Goodbye to Mike Pinera, ex Blues Image and Iron Butterfly

He died at the age of 76, after a long illness, Mike Pinerathe singer and guitarist of Blues Image who wrote the 1970 hit “Ride Captain Ride”.

THE
Blues Image
they stood out for adding Latin rhythms to their heavy rock. They opened Tampa’s first psychedelic club, Dino’s, before moving to Miami and becoming a regular at the Thee Image club. The band opened concerts for names such as
Cream,
Frank Zappa, Jimi Hendrix, Grateful Dead, Yardbirds
And
Led Zeppelin
. Pinera was a good friend of
Jimmy Page
.

After the dissolution of
Blues Image
Pinera joined the
Iron Butterfly
playing on the 1970 album
“Metemorphosis”.
He was among the first to use the Talk Box device, as heard in his song
“Butterfly Blue”
. After leaving the
Iron
Butterfly
in 1972, he rejoined the band on four occasions until 1993. He later played in the band
Alice Cooper
for a two-year period in 1980.

In a 2014 interview, Pinera recalled the period of
Blues Image
as a period of discovery. “People felt there was a higher reality that we were all a part of, but they couldn’t reach it on their own. So they turned to psychedelic rock, meditation, Eastern music and alternative lifestyles to expand their consciousness and welcome the vast realms they had begun to discover. In the Blues Image, Manny Bertematti and I began to learn techniques of meditation, vegetarian diets, fasting and treating everyone we met as if they were part of our family. We discovered dimensions of well-being that they made us shine from head to toe. Our music expressed levels of spontaneity that led us to play the exact same thing together, at the same time, without knowing how or why!”.

When asked about the best moments of his career, Pinera replied: “Among others, meeting, befriending and playing with Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page. If you knew them they were very friendly and open. From the outside they seemed very reserved, almost unattainable. But in a quiet, relaxed environment, you could feel a deep sadness and a hunger for true friendship and sincerity.”