:04:32.959 --> 00:04:38.680 And he's been hitting with all these major things. How did it affect 56 00:04:38.720 --> 00:04:42.000 him as a man and as an artist? Can you put a finger on 57 00:04:42.079 --> 00:04:45.759 that? Oh? He was very frustrated with it. You know. The 58 00:04:45.800 --> 00:04:53.160 management wanted him to stick with the Jimmy Hens experience, the three piece power 59 00:04:53.240 --> 00:04:57.959 trio, and he wanted to grow and expand and try different things, and 60 00:04:58.040 --> 00:05:01.720 the management wanted him to keep doing what he was doing, and he didn't 61 00:05:01.720 --> 00:05:05.560 want to do that anymore. That was one of the big frustrations because as 62 00:05:05.600 --> 00:05:10.360 an artist, you want to grow and try new things. You don't want 63 00:05:10.399 --> 00:05:15.199 to be stuck doing the same thing your whole career. So that was one 64 00:05:15.240 --> 00:05:20.920 of his biggest frustrations. Tell us a little bit more about Jimmy the Man 65 00:05:21.560 --> 00:05:28.240 again. We know the flamboyant style of playing, etc. But one of 66 00:05:28.240 --> 00:05:33.360 the things, and I did, I saw your clip at the Nayak Film 67 00:05:33.399 --> 00:05:36.920 Festival where he won, by the way, the award for the Best Documentary 68 00:05:38.040 --> 00:05:43.399 and this year's International Film Festival, congratulations. And I did see it, 69 00:05:43.439 --> 00:05:46.480 and I did enjoy it very much. But one of the things that kind 70 00:05:46.480 --> 00:05:50.680 of struck me, at least from the hour clip that I saw, was 71 00:05:51.519 --> 00:05:58.240 despite his very flamboyant public persona, he was kind of almost a quiet person 72 00:05:58.279 --> 00:06:01.360 almost. I don't know if shy as the right word, but personally it 73 00:06:01.639 --> 00:06:06.000 didn't necessarily match, as you said, the flamboyant close, the flamboyant playing, 74 00:06:06.120 --> 00:06:10.240 the lighting, the guitar on fire, et cetera. It was almost, 75 00:06:10.560 --> 00:06:12.839 is it safe to say, it was kind of like an alter ego 76 00:06:12.879 --> 00:06:15.600 from what he really was. And you're the man you interviewed his family and 77 00:06:15.639 --> 00:06:19.920 friends, et cetera. What did you find out about that? Yeah, 78 00:06:19.279 --> 00:06:24.879 he was, he was very shy. He was with drawn, and then 79 00:06:25.199 --> 00:06:32.079 probably goes back to his childhood because his father was really strict, his mother 80 00:06:32.240 --> 00:06:39.959 wasn't around, and he was afraid to say too much because he'd get hit 81 00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:46.319 by his father. His father was pretty abusive. So it started as a 82 00:06:46.439 --> 00:06:50.759 very young child that he was very withdrawn and quiet and shy. And he 83 00:06:50.839 --> 00:06:56.480 carried on into his adult life and everybody said he was very shy and quiet. 84 00:06:56.600 --> 00:07:00.319 He wasn't good in crowds. He was good one on one with people, 85 00:07:00.240 --> 00:07:09.079 but in crowds he wasn't really comfortable. Well that's interesting, especially for 86 00:07:09.120 --> 00:07:13.680 a man who performed in front of thousands, in some cases hundreds of thousands. 87 00:07:13.759 --> 00:07:15.920 I think of Woodstock in the very famous moment, and I want to 88 00:07:15.920 --> 00:07:20.720 ask you, is is that his most famous moment. We can get to 89 00:07:20.800 --> 00:07:24.959 that, but I want to kind of complete the point because it was something 90 00:07:25.000 --> 00:07:28.720 that really struck me. He was so outrageous, I guess as a fair 91 00:07:28.759 --> 00:07:31.480 word to use as a performer. He was doing things that no one else 92 00:07:31.600 --> 00:07:35.040 did. That's one of the things that made him great, not only musically 93 00:07:35.079 --> 00:07:39.560 but from a performance aspect. And yet, as I said, and I 94 00:07:39.600 --> 00:07:44.720 think it came out in your documentary about how inwardly shy and peaceful he was. 95 00:07:45.000 --> 00:07:48.079 How I just how could was there a switch he could turn on and 96 00:07:48.120 --> 00:07:51.680 off? I know? And I've interviewed other actors who really can be very 97 00:07:51.759 --> 00:07:56.240 quiet and shy in their personal lives, and then you see them on the 98 00:07:56.240 --> 00:07:59.560 screen, it's a whole other PERSONA. Was there a switch he could turn 99 00:07:59.600 --> 00:08:03.759 on? No? People said that, you know a lot of people said 100 00:08:03.800 --> 00:08:05.519 that it was like a switch. Once he got on stage, he became 101 00:08:05.560 --> 00:08:13.000 a different person, became very a big extrovert on stage. And I was 102 00:08:13.079 --> 00:08:18.279 comfortable up there, you know. But yeah, it was like there was 103 00:08:18.319 --> 00:08:22.279 a switch that got turned down when he went on stage. It's a totally 104 00:08:22.319 --> 00:08:31.240 different person then off stage. David, you spent thirty years making this project 105 00:08:31.319 --> 00:08:33.799 and it is it is a project. Why did it take so long? 106 00:08:37.120 --> 00:08:41.720 Oh? There was a bunch of reasons. One of the big reasons was 107 00:08:43.320 --> 00:08:50.159 money. Yeah, make you a filmmaker. I could relate, yes, 108 00:08:50.360 --> 00:08:54.559 you know, as I've been financing the project by myself. I don't have 109 00:08:54.600 --> 00:09:01.039 any investors. I'm not rich. And if I did have investors, there'd 110 00:09:01.039 --> 00:09:05.440 be deadlines, and there'd be they'd be dictating what they want and when they 111 00:09:05.480 --> 00:09:09.360 want it and what should and shouldn't be put in, and I had to 112 00:09:09.360 --> 00:09:16.879 do it my way. And you know, there's no deadline with me controlling 113 00:09:16.919 --> 00:09:22.279 it, so I could just keep working on it until I felt it was 114 00:09:22.320 --> 00:09:28.559 finished. And I was able to interview over four hundred and thirty people on 115 00:09:28.679 --> 00:09:35.080 camera, the biggest names in the history of twentieth century music. So that 116 00:09:35.320 --> 00:09:37.720 was, you know, money was one of the main one of the main 117 00:09:37.840 --> 00:09:45.279 things. And then another reason is, you know, I don't have a 118 00:09:45.320 --> 00:09:48.519 whole team of people. I'm pretty much working on it by myself. I 119 00:09:48.559 --> 00:09:56.399 have my girlfriend helps a lot with with graphics and things, photo retouching. 