Iconoclastic architect Frank Gehry cavorts in front of the Experience Music Project.
Experience Music Project celebrates the innovation, creativity and rebelliousness of American popular music, particularly rock 'n' roll. It was conceived by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and his sister, Jody Patton, and designed by Frank Gehry, an architect known for his unorthodox creations.
The 140,000-square-foot museum at Seattle Center is a wildly curvaceous and colorful building whose design motif is based on the shapes and colors of the modern electric guitar.
The building features 18 rooms, from the intimate JBL Theater to mammoth Sky Church, a "great hall" equipped with giant LED screen and state-of-the-art sound and video.
Inspired by Allen's fascination with Hendrix, the interactive museum is designed to be far more than a repository for EMP's more than 80,000 artifacts, including what is reportedly the world's largest collection of Hendrix memorabilia.
How to get the most out of EMP
Whether you're heading down to the EMP for the grand opening weekend or later on, these tips might help you navigate the experience smoothly.
Experience, but at what cost?
While a day at the Experience Music Project is as much -- if not more -- fun than a day at the park, it also costs a heck of a lot more.
Crowd-wary can sample new museum via Web site
So you're waiting for the lines to shorten and the crowds to thin out. You want to visit Paul Allen's wonderland, but you just aren't ready to leave the comfy confines of your home and face the onslaught of curious music fans and head-scratching tourists.
All the stars come out for an EMP fund-raiser
With the red carpet and paparazzi who greeted DreamWorks co-founders Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg, it was almost Hollywood.
AN INSIDER'S GUIDE
EMP: geared up and plugged in so you can be tuned in and turned on
The Experience Music Project -- the first Seattle institution devoted exclusively to popular music -- isn't just about cool stuff. It's about interacting with the stuff and having it interact with you. Looking at a guitar, then hearing it play. And much, much more...
The Guitar God: Jimi Hendrix lit up rock -- and burned himself out
James Marshall Hendrix was a shy, dreamy kid from Seattle who played his guitar left-handed and upside-down. He stood the world of rock on its ear, set it afire, put blues to the acid test, blew the minds of his tuned-in, turned-on generation, and, in the waning days of the 20th century, stirred a music-minded multibillionaire to build the world's most expensive rock 'n' roll museum.
Louie Louie: The dope on the unintelligible classic
Written in 1956 by L.A. songwriter Richard Berry, "Louie Louie" began life as an innocent calypso tune about a lovesick Jamaican sailor. It was recorded by a number of local bands, but not until the Kingsmen's 1963 version did it become a huge national hit, fueling a rock explosion in the Northwest.
The Museum: Befitting its creator, it's state-of-the-art
The EMP's mind-bender of a museum is jampacked with one-of-a-kind and first-of-its-kind technological marvels -- guitars that teach you how to play them, wearable computers that take you deep inside the music, a special-effects-packed thrill ride that rocks 'n' rolls in more ways than one...
The Museum Guide: 'She' has plenty to tell you about EMP
The EMP may seem like a mind-boggling place, but don't worry. You don't have to go through it alone. MEG -- the portable Museum Exhibit Guide that each visitor carries -- will be there for you every step of the way.
The Milestones Gallery: From hillbilly to hip-hop
"The First Rock 'n' Roll Record" is the first in a series of interconnected exhibits in the Milestones Gallery that explore popular music from the 1930s to the present. "The First Rock 'n' Roll Record" exhibit begins with the 1938 recording of "Roll 'Em Pete" by Pete Johnson and Big Joe Turner and concludes with the rock 'n' roll explosion of 1956.
The Guitar Gallery: Visitors will have their pick of interesting instruments
Guitar buffs will have reason to rejoice when they see EMP's guitar gallery. More than 50 guitars from the 19th century to the present are featured in "The Quest for Volume: A History of the Electric Guitar," a stunning exhibit created by EMP senior curator Pete Blecha.
The Artist's Journey: 'Funk Blast' is a new bag in entertainment
The Artist's Journey is a souped-up multimedia exhibit in which you actually "ride the music" -- with the help of a motion platform, computer-generated special effects and a whole lot of dazzling audio and video.
The Sound Lab: Skill level doesn't matter
EMP's Sound Lab is for anybody who's ever wanted to make music. Think of it as a harmonic playground, a high-tech toy room where even the most neophyte musician can learn how to play the instrument of his or her choice.
The On Stage room: Lets you be a star, baby
The On Stage segment of the EMP, a lot like karaoke on steroids, gives you a taste of stardom. In this room, you and three of your friends will stand on a stage like a real band and play real instruments. For those who don't play so well, the instruments are computer-rigged to make you sound good.
The Sky Church: A sanctuary for rock disciples
The Sky Church features the world's largest video screen filled with giant kaleidoscopic images, geometric shapes shifting, turning, whirling. It's like looking at the coolest, not to mention largest, screen saver ever programmed.
