Prior News & Reviews
March 2004
March 30, 2004 'Road To Return' can be purchased on video
"Road To Return" is an award-winning, one-hour documentary produced by Leslie Neale and her husband, John Densmore in 1998. This program was broadcast last night on L.A. channel 58, which may be the first time it has aired locally on cable television. Narrated by actor Tim Robbins, this intense and thought-provoking film focuses on a program in New Orleans that helps ex-convicts return to society. Although Robby Krieger does not appear in the program, his name is among those credited with Special Thanks. At the end of the broadcast, information was provided for ordering a videotape of the program: call 1-800-499-5202 to order by credit card, or send check or money order for $29.95 to WYES-TV, 916 Navarre Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70124. A detailed summary can be found on the official Doors website under John's bio, at http://www.thedoors.com/band/john/?fa=road_info
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March 29, 2004 Ian's visa problems are resolved and more tour dates are confirmed
The Doors of the 21st Century have confirmed more U.S. and European dates. Ian's visa problems are resolved, according to this statement at http://robbykrieger.com/doors/doorsnews.htm Finally!!! Ian has secured his work Visa and everything is back on track for D21C. The April 23rd show in Minneapolis is going to happen, as well as the Music Midtown Festival Show in Atlanta on May 1, and Sunfest in West Palm Beach, Florida on May 2. For all you Chicago fans... D21C is now scheduled to play LoopFest on July 4th. From there it's off to Europe for an 11+ date tour that will take the band from Brussels to Athens with many stops in between. Then right after they get back from Europe, they will head up to Canada for a couple of shows including Summerfest in Manitoba. All dates are now posted on the tour schedule, so it is ok to purchase your plane tickets. The dates can be found listed at: http://robbykrieger.com/doors/tour.htm
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March 28, 2004 The Doors are named as one of Rolling Stone's "Immortals"
The Doors are named among "The Immortals" in Rolling Stone Magazine's special issue #946 (April 15, 2004- cover: "The Immortals"). The 'Fifty Greatest Artists of All Time' were voted on by 55 musicians, performers, writers and producers. The Doors write-up is by Marilyn Manson read it
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March 27, 2004 "Mayor of the Sunset Strip" movie in theaters now
Ray Manzarek and Danny Sugerman were interviewed in 1998 for inclusion in a movie that was underway documenting the life and career of renowned Los Angeles deejay Rodney Binghenheimer. I saw this film when it previewed a year ago, and can confirm that Ray and Danny interview clips appear several times. The music and film celebrities who participated in this film to discuss Rodney's contributions are truly a "Who's Who" ... they can be found listed under 'Production Notes' on the website for the film, which is: www.mayorofthesunsetstrip.com Although this movie is in limited release as of its opening yesterday, it will see wider release. Current limited engagement theaters are also listed on the site. read review
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March 26, 2004 Ian reportedly working on solo CD <> more news about Ian's solo projects
Ian Astbury is working on a solo CD, according to 'Rita's Rock Report' broadcast this morning on L.A. radio station 95.5 KLOS. The actual text of that report is usually not available on the KLOS site for several days.
Ian Astbury's current solo projects are further discussed at http://www.tourdates.co.uk/stories.html#astbury and says this: Recent stories that the Cult's Ian Astbury has been working with Nine Inch Nails man Trent Reznor have been confirmed: "Several songs have reportedly been completed, and Trent and engineer Leo Herrera are said to be tracking and experimenting with vocals right now". As far as we know it's only a studio project at this stage but we will let you know if anything hits the road over here. In between appearances with the Doors 21st Century Ian Astbury has also been busying himself working on out and out Solo material with Strokes Producer Gordon Raphael in London: "Members of Gordon's own band Black Light and London's C33X have been drafted in to supply Ronson-esque guitar licks and Zeppelin grooves to the project. Watch out for a future release". Hoping to review it soon on Tourdates. (thanks, Abel)
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March 25, 2004 review of John Densmore's conference appearance last month <> Robby is listed in "1000 Great Guitarists" book
John Densmore appeared at a conference in February sponsored by the C. J. Jung Institute on the subject of "L.A. Myths" (see prior story). The Santa Monica Mirror ran a story the following week with a summary of that conference, including John's appearance. read it
Robby Krieger is listed in the "1000 Great Guitarists" book from Hugh Gregory. No surprise there!!! This book is about ten years old; a view of the book's cover can be seen here on www.amazon.com As best I can tell from the free book preview allowed on Amazon, the guitarists are listed alphabetically without attempting to rank them numerically -- thank goodness.
