Prior News & Reviews
February 2003
February 28, 2003 Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, TX on-sale date
The Doors 21st Century at Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, TX goes on sale at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, March 10 through Ticketmaster http://www.ticketmaster.com/artist/861024 This date is according to Ticketmaster, although local San Antonio newspaper ads indicate March 3 on-sale date. (thanks, Dawn)
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February 27, 2003 John wrote to editor of L.A. Weekly
John Densmore wrote to the editor of the latest L.A. Weekly. His letter appears on page 8 of the February 28-March 6 issue, as follows: WHEN IS A DOOR NOT A DOOR? If Greg Burk had turned 14 pages past his Concert Pick of the Week ["The 21st Century Doors," February 14-20], to the Politics Pick of the Week on Page 150, he'd have had the answer to his question (which was written quite eloquently, I would like to add). Obviously, if I am playing a benefit "For the Arts" in Santa Monica schools, I am over the ear affliction. It's the integrity thing that is holding me back from cashing in with the 19th Century Doors (to me, they are looking backwards). signed: John Densmore, Los Angeles
Note: the text of the "Concert Pick of the Week" that John is writing about, can be found in February 6th news item further down this page.
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February 26, 2003 NextStage - Grand Prairie, TX internet ticket pre-sale
An on-line internet ticket pre-sale for The Doors 21st Century show at NextStage in Grand Prairie, TX began at noon (TX time) today. Internet pre-sale ends at 5:00 pm on February 27. General public ticket on-sale begins 10:00 a.m. on Friday, February 28
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February 25, 2003 Ray Manzarek's "helpful input" for Aleks Syntek
Ray Manzarek is credited as providing "helpful input" on a 1993 album called "Mas Fuerte de lo Que Pensaba" by a Mexico City singer-songwriter named Aleks Syntek. A recent story about that performer appeared in the February 19th issue of Orange County Register. read it (thanks, Beverly)
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February 24, 2003 Jim's UCLA film school professor died
UCLA film professor emeritus Edgar Brokaw, Jr. died December 9 at the age of 85. He retired in 1988, and counted Jim Morrison and Frances Ford Coppola among his students at UCLA Film School in the 60's. A memorial service was held at UCLA on Sunday, February 23rd. (thanks, David my son)
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February 22, 2003 The Doors 21st Century on "Extra" tonight
The Doors 21st Century rehearsals and interview footage was shown on tonight's "Extra" on NBC tonight. The feature opened with the commentator saying that last year The Doors were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and now doors are opening all over again. Original members Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger are back together, touring as The Doors 21st Century and recording for the first time since 1972. Ray said it feels great, it's like riding a bicycle. Ian says he's definitely aware of the shoes he has to fill, and that he is totally honored to be asked to do this. Original drummer John Densmore is no longer keeping the beat. Ray said they're honoring Jim, that Jim is always with them. Robby said Jim is probably looking down on them and saying "You fools, 30 years ago I checked out and you guys are missing all the fun." Ray said we won't hear Jim's favorite song, 'The End.' That song is sacred to Jim. Ray said they'll reserve that for when the original Doors are reunited on the other side. Footage shown was of band rehearsals, close-ups of Ray, Robby, and Ian, clips from Hollywood Bowl concert, and Jim's grave.
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February 21, 2003 Jim Morrison "Simulatron"
Jim Morrison "Simulatron" from Modern Humorist - follow this link to check it out. (thanks, Jeanne) http://www.modernhumorist.com/mh/0107/simulatron/ This url can also be found on LINKS page under 'Fun Stuff"
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February 21, 2003 Carson Daly show last night
Roadhouse Blues was the song selected for broadcast on last night's (this morning's) Last Call With Carson Daly, which was taped last Wednesday, February 12th in NYC. Guess we'll have to wait to see if and when the other song will get used on a future broadcast. Great camera work ... too bad there was no interview, though. A friend was in the Carson Daly studio for the taping; read his in-person account here.
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February 20, 2003 Rolling Stone magazine mention <> D21C in San Antonio
Rolling Stone Magazine (March 6, 2003 issue - cover: Phish) has a small blurb on page 22 about John's lawsuit: "The Doors Sued" Doors drummer John Densmore has filed suit against his former bandmates, claiming they are deceptively touring under the group's name. The Doors recently re-formed with a new singer, Ian Astbury, and drummer, Stewart Copeland. "The Doors are Jim, John, Ray and Robby," Densmore says. "I don't care if they call themselves 'former members of The Doors,' 'the Hinges' or 'the Windows.' I just want clarity." The revamped group recently tweaked its name to the Doors 21st Century, but Densmore claims the change is undetectable in promotional materials. Calls to the Doors 21st Century were unreturned at press time.
Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas has been identified as the venue for the March 30th show according to The Doors 21st Century tour dates page on Robby's website at http://robbykrieger.com/doors/tour.htm
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February 19, 2003 new tour dates for The Doors 21st Century
New, confirmed tour dates were posted today on The Doors 21st Century website at http://robbykrieger.com/doors/tour.htm They are included above. Stay tuned for more shows to be announced.
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February 17, 2003 Jim reference on HBO's "Oz"
On Sunday night's HBO broadcast of "Oz" in an episode called "Junkyard Dawgs", the ghost of a murdered inmate was reflecting on death as a segue between its usual violent and disturbing scenes. As he spoke of icons to be venerated, there was a photo shown of the vicinity of Jim's grave. There was a line of young fans leaning against one of the buildings adjacent to Jim's grave, including one fan wearing a Jim t-shirt.
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February 17, 2003 Entertainment Law Digest filing summary
Entertainment Law Digest dated today has a summary of the lawsuit, and identifies the plaintiffs and defendants. (thanks, Beverly) http://www.entlawdigest.com/story.cfm?storyID=2557
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February 16, 2003 "People" magazine mentions lawsuit
"People" magazine, February 24th issue (cover: Love, Sex and Dating in 2003) mentions the Doors lawsuit on page 75, under "SUED" :
On Feb 4 in L.A., John Densmore, 58, the former drummer for the Doors, sued his ex-bandmates, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, 63, and guitarist Robby Krieger, 57, for using the rock group's name in a reunion concert this month. The name and logo of the '60's band, which broke up several years after the 1971 death of lead singer Jim Morrison, is owned by the three surviving members and Morrison's estate. "It shouldn't be called the Doors .... It could be Windows, the Hinges, I don't care," Densmore said. Manzarek said the band is billing itself as "The Doors, 21st Century." (thanks, Deva)
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February 15, 2003 summary of The Doors 21st Century set lists
A link to a page itemizing all set lists to date performed by The Doors 21st Century has been added to the bottom of these news items. go there
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February 14, 2003 LA Times Calendar today: Ray calls John a hothead
Ray Manzarek 'fired back' yesterday at John Densmore on the topic of the lawsuit according to today's LA Times Calendar. (thanks, Felicia) read it here or on-line at http://www.calendarlive.com/cl-et-boucher14feb14,0,830787.story
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February 13, 2003 LA Weekly review of Uni Amp show
The Doors 21st Century at Universal Amphitheater last Friday night is reviewed by L.A. Weekly's Greg Burk on page 58. read it
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February 13, 2003 in-person account of Carson Daly show taping
The Doors 21st Century taped an appearance on Last Call With Carson Daly last evening in New York City. NYC-area rock writer and photojournalist - and good friend - Glyn Emmerson was in the audience and provided a detailed account of the taping. Glyn is the Daddy of this website; he conceived the initial design and layout, and pushed me until I was convinced I wanted to do it! read it (SPECIAL big thanks, Glyn)
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February 13, 2003 Ray and Robby respond to John's lawsuit, according to Variety
According to
Variety.com dated February 12th: (thanks, Dave B.)===========================================================
February 12, 2003 Last Call With Carson Daly show taping report
Last Call With Carson Daly taped at 6:00 p.m. tonight in NYC. Between a friend who was in the studio audience, and a detailed post from someone identified only as "sd" on Robby's message board, this much is known: Ray explained that Stewart is still hurt, and Ty was on drums. Ray wore a sport jacket and an orange scarf. Robby was in camouflage pants and a 'funky' shirt. They performed Roadhouse Blues; took a short break, and then did Five To One. (thanks, Jude and "sd")
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February 12, 2003 Last Call With Carson Daly broadcast date
The Doors 21st Century performance on NBC's Last Call With Carson Daly, taping this date in NYC, is scheduled for broadcast the night/early morning of February 20/21.
