Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison To Get Hologram Treatment
06.13.12
Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison are next on the list to have their likenesses transformed into hologram form. Ever since the late Tupac appeared onstage as a hologram at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival back in April alongside rapper Snoop Dogg, music fans salivated at the opportunity to see their favorite artists who passed away before they could ever see them live.
Apparently the idea isn’t as new as the Coachella festival—Jeff Jambol, who manages Morrison’s estate, told Billboard that he’s been trying to get a 3D version of Morrison onstage for almost a decade. Jambol would like to make a complete multimedia experience that features The Doors:
“Hopefully, ‘Jim Morrison’ will be able to walk right up to you, look you in the eye, sing right at you and then turn around and walk away.”
According to NME, Hendrix’s sister Janie has not been as open about the process of recreating her brother, although she has been working with the London company Musion Systems to create a ‘virtual version’ of Jimi. Janie, the CEO of Experience Hendrix, stated:
“For us, of course, it’s about keeping Jimi authentically correct. There are no absolutes at this point.”
The holograms planned for concert usage are not holograms in the conventional sense, but are illusions created by a technique known as Pepper’s ghost, where a plate glass and special lighting tricks make objects seem to appear, disappear, morph, or become transparent.
Only time will tell how big the market is for virtual rockstars, but Freddie Mercury and Elvis Presley are already names thrown in the mix with Hendrix and Morrison. If people are willing to go to the movie theater to escape reality and see 3D movies, there are probably many who are willing to do the same in concert.