120 00:09:58.360 --> 00:10:05.200 And then I have a guy who who Elliott Elliot getzlof who's been working on 121 00:10:05.240 --> 00:10:09.679 it. He's contributed a lot. He's a great detective. He's found a 122 00:10:09.759 --> 00:10:15.519 lot of things and footage and photos. So it's basically just this team of 123 00:10:15.519 --> 00:10:18.799 the three of us. But I've been working on it since the beginning. 124 00:10:18.519 --> 00:10:24.440 They haven't been since the very beginning. I pretty much started it by myself. 125 00:10:26.399 --> 00:10:30.759 At the very beginning, I used to teach at the Center for the 126 00:10:30.799 --> 00:10:35.480 Media Arts in Manhattan. Used to teach computer graphics and special effects and three 127 00:10:35.600 --> 00:10:43.399 D animation and all that. And there was another teacher there who's like minded, 128 00:10:43.879 --> 00:10:48.720 and I asked him if he wanted to do this documentary and he said 129 00:10:48.799 --> 00:10:58.279 yeah, and we started and the first I think the first interview we did 130 00:10:58.360 --> 00:11:03.360 was Buzzy Linhart. Yeah, and then we did Richie Havens and then the 131 00:11:03.399 --> 00:11:09.759 third interview we were going to interview War, the group War, and they 132 00:11:09.759 --> 00:11:16.759 were playing at the Wetlands in Manhattan. So I loaded up my car with 133 00:11:16.799 --> 00:11:22.200 all my equipment, my camera, my lights and tripods and everything. There's 134 00:11:22.240 --> 00:11:26.679 a lot of stuff to carry, and if you know Wetlands, there's not 135 00:11:26.759 --> 00:11:31.919 a whole lot of parking around there. So I parked a few blocks away 136 00:11:31.960 --> 00:11:35.679 and then I had to lug all this equipment. And the guy that I 137 00:11:35.759 --> 00:11:41.639 was working with he never showed up. I don't know what happened. He 138 00:11:41.679 --> 00:11:46.559 couldn't couldn't go for some reason. I think maybe his girlfriend didn't want him 139 00:11:46.559 --> 00:11:56.000 to go because there was no money in it. And anyway, once I 140 00:11:56.080 --> 00:12:00.279 did this interview and I loved all the equipment and did everything by myself, 141 00:12:01.000 --> 00:12:05.320 I just said to myself, I'm just gonna have to do this by myself. 142 00:12:05.879 --> 00:12:09.480 I can't depend on anybody else. And he was fine with that because 143 00:12:09.559 --> 00:12:16.840 he was He got married to that girl not long after this incident. Well, 144 00:12:18.600 --> 00:12:22.720 to you that worked out for that worked out for him, David. 145 00:12:24.240 --> 00:12:26.120 You know that that's obviously got to be frustrating. And I know I've worked 146 00:12:26.159 --> 00:12:31.080 as a one man band and you called them all the cliches labors of love, 147 00:12:31.159 --> 00:12:35.039 but that's what they are. But it's part of the frustration and can 148 00:12:35.080 --> 00:12:37.679 be disappointments. Now, You've also had to deal with some controversy with the 149 00:12:37.679 --> 00:12:43.240 film because some members of the family, As often happens with famous people, 150 00:12:43.679 --> 00:12:46.200 things go into arbitration afterwards. Who has the rights to this, that and 151 00:12:46.279 --> 00:12:50.480 everything. I know you've run into some situations like that as well. Can 152 00:12:50.519 --> 00:12:54.200 you elaborate on that at all? Yeah? Sure, I just wanted to 153 00:12:54.240 --> 00:13:00.720 say another thing about why it took so long when you when you look at 154 00:13:00.840 --> 00:13:03.720 like ken Burns documentaries and you look at the credits. He's got like fifty 155 00:13:03.759 --> 00:13:09.919 two hundred interns working there and he just keeps cranking these documentaries out because he's 156 00:13:09.960 --> 00:13:15.559 got so many people on his team and I didn't have that, so so 157 00:13:16.240 --> 00:13:20.519 you know, that was a big problem. And then after the nine to 158 00:13:20.519 --> 00:13:24.240 one one attack on the World Trade Center, when the when the stock market 159 00:13:24.279 --> 00:13:28.960 crashed, I lost everything, so I was broke for a couple of years, 160 00:13:28.960 --> 00:13:33.039 so I couldn't do a whole lot then, you know, So there 161 00:13:33.080 --> 00:13:39.639 was those different factors. Anyway, so we'll get back to the question you 162 00:13:39.799 --> 00:13:43.679 just asked me about, like legal problems. You mean, yeah, there's 163 00:13:43.799 --> 00:13:46.600 there are course. See, people don't realize it's not just you make a 164 00:13:46.600 --> 00:13:52.600 film. There are legal issues he has you have to use a footage song, 165 00:13:52.840 --> 00:13:56.799 and there has to be authorization from from his executor as all that other 166 00:13:56.840 --> 00:14:01.200 stuff. It's much more complicated, I think than people realize. Yeah. 167 00:14:01.240 --> 00:14:07.440 Well, when I first started the project, I contacted Jimmy's father in Seattle, 168 00:14:07.840 --> 00:14:11.919 Al Hendrix, and I wrote him a letter, and then I called 169 00:14:11.960 --> 00:14:18.320 him and I told him about the project and I wanted to interview him. 170 00:14:18.360 --> 00:14:22.960 So he agreed to do the interview. So I flew out to Seattle and 171 00:14:22.039 --> 00:14:26.639 I spent a few days with him. I interviewed him, took him out 172 00:14:26.679 --> 00:14:31.879 to dinner and lunched and just hung out for a few days. And I 173 00:14:31.919 --> 00:14:35.759 told him that I wanted to work with him. I said, I want 174 00:14:35.840 --> 00:14:39.480 him to benefit from this. I want him to profit from it, and 175 00:14:39.519 --> 00:14:43.080 I want to be like partners with him. So I have, you know, 176 00:14:43.159 --> 00:14:46.720 his blessing on the whole project, and he thought it was great idea, 177 00:14:46.960 --> 00:14:50.039 and I told him I want to meet with his attorney. So we 178 00:14:50.080 --> 00:14:54.519 did. We met with his attorney while I was there, and everything was 179 00:14:54.639 --> 00:15:01.320 great. Everybody was happy, and they didn't have the estate back at the 180 00:15:01.399 --> 00:15:07.120 time. They were trying to get a lawsuit together to win the estate back 181 00:15:07.200 --> 00:15:13.559 because the previous people running it was an attorney named Leo Branton and a guy 182 00:15:13.639 --> 00:15:22.240 named Alan Douglas who was a record producer, and they were trying to win 183 00:15:22.240 --> 00:15:24.919 the estate back. They were in the middle of this whole thing. I 184 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:33.159 never even heard of Jimmy's adopted stepsister, Janie Hendricks. Al Hendricks never even 185 00:15:33.399 --> 00:15:43.799 mentioned her name, and anyway, everything was, everything seemed fine, and 186 00:15:43.919 --> 00:15:48.600 I