Randy Hansen

Infobox musical artist | Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist | Instrument = Guitar
Name = Randy Hansen

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Born = birth date|1954|12|8|mf=y
Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.
Died =
Alias =
Genre = Jimi Hendrix tribute,
Psychedelic Rock,
Blues, Rock, R&B
Associated_acts =
Label = Grooveyard, Capitol
Notable_instruments = Fender Stratocaster
Years_active = 1977 -
URL = [http://www.randyhansen.com/home.htm www.randyhansen.com]

Randy Hansen (born December 8, 1954 in Seattle, Washington) is a U.S. guitarist, best known for his emulation of Jimi Hendrix. [http://www.genxentertainment.us/id3.html Artist Bio's] , Gen-X Entertainment Intl. Inc. Accessed 6 October 2008.] He clearly has a bit of physical resemblance to Hendrix in his facial features, and carries that resemblance further by emulating such signatures of Hendrix's style as playing a guitar with his teeth or behind his back.cn|date=October 2008 His music appeared in the 1979 film "Apocalypse Now", and his debut album was released in 1980 on Capitol Records.cn|date=October 2008 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 the late Stevie Ray Vaughn (writing a song about him called "Texas Twister" from his "Old Dogs New Tricks" CD). He has toured and played with literally 100s of famous musicians and groups.cn|date=October 2008

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. 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 Vaughn, and others, and were written up by "Rolling Stone" and "Guitar Player". [ [http://pnwbands.com/machinegun.html Randy Hansen's Machine Gun] , Pacific Northwest Bands. Accessed 6 October 2008.]

After his debut album, his emphasis continued to be on original releases emulating the Jimi Hendrix style of composition, in addition to including large numbers of Hendrix compositions in his live shows. He had a brief stint in the 1980s with a band that played a more contemporary style but, failing to gain a record contract of note, quickly returned to his main source of success as a Hendrix imitator. 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, Hansen has increasingly turned to Europe for his live show tour dates due to greater interest from that market. 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 Seattle and around the U.S.cn|date=October 2008

Hansen has three self-released CDs of original music in print, none of them well-distributed but all available online: "Old Dogs New Tricks", "Good Intentions" and "Tower of Love". He continues to live in Seattle.

As of 2008, Hansen 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.

Discography

* "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)
* "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" DVD (Grooveyard, 2005):Source: [ [http://www.jazzhausbooking.com/Randy_Hansen-en Randy Hansen (USA)] , Jazzhaus Booking (Germany). Accessed 6 October 2008.] [The Grooveyard releases are listed on [http://www.grooveyardrecords.com/discs.html Grooveyard Discs] on the Grooveyard site, Accessed 6 October 2008.]

Notes

External links

* [http://www.randyhansen.com/ Randy Hansen] , official site
* [http://independentartistscompany.com/artist.aspx?ID=106028 Randy Hansen] at IACMusic.com