There were SO many pressing issues when I came on board, and I have literally been trying to do three jobs at once: Manage The Doors, learn all of the back history that I didn't already know - and from a business point-of-view, not just a fan's, and (whew), plan for the future. As you all know, there are/were, in addition to all of the above, several pressing issues, legal and otherwise, that have consumed a fair amount of time as well. However, during all of this time, it has ALWAYS been our aim, and our intention, to super-serve the Doors existing fans FIRST - you guys are, to coin a phrase, our "bread and butter," both literally and figuratively, and you are the ones who not only have paid our bills for the last thirty eight years, but you also carry the critical mantle of keeping The Doors, and Jim's words and ideals, alive for the next generations that will follow you.
And to me, these ideals and words are more important than ever - so please do not for a MINUTE think that we don't realize that there is no one more important on this planet to us than YOU are! And I say this in all sincerity, and from the bottom of my soul - for, to me, this job is not just a paycheck, but a spiritual journey- I hope that doesn't sound too cheesy- and an important mandate, for a LOT of reasons that eclipse mere income (though, to be forthright, that part ain't bad). Now, with the sad news of Danny's passing, it is even MORE important to me to carry the torch, if you will, not only for Jim and The Doors, but for Danny, too, and the ideals HE embodied during his life keeping the legacy alive. Sure, everyone is human, and we ALL have our shortcomings (and I have MORE than my share, to be sure) - but The Doors and I loved Danny, and Danny LOVED The Doors - I can only hope to bring a fraction of the passion, commitment and knowledge to this task that he did, for the majority of his life.
With all of that being said, I am now pretty much caught up with day-to-day affairs, and we are now deep into the planning stages for the future. The highest priority for us is to look forward to new issues, new unreleased material, and to preserve and grow the Spirit of The Doors and Jim Morrison - yes, exposing new generations to them, but first & foremost, to keep YOU guys in the loop, and give you what we know YOU want first. For, after all, we can go out and try to win new fans one by one, or we can keep YOU guys happy, and you will spread the word to hundreds of thousands! This is not rocket science - it is fact, as well as much-deserved respect for the people who are responsible for us being where we are in the FIRST place.
From a straight dollars and cents point-of-view – not that this is relevant, because it is NOT, to me – the BMA releases do not make money for us, or, in extreme cases, they turn a modest profit at best. If anything, they cost us, because the economies of scale are never realized, and in the major-label model, as archaic as it is, one must sell hundreds of thousands of copies before you get into the black. And no BMA release will ever reach that level, nor are they designed to. BMA was founded, and will be run by me, under the same pretext – that we wanted to provide the true hardcore fans with archival material from The Doors that, while not having the potential to make any big bucks, was nevertheless important to our fans, and to the continuation of The Doors’ legacy, both from a documentary and an archival/historical perspective. So, although we do not make much money from BMA, per se, I can assure you that we will keep BMA alive, and active, and will be starting an ambitious release plan commencing this year. Plus, a lot of these recordings are just plain fun, and a great aural snapshot of a time, an energy, and a magic, which all of us here want to keep alive.
There is an ideal which pervades The Doors that transcends mere economics – it’s IMPORTANT. I can go into this topic at length, but don’t want to divert from already too-wordy letter. I will, however, attempt to write to you guys occasionally, expounding upon MY thoughts, whatever they are worth – just to give you an inside look at what I am thinking. Remember, I am just one voice here, but I hope and pray that I can & will speak for some of your thoughts and desires as well. If so, I will have done my job, and if not, I shouldn’t be here anyway. I am here to serve The Doors, AND you guys – as a bridge between all of you, and the music business at large. Hopefully, I will be fluent in all these languages – I am trying! But, to do so, I need your help, and I welcome your input. And, even though you may not hear from me all the time, know that I am here, and The Doors are here, and we want to hear what you have to say. Moreover, we are willing to act upon what you say, wherever it is feasible to do so.
A few months ago, I asked Dave (Familiar Freak) to post a poll online here, asking you guys for your thoughts on what you’d most like to hear from the vaults. You have responded in great numbers, and I have spent the last couple of months conferring with several Doors experts, the band themselves, the estates, Bruce Botnick, and others, trying to determine what we have, what we DON’T have, what we can do, and what should be released.
