“I thought it was a bunch of noise. I left. Later, it almost felt like Jimi Hendrix was saying, ‘I'll make sure you never forget my name’”: Frank Marino on the time he left a Hendrix gig early – and the truth behind the bizarre Hendrix haunting story

Mahogany Rush leader Frank Marino’s playing style has often drawn parallels to Jimi Hendrix. The comparisons became so prevalent that a rumor with a paranormal twist quickly gained traction, haunting him throughout his career.

The story goes that a stay at Montreal Children’s Hospital post-acid trip resulted in 14-year-old Marino being visited by Hendrix’s spirit. He asserts that this story was completely fabricated.

“[What was true is that] I went to the hospital, learned how to play guitar in hospital, and came out and played the music of the day: Hendrix, the Beatles, the Doors, and other stuff from the late ’60s,” he says in a new Guitar World interview.

“Maybe I did the Hendrix part a little too well because this writer wrote this ridiculous piece, and that was the bizarre beginning that followed me.”

However, Marino does mention that an actual, real-life encounter with Hendrix set the tone for the critique that hounded him for years. “In ’68, I went to a Jimi Hendrix concert before I was a guitar player – and before I’d gone to the hospital,” he recalls. “I left. I thought it was a bunch of noise. I left, and was the only person who left. Later, when Hendrix’s name followed me everywhere, it almost felt like Jimi Hendrix was saying, ‘I’ll make sure you never forget my name.’ It was hard.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Marino discusses recording Mahogany Rush’s first album, 1972’s Maxoom, at the tender age of 16.

“My intention was to simply play rock guitar music in a band. It was as simple as that. You didn’t have a lot of 16-year olds doing that, you know? I was 13 when I went into the hospital and 14 when I started to play guitar. By 16, I’d made an album, which didn’t come out until two years later.”

Mahogany Rush – Funky Woman – YouTube

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In recent years, Marino has been crafting pedals based on his own custom builds, with the aim of helping others achieve his enviable tones.

For more from Frank Marino, plus new interviews with Pat Travers and DeWayne “Blackbyrd” McKnight, pick up issue 583 of Guitar World at Magazines Direct.