Post by TheWallsScreamedPoetry on Jan 27, 2005 10:41:11 GMT
WE COULD BE SO GOOD TOGETHER
While Morrison blew out the candles, guitarist Robby Krieger stayed alight. Jesse Nash hears how.
JN. How did you work things out musically with Jim?
RK. Well, you know, when we were working on songs it was great, because he was really a normal guy. In fact, that was probably the only time that he was normal. Jim and I worked out a lot of the songs together. We wrote most of the stuff and when we were writing he'd come and stay at my house.
JN. Was much Doors music influenced by LSD?
RK.Uhm... yeah. Especially songs written by Jim. He was taking a lot of LSD. I had taken LSD, but stopped before The Doors were formed. If I'd continued to take LSD, I thought I'd go crazy. And with Jim, the rest of the band had to be super straight in order to balance him off. If we were messed up then who would take care of Jim?. LSD did influence our music as far as the whole aura of universal subjects and more cerebral stuff like that. It really stimulates the thought process.
JN. Does it agItate you when people overlook your songwriting accomplishments?
RK. It's depressing sometimes. To be honest, I don't care if people think that Jim wrote all the songs, but if they think José Feliciano wrote them, that really gets me pissed off.
JN. 'Light My Fire' was the first song you ever wrote? RK. One day, Jim said: "Everybody go home and write some songs, because we don't have enough songs." I knew if I were to write a song for Jim it had to be pretty heavy, because Jim's songs were very heavy. So I knew it had to be about earth, air, fire or water. I tried so many different combinations:" Come on baby breathe my air... come on baby share my earth" Shit like that, man. It was pretty embarrassing until I finally got it to "Come on baby light my fire" That knocked Jim out. Jim wrote most of his songs when he lived with this guy named Dennis Jacobs, and Dennis had this great dope. When he would smoke this dope with Dennis; well, the songs would just pop into Jim's head and he'd write them the way they were on the final record without ever really having to change them. Pretty sensational if you think about it. Most of Jim's songs made it to the album as first drafts! It's like the songs were already written and just waiting for someone to use them. It was weird.
JN. Did Jim Morrison's death make you want to drop out of the music scene?
RK. For a while: but then I fought back and it made me want to get into it more than ever. When Jim died I thought" Shit! What do I do now?" All I had ever known is music. I couldn't fathom the idea of doing anything else.
JN. You tried to put The Doors back together without Jim. Why?
RK. We hoped to capture something but it never felt very good. Without him it was very awkward. There was no balance any more. We were totally fucked.
JN. What are the rest of The Doors doing?
RK. Acting, directing, I think. The rest of the band hasn't been doing any music.
JN. There are mamy stories as to how Jim Morrison died. What really happened?
RK. I wish I knew, but I don't. Jim was in Paris and we weren't.
JN. Do you think Jim Morrison was murdered?
RK. I doubt it. Why would anyone want to murder Jim? He wasn't threatening anybody at the time. If they were going to murder him they would have done it a lot earlier.
JN. I was told he drank himself to death
RK. That's possible - but he was pretty sick when he went to Paris. I remember Jim coughing up blood before he left. I'm sure it wasn't suicide because that just wasn't in Jim's nature. I talked to him about a week before he died, and told him that LA Woman was doing real good. He was in good spirits - and just as excited as I was.
JN. Is there one lesson you've learned from your time with The Doors?
RK. You have to make your own mind up from the very beginning, and be committed to whatever it is that you do with your life. Jim was committed to burning out everything and to blowing out all the candles - he basically said "Who cares what the fuck happens?" But he also paid the price. He also had a hell of a lot of fun. I feel that approach to life is more self-destructive than it is positive. It's not necessary. You can be committed to something and still achieve your goals and take care of yourself at the same time. Plan for the future and make sure you've got something left for later on. Being a guitar player allows for that - look at Les Paul. He's 74 and still burning. As a guitarist I'm really lucky. That just says to me that it's not necessary to screw yourself up with drugs to get your point across. I'm lucky to be alive and still be playing my instrument. Take notice and learn from a guy like Jim Morrison. He's a legend, but he's dead and gone. You can make a mark on this life and be around to enjoy it. Learn from this.