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February 11, 2003 another review of Friday night's Uni Amp show
Another show review of the Universal Amphitheater show on Friday night - link is below. Now, this reviewer saw the same show that my friends and I did! (thanks, Beverly)
The Hollywood Reporter 2/10/03 The Doors by John Lappen http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hollywoodreporter/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1813878
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February 10, 2003 reviews of Friday night's Uni Amp show
Show reviews of the Universal Amphitheater show on Friday night - links are below. Apparently not ALL of the reviewers had the same expectations that the 6,251 audience members had: a performance starring (at least) two of the original band members re-creating, and occasionally re-working, the music we love and wanted to hear played live. I guess critics get paid to sometimes be negative and picayune. I think I speak for just about everyone rejoicing in the audience that night, that we were not there to hear NEW music ... not yet. There is plenty of time for that. Friday night we wanted our memories jogged and to re-live the experience of a Doors concert,. complete with psychedelic light show --- or, for those too young, to experience for the first time, the sensation of what a Doors show must have been like in those fabulous 60's. In the interest of unbiased reporting, following are links to reviews - including two that I do NOT like:
Orange County Register 2/10/03 Break on Through Expectations by Ben Wener (thanks, Beverly) http://www2.ocregister.com/ocrweb/ocr/article.do?id=24658§ion=SHOW&subsection=MUSIC&year=2003&month=2&day=10
Yahoo! News 2/10/03 Doors Reunion Absolutely Deadly by Steven Mirkin (thanks, neffoo Tom ) http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030210/review_nm/review_music_doors_dc
L.A. Times 2/10/03 Resurrected Doors, Seeds find the past closed, buried by Natalie Nichols http://www.calendarlive.com/music/pop/cl-et-natalie10feb10,0,7072089.story?coll=cl%2Dhome%2Dmore%2Dchannels
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February 9, 2003
profile of drummer Ty DennisTy Dennis has been drumming with the Robby Krieger Band since 2001. Now this powerful and talented drummer is sitting in the drum seat behind The Doors 21st Century in their recent television and concert appearances. Find out who Ty Dennis is: read here
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February 9, 2003
link to more terrific photos from Uni Amp showhttp://www.wireimage.com/GalleryListing.asp?navtyp=GLS====22980&str=&styp=&sfld=&sortval=3a&PageNum=1 will take you to some more pretty amazing, up-close photos from the Universal Amphitheater show on Friday night. (thanks, Inka)
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February 9, 2003
link to great selection of Doors shirts and board shortsDragonflyclothing.com has a terrific selection of officially licensed Doors shirts for sale. The first two designs shown were also for sale at The Palms Resort Casino in Las Vegas last month. There are also Doors designs of guys and girls board shorts, and girls shirts. Click on the clothing item, select The Doors from the drop-down menu, and search. (thanks, David my son)
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February 9, 2003
Burning Sky benefit shows <> Jim pajamas <> 'The Smoking Gun' storiesBurning Sky's latest
album with John Densmore guesting on several tracks, was nominated recently for a Grammy. The band is performing several benefit concerts to raise money to travel to NYC for the ceremony. A concert last week included an auction with Doors memorabilia. There is another benefit concert coming up this week on February 12th. There are raffles occurring through the end of the month for John-signed Doors memorabilia. Read the whole story in Arizona Daily Sun. (thanks, Beverly)Want to sleep with Jim? Here's a link for some pajamas (thanks, David my son) http://www.purpleskirt.com/collections/buy.cfm?productid=AL00338
Jim's errant behaviors yield some interesting reading in these miscellaneous documents: (thanks again, David my son) http://www.thesmokinggun.com/altitude/friday1.html and http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/jimdoors1.shtml
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February 8, 2003
last night's Universal Amphitheater show reviewThe Doors 21st Century played a sold-out show in Los Angeles last night at the Universal Amphitheater, a 6200 seat top-notch concert venue. Read a review here See dozens of photos from the show on Robby's website on The Doors 21st Century section, at: http://robbykrieger.com/doors/gallery24.htm Anyone else wanting to contribute a review of the show, please send to the e-mail address at the bottom of this home page.
