Post by darkstar on Aug 27, 2005 13:54:23 GMT
Legendary '60s Drummer Shows Students Door To The Past
Holly Smith
Staff Writer
The Orion - September 24 1997
He lit a match. With that match he lit the incense that opened "The Doors, The Sixties ? Now."
We have all heard of the legendary music group The Doors, but only a member of the band could tell how it really was. Drummer John Densmore came to Laxson Auditorium on the evening of Sept. 16 to share the triumphs and tears of his time with the band.
"Before we ever started we always lit a stick of incense. It evolved into a ritual that signaled we were leaving the outside world behind, and the smell put us in a collective mood to play," said Densmore as he held the burning match in one hand and the incense in the other. "Let's just hope I don't burn down this beautiful auditorium."
Most of us in the audience were not even born during The Doors' heyday. That did not stop hundreds of people, young and old, to come to Chico State University to learn more about the group's history.
Seeing John Densmore pace the stage was like seeing a piece of history walk in front of you. A part of history that is going to live on in music.
The house lights dimmed. The audience went silent as Dens-more began to talk. He began to talk slowly to Jim Morrison.
"Dear Jim. We finally visited your grave. I can't speak for the others, but I suppose I didn't come to your funeral because I was so mad and disappointed in you the last few years the band was together. But you knew that ..." Densmore recited.
The stage lights came up and the mood immediately lightened as Densmore began to pace the stage again. He told of a time when he could have walked on the Chico State campus and gone completely unnoticed.
"I majored in apathy and changing majors," Densmore told the audience.
Then he met Ray Manzarek. Densmore's life then forever changed at Manzarek's garage where Rick and the Ravens, Manzarek and a few others, rehearsed. The first impression Densmore got of Morrison was him hiding in the corner.
"The 21-year-old Morrison was shy. He said hello to me and went back to the corner," said Densmore, sliding to the front of the stage imitating Morrison when the introduction was made.
Once the Ravens disbanded and guitar player Robby Krieger was brought aboard, The Doors were born.
Densmore told the story about how the mega-hit "Light My Fire" was born. As he talked, he took the different rolls of the band members, imitating them as he remembered. As a member of the audience, there was an eerie feeling in the air. It was as if they were there but for Densmore it was obvious he relived every moment he talked about.
"'I got a new song, my first song, and I think it's a hit,'" said Densmore, twirling his hair around his finger remembering how Krieger told the band about his lyrics to the future hit. That song would eventually score them a gold record, along with their first album which was simply titled "The Doors."
Talking the whole way, Densmore strode over to the drum set on the right side of the stage. He had no problem picking up the very noticeable beat as he continued with his story.
Densmore moved on to stories of telling his parents about the first record, being an opening act at the Whiskey a Go-Go, the night they performed at Madison Square Garden, and not to mention the night Morrison fell off the stage.
Densmore walked the audience through that night's entire performance.
"Ray went into his hypnotic head-bobbing trance, and I drove the soloist, pushing him to the edge. Always the edge ..." Densmore paused as he drummed the beat to "When the Music's Over." "Jesus Christ! Jim just fell off the stage! What do we do ... Keep playing."
The fall off the stage performance was only the start of the downfall for The Doors. Con-certs were botched, Morrison performed drunk and drugged and audiences were not pleased.
During Densmore's lecture, the audience was treated to some rare footage of the band recording in the studio. Morrison looked like a kid in a candy store while playing with various lyrics in the sound booth. It gave one a new outlook to what Morrison was really like compared to the dark image created by Oliver Stone's movie.
"I don't remember all of those naked girls running up on stage," Densmore said, in response to a question from an audience member. "I would have remembered that."
Val Kilmer, who portrayed Morrison in the film, did a great job, said Densmore. He thought that Kevin Dillon's portrayal of Densmore was a little stiff. It seemed that Dillon got it turned around with being stiff in the beginning and then loose in the end. Densmore said as Morrison got more out of control, he got more uptight.
Uptight is not the word I would have ever used to describe Densmore, especially when I hung around afterward to get an autograph on his book. There was a moderately sized group waiting after the lecture to see him up close.
While I stood in the group, Chico resident Janice Walter told me of the time that she got to see Morrison and The Doors perform a cappella at the Whiskey a Go-Go. Needless to say, I wish I could have had the chance to see The Doors perform live. The closest thing I was going to get was to rent a video.
Suddenly the group surged forward and I found myself face to face with a part of history. Speechless, I handed Densmore my book. He signed it, and when he handed it back with a smile and a handshake, I realized something when we made eye contact.
