Pumping Up Jimi Hendrix On DVD

by Brad Balfour

When former Jimi Hendrix Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell died suddenly this November, not only did a crucial witness to a seminal moment in rock history expire but a chapter closed on an era and a sound. His band mate Hendrix defined a rock sound, a guitar playing style and established an attitude that still remains inspirational and awe-inspiring.

Hendrix's discs still sell, tribute bands abound, and museums exist because of him. Now, thanks to the discovery of some long-lost celluloid, a documentary that's both a porn film and funky archive that could be in the Museum of Sex is being distributed by the creative porn empire of Vivid Entertainment.

So it's not like Hendrix ever lost his mojo. In a weird karmic way this DVD adds a new chapter of life to a rock and roll legend. Though Hendrix never needed to prove that his credentials as a testosterone-infused guitar god were authentic, this DVD gives ample proof that he could handle hot hippie babes giving and getting pleasure--and with this set in hand we all can see it's not just hearsay.

Ironically, I also saw Hair this summer, staged outside in Central Park by The Public Theater. Shades of hippie glory; viewing it offered a flashback to another time and to dreams of liberation—love, sex and good pot. Though "Hair," this "tribal-rock musical," was a comparatively PG-13 rated experience, the flash of full-fledged collective nudity stirred recollections of counter-cultural exhalations and my own experiences with women during the time. Lots of hairy pussies and underarms, sweaty bodies and women wearing loose-fitting clothes with little or no underpants and bras. A grand time of jiggly action and equal passion for sex.

Then this DVD was laid on me containing this example of Hendrix legendary long lost sex tapes that were found by a collector at some flea market. Yes it's him—it's got to be—no matter what the Hendrix estate says. And he's having lots of fun with his two brunette, big-boobed companions—one is a curly haired, and curvy; the other has straight hair and unshaven pits.

Nobody has any guilt or seems to be shy before the camera as they dive in on Hendrix or each other. They aren't posing or acting before the camera (well, maybe a little bit) but even so, they're doing everything without shame or any sense of exploitation. And these clips are purely amateur—not like Reality TV or "amateur" vids as they are today.

No doubt Hendrix wanted to have this for his days in the old age home where he could recall fondly all his adventures. Unfortunately he never made it—he died of a an overdose at 27; if not we might have had a whole library of films and videos from him.

Besides the erotic fare of these scant minutes of Hendrix in action, this documentary contains interviews with some of the groupies that knew him and a tale of how the film was found. There are some interesting people that were tracked down and interviewed such as Cynthia Plaster Caster so we can fantasize about them being eaten by Hendrix's oft displayed tongue in their youth as well.

With this DVD and that bit of theater, one can recall that time of sexual liberation and equal opportunity fucking. Just as his music was a soaring expression of freedom, so is this 45 minute DVD--it's not done with intent of fortunes to be made in porn but to express the raw and untrammelled lust of the time. The innocence and simple joy of these three fucking and sucking in a dimly lit bedroom immortalized a love of Hendrix in other ways than sonically.