Post by TheWallsScreamedPoetry on Sept 27, 2022 8:58:03 GMT
The Doors early promo appearances....... 45 years ago pre Elektra to 1967 post Elektra?
It may be interesting to learn about how The Doors promoted themselves to the general public during the days before and just after the Elektra contract up until LMF was first a hit.
..........we know the guys had a short contract with Columbia from 1965 but it seems they took little interest in the band so did they hand out flyers for gigs or stick up posters or get involved in local causes or just generally make a nuiscance of yourselves on street corners to bring the band to the attention of people other than mates.....were there any radio stations that took an interest in the fledgling band?
Gigs like The Whisky residence helped spread the word but what did the band do to bring the name The Doors to the less enlightened.......
Couple of examples here which are cool.....wonder if any photos were taken at these events?
40 year ago on August 5th 1966 The Doors showed up at promoter James Salzer's Arcade Record Store in Oxnard, CA (Salzer was the first promoter to present The Doors at a large venue.... The Earl Warren Showground in Santa Barbera in July 1966) to promote that nights show at the Starlight Ballroom and sign autographs for the fans. They also lend their support against an ordinance being passed in Oxnard which seeks to ban dancing in an attempt to prevent the evolution of the current music scene in their town and performances such as the Starlight Ballroom that evening featuring The Doors & The Seeds.
Also on May 9th 1966 the band stopped off at Bettys Music Store in Venice to check out equipment and end up playing a short set of 4/5 songs to a small crowd in the middle of the afternoon.....
The Doors had been picked up by Columbia who apart from a visit to the Vox factory took little or no interest in the band and it seems that the company did not promote them or take them seriously eventually dropping them without barely a chance to show their worth.
The foresight of Billy James, not shared by the rest of Columbia, which was Elektra's and the worlds gain. We know that there was disillusionment after the drop list scenario but know little about how the band got themselves out of the rut.
We know a little of that early period when they were signed to Columbia when they did weekend gigs at weddings, frat dances and parties as well as gigs such as the Pioneer Boat Club, Hughes Aircraft Union Dance and the famous 1965 New years Eve party where Jim swallowed a quarter bookings which were The Doors proto-gigs and a chance to develop their on stage relationship but not much about how they found such gigs and promoted themselves as a band.
We do know that sometimes they utilised their UCLA connection such as the weekend in December 1965 when the band set up and played an acoustic backing to a couple of Ray’s student films ‘Who & Where I Live’ and ‘Induction’.
Did the band put up flyers in UCLA to advertise and seek gigs? Were UCLA students utilised to promote the band?
We know that they packed the London Fog with UCLA mates to help get the band the residency there but were they also helpful in getting the band noticed outside of the circle of friends.
We hear little of that from those very important people.
Sadly Judy Raphael who was a friend of Ray’s passed a way a while back and she was the only one who has been reported in books and magazines to give even a minute insight into that important Doors period from a fan/friend perspective.
The Ford Motor Company Training Film was a way to earn a bit of cash as well as get the bands name a bit more of a profile.
We know The Doors have the film as Jampol told us exactly that here on the Densmore forum. But we know little or nothing about how they came to be asked to do the film nor what the band gained from the experience of working in a studio as a musical unit for the first time.
#Robby was not present at the September 1965 World pacific demo as he was not a member of The Doors then.
The band was not exactly political but they could not ignore the events of the time and took part in the April 66 No War Toys rally which was parents against the popularity of toys that promote war. What was the bands interest in this and what was their participation of the event? Presumably they played a set but did they take a more active role in this?
We just don’t know.
In May of 1966 they were due to take part in the West Hollywood ‘Exploding Plastic Inevitable’ organised by Andy Warhol, which featured bands from East and West coasts such as Zappa and the Velvets. Sadly the club was closed by police due to drug use before The Doors could take part in the event but what prompted people to think The Doors suitable for the event. We are constantly being told that The Fog gigs were played to ‘one man and his dog’ so how did the band promote themselves and garner interest from people like Ronnie Haran and the organisers of the EPI?
This is for me one of the most interesting periods of The Doors History but we barely see it touched on and never in any great detail.
Such is the rush to profit from the more vicarious aspects of the band the meat and bones that make up the History of how they got to that point are ignored due to lack of a profit in them.
The period from the summer of 1965 to the summer of 1967 is the most vibrant and important period ever in this bands History. It contains every element that made the band The Doors.
