Greetings! Finally got my hands on a bottle of the newest in the rock star beverage market, Hendrix Electric Vodka. As the company website (www.houseofhendrix.com) boasts, "In a mere 5-year period, his innovative spirit, unrestrained artistic vision and many electrifying experiences catapulted Jimi Hendrix from the status of studio session guitarist to that of rock legend. Inspired by the same sense of innovation and artistic vision, Hendrix Electric Vodka is a super-premium spirit offering the smooth flavor and purity of true vodka. The 100% grain, carbon and crystal filtered vodka is presented in original colored glass bottles that are nothing short of fine art."

Wow. Now that's quite a claim to live up to. The vodka's the creation of entrepreneur Craig Dieffenbach, who funded Leon Hendrix's suit of the Hendrix estate a few years back. The suit was lost, but Craig's always had a knack for bouncing back, and the vodka's been getting plenty of write-ups. I find it to have a bit of sharpness, especially when consumed straight, but the bottle is undeniably nice; square, with frosted glass. It's also on the pricey side-a 750 ml bottle will set you back $30, which means I won't be drinking it much. I'm more a Gordon's girl, upgrading to Stoli when I'm feeling flush.

But you might not get the chance to drink it if the Hendrix estate has its way, for, surprise surprise, they've filed a suit, claiming trademark infringement, and they've taken exception to comments from Dieffenbach about his product like "It's like drinking with Jimi. The drunker you get, the more you think you're with him." Meanwhile, the estate plans to launch its own non-alcoholic beverage, "Liquid Experience," one of those new-fangled "energy drinks."

Neither beverage is listed as a sponsor at the Seattle International Film Festival, so if you're attending any of their parties you'll have to content yourself with Pyramid Ales, wines from Sterling Vineyards, Freixenet sparkling wine, and Vitamin Water. Depending on when you read this, you may have time to get a ticket to Kurt Cobain: About A Son, which screens June 22 at the Neptune. It's the only screening for the film at SIFF, but I suspect it'll have a return engagement. The film's by AJ Schnack, whose previous work includes the documentary Gigantic: A Tale of Two Johns about the band They Might Be Giants. About A Son is based on the interviews Cobain did with author Michael Azerrad for his Nirvana biog Come As You Are; thus, Kurt gets to narrate his own film.

It's not a conventional documentary. Schnack describes as a "dreamscape," as there's little footage of the band; instead, Schnack captures the three places where Cobain spent most of his life, Aberdeen, Olympia, and Seattle. "The notion is that it is kind of a dream, in a way," Schnack explains. "I'm really big on the idea of sense of place, and to me, Aberdeen, Olympia and Seattle are very specific places, and, strangely, they're an hour away from each other but they're completely different.

That's a big part of Kurt's story. Most people just focus on the Aberdeen part of it; to me, Olympia is so huge. I feel when people get to know these three cities it will completely influence how they're viewing Kurt by the end of the film."

Twenty-five hours of interviews were distilled to 90 minutes. "He's such a complete person in the tapes," says Schnack, "and thinking back to being 25, which was the age he was for most of the interviews, I think people will be surprised, especially those who just expect some drug addict. Because the material is so rich, and because it's never been heard before, the idea of adding interviews to it from some other source seemed to be really diluting the power of what we had. I just wanted people to get to know him. I just wanted people to have an opportunity to spend an hour and a half listening to him tell a story. It's that simple."

Here's some other SIFF picks: Black Sheep, a midnight screening at the Neptune right after About A Son on June 2. I've only been able to see the trailer, and it was hysterical; it's a tongue-in-cheek thriller about killer sheep in New Zealand (tagline: "Prepare yourself for the VIOLENCE of the LAMBS"). Black White + Gray, a documentary about Robert Mapplethorpe's patron, Sam Wagstaff (Patti Smith is also interviewed prominently), June 13 at the Harvard Exit, June 14 at the Egyptian; Blood on the Flat Track: The Rise of the Rat City Rollergirls, June 14 and 16, both at the Neptune; Ghandi My Father, June 14 at Lincoln Square, June 16 at the Egyptian; Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten June 3 and 5 at SIFF Cinema (director Julien Temple gives a talk prior to the June 5 screening); and Poltergay, about a couple who finds their new home is haunted by gay ghosts with a penchant for disco, June 7 and 9, both at the Egyptian. For more info: www.seattlefilm.org.

Search the Belltown Messenger Archives

Custom Search