In our Sunrise spotlight,
we're celebrating the return of
TEDx Portland, and it is audacious.
It's taking over motor center on
Saturday after the pandemic cancelled
the event three different times,
Ted stands for Technology,
Entertainment and Design,
and Ted X Portland is doubling
down on the entertainment.
This year, all this week we're
introducing some of the speakers
and artists and the man you're
about to meet was born to perform.
He's related to one of the greatest.
Guitar players ever to rock the stage?
I talked to him about putting his
personal stamp on a very special tribute.
Workers here Tyrone,
it's good to see you.
Drummer Tyrone Hendricks is part
owner of the Alberta Street
Pub in Northeast Portland.
He also plays here and this talented
musician has an impressive pedigree.
I was always wondering
because I grew up in Oakland.
I was wondering,
like alright, last name.
Hendrix like alright spelled the same.
What is it? True, oh,
it's true. Tyrone is related to the
late Great guitarist Jimi Hendrix,
his dad and my granddad are first cousins,
a distant relation, but that
family musical gene is strong.
My mother said I beat up her pots
and pans all around the house
when I was a little kid so she
knew I was gonna do something.
And he did, playing with Prince
Stevie Wonder and Washington's
own RnB phenom Alan Stone.
Now Tyrone is collaborating with TEDx
Portland to mark its 10th anniversary.
It's heading to Moda Center for the
biggest indoor TEDx event in the world.
The theme this year is audacious and that
definitely describes Ted's tribute to Jimmy.
What they will see is high
energy right off the bat.
Just high energy right off the bat,
you'll hear the hits,
including purple haze and Foxy Lady.
And following in the
Hendrix family footsteps,
Tyrone's 11 year old son will
be sitting in on percussion.
The music is set against a
backdrop of famous photos,
including this one of Jimmy kneeling
in front of his flaming guitar.
I see this style. The confidence.
That he just had. He knew he was the guy
Ted X turned that photo into a
mammoth billboard at the intersection
of Broadway and Williams.
Tyrone calls it jaw dropping.
People have really seen it
that blown up before, you know.
So you definitely saw people get out
of their cars and taking pictures and
just looking at it just like. Wow,
that photo is from the Monterey
Music Festival. In 1967.
A teen in the audience took it.
Jimmy loved that picture so much.
He invited the kid to join his tour.
That kid was Ed Karoff who went
on to become one of rock and
roll's preeminent photographers.
There's a book filled with his
photos and he'll be in the audience
when Tyrone takes the stage.
I'm very nervous.
But once I hit the snare.
For the first downbeat,
the nervousness goes away.
And when the music takes over,
as Jimmy would say,
it's peace, love and happiness.
Big finish boom. I love him.
He is absolutely so talented.
There's so many tentacles
to this story and the fact
that Ed Carruth was a 17 year old kid had
never taken a photo like that before.
Locked out of the audience left out
of the audience, it was actually the
last little shot on his film rule wow
and that was the one that just went.
You know, viral.
One moment he's not gonna be speaking
at TEDx but performing exactly.
Yeah, and you know Ted is.
Technology, entertainment and design and
this year they're really doing it big
with the entertainment so Digable Planets.
Let's see in Portugal,
Teeny Portugal.
The Man so many people are going to be
performing and they're still tickets,
so that's the good thing.
If you'd like to go to the
10th anniversary celebration of
Ted X, it will happen on Saturday,
May 28th at Moda Center,
the theater of the Clouds.
They're going to be
about 9000 people in there.
It'll be amazing. The speakers
kick off at 9:00 AM.
Tickets Ted X portland.com.