Jesse Nash
While Morrison blew out the candles, guitarist Robby Krieger stayed alight. Jesse Nash hears how.
JN. How did you work things out musically with Jim?
RK. Well, you know, when we were working on songs it was great, because he was really a normal guy. In fact, that was probably the only time that he was normal. Jim and I worked out a lot of the songs together. We wrote most of the stuff and when we were writing he'd come and stay at my house.
JN. Was much Doors music influenced by LSD?
RK.Uhm... yeah. Especially songs written by Jim. He was taking a lot of LSD. I had taken LSD, but stopped before The Doors were formed. If I'd continued to take LSD, I thought I'd go crazy. And with Jim, the rest of the band had to be super straight in order to balance him off. If we were messed up then who would take care of Jim?. LSD did influence our music as far as the whole aura of universal subjects and more cerebral stuff like that. It really stimulates the thought process.
JN. Does it agItate you when people overlook your songwriting accomplishments?
RK. It's depressing sometimes. To be honest, I don't care if people think that Jim wrote all the songs, but if they think José Feliciano wrote them, that really gets me pissed off.
JN. 'Light My Fire' was the first song you ever wrote? RK. One day, Jim said: "Everybody go home and write some songs, because we don't have enough songs." I knew if I were to write a song for Jim it had to be pretty heavy, because Jim's songs were very heavy. So I knew it had to be about earth, air, fire or water. I tried so many different combinations:" Come on baby breathe my air... come on baby share my earth" Shit like that, man. It was pretty embarrassing until I finally got it to "Come on baby light my fire" That knocked Jim out. Jim wrote most of his songs when he lived with this guy named Dennis Jacobs, and Dennis had this great dope. When he would smoke this dope with Dennis; well, the songs would just pop into Jim's head and he'd write them the way they were on the final record without ever really having to change them. Pretty sensational if you think about it. Most of Jim's songs made it to the album as first drafts! It's like the songs were already written and just waiting for someone to use them. It was weird.
JN. Did Jim Morrison's death make you want to drop out of the music scene?
RK. For a while: but then I fought back and it made me want to get into it more than ever. When Jim died I thought" Shit! What do I do now?" All I had ever known is music. I couldn't fathom the idea of doing anything else.
JN. You tried to put The Doors back together without Jim. Why?
RK. We hoped to capture something but it never felt very good. Without him it was very awkward. There was no balance any more. We were totally fucked.
JN. What are the rest of The Doors doing?
RK. Acting, directing, I think. The rest of the band hasn't been doing any music.
JN. There are mamy stories as to how Jim Morrison died. What really happened?
RK. I wish I knew, but I don't. Jim was in Paris and we weren't.
JN. Do you think Jim Morrison was murdered?
RK. I doubt it. Why would anyone want to murder Jim? He wasn't threatening anybody at the time. If they were going to murder him they would have done it a lot earlier.
JN. I was told he drank himself to death
RK. That's possible - but he was pretty sick when he went to Paris. I remember Jim coughing up blood before he left. I'm sure it wasn't suicide because that just wasn't in Jim's nature. I talked to him about a week before he died, and told him that LA Woman was doing real good. He was in good spirits - and just as excited as I was.
JN. Is there one lesson you've learned from your time with The Doors?
RK. You have to make your own mind up from the very beginning, and be committed to whatever it is that you do with your life. Jim was committed to burning out everything and to blowing out all the candles - he basically said "Who cares what the fuck happens?" But he also paid the price. He also had a hell of a lot of fun. I feel that approach to life is more self-destructive than it is positive. It's not necessary. You can be committed to something and still achieve your goals and take care of yourself at the same time. Plan for the future and make sure you've got something left for later on. Being a guitar player allows for that - look at Les Paul. He's 74 and still burning. As a guitarist I'm really lucky. That just says to me that it's not necessary to screw yourself up with drugs to get your point across. I'm lucky to be alive and still be playing my instrument. Take notice and learn from a guy like Jim Morrison. He's a legend, but he's dead and gone. You can make a mark on this life and be around to enjoy it. Learn from this.
Jesse Nash