The answers you gave were very helpful, and, indeed, have served as my guide in looking into this project. You should know, too, that I speak with Dave/Familiar Freak several times a week, and he will continue to be involved with us in several capacities moving forward. Know that he reads everything here, and he & I talk about what’s happening, what you guys are thinking, etc. Dave is also an invaluable asset to me as I reach out to collectors around the world to determine what is available for us to draw from. With all of that being said, I have told Dave some of our plans, given him the go-ahead to tell YOU, and, in addition, I can elucidate for you here some of what will be coming up as we move forward. Here are some of the projects we now have in the works:
• We are compiling a “Grand-Master” list of material for the coolest, most comprehensive four-CD compilation of live Doors recordings ever put together. These will range from early ’67 to ‘70, encompassing the best of the best. Many people are working on this with us, and I will update you on our progress;
• My intention is to have at least ONE new BMA release ready for you before the end of Summer ’05. There are several possibilities we are working on, including a few surprises! Not sure WHAT the release will be yet – perhaps a sampler of what’s coming, perhaps a historical piece – no decisions have been made yet, and most importantly, the band have not weighed in with their opinion yet; • We are working on a couple of different book ideas – stay tuned on this!
• We are working with the band on a feature-length documentary of The Doors – the WHOLE story, as told by the band themselves, which will tell all, reveal all, and give the entire story that no one has ever heard, in its entirety;
• Bruce Botnick has just completed remixing and remastering EVERY Doors studio album in full 5.1 surround and DVD-A – these will be released as a box set first, and then probably packaged along with a re-release of all studio albums next year – ALL repackaged to look like their original, vinyl counterparts, much like the album covers looked in the “Complete Studio Recordings” box set. All of them will be re-mastered again, as well, using the latest digital technology, and will contain some VERY interesting outtakes, alternate takes, etc.
• We are planning to winnow down ALL Doors product out there, and to do away with any & all superfluous packages, etc. next year – we will be left with each studio album, ONE hits album, ONE hits double album, ONE live album, and ONE box set ONLY – all repackaged remastered – and, possibly, with different material, esp. for the double hits CD, the live album and the box set, which could, conceivably, be all new.
• As most of you know, we have been doing remixes of some of The Doors songs – so far, with Snoop Dogg, for a videogame, “Need For Speed II,” The Crystal Method, Paul Oakenfold, and BT. We are also in the process of doing a collection of underground/hip-hop DJ remixes. The Doors are EXTREMELY popular in the underground DJ culture, across the board, and across many musical genres -instead of so many of them just sampling The Doors for background, we thought it would be cool to work with some of them, not only to present The Doors in the best possible light, but to carry The Doors’ torch to some of the DJs’ fans themselves, so they can discover, on their own, what you have already found – hopefully, these potential fans will find the same thing here that WE all have. That is, the original pristine Doors recordings and the original lyrics, poetry, message, ethos and sound embodied there;
• We are also in the process of 86ing a LOT of the older Doors merchandise out there. As we all know, over the years, some things tend to get tired and become uninteresting, so we have been working with a team of artists and designers to bring out an entirely NEW line of cool, worthwhile and innovative merchandise. New T-shirts, jackets, photos (never straying from the original “DOORS” logo – if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it);
• We have unearthed a whole treasure of never-before-seen photographs of The Doors, many of them photo-studio shots from ’67! We will be getting these out there, on merchandise, in packaging, and in print, soon. There is more, but these are just some of the things we are working on for the coming 24 months.
As we get caught up to speed and move ahead into the future, the sky is the limit. Of course, these are ambitious plans, and of course, things change, so NOTHING is cast in stone. But we fully intend to bring all of these things to fruition, and you guys will be the first to know what’s happening (I hope!). In the meantime, I am accessible to any & all of you – if you have questions or comments, please get them to Dave/Familiar Freak, and he & I will go over them – I will give him the answers, and will disseminate them to all of you through the boards.
I may contact a few of you via e-mail, if that’s OK with you, just to solicit some random opinions/comments/input from time-to-time as well. I hope, too, that I can count on your support, personally, as I take on these tremendous tasks. It’s nice to know that someone is out there, and appreciates what I do (aside from the band, of course). Thanks for taking the time to read this….well….diatribe, and hopefully I can get the chance to know some of you and converse with you soon!
Jeff Jampol The Doors Music Co. Los Angeles, CA
(thanks, Fred)
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