So here I am, back from a long weekend in Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany, where I went to attend a wedding. Nothing particularly noteworthy to share in the music department, other than to say: you think American wedding bands are bad? Try dancing to a German one, Jack! (Side note/confession: I did in fact boogie down to a medley of Boney M’s finest hits.)

Anyway, I write to discuss a revelatory experience that struck me as having relevance to the world of Rock, and it’s this that I want to briefly describe to Townsman Great48 and the rest of you.

See, I knew going in to this wedding that the bride’s family was a.) very happy to see their wonderful daughter married; and b.) on the upper end of the economic scale — but I didn’t realize the family would pay to have the whole weekend catered by a Michelin two-star restaurant. And so it was that I was served jellied this, served in a reduction of that, next to stone-roasted the other thing, for two solid days. Pretty amazing.

But my last meal — in a beer hall in Zurich the night before I flew home — was the one that really knocked me on my keister: a huge plate of braised pig’s knuckle, home-made sauerkraut and boiled potato. Nothing fancy — at all — but I washed it down with first a Swiss lager, then a crazy good Dunkel, and I was astonished at how much more satisfying this meal was for me. And I’m a snob about these things!

As I sat there wolfing this down, I thought: there must be interesting analogs to my Swiss food experience in the collective brain trust known as Rock Town Hall. I mean, I feel certain that without thinking too hard, G48 and the rest of you can share stories about otherwise delicious, rich, complex Rock *that you loved hearing* in the same way that I loved every minute of fancy foodiness over the wedding weekend — that suddenly paled in comparison to the simple gustatory delights found in a slab of hard-charging Rock meatloaf, once you weaned yourself off the fancy stuff.

Am I making sense here, or is my jet lag forcing me to stretch things a bit too far?

I want reports!

HVB

During the mid 70’s, Randy Hansen played professionally in the Las Vegas style show band called “Kid Chrysler and the Cruisers”. Within the floorshow, individual band members developed impersonations of famous rock stars. Subsequently Hansen created the first Jimi Hendrix Tribute act, for the reason of love, the music and the people he sought after keeping Jimi’s music alive.

Hansen breaks new ground in Rock & Roll’s history in 1975, by pioneering the first Rock Tribute act in the United States and soon spreads though out the world.

In 1978, while further exploring the Hendrix role, Hansen formed “Machine Gun”. A tribute to Jimi Hendrix, with a wig and make-up, the moves perfected and the songs duplicated note for note. As the transition was complete, he went on tour opening shows for another young Northwest band called “Heart”.

That’s not all, folks!