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February 6, 2003
Official press release re Densmore's lawsuit on websiteAn official press release from The Doors 21st Century management regarding the John Densmore lawsuit is now on The Doors 21st Century website at http://robbykrieger.com/doors/doorsnews.htm
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February 6, 2003
Uni Amp show listed as one of the Concert Picks Of The WeekLA Weekly
regularly picks several upcoming live shows to recommend. The Uni Amp show made the cut this week:"The 21st Century Doors"
Yeah, of course they’re not the Doors. But what’re they gonna call themselves? The Duors? Though this traveling "reunion" show is sold out, it’s worth a few words as something beyond a curiosity, and slavering notices have followed other stops. A better Door than window, the Cult’s Ian Astbury can outbellow the most obvious Jimbo substitute, namely Iggy, who’s entangled in his own Stooges reanimation anyway. Original drummer John Densmore has tinnitus, so that ear affliction — rather than his double-barreled print blast against keyboardist and Doors Incorporated CEO Ray Manzarek last year — must be the reason he’s staying home. Must be that. Or the integrity thing. And ex-Police lieutenant Stewart Copeland is a great skins tickler, everybody says so. Meanwhile, word is that guitarist Robby Krieger (who wrote lots of the ghost arias "retooled" here) and Manzarek are going hog-wild in the enlarged spotlight, jamming and partying like it’s 1969. It’s all about the music now, not the magic. But the music is good. Universal Amphitheater, Universal City; Fri., Feb. 7, 8:15 p.m. (818) 622-4440. —Greg Burk===========================================================
February 5, 2003 Doors legal mess on "Extra" tonight
A brief news feature about The Doors' legal wrangles made its way to NBC's "Extra" this evening. A clip from the Hollywood Bowl video was playing behind the story narration, as well as a snippet of a recent Ian interview and quick footage of the band in rehearsal.
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February 5, 2003 Doors debate on KCAL-TV tonight?? <> Rolling Stone magazine reviewed Las Vegas show <> Universal Amphitheater show is SOLD OUT
Update: there was a brief newsfeature late in the 10:00 news hour about the lawsuit. It included Hollywood Bowl footage, Ray speaking, Ian speaking, a shot of Ray, Ian and Robby sitting on the edge of the stage, and Ty Dennis drumming. Nothing about Stewart Copeland.
Unconfirmed so far: it's possible that John Densmore will appear later tonight on LA's KCAL-TV Channel 9 news program, to debate or discuss his legal challenge to the other band members. This channel runs news & entertainment from 8pm thru 11pm ... I'll update this item if I confirm the appearance later. (thanks, Larry)
The Doors 21st Century show in Las Vegas on January 19, is reviewed in Rolling Stone issue #916 dated February 20 (cover: The Beatles) on page 72 on the 'Performance' page read it
The Doors 21st Century show at Universal Amphitheater this Friday night, appears to be SOLD OUT. Inquiries to Ticketmaster indicate there are no seats available!
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February 5, 2003 another news story about John's legal action
Yahoo! News - Former Doors Drummer Sues Bandmates Over Reunion (thanks, neffoo Tom)
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February 4, 2003 John Densmore has taken legal action over use of The Doors name
John Densmore's attorneys filed a legal action in Los Angeles County Superior Court today, charging breach of contract, trademark infringement, and unfair competition against Ray and Robby. The full press release can be read here. (thanks, John E!)
Rolling Stone has an on-line story about this legal challenge. (thanks, Avery) http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=16122&item=2156101970
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February 3, 2003 Burning Sky CD with guest John Densmore has earned a Grammy nomination
The Burning Sky CD "Spirits In The Wind" released November 2002 on Canyon Records with John Densmore guesting on several tracks, is Grammy-nominated in the best Native American Album category.
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February 1, 2003 Frank Lisciandro photography exhibit in Portland; Uni Amp show fan meeting
Frank Lisciandro will exhibit his photography at Photographic Image Gallery in Portland, Oregon from July 3 thru August 2, 2003. There will be an artist reception from 6 to 9pm on July 3rd. Frank is famous for his association with The Doors as author, filmmaker and photographer. Some of the most famous and enduring Doors photos were taken by Frank. He co-produced An American Prayer, the posthumous poetry album with music by The Doors. He edited two books of Jim Morrison's poetry, Wilderness and The American Night, and authored two essential Doors books, A Feast Of Friends and the photojournal, An Hour For Magic. The website for the gallery is http://www.photographicimage.com/events.ihtml (thanks, Glyn)
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January 2003 Prior News & Reviews
December 2002 Prior News & Reviews November 2002 Prior News & Reviews
October 2002 Prior News & Reviews September 2002 Prior News & Reviews
August 2002 Prior News & Reviews June - July 2002 Prior News & Reviews
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