was getting ready to head back to New York. Al Hendricks gave me 187 00:15:50.480 --> 00:15:54.399 a phone number in contact. He said, what this is Diane Hendricks phone 188 00:15:54.480 --> 00:16:00.120 number. She was Jimmy Hendricks's first cousin. She's in New York. Why 189 00:16:00.159 --> 00:16:02.919 don't you give her a call. She'll probably, you know, do an 190 00:16:02.960 --> 00:16:06.759 interview. And I said, great, thank you. So I got back 191 00:16:06.759 --> 00:16:11.679 to New York and I met with Diane and we became friends. And I 192 00:16:11.799 --> 00:16:21.120 still never heard anything about Janey. But then during this time, Paul Allen 193 00:16:22.840 --> 00:16:27.399 Bill Gates, partner from Microsoft, he wanted to build this museum in Seattle 194 00:16:30.360 --> 00:16:34.799 called that he was going to name it the Jimmy Hendricks Museum, and he 195 00:16:34.879 --> 00:16:42.799 lent the Hendricks family six million dollars for legal fees so they could win the 196 00:16:42.919 --> 00:16:49.080 estate back. And everybody helped them. You know, my attorney helped. 197 00:16:49.120 --> 00:16:55.679 He flew out there as an expert witness. Noel Redding, supplied contracts and 198 00:16:55.799 --> 00:17:00.960 legal documents, everything that he saved from the sixties to help them win. 199 00:17:00.360 --> 00:17:07.599 And that's when Janey appeared and she I guess she kind of spearheaded the whole 200 00:17:08.079 --> 00:17:14.440 lawsuit because they were only paying Al Hendricks fifty thousand dollars a year for this 201 00:17:14.519 --> 00:17:19.960 multimillion dollar estate, and he was a gardener who who didn't have a high 202 00:17:21.000 --> 00:17:27.440 school diploma, and he wasn't really educated and savvy about business. He was 203 00:17:27.519 --> 00:17:30.000 just happy to get the fifty thousand a year. That was a lot of 204 00:17:30.039 --> 00:17:37.480 money for him. So I guess Jane started questioning that, and that's how 205 00:17:37.519 --> 00:17:45.160 the whole lawsuit started. So she started telling everybody that helped the family win 206 00:17:45.200 --> 00:17:48.720 the estate and we're going to take care of everybody. So everybody helped, 207 00:17:49.279 --> 00:17:56.400 and then once they won the estate back, she turned the back on everybody 208 00:17:56.440 --> 00:18:00.359 that helped. And I met with the attorney again, the same guy that 209 00:18:00.440 --> 00:18:06.839 I met with with Al Hendricks, and I spoke to him and he told 210 00:18:06.920 --> 00:18:12.200 me they fired him, and he's the one that said. His exact words 211 00:18:12.240 --> 00:18:17.839 were, they turned their back on everybody that helped them. And that was 212 00:18:17.960 --> 00:18:26.160 Janey behind all that. So Paul Allen, who wanted to do this Jimmy 213 00:18:26.160 --> 00:18:33.119 Hendricks Museum, he ended up calling it the Experienced Music Project because Jane wouldn't 214 00:18:33.160 --> 00:18:38.680 let him use the name Jimmy Hendricks after he lent six million dollars. They 215 00:18:38.680 --> 00:18:42.279 wouldn't even have the estate if it wasn't for him. So there was all 216 00:18:42.279 --> 00:18:48.880 this kind of greedy stuff going on. And I had different dealings with her 217 00:18:49.400 --> 00:18:52.880 over the years, and I tried to work with her, but I just 218 00:18:53.039 --> 00:18:59.160 realized after a couple of years it was no use because she wants everything for 219 00:18:59.200 --> 00:19:03.480 herself, and she cut out all the family members and Leon Hendricks, who's 220 00:19:03.559 --> 00:19:10.279 Jimmy's real brother, not a step brother. He actually grew up with Jimmy, 221 00:19:11.680 --> 00:19:15.920 and she cut him out out of the will. I don't know how 222 00:19:15.960 --> 00:19:19.279 that happened, because he was in the will when al was alive. But 223 00:19:19.440 --> 00:19:23.440 at some point after he died he found out he was out of the will, 224 00:19:25.400 --> 00:19:30.079 and he tried to do but he lost because she's got millions of dollars. 225 00:19:30.720 --> 00:19:33.119 But you persist. I think that's the point ultimately want to make, 226 00:19:33.400 --> 00:19:38.640 despite all the difficulties, the challenges for you alone, working alone, the 227 00:19:38.720 --> 00:19:44.480 money, the family issues, and yet you continue, You persist, not 228 00:19:44.519 --> 00:19:49.759 only persist today, you have persisted for thirty years. Why why yeah, 229 00:19:49.920 --> 00:19:53.000 and you say no, I don't quit. Why not just say well, 230 00:19:53.000 --> 00:19:59.880 I've had enough. Well after he's put in so much time and money and 231 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:04.200 and uh, he did so much great accomplishments in interviewing, Uh, over 232 00:20:04.240 --> 00:20:08.720 four hundred people on camera, everybody from BB King, Buddy Guy, Bo 233 00:20:08.839 --> 00:20:14.279 Diddley, Little Richard, the Isley Brothers, Steven Stills, Ginger Baker, 234 00:20:14.440 --> 00:20:19.000 Jack Bruce, Timothy Leary. Uh, you know, Wavy Gravy, Eric 235 00:20:19.039 --> 00:20:23.920 Burdon, who's one and on and on. There's no turning back. There's 236 00:20:23.960 --> 00:20:30.519 no turning back. You can't stop. That's a great segue of all those 237 00:20:30.559 --> 00:20:33.880 interviews, which one sticks out in your mind. Who's somebody that you said, 238 00:20:33.920 --> 00:20:37.559 wow, that that's that's that's something you learned a lot from you felt 239 00:20:37.640 --> 00:20:41.799 a lot about. Or is there one in your mind or a couple of 240 00:20:41.839 --> 00:20:48.279 people in your mind that really stick out as really meaningful. Well, there's 241 00:20:48.319 --> 00:20:51.519 a bunch of them. When you interview over four hundred people, there's there's 242 00:20:51.559 --> 00:20:57.480 a lot of great interviews. You know, getting the family, getting you 243 00:20:57.480 --> 00:21:03.000 know, Jimmy's father and brother and the people that raised him was great. 