Okay, let me see if I’ve got this straight, because it’s sure making my brain hurt.
Ray Manzarek and Rob Krieger of The Doors are on the road, touring, doing the Leno show, starting a media blitz. They’ve got Ian Astbury (The Cult) on vocals
and Stewart Copeland (The Police) on drums. They’re calling the project “The Doors, 21st Century Live.” And they’re playing Doors songs. “Come on baby light my fiiiire..” That sort of thing.
Jim Morrison, lead singer, has been dead for quite some time, so that leaves him out. Okay, I get that. You can’t really have a dead guy singing.
But what about ol’ John Densmore? You know, the original drummer who is still alive? I’m glad you asked. See, Johnny had some ear problems which forced
him to not play drums anymore (but it’s been recently fixed). On top of that, he’s suing his former band mates Manzarek and Krieger for using the “Doors” name without his permission. Lay it on us, John:
“There are Doors cover bands in every city; we shouldn’t join that, should we? No disrespect to Ian Astbury or Stewart Copeland; they are wonderful musicians. But my point is they are not the Doors.” (full story)
Amen to that. Now while I can’t really comment on the lawsuit, I will agree with Densmore in the fact that replacing two members of a band and still calling it
the Doors is pretty weak. Typical of old school classic rock bands, yes, but still weak.
Why can’t these guys move on? Start new bands. Have you ever heard of WINGS? Okay, maybe a bad example. What about Zwan? Or Audioslave. Or Wilco. Or Sparta/Mars Volta. Or Foo Fighters. Or The Breeders. Or Porno for Pyros. Christ, even Big Audio Dynamite.
It seems that modern bands are able to let go of their former glories and move on with their lives (Axl Rose excepted). Not the old classic rock dinosaurs. They
love hanging on to every bit of their past, clenching it like a dead man’s fist on a dollar bill. In the end it ends up ruining the image of the band, a tarnish on
your perfect memories of the good ol’ days.
Greedy mother fuckers.
As much as I loved The Doors during my highschool years, seeing this version is sad. If you see me at one of these concerts, you have my permission to shoot me. Many times. In the head.