February 28, 2007     The Doors receive their star
What a great day it was today when The Doors were honored with a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.  First of all, the forecasted weather was for scattered showers but instead it turned out to be a beautiful day with perfect temperatures!  Robby and Ray were on hand to accept the honors  following remarks by Elektra founder Jac Holzman, L.A. deejay and friend Jim Ladd, and Dylan Graham on behalf of the Morrison family and John Densmore.  John did not attend the event, and instead was on the air across town on radio station KPFK.  It was all over in about 45 minutes, and then the honorees posed for photos with family and friends by their shiny new star.  Robby and Ray and their families along with an invited guest list, then adjourned across the street to the famous Roosevelt Hotel for lunch.  It was a fabulous event with a large crowd of fans that turned out to see the band receive the honor.  Tomorrow I will share some of the photos that I took.  link to media pix & story   Congratulations to The Doors!  

February 27, 2007     star ceremony in less than 24 hours! <> Ray will be on L.A. radio <> Portugese magazine
The Doors will be honored with a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame in just about 18 hours from now, at 11:30 a.m. local time.  There will probably be coverage on some of the local news stations, but I don't know which to suggest as the most likely.   The Jimmy Kimmel Show's theater is right across the street from the ceremony and sometimes 'Uncle Frank' does some street coverage, so that is a possibility for Wednesday late night television.   I am certain I will have some photos to share from the event later in the week. 

Ray Manzarek will be on local L.A. oldies radio station K-Earth 101 tomorrow morning before the star ceremony.  I don't know what time that will occur, but the station's website does have a link to listen live.  The station's website is:  http://www.kearth101.com/   (thanks, David)

The March issue of Portugese magazine "Blitz" has a 12-page article about the band.  The cover is a Joel Brodsky photo of Jim Morrison.  Unfortunately it's not in English but my source on this tells me that basically it is a collection of impressions by the three surviving Doors and Bruce Botnick on each of the studio albums, along with little anecdotes and trivia.   To see the magazine cover, go to:  http://blitz.aeiou.pt/gen.pl?p=assinaturas     To check out the story, go to:  http://blitz.aeiou.pt/gen.pl?p=stories&op=view&fokey=bz.stories/4909    (thanks, Pedro)

February 26, 2007     Wolfgang's Vaults counter-sue
Wolfgang's Vaults are now counter-suing the bands and record labels who previously filed suit to prevent Bill Sagan from streaming concerts and selling memorabilia acquired from the Bill Graham archives.  read story

February 23, 2007     Densmore for Obama <> Opsasnick interview <> Walk of Fame ceremony <> pre-order next month's releases <> Doors song on TV show
John Densmore was photographed at a rally for Senator Barack Obama over the weekend.  To see the photo, go here.  (thanks, GT)

Mark Opsasnick, author of "The Lizard King Was Here:  The Life and Times of Jim Morrison in Alexandria, Virginia", was interviewed last summer by Doors Collector Magazine.  That interview has finally appeared on-line.   Read it at:  http://www.doors.com/magazine/opsasnick.html

The Doors official website has sent out an email to those who are signed up for their mailing list, with a flyer for the star on the Walk of Fame ceremony next Wednesday morning.  It indicates that there will be remarks by Elektra founder Jac Holzman, and L.A. deejay and Doors fan Jim Ladd.   see flyer

The Doors official website sent out another e-blast to subscribers earlier in the week regarding the March 27th release of the re-mastered releases with the remixes, etc.  This is now available for pre-order.  For more info, go to:  http://thedoors.shop.musictoday.com/Dept.aspx?cp=1127_10535

About 30 seconds of "Tell All The People" was used in last night's episode of "Knights of Prosperity" ... but my source was uncertain if it was the original or a cover.  (thanks, David my son)

February 20, 2007     author appearances
Mark Opsasnick, author of "The Lizard King Was Here:  The Life and Times of Jim Morrison in Alexandria, Virginia", has scheduled some new appearances for March and April in the Alexandria / Baltimore vicinity.  One in particular, on March 17th in Alexandria, will include a Q & A session with several of Morrison's friends from George Washington High School's Class of 1961, so that will be an especially interesting one!   All the new dates have been added to the calendar below.  For more information, visit the author's website at:  http://www.capitolrock.com/appearances.html    (thanks, Mark)

February 19, 2007     Doors get RIAA Diamond Award 
The Doors are having quite a month for honors!  According to The Doors official website, on February 14th "The Best of The Doors" was certified 10X platinum which means 10,000,000 copies.  That is more than a little astounding.  The story goes on to say that 500,000 copies have sold in the last six months alone.  Fewer than 100 albums have ever been Diamond Award recipients by RIAA.  Congratulations on this latest recognition to my favorite band, ever!

