Randy Hansen

Raised in Seattle, Washington, USA, guitarist Hansen first attracted attention as a member of nightclub act Kid Chrysler And The Cruisers. The group’s tongue-in-cheek repertoire encompassed several styles of popular music, but was marked by the musician’s imperturbable pastiche of Jimi Hendrix. Having formed a trio, Machine Gun, in 1977, Hansen took his tribute on tour, but achieved a greater notoriety when he contributed Hendrix-influenced effects to the film soundtrack of Apocalypse Now. This in turn engendered a management agreement with San Francisco-based entrepreneur David Rubinson, who began promoting his client as an artist in his own right. Randy Hansen comprised original material that sadly paled in comparison with that of his mentor. Hendrix’s songs still provided the focal point of the guitarist’s live act, and in 1984 he reverted completely to the role of imitator by joining drummer Buddy Miles in a revamped version of Band Of Gypsies. The 90s saw Hansen working as part of a tribute revue with original Hendrix bass player Noel Redding.