Jimi Hendrix Gets Canned

Mon., Jan. 29, 2007 3:03 PM PST by Sarah Hall

The Jimi Hendrix experience will soon come in a bottle.

A Los Angeles-area beverage company has obtained licensing rights to the rock legend's name and image to market a new line of nonalcoholic energy drinks called the Liquid Experience.

The drink line's name is, of course, a reference to Hendrix's 1967 breakthrough album, Are You Experienced? The product is slated to debut in April.

As a product of the pre-Red Bull era, the late "Purple Haze" singer might seem an unlikely selection for the role of energy drink pitchman. However, Beverage Concepts, the company behind the Liquid Experience, vowed that the line would compliment the musician's lingering mystique.

"Beverage Concepts is committed to providing in our beverage line the same level of excitement, undefined coolness, rock 'n' roll feel and unprecedented taste that is synonymous with the Jimi Hendrix image," Beverage Concepts CEO Josh Glass said in a presentation at the NAMM show in Anaheim, California, earlier this month.

Glass told E! Online that he found Hendrix to be the "perfect selection" to serve as the inspiration for the venture, based on the musician's ability to transcend social boundaries and unite people from all backgrounds during his lifetime.

"Jimi is such a powerful image," Glass said Monday. "He really changed history."

He said he hoped the Liquid Experience would act as a tool to educate a new generation about the Hendrix legacy, adding that a portion of the proceeds from beverage sales will be donated to an as-yet unnamed charitable foundation.

"What we are looking to impress upon the world is that by using Jimi's legendary status and ability to unify people, we can continue this even though Jimi is no longer with us," Glass said.

"There is a direct relationship here that can be positive."

After releasing the initial line of energy drinks, Glass said the company plans to launch lines of Hendrix-inspired herbal tea and vitamin-infused water.

Though the Hendrix family has voiced support for the beverage venture, some fans have expressed dismay over what they perceive to be the ongoing commercialization of the rock legend by Authentic Hendrix, the Seattle-based company that controls use of his name and image.

In the years since Hendrix's death in 1970, Authentic Hendrix, has authorized products ranging from Hendrix-brand air fresheners to a diaper cover reading "Are You Experienced?" across the rear.

Additional items stocked by the Authentic Hendrix online store include official Hendrix lava lamps, Christmas tree ornaments, cell phone covers and an array of coffee mugs and water bottles.

That Authentic Hendrix has donated some of the proceeds from past licensing deals to causes including the United Negro College Fund serves as little consolation to the late rocker's most dedicated fans.

"To see his image and the beautiful feelings it has created during my lifetime cheapened by base advertising is very disappointing to me," Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea told the Los Angeles Times last week.