It may not be the real thing, but unless Jimi Hendrix [ tickets ] can pull off something really amazing, a traveling tribute hopes to embody the spirit of the late guitar genius channeled through some of his former bandmates and contemporaries, as well as a few of the world's best contemporary blues and rock musicians.

For the second time in recent years, some of the best known and most respected players are ready to celebrate the legacy and music of Jimi Hendrix. The second "Experience Hendrix" tour kicks off Oct. 16 in Washington, D.C., and winds its way through precious few markets before wrapping up at New York's Beacon Theater Oct. 22.

The nearly three-hour extravaganza features blues giant Buddy Guy, pedal steel innovator Robert Randolph, contemporary guitar greats Jonny Lang and Kenny Wayne Shepherd, along with Robby Krieger of The Doors, Rolling Stones veteran Mick Taylor, and Mississippi bluesman Hubert Sumlin, each stepping into the spotlight to perform some of the most well known guitar licks in rock-and-roll history.

Adding to the authenticity of the show, Mitch Mitchell (drums) and Billy Cox [ tickets ] (bass), the same Hendrix Experience rhythm section that played behind Hendrix at Woodstock, will be on hand, along with some monumental backup from Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon, better known as Stevie Ray Vaughn's Double Trouble.

Native American band Indigenous and Eric Gales, the Memphis guitarist who is heard on the "Power of Soul" Jimi Hendrix tribute album, are also part of the Experience Hendrix Tour [ tickets ]. "Purple Haze," "Hey Joe," and "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" are among the Hendrix numbers slated for performance.

The new Experience Hendrix tour is an exciting prospect for Billy Cox, whose history with Jimi Hendrix dates back to their days in the Army together.

"It's as much of thrill for me to play Jimi's music for audiences now as it was in the early 1960s," Cox said. "The Experience Hendrix tour shows you how timeless this music really is."

Cox recently made some time to chat with LiveDaily during an exclusive interview about his relationship with Hendrix then and now, and the upcoming opportunities he will have to present those freewheeling arrangements once again.

LiveDaily: Looking back on the first Experience Hendrix tour, did you ever have one of those moments during the set when you saw one of the guitarists was really getting it? I mean, there's nobody that can be Jimi but do these players seem to channel his magic once they get up there with you and Mitch (Mitchell)?

Billy Cox: Yes, it happens all the time. There are two kinds of guitar players: The ones who admit they were influenced by Jimi Hendrix and the ones who won't admit they were influenced by him. And I know when they are not being straight with me, because there will be a phrase or a lick that reminds me very much of what Jimi was all about. I mean, he was an innovative, free-thinking guitar player with a lot of disciples. And today, the 10-, 12-, 16-year-old kids who are just learning to play guitar are asking for our autographs and to meet us because they are seriously into Hendrix. Thanks to a tour like this, we have transcended yet another generation. As long as there are guitar players, they will be emulating guitar phrases of Jimi's.

The further away we get from his passing, the more we realize what an innovator he was, and the greater respect he gets from other great players.

Right. And even though, during these tours, it's a musical testimony to Jimi's greatness, ... it's really a musical celebration.

LiveDaily: I was born in 1961, the year you met Hendrix, so I obviously never saw him live. But when I watch you guys on film, although it's billed as Jimi Hendrix, there was a lot of collaboration going on. Can you talk about that give and take with Jimi on stage night after night?

I think we all became more spiritual beings when we were on stage with him because Jimi was a very spiritual person. And I think we communicated spiritually--I mean, a lot of the impromptu playing we did was unspoken. It was more felt than anything else ... it's difficult to explain it. We felt each other. For example, sometimes, Jimi didn't want to play 12 bars, he wanted to play 18 bars, and we would just know when and where to go. He couldn't really explain that either, but you would often hear him describe that on-stage experience as being in church or referring to it as a religious experience.

Did he ever sit down with the two of you to give you cues?

Not really. We watched a lot of his movements and we naturally got our cues from that.

Based on a lot of his TV interviews, I get the idea Jimi was very humble. Can you remember a particular interaction with a fan or a fellow musician off stage that made you say to yourself, "fame has not spoiled this man"?

Whenever somebody would come up to him and start going off on him about how great he was, he would stop them and say, "I'd like you to meet Billy Cox, or Mitch Mitchell." Of course, his ego only responded on stage. When he got off stage, he was a different person. He was very cordial, a genuine human being, despite what the press wanted to throw on him at the time. He was a very giving person.

How did he react when he was listening to himself, like during recording sessions? Was he keyed in on the ensemble?
He would always come at it from the musical perspective, the words and the messages he was trying to relay. We were the producers, and Eddie Cramer, who worked with us. There was never anyone in the studio but us. There were times when Cramer was on the right and Jimi was on the left and I was in the middle, and Mitch might join in. We would give Jimi complete freedom with the producing because we knew how creative he was.

Between you as friends, what were the favorite times you had with Jimi Hendrix?

He was my friend and I miss him today. From the clubs out partying to the performance stages, we enjoyed a lot of great times. And he had a great, quick sense of humor. That's what I miss most about him.

You must have been asked a million times about what went through your mind when you heard he was gone. But I'd like to know what went through your mind when you decided to pick up the pieces and go on?

I gave up playing completely. I think Charlie Daniels was the one who came looking for me to play with him a few years later. But I still wasn't fully committed to the music business. My father said to me one day, "Your friend is gone. But we all have our time here on this planet. You've done what you had to do musically. And it may take five, 10, 20 years, and you will have your day again. And until that day comes, you have to take care of yourself." And since than, that's what I've tried to do.

How much preparation is involved before you all actually hit the road together in this upcoming Experience Hendrix tour?

Well. I've played with most of these gentlemen before. They are always organized, fun and easy to move around between the venues. The band gets together for just one day of good rehearsing. You know, we've been playing this music for 36 years, so it's mostly a matter of what key is comfortable for whose voice. And we come out there like 12 different groups united under one cause, and man do we have fun!

Maybe there are some true Jimi Hendrix fans who see this tour as taking something away from the man, but I think you and everyone involved is seeing this as being a gift to give to the most hard-core Hendrix fans. Is that right?

Thirty-six years later, if you put on a Hendrix CD, it still sounds fresh and new. For me--and I played on a lot of this material--I still hear something new every time I listen. That's what makes his genius so great. The music itself, he was constantly trying to improve on every aspect of the music, which makes the music great. Someone once said, "Don't try to be better than your contemporaries, or your predecessors, just try to be better than yourself." And that's what Jimi did for our entire time together.