It seems like we've been waiting ages for the legendary Jimi Hendrix biopic to come to fruition. And now that its' imminent release is upon us--premiering this week at SXSW-- the film's musical director and producer Danny Bramson (of Almost Famous, Vanilla Sky and Jerry MaGuire) has stepped out from behind his veil to reconcile our expectations for All Is By My Side with the immense accomplishment of having a coherent film based on the life of a legend without any of that artist's original music in the film. One could imagine that having a right-handed Andre 3000 starring as the most notorious left-handed guitarist the world over might be a bit of a problem to men of a lesser constitution. However, Bramson spoke to how he designed a routine with a (very) patient teacher to develop 3K's left hand to the point where he could really sell the role and never really questioned the musician-turned-actor's ability, claiming that "he was the only choice."
He touched a bit on how the soundtrack came together, claiming to opt for the "songs less travelled", including some bluesy Dylan and Buddy Guy B-sides. For those familiar with the Jimi narrative, the acquisition of The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper" was of utmost importance, as it was his electric cover of that title-track at The Saville Theatre in London that garnered Paul McCartney and John Lennon's attention three days after their own album dropped. That performance got the Jimi Hendrix Experience their breakout gig at the Monterey Pop Festival, from which point there simply was no stopping the power trio until Noel Redding left the group in early 69'. For all these stories and more, you can head over to Billboard for the full scoop and a new clip from the film.
