J
Jimi Lott The Seattle Times
A spiraling cyclone of guitars (above) and other instuments greets visitors to the Experience Music Project in
Seattle. The entrance (below) is the most tame part of the buildings’ trademark curvatious exterior.
If this spring break Aids you in Seattle, stop by the Experience Music Project
for a trip down rock ‘n’ roll lane. BY USA ERIEFIN6
If your soul needs to be rocked
this spring break, take a stroll to
Seattle’s Experience Music Pro
ject. It may cast you into a strato
sphere of groove found only in your
dreams.
Start off by jamming on your in
strument of choice with four band
members. Then, go on stage while
eager fans pump up your adrena
line. It may be a dream come true.
To experience this for yourself, sim
ply enter the on-stage section of the
EMP, in Seattle, Wash.
“You go backstage with four or
five people, and each person picks
an instrument and a band name.
Then, you have a virtual audience
of screaming fans — you name the
band, play as a band, and it’s so loud
that no matter how bad you play, it
sounds good,” said EMP public re
lations manager Paige Prill. “Wild
Thing is the song that people get to
play, but it’s different versions of
that song.”
According to the Web site,
www.emplive.com, EMP is a
$240,000,000 creation with three
floors of 80,000 artifacts, once
owned by musicians who have
shaped the history of music.
“It’s the world’s largest interac
tive music museum,” Prill said. “It
allows people to focus on music.
You see them and listen and under
stand the exhibits. Then you get to
play the instruments.” Prill recom
mends people go through it in two
visits.
The journey begins with the
EMP’s structure. Frank O. Gehry’s
design was meant to convey the
“evolving, ever-changing” state of
rock‘n’roll music.
“It’s flashy architecture — it’s
trendy but controversial. It doesn’t
respond to the buildings — it does
n’t fit in with Seattle very well,”
said Anna deAnguera, a former
EMP employee and a junior at the
University. “It
represents the I
spirit of rock
’n’roll.”
DeAnguera,
an architec
ture major, ex
plained that
EMP is sup
posed to look
like a left
handed guitar i
— the handle 1
being the gl
monorail.
“People are |
in awe of it,” J;
Prill said. Z.
“Materials
used for the §
building were II
not environ
mentally responsible,” said
deAnguera, adding that “there are
no windows so it was like working
in a cave.”
After paying admission, one en
counters an instructor who explains
the museum exhibit guide, or MEG.
It is a “three-pound hand-held hard
drive with 12 hours of audio — it’s a
self-guided tour,” Prill said. MEG is
composed of a set of earphones and
a waist strap with a digital object
that resembles a remote control.
“Everyone looks like zombies and
they wander around. People are quiet
unless you came with someone.
Then you might look around and say,
‘That’s cool’ or something like that.
People wear the earphones wrong,
and it’s funny,” deAnguera said.
“To the right of the entryway is
the sky church, a large open area
with a 60-feet high video screen. It’s
the largest indoor video screen in
the world,” Prill said. It transmits
visuals and music — it’s artsy with
out the mainstream effect of MTV.
Past the sky church is the line for
Funk Blast, the show displayed in
the Artist’s Journey. Visitors can
ride the Artist’s Journey, which
combines special effects, theatrical
lighting, film and state-of-the-art
motion. It’s an entertaining ride, but
it doesn’t come close to the experi
ence that the rest of the museum be
stows.
“[The Artist’s Journey is] not that
cool,
deAnguera
said.
The rest of
the museum is
atrip. Prill said
that the Jimi
Hendrix
gallery is the
most popular
section of the
EMP.
“It’s an in
credible collec
tion. It shows
how he influ
enced rock and
who influ
enced him.
The entire
stage set used
at Woodstock
is displayed. His notebook of lyrics
and diary are also exhibited.”
Other visuals include music
paraphernalia from the late ‘40s
through the grunge movement. In
addition, hip-hop and punk are oth
er roads to be traveled at the EMP.
“There is a lot to see,” Prill said.
The EMP Web site reads that the
EMP captures and reflects the roots
of jazz, soul, gospel, country, blues
and other genres of music. Guitars
used by Bob Dylan and the late Kurt
Cobain are shown.
However, “it’s lacking female
artists, like Ani DiFranco,”
deAnguera said.
“Sound archives, photographs
and rare memorabilia tell the story
of the creative and rebellious ex
pressions that have defined Ameri
can popular music,” according to
the EMP Web site.
“I saw a lot of parents and kids
from two different generations; they
learn from each other. It goes
through the whole history of rock
‘n’ roll and you can see connections
of different genres of music that you
never thought of before,” said
deAnguera.
The multi-faceted musical expe
rience at the EMP influenced
deAnguera to listen to more classic
rock, such as Janis Joplin and Jimi
Hendrix. “If you’re in a certain
mood and listen to music that’s of
that mood, it makes it stronger,”
deAnguera said.
“I think music influences every
one, and people relate for different
reasons. It can bring about memo
ries. Or, the impact can be inspiring.
Music is a great tool to be creative in
your own way,” Prill said. A musi
cian told her that music could
change the harmony of the way peo
ple interact if it was played in pub
lic places. “For me, it makes me feel
good — it’s energizing.”