February 17, 2007    Robby guest appearance <> Doors Grammy swag <> Doors cover songs <> Robby & Evan Marshall pix
Robby Krieger made an unannounced guest appearance last night at Guy's North in Studio City, California where the Evan Marshall Band was playing.  You may remember Evan's name from his stint as the vocalist when Robby played three Doors songs last May at the Uli Jon Roth & Friends concert on UCLA Campus.  Anyway, Robby showed up and played Break On Through, Love Me Two Times, Peace Frog, Roadhouse Blues, Touch Me, Riders On The Storm, and L.A. Woman.  Robby's golfing buddy Tim Petrovich sat in and sang Back Door Man.  Even Robby's son Waylon was there, and he joined in on guitar on Roadhouse Blues.  Dave Bernal from the band "Analog In" joined in on harmonica.  Dave Waterbury, who played bass at that Uli Jon Roth show, played on Riders and L.A. Woman.   Phil Chen played the Booker T and the MG's version of Light My Fire on guitar after Robby finished.  Later on, Waylon returned and did Stevie Ray Vaughn's "Cold Shot" with the band.  Riders on the Storm drum tech Owen Goldman drums with this band, and was also in this whole exciting mix.  Check back later for photos of the show, and check out the Evan Marshall Band at:  http://www.myspace.com/evanmarshallband   (thanks, Evan)

"The Doors By The Doors" coffee table book was included in the 'swag' gift basket that presenters and performers at last Sunday's 49th Grammy Awards received.  To see the full list of swag, go to: http://www.theswagtimeblog.com/   (thanks, David my son)

Music of The Doors has always gotten plenty of "cover" treatments.   http://www.last.fm/tag/doors%20cover/tracks takes an awesome stab at listing almost 100 of the recorded covers.  It is probably not complete, but certainly covers an impressive chunk of them.   (thanks, Gilles)

As reported earlier today, Robby made a guest appearance last night at a club where the Evan Marshall Band was performing, and brought along his son Waylon and golfing buddy Tim Petrovich.  I have now added some photos from the performance.  see photos   (thanks, Evan)

February 16, 2007    Ian has resigned from Riders On The Storm
Sadly, Ian Astbury has resigned from Riders On The Storm.  Ian took a lot of crap from a segment of Doors fans who begrudged him taking Jim Morrison's place at the microphone.  Thankfully, he persevered for 4-1/2 years which enabled Robby and Ray to play their music live to hundreds of thousands of fans all over the world.  According to the press release, Riders On The Storm manager Tom Vitorino says the band will continue to perform and are looking at a 'short list' of potential vocalists.   Thank you, Ian  ... good luck and best wishes for continued success with The Cult.   see news stories

February 15, 2007    Robby accepting Grammy <> announcement tomorrow
A photo of Robby accepting The Doors' Lifetime Achievement Award on Saturday night can be found (but not easily) on the Grammy website.  Ray's brother Rick Manzarek can be seen just behind Robby.  Scroll through the 5 images to see the photo at:   http://www.grammy.com/GRAMMY_Awards/News/Default.aspx?newsID=2378&newsCategoryID=1

Be sure to keep checking this site tomorrow (Friday) for an important announcement.

February 11, 2007    last night's pre-Grammy ceremony <> tonight's Grammy broadcast
Robby Krieger was quoted in a brief on-line story this morning about last night's pre-Grammy ceremony where the band received their well-deserved Lifetime Achievement Award from the US Recording Academy!  Robby was quoted as saying that Jim Morrison would have been "very honoured".  He added, "People think he was anti-establishment, but in reality he wanted to be bigger than the BEATLES."   To see full (but brief story) go to:  http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/grammy%20honours%20for%20the%20doors%20the%20grateful%20dead%20and%20baez_1021640    Don't miss tonight's big Grammy presentation on CBS.  See the February 9th news story below for more on that!   Another on-line story from Yahoo News went on to say that Robby was the sole member to appear at the ceremony at Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles, although family members of late singer Jim Morrison were on hand.  John Densmore, the band's drummer, thanked the academy in a videotaped message, during which he recited Morrison's "American Prayer" poem.  "Death makes angels of us all and gives us wings," Densmore said in reciting the poem.  That full story can be read at:  http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070211/music_nm/grammys_lifetime_dc_1

Recognition for The Doors' Lifetime Achievement Award on tonight's Grammy telecast occurred about 39 minutes into the show.  Singer Pink did the honors, and then the camera went to Robby in the audience where he was seated with his wife Lynn.  To Robby's left was Ray Manzarek's brother Rick, then a pretty blonde, and then The Doors manager Jeff Jampol.  Robby was all smiles and gave a big "thumbs up" to the camera.   Congratulations!!!