This year is a chance to bring The Doors and their History to a new audience that may not have heard them and forums like this may well burst into life for a few months.
It may be interesting to learn about how The Doors promoted themselves to the general public during the days before and just after the Elektra contract up until LMF was first a hit.
..........we know the guys had a short contract with Columbia from 1965 but it seems they took little interest in the band so did they hand out flyers for gigs or stick up posters or get involved in local causes or just generally make a nuiscance of yourselves on street corners to bring the band to the attention of people other than mates.....were there any radio stations that took an interest in the fledgling band?
Gigs like The Whisky residence helped spread the word but what did the band do to bring the name The Doors to the less enlightened.......
Couple of examples here which are cool.....wonder if any photos were taken at these events?
40 year ago on August 5th 1966 The Doors showed up at promoter James Salzer's Arcade Record Store in Oxnard, CA (Salzer was the first promoter to present The Doors at a large venue.... The Earl Warren Showground in Santa Barbera in July 1966) to promote that nights show at the Starlight Ballroom and sign autographs for the fans. They also lend their support against an ordinance being passed in Oxnard which seeks to ban dancing in an attempt to prevent the evolution of the current music scene in their town and performances such as the Starlight Ballroom that evening featuring The Doors & The Seeds.
Also on May 9th 1966 the band stopped off at Bettys Music Store in Venice to check out equipment and end up playing a short set of 4/5 songs to a small crowd in the middle of the afternoon.....
The Doors had been picked up by Columbia who apart from a visit to the Vox factory took little or no interest in the band and it seems that the company did not promote them or take them seriously eventually dropping them without barely a chance to show their worth.
The foresight of Billy James, not shared by the rest of Columbia, which was Elektra's and the worlds gain. We know that there was disillusionment after the drop list scenario but know little about how the band got themselves out of the rut.
We know a little of that early period when they were signed to Columbia when they did weekend gigs at weddings, frat dances and parties as well as gigs such as the Pioneer Boat Club, Hughes Aircraft Union Dance and the famous 1965 New years Eve party where Jim swallowed a quarter bookings which were The Doors proto-gigs and a chance to develop their on stage relationship but not much about how they found such gigs and promoted themselves as a band.
We do know that sometimes they utilised their UCLA connection such as the weekend in December 1965 when the band set up and played an acoustic backing to a couple of Ray’s student films ‘Who & Where I Live’ and ‘Induction’.
Did the band put up flyers in UCLA to advertise and seek gigs? Were UCLA students utilised to promote the band?
We know that they packed the London Fog with UCLA mates to help get the band the residency there but were they also helpful in getting the band noticed outside of the circle of friends.
We hear little of that from those very important people.
Sadly Judy Raphael who was a friend of Ray’s passed a way a while back and she was the only one who has been reported in books and magazines to give even a minute insight into that important Doors period from a fan/friend perspective.
The Ford Motor Company Training Film was a way to earn a bit of cash as well as get the bands name a bit more of a profile.
We know The Doors have the film as Jampol told us exactly that here on the Densmore forum. But we know little or nothing about how they came to be asked to do the film nor what the band gained from the experience of working in a studio as a musical unit for the first time.
#Robby was not present at the September 1965 World pacific demo as he was not a member of The Doors then.
The band was not exactly political but they could not ignore the events of the time and took part in the April 66 No War Toys rally which was parents against the popularity of toys that promote war. What was the bands interest in this and what was their participation of the event? Presumably they played a set but did they take a more active role in this?
We just don’t know.
In May of 1966 they were due to take part in the West Hollywood ‘Exploding Plastic Inevitable’ organised by Andy Warhol, which featured bands from East and West coasts such as Zappa and the Velvets. Sadly the club was closed by police due to drug use before The Doors could take part in the event but what prompted people to think The Doors suitable for the event. We are constantly being told that The Fog gigs were played to ‘one man and his dog’ so how did the band promote themselves and garner interest from people like Ronnie Haran and the organisers of the EPI?
This is for me one of the most interesting periods of The Doors History but we barely see it touched on and never in any great detail.
Such is the rush to profit from the more vicarious aspects of the band the meat and bones that make up the History of how they got to that point are ignored due to lack of a profit in them.
The period from the summer of 1965 to the summer of 1967 is the most vibrant and important period ever in this bands History. It contains every element that made the band The Doors.
This year is a chance to bring The Doors and their History to a new audience that may not have heard them and forums like this may well burst into life for a few months.