244 00:21:03.079 --> 00:21:07.799 And then you know the musical icons, my my musical heroes, those were 245 00:21:07.880 --> 00:21:11.319 those were great. Steven Still is one of my favorite musicians of all time. 246 00:21:12.039 --> 00:21:15.200 You know, it took me like five years to get him, dealing 247 00:21:15.240 --> 00:21:22.839 with his manager and once he realized it was a good project, he agreed 248 00:21:22.880 --> 00:21:26.640 to do it. And uh, that was that was a great interview because 249 00:21:26.680 --> 00:21:32.960 he he jammed a lot with Hendricks and they played a lot together and recorded 250 00:21:33.000 --> 00:21:37.359 together, and uh, that was a thrill for me because he's one of 251 00:21:37.440 --> 00:21:41.119 my favorite musicians. And then there was sly Stone, who doesn't really do 252 00:21:41.240 --> 00:21:45.640 interviews, so just the fact that I got him was amazing. You know, 253 00:21:47.440 --> 00:21:49.920 there's a lot of them. There's a lot of incredible interviews. You 254 00:21:49.960 --> 00:21:55.599 know, Timothy Leary. I got him. He was very sick, he 255 00:21:55.640 --> 00:22:03.559 had cancer, and uh, he reluctantly agreed to do it. I went 256 00:22:03.559 --> 00:22:07.440 out to his to his place in the Hollywood Hills, and when I got 257 00:22:07.480 --> 00:22:11.519 there, then he didn't want to go on camera. He said, can 258 00:22:11.559 --> 00:22:15.480 we just do audio? And I said, well, you know, it's 259 00:22:15.519 --> 00:22:22.400 a television documentary, and he was pretty reluctant. So then I said, 260 00:22:22.480 --> 00:22:26.480 well, how we were outside in the Hollywood Hills, like I think Bennette 261 00:22:26.599 --> 00:22:32.559 Canyon and in the backyard there, and I said to him, well, 262 00:22:32.559 --> 00:22:37.440 how about we just I'll just shoot your shadow on the grass there He's sitting 263 00:22:37.440 --> 00:22:38.960 in a chair. I said we could, I could shoot your shadow, 264 00:22:41.119 --> 00:22:45.640 and then I guess then that's when he changed his mind and said, all 265 00:22:45.720 --> 00:22:48.279 right, he'll do it. So I got him on camera, so that 266 00:22:48.440 --> 00:22:52.319 was cool. Yeah. At this point I want to bring out also too, 267 00:22:52.559 --> 00:22:55.759 because you mentioned Ken Burns, a famous documentary maker, and when you're 268 00:22:55.839 --> 00:22:59.680 Ken Burns, just using the name opens a lot of doors. When you're 269 00:23:00.200 --> 00:23:03.839 Dreamer or Frank Lebono calling it can take four or five years. I want 270 00:23:03.839 --> 00:23:10.400 people to realize the persistence and the dedication that it takes to get through those 271 00:23:10.519 --> 00:23:12.960 doors. We're not big name people. Hopefully this will put you in the 272 00:23:12.960 --> 00:23:18.359 big name category. But I want people to really appreciate how difficult it is 273 00:23:18.400 --> 00:23:22.480 and how persistent you have to be as an independent filmmaker. But I also 274 00:23:22.519 --> 00:23:26.079 want to make the connection and I want your comments on it. A lot 275 00:23:26.119 --> 00:23:30.079 of what you're saying seems to come right out of the Jimmy Hendricks playbook about 276 00:23:30.079 --> 00:23:36.400 independence, creating your own art, your own way. Is it fair to 277 00:23:36.440 --> 00:23:41.400 say that through this, Jimmy's mindset towards his own art is something that you 278 00:23:41.519 --> 00:23:47.599 really connected to and continue to connect through the documentary. Is that fair? 279 00:23:47.680 --> 00:23:52.480 Oh? Yeah, definitely. I'm a bit of a non conformist. I 280 00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:56.559 would say, you know, I don't wear it. I don't wear a 281 00:23:56.640 --> 00:24:04.599 tie. Remember It's been at least twenty thirty years since I've worn a tie. 282 00:24:06.400 --> 00:24:10.720 So yeah, they can't see we're not wearing We should let people know, 283 00:24:10.839 --> 00:24:15.160 David, No, we're not wearing ties. No, we're wearing I 284 00:24:15.319 --> 00:24:18.359 like to tease people because there's no video. I am wearing pants, but 285 00:24:18.400 --> 00:24:25.519 I'm not wearing a tie. Yeah. Yeah, I'm definitely a free spirit. 286 00:24:26.079 --> 00:24:30.559 You know, I got a lot of what Hendis was about I admired, 287 00:24:30.839 --> 00:24:38.160 So yeah, it's definitely part of my personality. Let's talk about some 288 00:24:38.200 --> 00:24:42.400 of Jimmy's more famous moments. I mean, I think everybody certainly of our 289 00:24:42.480 --> 00:24:47.880 age or of a certain age, or remember Woodstock and his seminal performance at 290 00:24:47.880 --> 00:24:52.519 Woodstock. Were there any other moments that stick out in your mind which really 291 00:24:52.799 --> 00:24:57.480 define Jimmy as a performer, as a and as an artist beyond the Woodstock 292 00:24:57.519 --> 00:25:03.880 one? What comes to your mind? Well, when he was playing with 293 00:25:04.400 --> 00:25:11.720 other bands as a side man, he was blowing people's minds because nobody ever 294 00:25:11.799 --> 00:25:15.200 saw anything like that before. He's playing behind his back, in between his 295 00:25:15.319 --> 00:25:19.160 legs and with his teeth, and he just really stole the show from a 296 00:25:19.200 --> 00:25:26.000 lot of different bands. The early bands that he played in. I did 297 00:25:26.000 --> 00:25:30.319 a segment for this documentary on each. I did five separate segments on the 298 00:25:30.400 --> 00:25:36.680 five famous bands that he played in before he became famous, when he was 299 00:25:36.720 --> 00:25:41.160 a sideman, Little Richard's Band, the Isley Brothers, Curtis Knight and the 300 00:25:41.200 --> 00:25:48.240 Squires, Joey Dean, the Starlyres, and the King Curtis Band, And 301 00:25:49.200 --> 00:25:56.119 all these segments are really interesting because just shows how he was just blowing people 302 00:25:56.160 --> 00:26:02.680 away before he was even famous, just as a side man. People were 303 00:26:02.720 --> 00:26:07.519 just amazed at what they saw. And when you when you see some of 304 00:26:07.559 --> 00:26:10.640 these interviews of the people that witnessed it for the first time, they were 305 00:26:10.680 --> 00:26:17.000 just blown away, amazed. So that was real interesting. And uh yeah, 306 00:26:17.039 --> 00:26:25.200 I think Woodstock was probably the biggest, most memorable iconic performance it, 307 00:26:25.279 --> 00:26:27.559 so we sent his legacy. I mean, I think when people in their 308 00:26:27.640 --> 00:26:33.000 minds and their imagination, when they conjure an image of Jimmy, it's probably 309 00:26:33.079 --> 00:26:37.319 that. But for obvious reasons, it was a seminal moment. Yeah. 310 00:26:37.519 --> 00:26:41.519 Yeah, he played a lot of great concerts, but that one was all 311 00:26:41.799 --> 00:26:48.400 filmed, and you know, it rained a lot during the three days, 312 00:26:48.440 --> 00:26:52.119 but he played on the fourth day, Monday morning, which wasn't even supposed 313 00:26:52.160 --> 00:26:56.400 to be It was supposed to be over by then. So the sun came 314 00:26:56.440 --> 00:27:00.720 out and it was beautiful a while, and they got a great film because 315 00:27:00.839 --> 00:27:04.799 the sun was shining and he looked like he was having