A lot of people call that the Hendrix chord, it's instantly recognizable and easy as hell to play. Besides, would you rather call it an E7#9 chord or a Hendrix chord?
Hendrix tunes sound cool with any tuning, but tuning down to Eb is a lot of fun too, it can make stale old progressions and riffs sound new again!
BigB don't worry, we were all beginners once. If anyone laughs at you, don't worry, they're not half as good as they think they are.