PURPLE HAZE, A JIMI HENDRIZ TRIBUTE BAND, will perform Friday at The Rellick Tavern, 726 First St.

This is the first time the Bay Area band has played in Benicia, said Ralph Woodson, lead guitarist.

While the musicians focus on the music of the iconic guitar master, and its name is taken from one of Hendrix’s hits, “Purple Haze is not your typical tribute band,” Woodson said.

Woodson not only has mastered Hendrix’s musical techniques, he also has studied Hendrix’s showmanship style and can mimic such signature moves as playing the guitar behind his back and with his teeth.

Woodson is a Richmond native whose introduction to music came with Hendrix’s “Band of Gypsys” live record. He toured with Hedzoli Sounds, which had Hugh Masekela as a member, as well as the Mighy Diamonds, Lady Bianca and Faye Carol.

Later he collaborated with Bill Kreutzmann of the Grateful Dead and Sy Klopps of Herbie Herbert of the Trichromes. With that band, and later with Sy Klopps Blues Band, Woodson has opened for Tower of Power, James Brown, ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

He also has demonstrated Hendrix’s sound and techniques on programs at the College of Marin and on KFOG-FM, appearing with author and Hendrix authority Steve Roby.

Woodson launched the Ralph Woodson Experience in 2001; it became Purple Haze three years ago, to focus on Hendrix’s music.

Joining him in the band is Pete Roberts on bass and vocals and Leo Vigil on drums.

Purple Haze will perform at 9 p.m. Friday at The Rellik. Those interested may call 707-746-1137 or visit www.therelliktavern.com and www.purplehazeband.com.

Bottom of the Fifth organizing bus trip to Sharks game

The Bottom of the Fifth is giving San Jose Sharks fans in Benicia a chance to take a bus to see the hockey team play the Columbus Blue Jackets Feb. 7 in at the SAP Center in San Jose.

The bus will leave Bottom of the Fifth at 4:30 p.m. that day, which owner Bruce Adams said would give fans plenty of time to have a tailgate party or visit a nearby restaurant.

The puck drops at 7:30 p.m., he said. “This is the last Sharks home game before they take the break in the season for the Winter Olympics,” Adams noted.

Cost of the trip is $90 per person, which includes a ticket to the game as well as travel costs. Soft drinks and water will be available to travelers riding the bus.

Seating space and group tickets are limited, Adams said, and no second bus can be reserved. “We wouldn’t be able to get the group tickets for it,” he said.

However, if this bus trip proves successful, the Bottom of the Fifth may schedule a similar trip to a Giants baseball game.

Tickets for the Sharks game bus are being sold at the Bottom of the Fifth, 498 Military East at East Fifth Street; reservations also may be made by calling the restaurant and bar at 707-745-9949.

State Fund offers injury prevention seminars

The State Compensation Insurance Fund will teach local business owners how to write an injury and illness prevention program through a series of seminars it will conduct throughout the state, said Sunil Sharma, Corporate Publishing Communications Center spokesperson.

State Fund is California’s largest workers’ compensation insurance provider; it was established in 1914 by the Legislature.

All California employers must have such a plan, Sharma said.

The closest seminar to Benicia is designed for businesses with fewer than 50 employees. It will take place at 1 p.m. Jan. 22 at 1515 Clay St., Room 11, Oakland.

The seminar is open to insurance brokers, business owners, managers and employee leaders who are in charge of company safety programs. Training will be led by the University of California-Berkeley Labor Occupational Health Program and California Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Other sponsors are the California Department of Industrial Relations, the California Department of Public Health Occupational Health Branch, Small Business California, California Small Business Association, and UC-Berkeley’s Labor Occupational Health Program.

Advanced registration is required because seating is limited. Those interested may call 510-643-8902 or email Donna Iverson at driver@berkeley.edu.

The Benicia Herald’s weekly Benicia Business Beat column is an opportunity for local businesses and companies to tell our readers about such news as moves, grand openings, awards, promotion of employees, staff changes and changes in goods and services.

Submissions need to answer the questions who, what, when, where, why and how, preferably in the body of an email, and provide contact information.

Deadline is 3 p.m. Friday for news items that will appear in the next Tuesday edition’s Benicia Business Beat. Please email news releases and accompanying high-resolution photographs and logos to beniciaherald@gmail.com, and put “Attn. Business Beat” in the subject line, as well as the name of the business.

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—Donna Beth Weilenman