a great time. 316 00:27:04.839 --> 00:27:10.680 He was actually dancing on stage at some points, So so that was a 317 00:27:10.720 --> 00:27:18.200 great That was a great performance. What would you continue, I'm sorry I 318 00:27:18.279 --> 00:27:22.000 was going to say about you. You were asking me before about some of 319 00:27:22.039 --> 00:27:27.839 the frustrations and the problems one of the things, and you probably I don't 320 00:27:27.880 --> 00:27:33.440 know how long you spent on your documentary, not thirty years. But well 321 00:27:33.440 --> 00:27:36.319 it's still going. I had. It's a long story. We we're into 322 00:27:36.319 --> 00:27:38.440 the rights fees now. I want to use an Ella Fitzgerald's so I can 323 00:27:38.559 --> 00:27:41.839 relate. I want to use an Ella Fitzgerald's song, so I have to 324 00:27:41.880 --> 00:27:45.759 go through her state and blove so I relate. Yes, it takes a 325 00:27:45.799 --> 00:27:53.640 long time. Please finish some of the frustrations you probably you know, people 326 00:27:53.680 --> 00:28:03.759 probably don't even think about. Are just people's reac like so called friends that 327 00:28:03.319 --> 00:28:10.400 you you know, acquaintances, the negative comments that come out sometimes, like 328 00:28:11.960 --> 00:28:15.839 you know, your real friends are supportive, they ask about the project, 329 00:28:15.920 --> 00:28:19.319 how's it going, You've been working on for a few years, how's it 330 00:28:19.400 --> 00:28:23.160 going. I'd love to see it, can't wait till it's done, stuff 331 00:28:23.200 --> 00:28:30.000 like that. But then there's these acquaintances, these so called friends that actually 332 00:28:30.039 --> 00:28:37.559 get resentful and make these comments like you're still working on that thing, And 333 00:28:37.599 --> 00:28:41.119 then you hear them, you know, you hear comments behind your back that 334 00:28:41.160 --> 00:28:44.720 they said to other people like, yeah, he's never going to finish that. 335 00:28:44.960 --> 00:28:48.119 He's been working on that forever, and all this kind of negative stuff. 336 00:28:48.160 --> 00:28:52.279 And there's one guy on h I mean, there's been a bunch of 337 00:28:52.279 --> 00:28:57.079 people, but one guy on Facebook really stands out in my mind where he 338 00:28:57.079 --> 00:29:03.799 he came on Facebook one day and started ranting to me about, uh, 339 00:29:03.480 --> 00:29:06.960 you know, when are you going to get this out? You know, 340 00:29:07.039 --> 00:29:11.960 you're withholding all this stuff and the fans want to see it, and uh, 341 00:29:11.440 --> 00:29:15.160 you know, you've been working on this forever. And and then you 342 00:29:15.240 --> 00:29:18.720 started comparing me to Janie Hendricks and saying that I'm greedy like her, And 343 00:29:18.759 --> 00:29:26.599 I said, I said greedy mostly you know, don't even don't even give 344 00:29:26.680 --> 00:29:30.640 him the time of day. Let's not even go there's not even because my 345 00:29:30.720 --> 00:29:33.720 next going to say, wait till you start asking for friends for a little 346 00:29:33.720 --> 00:29:38.799 monetary help to get it. And then you really start hearing the comments, 347 00:29:41.039 --> 00:29:44.720 well a little help you you say, I showed a trailer and oh this 348 00:29:44.880 --> 00:29:48.359 is great. It made me cry. Well can you can you support it 349 00:29:48.359 --> 00:29:49.839 a little bit? Well, I don't know if I do things like that 350 00:29:52.000 --> 00:29:57.279 times. Have you heard that? I'm sure we can relate, Yeah, 351 00:29:59.599 --> 00:30:04.039 go ahead, good stuff like that. You just you don't even expect to 352 00:30:04.119 --> 00:30:10.480 hear things like that, so that was kind of shocking to me. Well, 353 00:30:11.000 --> 00:30:14.799 go ahead to finish. I'm sorry. I'm just going to say. 354 00:30:14.839 --> 00:30:18.519 You know, I said to the guy, I said, you want medication. 355 00:30:18.720 --> 00:30:21.279 I said, I haven't made a dime off this project, and I 356 00:30:21.319 --> 00:30:23.519 won't until it's finished and I get a deal. So how am I greedy? 357 00:30:27.799 --> 00:30:33.839 Yeah? I don't mean. I spent more than half of you know, 358 00:30:33.039 --> 00:30:38.640 my adult life, all my adult life pretty much working on this. 359 00:30:40.279 --> 00:30:45.160 So I put in my time and there's no there's no reward until it's sold. 360 00:30:45.599 --> 00:30:51.119 So how how can you equate that to being greedy? That's mind bowling 361 00:30:52.000 --> 00:30:53.759 as an aside, and this is being frank. You will allow me to 362 00:30:53.839 --> 00:30:56.440 be frank for a bit. One of the things drive me crazy when I'm 363 00:30:56.759 --> 00:31:00.039 going through the TV channels and you go to the Learn channel or something and 364 00:31:00.119 --> 00:31:07.240 you see things like ninety Day Fiance and cheaters and people are actually paying money 365 00:31:07.680 --> 00:31:11.119 to produce that crap in plain English, where you and I are trying to 366 00:31:11.200 --> 00:31:17.839 do something truthful, artistic, honest. Mine is about the Pulitzer Prize winner, 367 00:31:17.960 --> 00:31:21.480 not fine, who've made a famous photo of baby Ruth at his retirement. 368 00:31:21.759 --> 00:31:25.720 Yours are one of the great musical masters of all time, and try 369 00:31:25.759 --> 00:31:29.960 to get a dime for that. But go to put on late night cable 370 00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:33.599 and you can get Cheaters and ninety Day Fiance and Catfish, this and more 371 00:31:33.759 --> 00:31:40.119 crap is being produced on my soapbox. I guess it's my show, so 372 00:31:41.440 --> 00:31:45.599 I'm allowed a minute or two. But I thought, considering the context of 373 00:31:45.680 --> 00:31:49.680 our conversation, it's all relative. Let's get back to make one more point 374 00:31:49.720 --> 00:31:52.720 before we go to a commercial break. This has been absolutely terrific, David, 375 00:31:52.799 --> 00:31:56.559 I really appreciated. What do you think what is one of the more 376 00:31:56.960 --> 00:32:04.440 biggest misconceptions about Jimmy Hendrix. What do you think that people think they know 377 00:32:04.599 --> 00:32:07.240 about him that may not necessarily be accurate. Is there something that comes to 378 00:32:07.319 --> 00:32:10.880 your mind. Yeah, A lot of people think that he was just this 379 00:32:12.119 --> 00:32:17.400 drug addict, but he wasn't. You know, everybody experimented with drugs, 380 00:32:17.960 --> 00:32:23.960 especially in the sixties. Everybody was getting high back then. Some still are. 381 00:32:24.200 --> 00:32:30.680 But you know, he accomplished a lot, and he was always playing 382 00:32:30.759 --> 00:32:36.559 and always practicing, and that's why he was so great because he was constantly 383 00:32:36.680 --> 00:32:43.039 playing, constantly practicing and jamming all the time. After a gig, after 384 00:32:43.160 --> 00:32:46.480 a concert, he'd go to a club and jam till the wee hours of 385 00:32:46.519 --> 00:32:51.480 the morning. It's all he'd loved to do. It was his favorite thing. 