He’s not Jimi Hendrix. To be fair, no one is, or can be. It’s an impossible comparison to live up to. But when you have a song like “English Tea” and your first and last name have the same suffix as the legendary guitarist, perhaps it’s inevitable.
The singer/guitarist’s given name is Willie Creagh, but the way he tells it, “At one point I was thinking, maybe my name should be something like John Fire. I picked up the moniker of Phoenix from a movie. The ‘ix’ from Hendrix never crossed my mind” he said to College News.
Aside from the name thing, a quick listen to “English Tea” leads to the direct comparison. The fuzzy, blues guitar is a start. The swirling pedal effects also help. The fact that he name-drops “Jimi” in the lyrics makes a direct comparison downright assured.
At a time when bands are constantly pulling from the style of 60s classics like The Beatles and The Grateful Dead, it’s surprising that there aren’t more Hendrix wannabes. I tell Phoenix he reminds me of Jimi and he says he’s heard it before a number of times, but knows it’s not something he’ll ever be.
“Thanks for the comparison, but we all know there’s only one Jimi,” he tells me.
Willie plays in a four piece and spices up the sound with a conga and a regular drum kit, giving them a touch of Latin percussion. His latest album, Plastic Blues came out at the beginning of 2008 and Willie’s been working on a possible double album for 2009. He says he has 32 songs he’s been mastering.
While “English Tea” has a 60s psychedelic sound, a lot of the album is more of a bluesy sound. Hearing Willie describe what his influences are, one gets the sense that Phoenix is a man who loves his blues-rock.
“I love for instance, yes, I love Hendrix, Cream, Buddy Miles’ Electric Flag, a lot of those bands from the 60s, period. I think the time for the art was so fertile, so ripe. From every indication, it was a magical time.”
Check out Willie’s new single, “Hello” for a magical time of your own.
More College News Music:
