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Published: August 19th 2010
Are You Experienced? The Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum, Seattle, Wa. Bonus: Hendrix’s gravesite in Renton, Washington.
Thursday, August 12, 2010 (Hendrix site: August 19th) Of course, Jimi Hendrix being from Seattle provides an excellent excuse to open a museum in his honor, which is exactly what Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen did in 2000, with the building designed by Frank Gehry. His personal music collection, beginning with the purchase of an assorted lot of Hendrix’s person effects, was too precious to be locked away in some McMansion. This leads us to the Experience Music Project, the “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame” of the left coast.
Situated at the base of the Space Needle, the $15 dollar admission price ($12 for students/teachers) covers both the Experience Music Project (EMP) and the Science Fiction Museum (I’m not a big fan of Science Fiction, but my girlfriend Jennifer is, so since I’m already here…).
I found the museum to be interesting enough, but somewhat small. On display are Hendrix’s various wardrobes, the Fender Stratocaster guitar that he played the
Star Spangled Banner on early Monday morning—the last song played at Woodstock, an overwhelming guitar/musical instrument tree, and a special
exhibit featuring the gowns owned and worn by Supreme’s singer Mary Wilson.
Of course, the “Northwest Passage” of the museum highlights Seattle’s famous grunge scene, and features some Nirvana material (and a special exhibit of Kurt Cobain-inspired art/photographs).
The Science Fiction Museum, very small in size, featured the robot sidekick of Buck Rogers in the old T.V. show (Umm…I later learned his name is Twiki), a Storm Trooper outfit from Star Wars, and the original Captain’s chair used in the original Star Trek. The fans were not as geeky as I would’ve imagined, but I did see one Lord of the Rings fan sporting a walking cane with a wooden troll face carved into its handle.
All in all, it’s worth the entry fee, but don’t expect the museum to take more than 2 hours. I did splurge and purchase
Stones in Exile, the new Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street documentary. In addition, the obligatory postcards (I bought 2 of Gene Simmons' boots).
As a bonus, there’s also a few pictures of Jimi’s grave memorial, which I stopped by in Renton, Wa., on the return trip to Seattle. There was one other
fan there, but otherwise the cemetery is empty. Hendrix has a great view of Mt. Rainier in the distance.
Long live Rock! Short live Science Fiction!
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