"A Touch of Hendrix: The Social Impact Of Jimi And His Music - Guitarist Michael Fairchild is known throughout the northeastern United States for his studied replication of Jimi Hendrix, touring with his band, Fairchild has reignited the fire in the spirit of fans longing for more Hendrix since his death over 15 years ago. But the performance aspect of Hendrix is really an end to a means for Michael's research of Jimi and the social implications. He studies Hendrix with a ferver for detail unlike anyone we've ever seen. He's currently compiling all of his research into a book. 'There is so much to say regarding Hendrix that I can't mention any one aspect without a flood of pertinent tangents entering my mind,' Fairchild expresses. 'Many people who are deeply affected by Jimi's music and life encounter unusual coincidences pertaining to this relationship'...The primary base for the book is a critical evaluation of Jimi's performances coupled with analysis of their meaning and implications when cross-sectioned with the social and cultural events of that period...'There is much unknown significance to Jimi's activities and relationship to historical and social currents occurring simultaneously...I explore and analyze the psychology of Hendrix fans and collectors. It's a strange phenomenon,
illustrative of elitism and the enforced inequality that causes so many to suffer under this social order.'"
- Voodoo Child Magazine Spring 1986
Mitch Mitchell (Jimi's drummer) & Michael Fairchild in NYC - Voodoo Child Magazine 1987
"One of the bands we have to pay the most respect to is the Rochester, New York-based Michael Fairchild and
EXP. Fairchild is the most studied, and in performance can reproduce all of Jimi's stage antics, create the full-blown fuzz-feedback guitar, and maintain a band with explosive rhythm section. With the inverted Strat in hand, and duplication of Hendrix's effects pedals under foot, Fairchild and company pull nearly 100 songs into their repertoire. After hearing a tape, Billy Cox told him, 'The way you sound, you're destined to carry on the spirit of Jimi.' Fairchild has taken time off from performing to complete his
book 'A Touch Of Hendrix,' analyzing Jimi's performances and recordings and correlating them with their scio-political importance of the period."
- Voodoo Child Magazine Spring 1987
"Statistics were compiled by my discographical collaborator on this tome, historian Michael Fairchild, who also notes ironically that 'an interesting aspect of the
Smash Hits album is that none of the songs were 'Smash Hits' in the U.S. The highest position reached here by any of the singles was #20...' Fairchild notes further...that the Reprise version [of
Red House] 'was of a slightly superior quality than the Track Records version, including a version of
Can You See Me? with lyrics different to the Track version...The song was never released as a single, but it was a staple of Hendrix's early club dates'...says Hendrix historian Michael Fairchild."
- Noe Goldwasser in Hendrix Smash Hits - The Complete Lyrics and Lead Sheets Hal Leonard Publishing 1990
"Michael Fairchild is the most integrated advocate of the Jimi Hendrix lagacy. As the authorized Hendrix Estate musicologist, he will be presenting the first ever multimedia portrayal of the origins and impact of Hendrix and the legend that ensued."
- RockFest Convention Booklet, Los Angeles - June 1990
"
RockFest - a convention celebrating Rock & Roll, took place June 30/July 1 in Los Angeles, California. Among the main events that occurred was a special 60 minute audio/visual presentation by authorized musicologist Michael Fairchild. After the exhibition of highlights from Jimi's career, Michael entered into a very thought-provoking question and answer period with the audience."
- Straight Ahead Magazine - August 1990
"Producer Alan Douglas, who worked with Hendrix in 1969 and 1970 and is curator of much of Hendrix's recorded material, says that the
Monkees tour 'didn't mean a thing, it was just a tour of a young group.' But according to Michael Fairchild, an advocate of Hendrix's legacy, and author of who works with Douglas, the departure from the
Monkees tour gave the Experience tremendous publicity...and eventually became part of the Hendrix mythos. When asked if the
Monkees tour was a good thing for Hendrix to have done, Fairchild answered 'yes.'"
- The Gainesville Sun (Florida) - September 14, 1990
"Michael Fairchild is helping the Jimi Hendrix Estate research a book being coordinated by author Peter Neal tentatively titled
Jimi Hendrix: In His Own Words, featuring transcribed interviews and quotes from Hendrix."
- Voodoo Child Magazine - Autumn 1990
"Michael Fairchild is the worldwide acknowledged expert on Jimi Hendrix. Alan Douglas, who has been in charge of the Hendrix recordings for 20 years, has said that 'Fairchild probably knows more about Jimi Hendrix than anyone in the world.' His articles have appeared in numerous publications and he is currently seeking a publisher for his book,
A Touch Of Hendrix. It is a 537-page book about Hendrix, peace rallies, pop festivals, race riots, and Vietnam. Fairchild decided to explore the mechanics of Hendrix's music by playing it live with his band,
EXP. Fairchilld, vocalist and guitarist, has received positive (if you'll excuse the pun) feedback from critics and crowds alike."
- Music Revue Grand Rapids - November 1990
"The story we're really excited about is Michael Fairchild's meticulously researched expose on Jimi's live music. This article is a must for Hendrix fans. Fairchild, a brilliant player and writer, takes us on a tour of more than 100 audience-made Hendrix concert tapes and provides vital information. Discovering new Hendrix music is the rock equivelent to finding the Holy Grail, and Mr. Fairchild has apparently hit the jackpot."
- Brad Tolinski - Guitar School Magazine - November 1990
[In the early 1990s I originated and developed the Jimi Hendrix Exhibiton. When the Exhibtion premiered in London in 1992, the programme guide for the event carried a credit for my work which read, in part, "Michael Fairchild: Author, journalist, writer and guitar player...He has contributed sleeve notes to
Cornerstones..."
A year later the
Democrat & Chronicle newspaper carried my comments about this album: "'Hendrix gives me these stories,' [Fairchilld] says, discussing
Cornerstones, the Hendrix compilation album he helped assemble for PolyGram Records."
Cornerstones is an album that I selected the songs for, arranged into a sequence, came up with the title, and wrote the liner notes for. On January 13, 1991, the local city newpaper in my hometown, Rochester, ran a five column article titled "Hendrix Still A Phenom In Britain", and reported: "Two decades gone, Hendrix is a briskly moving product. Polydor's
Cornerstones album hit the top-five and will shortly go platinum in Britain." My hometown newspaper actually deleted any mention that I had put the album together and wrote the liner notes for it! And it would not be the last time they did this, there are several incidents where local media ran reports on Hendrix projects that I had originated or worked on and excluded any mention of me. This is a revealing phenomenon that's analyzed in the lectures and movies currently in production, especially the acedemic lectures on the topic of psychology surrounding perceptions of Hendrix.]