386 00:32:52.079 --> 00:32:55.640 Or that and a couple other things. But yeah, that's why it 387 00:32:55.720 --> 00:33:01.000 was so great because he was always practicing and always playing, and he wasn't 388 00:33:01.119 --> 00:33:07.839 this strung out junkie guy that a lot of people think. And because of 389 00:33:07.880 --> 00:33:17.119 the way that he died, you know, it's questionable because the autopsy doesn't 390 00:33:17.160 --> 00:33:22.519 really correspond to an overdose. There wasn't enough drugs or alcohol in his system 391 00:33:22.559 --> 00:33:30.319 according to the autopsy that would have killed him. So because they put it 392 00:33:30.400 --> 00:33:37.039 out there that it was a drug overdose, I think it caused this stigma 393 00:33:37.480 --> 00:33:44.119 towards him. And I think the next generation of kids coming up, especially 394 00:33:44.319 --> 00:33:49.359 females, I think they shied away from Hendricks because of that drug stigma. 395 00:33:50.519 --> 00:33:53.440 That's what it seemed like to me, because you know, the girls of 396 00:33:53.519 --> 00:33:59.920 the sixties and part of the seventies that were young, they loved Hanji. 397 00:34:00.680 --> 00:34:06.240 But I specifically remember, like the next generation in the late seventies and eighties, 398 00:34:06.759 --> 00:34:08.840 they didn't like hen Jicks anymore, a lot of girls, and I 399 00:34:08.880 --> 00:34:14.639 think it was because of this whole drug stigma scared them. Very interesting, 400 00:34:14.719 --> 00:34:16.079 great point to make, and a few more to me. I we're going 401 00:34:16.119 --> 00:34:20.119 to take a quick break, David. There's a few more things to talk 402 00:34:20.159 --> 00:34:23.840 about his legacy. What separates this documentary from others? What do you hope 403 00:34:23.920 --> 00:34:27.320 viewers will take from the film? Don't answer it yet. It's just a 404 00:34:27.360 --> 00:34:30.519 little tease. We got that left to go through the first half of our 405 00:34:30.599 --> 00:34:34.800 program. We'll be back with much more, but we got to take a 406 00:34:34.880 --> 00:34:38.679 brief commercial break. My very special guest is the producer, writer, director 407 00:34:38.800 --> 00:34:44.199 of Jimmy Hendrix, a documentary, David Kramer. This is being Frank. 408 00:34:44.480 --> 00:34:46.000 I'm your host, Frank Lebono. We don't go anywhere. We got more 409 00:34:46.039 --> 00:34:55.719 to come right after these brief commercial messages. Hudson River Radio dot com. 410 00:34:55.920 --> 00:35:00.840 Check out The Angel Quest Show with psychic media and author Karen Noe. Karen 411 00:35:00.960 --> 00:35:07.440 covers spiritual topics such as near death experiences, reincarnation, life after death, 412 00:35:07.639 --> 00:35:10.719 how your thoughts create your reality, creating peace on Earth, and so much 413 00:35:10.840 --> 00:35:16.239 more. Check out The Angel Quest Show on Apple Podcasts. iHeart, Spotify 414 00:35:16.559 --> 00:35:23.119 or wherever you get your podcasts. Bring a dash of green into your life. 415 00:35:23.519 --> 00:35:28.840 Check out the Many Shades of Green with Maxine, margat Rubin and Malcolm 416 00:35:28.880 --> 00:35:32.920 Berman. 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But remember, you can catch Being Frank anywhere you get your 425 00:36:21.039 --> 00:36:24.840 favorite podcasts, that includes Apple, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and all the others. 426 00:36:25.199 --> 00:36:30.159 And because every Being Frank is archive, you can listen to any of 427 00:36:30.239 --> 00:36:34.440 our programs anytime you like. Find the link to Being Frank on the Hudson 428 00:36:34.519 --> 00:36:39.679 River Radio Facebook page or at our website. Hudsonriverradio dot com. Just click 429 00:36:39.760 --> 00:36:43.559 on the icon and you're there. Listen to any program at any time. 430 00:36:44.119 --> 00:36:49.000 Leave us a comment, and please consider subscribing to the podcast and share us 431 00:36:49.360 --> 00:36:52.480 with your family and friends. Have a great show for you today. Our 432 00:36:52.599 --> 00:36:58.440 guest is David Kramer. He is the writer, producer, and host it 433 00:36:58.920 --> 00:37:06.519 just about every I think. David Kramer of the new documentary Jimmy Hendrix's We've 434 00:37:06.599 --> 00:37:10.519 talked a lot about Hendricks and what brought you here. It's time to talk 435 00:37:10.519 --> 00:37:16.000 a little bit about his legacy. What would you say is the legacy of 436 00:37:16.159 --> 00:37:28.440 Jimmy Hendrix? Obviously the music, the guy was unique. He was one 437 00:37:28.480 --> 00:37:35.280 of a kind. Someone like him maybe comes around once every hundred years or 438 00:37:35.360 --> 00:37:40.079 something. You know, nobody ever played like that. He developed a sound, 439 00:37:42.039 --> 00:37:49.039 the technique, the style that was different than any other guitar player before 440 00:37:49.239 --> 00:37:57.360 him. So that would be his legacy. Well, what would you say? 441 00:37:57.480 --> 00:37:59.960 What would you like people to take from your film? When they say 442 00:38:00.320 --> 00:38:02.800 and what's the total length? David? At this point, how many hours 443 00:38:02.880 --> 00:38:09.320 do you have currently? It's about twelve to fourteen hours of various segments. 444 00:38:10.159 --> 00:38:15.199 Rather than the single show, it's really a series of series. Correct, 445 00:38:15.280 --> 00:38:21.679 there's all these different segments. There's the childhood segment, there's the Nashville segment. 