The Flask pays tribute to Hendrix

July 11, 2007

One of this week’s highlights at the National Cherry Festival will be when hometown rocker Kenny Olson takes the Bayside Entertainment stage on Thursday, July 12. Olson carved out a name for himself as the lead guitarist during a 12-year stint with Kid Rock. Now, he will take center stage with his new band and a couple of friends who are flying in to help create what Kenny hopes to be the longest encore in rock music history.
“We are going to give Traverse City and the Cherry Festival a full shot of The Flask first. We have been fine-tuning ourselves the past two years, working through the bugs of the music industry and we are ready to launch,” said Olson. “Then I have some special guests coming onstage to perform a super-long encore tribute to Jimi Hendrix.”
Those guests include Jimi Hendrix Band of Gypsies’ bass player Billy Cox and guitar phenomenon Eric Gales (discovered by BB King). Olson is very close to the Hendrix family and plays numerous “official” Hendrix tribute concerts. He was asked by the family to perform at the Jimi Hendrix 60th birthday celebration. The concert was recorded and released by the Hendrix family. Olson also spearheaded the Hendrix tribute album “Power Of Soul,” which features Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Sting and others.
“Kenny is a great guitar player,” said Cox. “It has been a real treat to join him on stage. I am looking forward to coming to his hometown.”

CLOSE FRIENDS
Cox was one of Hendrix’s closest friends. The two met while serving the army together. When Hendrix formed his Jimi Hendrix Experience band he asked Cox to join, but the bassist declined, as he preferred being independent and working in various backing bands. Cox would later join Hendrix and playWoodstock with him.
There was dissension in the Hendrix management and The Band of Gypises was fired after a dismal Hendrix performance at Madison Square Garden (no fault of the band, as Hendrix was high on LSD). The original members of the Experience (Mitch Mitchell on drums and Noel Redding on bass) were flown over from England to replace Cox and Miles. But Hendrix preferred Cox; he fired Redding and took back Cox.
“It was a long time ago,” said Cox. “I prefer to focus on honoring Jimi’s memory.”
So does Olson, who is also excited about having fellow guitarist Eric Gales on stage with him.
“We have had a lot of good times together on stage,” said Olson. “I know the Cherry Festival and Traverse City crowd is going to be blown away by his playing.”

A GREAT RUN
As for Olson he is pleased with the direction his new band is heading and happy to be over the hurdles of leaving Kid Rock and recent record label challenges.
“I get asked about it all the time. Sure, it was hard from a friendship standpoint to leave Bob (Kid Rock). We had that Mick and Keith type of relationship,” said Olson. “We had a great run together for 12 years but I needed a change. I have some things I want to do that I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish by staying in the band. We are still friends and we talk every so often.”
The biggest adjustment for Olson has been giving up some of the things he had grown accustomed to.
“We were playing to large crowds at major venues around the world,” said Olson. “I was traveling every day in limos and staying at five-star hotels and eating at five-star restaurants. All that stuff is great, but it doesn’t satisfy that inner creative hunger I have. I was born to be a musician. This is probably the only thing I am capable of doing. So now I have returned to where I was at 20 years ago. What I like to call rock and roll boot camp. It is a lot of fun.”
Olson speaks with pride of what he accomplished during his run with Kid Rock, including his guitar work on several CDs that collectively sold more than 30 million copies. He has also made numerous friends, and guitar players that he once idolized are now his peers. Gibson even created a Kenny Olson Les Paul Signature Model guitar, an honor that has only been bestowed on top guitarists.
While Olson has used his industry connections to open doors he hopes that his new band, The Flask, will carve out their own legacy.
“It was like déjà vu all over again. When I first got started and thinking I was going to make it,” reflects Olson. “Everything was set and then we had label issues. The Internet has really changed everything and we got caught in this big label shake-up and our album that was suppose to release last year will come out next month.”

DEAL IN THE WORKS
Olson and The Flask have just signed a major deal, but he is not at liberty to discuss details until the attorneys finalize everything. He has a new management company, and the new label is excited about releasing the album that was mixed by Eddie Kramer, whose engineering work for Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Traffic, Kiss and others has become legendary.
“I am a huge fan of Kenny’s and I considered it an honor when he asked me to be a part of the project,” said Kramer (who turns down most requests these days).
After the Cherry Festival, Olson and The Flask will head into rehearsals in preparation of a fall tour.
“I should be able to announce something at the end of July in regard to the album and the tour,” said Olson. “We are working on a major tour for the fall. Things are finally falling into place for the band.”
His focus right now is to give Cherry Festival attendees a taste of his version of rock and roll.
“The Flask is about bringing back that raw rock and roll power and energy,” said Olson. “I have surrounded myself with a talented group of guys who share the same vision. We are anxious and we are ready to explode.”

MYSPACE FRIENDS
During the past two years The Flask has performed a handful of concert’s including opening for Kid Rock last year at Boyne Mountain. Olson’s work with Kid Rock created a huge fan base for the guitarist. The Flask’s MySpace site has more than 15,000 friends on board.
“That’s all,” laughs Olson. “Kid Rock has a huge fan base and so that doesn’t surprise me. I know fans were disappointed that I left but they have been real supportive of me and The Flask.”
Olson also is looking forward to giving his hometown fans and those visiting a taste of Hendrix.
“We have done these Hendrix tributes all over the country and tickets are usually pretty pricey, so this is a great deal,” said Olson. “Billy played in the original Woodstock and I performed at the 30th Woodstock anniversary concert. It was at that concert that I met the Hendrix family and Jimi’s father took me in like a son. So this encore tribute to Jimi (this is the 40th anniversary of Hendrix’s famed Monterrey Pop Festival performance) means a lot to me. To have someone who played with Hendrix in to join me, and then to have Eric, who has the Hendrix spirit in him, onstage is going to be great, and I hope something that people around here will be talking about for years to come.”

Kenny Olson and his band The Flask perform Thursday, July 12 at the National Cherry Festival Bayside Entertainment Stage. The evening will be highlighted by an extended encore tribute to Jimi Hendrix featuring Billy Cox and Eric Gales. For a sneak preview of The Flask, check out myspace/theflask.com. Additional details on the National Cherry Festival may be found at cherryfestival.org