One person's memories can be another person's dreams.
orion.csuchico.edu/Pages/vol39issue05/e.drummer.html
Holly Smith
Staff Writer
The Orion - September 24 1997
He lit a match. With that match he lit the incense that opened "The Doors, The Sixties ? Now."
We have all heard of the legendary music group The Doors, but only a member of the band could tell how it really was. Drummer John Densmore came to Laxson Auditorium on the evening of Sept. 16 to share the triumphs and tears of his time with the band.
"Before we ever started we always lit a stick of incense. It evolved into a ritual that signaled we were leaving the outside world behind, and the smell put us in a collective mood to play," said Densmore as he held the burning match in one hand and the incense in the other. "Let's just hope I don't burn down this beautiful auditorium."
Most of us in the audience were not even born during The Doors' heyday. That did not stop hundreds of people, young and old, to come to Chico State University to learn more about the group's history.
Seeing John Densmore pace the stage was like seeing a piece of history walk in front of you. A part of history that is going to live on in music.
The house lights dimmed. The audience went silent as Dens-more began to talk. He began to talk slowly to Jim Morrison.
"Dear Jim. We finally visited your grave. I can't speak for the others, but I suppose I didn't come to your funeral because I was so mad and disappointed in you the last few years the band was together. But you knew that ..." Densmore recited.
The stage lights came up and the mood immediately lightened as Densmore began to pace the stage again. He told of a time when he could have walked on the Chico State campus and gone completely unnoticed.
"I majored in apathy and changing majors," Densmore told the audience.
Then he met Ray Manzarek. Densmore's life then forever changed at Manzarek's garage where Rick and the Ravens, Manzarek and a few others, rehearsed. The first impression Densmore got of Morrison was him hiding in the corner.
"The 21-year-old Morrison was shy. He said hello to me and went back to the corner," said Densmore, sliding to the front of the stage imitating Morrison when the introduction was made.
Once the Ravens disbanded and guitar player Robby Krieger was brought aboard, The Doors were born.
Densmore told the story about how the mega-hit "Light My Fire" was born. As he talked, he took the different rolls of the band members, imitating them as he remembered. As a member of the audience, there was an eerie feeling in the air. It was as if they were there but for Densmore it was obvious he relived every moment he talked about.
"'I got a new song, my first song, and I think it's a hit,'" said Densmore, twirling his hair around his finger remembering how Krieger told the band about his lyrics to the future hit. That song would eventually score them a gold record, along with their first album which was simply titled "The Doors."
Talking the whole way, Densmore strode over to the drum set on the right side of the stage. He had no problem picking up the very noticeable beat as he continued with his story.
Densmore moved on to stories of telling his parents about the first record, being an opening act at the Whiskey a Go-Go, the night they performed at Madison Square Garden, and not to mention the night Morrison fell off the stage.
Densmore walked the audience through that night's entire performance.
"Ray went into his hypnotic head-bobbing trance, and I drove the soloist, pushing him to the edge. Always the edge ..." Densmore paused as he drummed the beat to "When the Music's Over." "Jesus Christ! Jim just fell off the stage! What do we do ... Keep playing."
The fall off the stage performance was only the start of the downfall for The Doors. Con-certs were botched, Morrison performed drunk and drugged and audiences were not pleased.
During Densmore's lecture, the audience was treated to some rare footage of the band recording in the studio. Morrison looked like a kid in a candy store while playing with various lyrics in the sound booth. It gave one a new outlook to what Morrison was really like compared to the dark image created by Oliver Stone's movie.
"I don't remember all of those naked girls running up on stage," Densmore said, in response to a question from an audience member. "I would have remembered that."
Val Kilmer, who portrayed Morrison in the film, did a great job, said Densmore. He thought that Kevin Dillon's portrayal of Densmore was a little stiff. It seemed that Dillon got it turned around with being stiff in the beginning and then loose in the end. Densmore said as Morrison got more out of control, he got more uptight.
Uptight is not the word I would have ever used to describe Densmore, especially when I hung around afterward to get an autograph on his book. There was a moderately sized group waiting after the lecture to see him up close.
While I stood in the group, Chico resident Janice Walter told me of the time that she got to see Morrison and The Doors perform a cappella at the Whiskey a Go-Go. Needless to say, I wish I could have had the chance to see The Doors perform live. The closest thing I was going to get was to rent a video.
Suddenly the group surged forward and I found myself face to face with a part of history. Speechless, I handed Densmore my book. He signed it, and when he handed it back with a smile and a handshake, I realized something when we made eye contact.
One person's memories can be another person's dreams.
orion.csuchico.edu/Pages/vol39issue05/e.drummer.html