446 00:38:21.800 --> 00:38:24.079 When he got out of the the army, he went to Nashville and 447 00:38:24.199 --> 00:38:30.719 formed a band there with Billy Cox, and then after that he traveled around 448 00:38:30.760 --> 00:38:36.000 the Chitland circuit and hooked up with different groups like Little Richard, and he 449 00:38:36.079 --> 00:38:38.679 went to New York and hooked up with the Isley Brothers and all these other 450 00:38:38.760 --> 00:38:45.239 great bands. And so there's all these different segments about, you know, 451 00:38:45.400 --> 00:38:50.920 covering his whole life in depth like nobody's ever done it before. The thing 452 00:38:51.000 --> 00:38:55.239 about this documentary is the stories. You know, you see these, you 453 00:38:55.320 --> 00:39:01.719 see other documentaries in it. It focuses on sensationalism, and he was the 454 00:39:01.840 --> 00:39:07.199 wild man and all that kind of stuff, and he was doing drugs and 455 00:39:08.400 --> 00:39:15.800 played at Woodstock. But there's so much more to him, and this documentary 456 00:39:15.920 --> 00:39:21.599 tells these stories about all these different times in his life of what happened to 457 00:39:21.719 --> 00:39:27.239 him. You know, it started out great and basically turned to crap at 458 00:39:27.280 --> 00:39:34.880 the end because his manager stole all of his money and he died under mysterious 459 00:39:34.920 --> 00:39:39.920 circumstances. So he was trying to get away from his manager. At the 460 00:39:40.000 --> 00:39:44.079 time of his death, he was trying to get out of the contract. 461 00:39:44.920 --> 00:39:50.679 And he even told an attorney that I interviewed that he said, if they 462 00:39:50.840 --> 00:39:54.559 find out about this, meaning if they find out that I want to get 463 00:39:54.599 --> 00:40:00.280 away from my manager, they'll kill me. And he said that to his 464 00:40:00.440 --> 00:40:07.360 attorney. So there's a lot of stuff like that that people don't know what 465 00:40:07.559 --> 00:40:15.039 really happened to him. And it wasn't pretty, It wasn't a but it 466 00:40:15.159 --> 00:40:21.440 wasn't ending ultimately, you know, beyond the ugly ending. And it wasn't 467 00:40:21.519 --> 00:40:23.840 ugly. It was a tragic ending a young man, I mean to put 468 00:40:23.880 --> 00:40:28.840 in perspective, beyond the fame, the fortune, he was a young man, 469 00:40:30.480 --> 00:40:34.360 Uh what else? What what? But beyond that And as you mentioned 470 00:40:34.400 --> 00:40:37.360 that that's an unfortunate legacy. If you will even to use that word as 471 00:40:37.440 --> 00:40:42.760 unfortunate, what would you like people to take from the film once they see 472 00:40:42.840 --> 00:40:46.000 it. From the film itself and from what it says about Hendricks the man, 473 00:40:47.360 --> 00:40:52.639 well, he brought he brought a lot of people together of all races, 474 00:40:52.920 --> 00:41:00.280 and uh he helped to bridge the gap, uh between and black and 475 00:41:00.960 --> 00:41:05.800 all the racism in this country. He helped to bring a lot of people 476 00:41:05.840 --> 00:41:14.320 together, and the powers that be, Jared go Hoover's FBI didn't like that. 477 00:41:15.400 --> 00:41:22.119 They opened the whole file on him and they tried to take him down, 478 00:41:22.480 --> 00:41:27.880 and they probably did. I mean, they tried to tie him in 479 00:41:27.960 --> 00:41:34.719 with the Black Panther Party. That's another big misconception. He wasn't involved with 480 00:41:34.800 --> 00:41:38.199 the Black Panther Party at all. There was talk of him during a benefit 481 00:41:38.360 --> 00:41:45.239 concert for the Black Panthers, but he never did. It just didn't happen. 482 00:41:45.280 --> 00:41:52.119 But it's in his FBI file because it was the FBI that was trying 483 00:41:52.119 --> 00:41:55.280 to set him up, so they had more ammunition against him. But he 484 00:41:55.440 --> 00:42:01.760 wasn't overtly political from my recollection. I mean, I think he seemed to 485 00:42:01.800 --> 00:42:06.679 be certainly anti war. He was involved with to a degree with the civil 486 00:42:06.800 --> 00:42:12.119 rights movement, but I wouldn't have necessarily called him a political performer in a 487 00:42:12.239 --> 00:42:15.719 way of let's say, maybe about Dylan or Joan Baez was at that time, 488 00:42:15.840 --> 00:42:22.400 or a country Joe McDonald. His music wasn't necessarily political in nature. 489 00:42:22.559 --> 00:42:30.320 Is that accurate? Well, some of it was covertly uh political, But 490 00:42:30.440 --> 00:42:36.000 he did the Star Spangled banner. You know, you could hear bombs going 491 00:42:36.119 --> 00:42:39.920 off and guns and babies crying and women's screaming and all that kind of stuff, 492 00:42:39.960 --> 00:42:45.079 and you know that was a big political statement. And then he did 493 00:42:45.159 --> 00:42:52.079 sounds like machine Gun about the Vietnam War and Isabella about the Vietnam War, 494 00:42:53.800 --> 00:42:58.480 and you know, it was all through his music. He didn't give speeches 495 00:42:59.360 --> 00:43:01.840 about get it, you know, stop the war and all that kind of 496 00:43:01.880 --> 00:43:10.199 stuff, but at his concerts he made comments like free Bobby Seal, whether 497 00:43:10.239 --> 00:43:16.000 this is dedicated to all the soldiers that are fighting in Vietnam or or fighting 498 00:43:16.519 --> 00:43:22.199 for other things, or fighting within themselves. You know, he was pretty 499 00:43:23.400 --> 00:43:28.519 non political, but he did. It did come out in his music and 500 00:43:28.840 --> 00:43:32.320 some comments here and there, and just the statements, you know, the 501 00:43:32.440 --> 00:43:37.639 things that he did made big statements. Like I said before, he had 502 00:43:37.639 --> 00:43:39.360 a lot of white girlfriends. That was a statement. He made a big 503 00:43:39.440 --> 00:43:45.920 statement with that. You know, without saying anything, just having a white 504 00:43:45.960 --> 00:43:52.280 girlfriends would piss off someone like Jay Gohoover. I don't know if you know 505 00:43:52.440 --> 00:43:55.519 this, but like, uh yeah, some years ago, a few years 506 00:43:55.559 --> 00:44:00.360 ago, this woman did a book on Jayed Gohover and she found doubt that 507 00:44:00.440 --> 00:44:04.800 he had black relatives. So he was a self hating black and uh, 508 00:44:05.480 --> 00:44:09.440 he threatened some of these relatives that if they came forward and and said that 509 00:44:09.559 --> 00:44:14.960 he had black relatives, that he would have them killed. And she did 510 00:44:15.000 --> 00:44:22.840 this whole research about this in a book. So that was interesting, perhaps 511 00:44:22.239 --> 00:44:28.199 perhaps of being frank for another day. Another conversation, Taby, what about 512 00:44:28.199 --> 00:44:30.480 the future of again, it's more than just a film, as I said, 513 00:44:30.519 --> 00:44:35.199 it's a series of films. Uh, what's where can people see it? 514 00:44:35.280 --> 00:44:37.559 What is the future? Do you have planned for more festivals? Will 515 00:44:37.559 --> 00:44:42.119 it go Netflix? What? What? What's what's going on with it? 516 00:44:42.199 --> 00:44:46.440 What's the the immediate future look