February 9, 2007    Grammy award presentation this weekend <> Ray & Roy Rogers release

Slide guitarist Roy Rogers and Ray Manzarek have just completed a project.  Tentatively called "Ballads Before The Rain," the recording features both musicians performing songs that include The Doors covers, jazz arrangements and original tunes.  Roy Rogers is considered one of the nation's top slide guitar players, and will perform at Santa Fe Station in Las Vegas later this month.   I don't have any information yet on a release date.

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February 8, 2007    Doors reunion possible with Eddie Vedder!
The remaining Doors (yes, all three) could possibly reunite for concerts this year, but ONLY if Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder agreed to do the honors at the microphone, according to statements from John Densmore that appear today on ContactMusic.com.  Eddie Vedder was the vocalist for the band on 3 songs when they were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on January 12, 1993.  Also, as reported in another recent story here, the band members are planning another book signing and poetry reading event in England later this year.  Stay tuned!    read full story

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February 6, 2007    Doors press release
The Doors issued a press release today which summarizes the current and upcoming events.  As a reminder, the band gets a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award this weekend.  The Grammy awards show will be broadcast on Sunday, February 11 from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.  The press release goes on to reveal the exact location of the star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame for the ceremony on Wednesday, February 28th.  Their star will be in front of the Virgin Megastore at Hollywood and Highland, adjacent to Mann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood.   read press release

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February 5, 2007     Robby Krieger Band news! <> Doors festival in Germany <> i-94 new CD
The Robby Krieger Band has recorded a song (hopefully, more than one) for a new free internet television channel called RockandRollTV4U.com according to a press release.  RockandrollTV4U.Com is a broadband channel of the 21 channel TV4U.Com broadband network has launched with top rock and roll stars of the 1960's and 70's reprising their Billboard Top 40 hits.  This press release is all I know about this.  If anyone gets more info on this or finds out when Robby's performance might occur, please advise.  I'd love to share that info here.   read press release

There will be a Doors festival called A Feast of Friends in Germany on June 15 and 16 in Heyrothsberge.  If you can read German, there is more information available at:  http://www.feastoffriends.de/   (thanks, Uwe)

Fans of Angelo Barbera, formerly of the Robby Krieger Band as well as the original bass player with The Doors of the 21st Century, will want to know that his band i-94 has released a new CD.  "Control" is available through CDBaby and iTunes.   You can also keep up with the band through their website:  http://i94music.com/

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February 4, 2007    John & Reza performance
John Densmore and Persian musician Reza Derakshani will perform together on March 10th at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles.  For more information, go to:  http://theatre.ebellla.com/public/calendar/index.cfm

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February 2, 2007     Henry Diltz exhibit
Photographer Henry Diltz will be at Daytona Beach (Florida) Community College this weekend hosting a retrospective of his work.  The source story does not indicate how long the exhibit runs but if you are in that area, I am sure it can be easily determined.  Read the story at:  http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/custom/tourism/orl-vfreetime0207feb02,0,837346.story?track=rss

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February 1, 2007     British 40th anniversary promo <> photo book re-released
A British promo is making the rounds in Doors circles this week, promoting the releases already out and coming in the future during this 40th anniversary year by Rhino and WMI.  The video shows a quick clip of the Whisky onstage jam that capped the November 8th book signing and anniversary launch.  The video also says that a London launch party with band members and special guests is being finalized.  How cool is that?  It sounds like Europe may get a chance to experience something similar to the excitement of the Sunset Strip party.   It takes a long time to open, but with luck and patience, see it at:   http://www.annexfilms.co.uk/jpc/Doors_Edit_6.mov    (thanks, Gilles)

French photographer Patricia Devaux has released a new version of her book, "Stone Immaculate - A Graveyard Poem."  I do not read French well, but it looks like the cost including shipping outside of Europe is 30 euros.   For more information or to order, go to: http://patricia.devaux.com.free.fr/   (thanks, Gilles and Simone)