Darryl Sterdan from QMI Agency is reporting:

There are two kinds of guitar players in the world, according to Billy Cox.

"There are the ones who will admit being influenced by Jimi Hendrix," quips the BAND OF GYPSYS bassist, "and the ones who will not admit being influenced by Jimi Hendrix."

This month, several pickers in the former category - including KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD, JONNY LANG, STEVE VAI, AEROSMITH's BRAD WHITFORD, ERIC JOHNSON and others - arrive in Canada for several stops on the Experience Hendrix Tribute Tour.

As always, the 69-year-old Cox - Hendrix' former Army buddy who ended up backing him at his immortal Woodstock set - will be anchoring the band, as the axe-wielding rockers pay tribute to the ultimate guitar hero, who died 40 years ago in September.

Here's an excerpt of what Cox says about his lifetime of Hendrix experiences.

QMI Agency: Why do you think Hendrix's music has remained popular for so long?

Cox: "Because it's the music of a master. Do we ever get tired of Brahms? Do we ever get tired of Beethoven? Handel? Liszt? We never get tired of them for the same reason we never get tired of Hendrix. People think Jimi was a hard rocker, but he wasn't really. He was a master musician. He would spend hours and hours in the studio just to perfect the music. Sometimes a spirit slips through the portal of time into this reality and blows our minds. He was one of those spirits."

QMI Agency: What about the stories that he ended up being controlled by gangsters? Was it as bad as that?

Cox: "Not really. There was a lot of business stuff. Jimi didn't want to get involved in business; he just wanted to make music. But I know they paid me well and they paid him. They moved us around in first class. We had some good times. And we had some times when we just didn't feel good and were wore out."

Read the entire interview here.