like? Well, I'm just talking to people 517 00:44:46.559 --> 00:44:53.480 now and uh, I'd like to get on a streaming outlet and and get 518 00:44:53.559 --> 00:45:00.679 distribution. So we're talking to people now and probably gonna do a screening in 519 00:45:00.760 --> 00:45:07.960 the city for just industry people pretty soon. And yeah, that would be 520 00:45:07.119 --> 00:45:12.280 that would be the plan. To get it on a Netflix or Hulu or 521 00:45:13.519 --> 00:45:17.239 Showtime or paramount something like that would be good. But I know that the 522 00:45:17.360 --> 00:45:22.880 Hendricks estate has been bad, bad than me for years. I shouldn't say 523 00:45:22.000 --> 00:45:30.360 the estate. It's just a Jennie and and you know, they say they 524 00:45:30.440 --> 00:45:36.239 make up stories about me and slander me and say I'm a con artist, 525 00:45:36.320 --> 00:45:39.239 and all kinds of stuff like that, And and they tell people with film, 526 00:45:39.760 --> 00:45:46.159 don't license anything to him, don't sell any footage or photos to him. 527 00:45:47.320 --> 00:45:50.559 It's been going on for a long time, so that's one of the 528 00:45:51.000 --> 00:45:57.280 obstacles that I'm dealing with. You know, I didn't pick an easy subject 529 00:45:57.440 --> 00:46:00.400 matter. Is there any way people can see any clips of it now? 530 00:46:00.519 --> 00:46:04.599 Can you give a website or anything? I know, as I said, 531 00:46:04.639 --> 00:46:07.840 I had the privilege of seeing one of the segments at the Nayak Film Festival 532 00:46:07.920 --> 00:46:12.360 recently. Is there anywhere else people can go to see some of it? 533 00:46:12.559 --> 00:46:16.519 Some highlights, clips, trailers? No, not yet. I'm just trying 534 00:46:16.519 --> 00:46:21.880 to keep it under wraps speak for obvious reasons that we discussed, because I 535 00:46:21.920 --> 00:46:25.239 don't want to, you know, give it away so that give the state 536 00:46:25.719 --> 00:46:31.000 more ammunition to attack me. It's better that they don't see any of it 537 00:46:31.199 --> 00:46:37.119 until it's released officially, and you'll let us know when that day comes, 538 00:46:37.199 --> 00:46:39.760 and we'll have you back on and we can talk about it some more. 539 00:46:39.800 --> 00:46:45.280 And Jimmy Hendrix has been great. It'd be great. Love to I'd like 540 00:46:45.400 --> 00:46:52.000 to thank David Kramer for his intelligent conversation Jimmy Hendrix a documentary. He is 541 00:46:52.079 --> 00:46:54.840 the producer, writer, director, cameraman, et cetera. I know the 542 00:46:54.920 --> 00:47:00.639 feeling, and we thank him for his intelligent conversation. Of course, we 543 00:47:00.800 --> 00:47:04.199 offer special thanks to our listeners who take time to give us a voice in 544 00:47:04.280 --> 00:47:07.519 their lives. Remember, we offer fresh topic every week. You catch us 545 00:47:07.599 --> 00:47:14.239 whenever and wherever you get your favorite podcast that includes Apple, Spotify, iHeartRadio, 546 00:47:14.360 --> 00:47:17.159 all the rest. Check us out on the Hudson River Radio Facebook page. 547 00:47:17.639 --> 00:47:21.880 Leave us a comment, and like us. We also ask that you 548 00:47:22.000 --> 00:47:25.480 consider sharing being frank with others. I'm going to leave you, as usual 549 00:47:25.639 --> 00:47:30.079 with two last little things, a slogan that we feel is appropriate for our 550 00:47:30.159 --> 00:47:36.440 program, and this one comes from Jimi Hendrix himself and his probably most famous 551 00:47:36.960 --> 00:47:40.360 he said, when the power of love overcomes the love of power, the 552 00:47:40.480 --> 00:47:47.880 world will know peace. That's a misconceptions question here, Yes, explain while 553 00:47:47.920 --> 00:47:52.679 you're there, Go ahead. He didn't really say that he wrote that song 554 00:47:54.559 --> 00:48:00.920 with the power and that quote came from some else a long time ago, 555 00:48:00.480 --> 00:48:06.039 but he never actually said that. A lot of people think he did because 556 00:48:06.079 --> 00:48:08.679 he did that song with the power of soul, power of love. All 557 00:48:08.760 --> 00:48:13.559 that so great. Thank you for clarifying that, David. We appreciate it. 558 00:48:13.679 --> 00:48:15.320 That's great. That's why you're One other thing I wanted to say. 559 00:48:16.480 --> 00:48:22.559 One other thing I wanted to say. You asked about what will people learn 560 00:48:22.920 --> 00:48:28.599 or what will people take away or learn from your documentary. I was going 561 00:48:28.679 --> 00:48:32.880 to say, there's a lot of life lessons in the documentary for people, 562 00:48:34.760 --> 00:48:38.320 and I'll give you one of them, and that is, if you can 563 00:48:38.480 --> 00:48:45.440 have aspirations of becoming a professional musician, you better be really careful because it's 564 00:48:45.480 --> 00:48:52.000 a mind field out there, and the way that Hendricks got ripped off was 565 00:48:52.239 --> 00:48:57.679 absolutely despicable. So you know, I know there's a lot of young kids 566 00:48:57.760 --> 00:49:01.039 and they love music and they want it to be I mean, they want 567 00:49:01.079 --> 00:49:06.880 to be a rock star. Just be careful. It's not all fun and 568 00:49:07.000 --> 00:49:14.239 games. So that's how I think our engineer Neil Richter, who is also 569 00:49:14.280 --> 00:49:17.960 a drummer by trade, is relating to what you're saying right there. Again, 570 00:49:19.039 --> 00:49:22.519 we don't have video, but he's smiling and nodding away in the background 571 00:49:22.599 --> 00:49:25.719 there. Let that be the final word. Guys, bring a little music 572 00:49:25.800 --> 00:49:30.199 for you from my good friend David Snyder featuring Eric Lawrence, another good friend 573 00:49:30.280 --> 00:49:37.480 on the saxophone from his album Echoes of the Masters. It's you left Me 574 00:49:37.599 --> 00:49:39.719 in the dust and don't forget that. By the way, those guys are 575 00:49:39.760 --> 00:49:43.559 going to be at the Turning Point in May, the legendary turning Point in 576 00:49:43.599 --> 00:49:45.800 Piermont, with a great show. I'll be there, hopefully you can join 577 00:49:45.880 --> 00:49:50.400 us too. In the meantime, Thank you so much for listening to Being 578 00:49:50.519 --> 00:49:53.400 Frank, for Neil Richter and our guest David Kramer. I'm your host, 579 00:49:53.440 --> 00:49:57.960 Frank Lebono, and we certainly hope to see you on the next Being Frank, 580 00:49:58.000 --> 00:52:37.920 Where the only way to be is and as if a taste not happen 581 00:52:43.239 --> 00:54:27.039 and every and this is Hudson River Radio dot com.