Give Me Hendrix, a newly-exposed Jimi Hendrix cover band, will “cry Mary” at Tasty World tonight, along with bands Stranded and Anguish.

“I felt like me being black and able to play left-handed guitar is a good marketing tactic,” said Eric Keaton, the man behind the mike of Give Me Hendrix.

“Of course it’s not all about money, but there are other Jimi Hendrix cover bands and not all of them have those qualifications,” he said.

The concert is presented by Dark Horse Entertainment, a company specializing in music, bar parties and promotions.

Since DHE’s kick-off in May, it has done several events, pool parties and music gigs around Athens, said Shane Suber, who, along with Erik Spell, co-owns the company.

Among their featured events is a line dancing class held at the Ritz Friday nights.

“We’ve done a lot of different things, but we’ve gotten to the point now where we just want to focus on music,” Suber said.

“The tag line we usually use for Give Me Hendrix is the ‘Ultimate Tribute Band,’” he said. “When you see them in concert, you’ll know why.”

Suber said tonight is going to be the band’s third show in Athens, but there will undoubtedly be many more to come.

Give Me Hendrix is composed of Brandon Ball on bass, Pete McPherson (a University senior from Rome) on drums and Keaton on vocals and guitar.

Keaton said he wishes more people were familiar with Hendrix’s music.

“A lot of people know who Jimi is, but can’t name many of his songs,” he said. “He’s not Dave Matthews, you know.”

Keaton said the biggest reason the band came together was to relive one of the only kinds of music that is able to transcend the color barrier.

“His music brings all sorts of people together, it’s like a common ground,” he said. “When you talk about rock and somebody mentions Jimi Hendrix, nobody is going to say ‘%u@# him,’ they’ll say ‘yeah, he’s awesome.’”

What makes Give Me Hendrix stand out is the members’ ability to maintain authenticity, said Keaton.

Playing left-handed guitar and upholding a perfectly-vertical afro are not Keaton’s only Hendrix impersonation techniques.

“I try to interact with the audience the same way Jimi did, wear the same kind of clothes – basically go the whole nine yards while still keeping my sense of identity,” he said.

Keaton said being in a tribute band is like acting onstage.

“It’s all about looking, sounding and playing the part,” he said.