Jimi Hendrix's half sister, Janie, is the woman who has been steering the course of the Hendrix estate for the last decade or so, or perhaps even longer if the stories of her manipulation of Al Hendrix (her and Jimi's father) are to believed. She has established her own company, specializing in the embarrassingly soul-less franchising, exploitation and general blood sucking of Jimi Hendrix.
"Boxer shorts!!! Get your Jimi Hendrix boxer shorts here!!"
Read this laughable story, detailing Gibson Guitar's plan to market a Janie Hendrix-approved cheap n' ugly clone of Hendrix's preferred instrument, the Fender Stratocaster, in a sickening and desperate lunge to suck a wee bit more money from Hendrix's bones.
"This is the ultimate tribute to the greatest guitarist who ever lived," says Janie Hendrix.
HA!!!
Yes, he was the greatest but this ill-conceived 'tribute' just plain makes me sick.
Congratulations Janie Hendrix! You have succeeded in presenting yourself as the world's most an unimaginative leech.
Why would a respectable company like Gibson stoop so low? Is the economy so bad? They are a well established and iconic company, having produced some of the world's finest instruments for over 150 years. Can they be hurting that badly? Doubtful. I guarantee their Les Paul model will never go out of style. Why pillage the legacy of a great musician just to make a few paltry bucks at the expense of cheapening a long standing reputation of quality? Are Gibson and Janie Hendrix really going to make a bundle of $ here? My prediction: No!
I'm willing to bet that money grubbing was never on Jimi Hendrix's mind. Today, it's a damn shame that others who never even knew him can so shamefully profit off his image. I guess it is better that someone from the Hendrix family might profit off this crap (as opposed to another Alan Douglas) but I am also fairly certain that the legendary guitarist would simply be embarrassed by this latest turn of events. Janie Hendrix: if you are hurting for money, why not spend some more time creating new ways for fans to experience Hendrix's music in the form of CD reissues or live concert DVDs? Howsabout promoting some kind of musical education for kids in Jimi's name? If you're going to profit off his image, why not do it in a way that contributes to others in a positive way instead of just scraping the barrel with this uninspired junk for your own $.02.
Shame on you.
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1 comment:
Just because they can do this doesn't mean they should. I can't believe that someone at Gibson didn't stop to say this is a terrible idea.
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