John Densmore, drummer for the Doors, is 69 years old today. Born in Los Angeles, Densmore grew up playing piano and later took up drums/percussion for the marching band at his school. He attended Santa Monica City College and California State University, Northridge; at the latter he studied ethnic music under jazz cellist Fred Katz. He joined The Doors in 1965 and remained a member until the bands dissolution in 1973. Densmore met keyboardist Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robby Krieger at a Transcendental Meditation lecture. Densmore says, There wouldnt be any Doors without Maharishi. According to Densmores own book, he quit the band on one occasion in reaction to Jim Morrisons increasingly self-destructive behavior, although he returned the next day. He repeatedly suggested that the band stop touring, but Krieger and Manzarek were resistant to this notion. After the Doors final, disastrous performance with Morrison in New Orleans on December 12, 1970, the band agreed to discontinue performing live. The New Orleans debacle would be the bands last public performance as a quartet. Densmore allowed Riders on the Storm to be used to sell Pirelli Tires, in England only. Densmore later stated that he heard Jims voice in his ears and ended up donating the money earned to charity. In 2002, Densmore vetoed an offer by Cadillac for $15 million for Break on Through (To the Other Side) because of his strong views to conserve the environment. Densmore formed a band with fellow ex-Doors Robby Krieger in 1973 called Butts Band. The band released two albums with two different lineups but disbanded in 1975. Densmore left rock and roll in the 1980s, moving to the world of dance as he performed with Bess Snyder and Co., touring the United States for two years. In 1984, at La Mama Theatre in New York, he made his stage acting debut in Skins, a one-act play he had written. In 1985, he won the LA Weekly Theater Award for music with Methusalem, directed by Tim Robbins. The play Rounds, which he co-produced, won the NAACP award for theatre in 1987. In 1988, he played a feature role in Band Dreams and Bebop at the Gene Dynarski Theatre. He developed and performed a one-man piece from the short story, The King of Jazz, at the Wallenboyd Theatre in 1989. With Adam Ant, he co-produced Be Bop A Lula at Theatre Theatre in 1992. He has acted in numerous TV shows, most memorably as himself in the show Square Pegs, working as a drummer for Johnny Slashs band Open 24 Hours. His film credits include: Get Crazy with Malcolm McDowell, Dudes directed by Penelope Spheeris, and The Doors directed by Oliver Stone. Densmore wrote his best-selling autobiography, Riders On The Storm (1990), about his life and the time he spent with Morrison and The Doors. In the first chapter Densmore describes the solemn day on which he and the band finally visited Morrisons grave around three years after he had died. As the drummer and an influential member of The Doors, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He worked as a technical adviser on the 1991 film The Doors, and was very impressed with Val Kilmers performance as Morrison and overall was quite happy with the film. In 2013, Densmore released The Doors Unhinged, a book covering his legal battle with Krieger and Manzarek over the use of the name The Doors for a tour they were doing, and Densmores veto over a 2003 offer by Cadillac to buy the rights to The Doors music. Densmore on learning of Jim Morrison’s death.
Posted on: Sun, 01 Dec 2013 06:02:16 +0000
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