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March 23, 2004 "Juvies" has multiple screenings in coming months <> midwest tour dates are "off" for now <> Blender Magazine item on Jim
"Juvies" is the latest documentary film from Leslie Neale & John Densmore and actor Mark Wahlberg. The film chronicles the journey of Los Angeles area adolescents as they make their way through the criminal justice system. The film has already had screenings and received an award, and the screening schedule is accelerating with showings scheduled so far at film festivals in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and L.A., as well as other screenings scheduled at L.A.'s Loyola Marymount University and in Santa Barbara, California. The dates have been added to the above calendar of upcoming events. The following website link provides a history and an overview of the documentary, the screening schedule, as well as how to order a copy. go here
Bad news for fans looking forward to the D21C midwest tour dates. The following message was posted by D21C Webmaster today on http://robbykrieger.com/doors/doorsnews.htm March 23, 2004 2:00pm Well, I know you don't want to read this but...... if you haven't noticed, there are no dates on the tour schedule, other than the European dates. Ian's immigration problems still persist. Doesn't look good for the re-scheduled Minneapolis show. Hope nobody has plane tickets. All I can tell you is that I should have some more information about whether the the April-May shows are going to be happening sometime next week.
Blender Magazine, April 2004 issue, page 98, has a feature called "The 50 Craziest Pop Stars Ever", and guess who made it just under the wire, at #47 -- Jim Morrison, of course: #47 JIM MORRISON: Lived fast, died young. Left a (fairly) good-looking corpse ... in the bath. CASE HISTORY: In the 60's Morrison's method of opening "the doors of perception" was to guzzle booze and vacuum LSD and any other drugs he could get his hands on. Was dead in a bathtub by age 27 in 1971. CRAZIEST MOMENT: Married a witch in New York City. The happy couple drank each other's blood as part of a pagan ceremony. (thanks, Lorie)
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March 22, 2004 D21C tops a dubious U.K. list
U.K.'s Guardian 'The Observer' March 21st edition included a featured entitled 'The 10 Worst Rock Reunions.' The Doors of the 21st Century are #1 on this list, but it deserves to be mentioned that the opening line is: "They were truly awful to begin with, a bloated self-important cabaret of psychedelic fools led by the crown prince of bloated, self-important psychedelic fools, Jim 'the Lizard King' Morrison." Since Mr. Gordon Thomson never liked the band in the first place, what else can be expected? At least he had the sense to acknowledge "... the Doors of the 21st Century continue to tour successfully ... " (thanks, Beverly) read the story
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March 20, 2004 "Road To Return" will be broadcast on L.A. television <> Record Collector magazine item <> Classic Rock magazine review of Wembley Arena show
"Road To Return" is an award-winning, one-hour documentary produced by Leslie Neale and her husband, John Densmore in 1998. This program is scheduled to air on L.A. channel 58 at 10:00 p.m. and may be the first time it has aired locally on cable television. Narrated by actor Tim Robbins, this intense and thought-provoking film focuses on a program in New Orleans that helps ex-convicts return to society. I attended a screening of the film at UCLA when it was first released, and can tell you that John appears in the film several times discussing the program that is the film's subject. A detailed summary can be found on the official Doors website under John's bio, at http://www.thedoors.com/band/john/?fa=road_info
U.K.'s Record Collector magazine, February 2004 issue (cover: 20 LPs That Shook The World) included a feature on pages 36-38 entitled: "The 100 Most Over-Rated Acts In the World, Ever". Believe it or not, The Doors are one of the bands selected. read more
U.K.'s Classic Rock magazine, March 2004 issue (cover: David Lee Roth) has a full-page review of the December 11, 2003 D21C show at London's Wembley Arena read it
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March 18, 2004 Doors references in Guitar One and Mojo magazines <> Ray to perform at benefit for John Kerry
The Doors as a band name were included in the "honorable mention" list of the "Stupidest Band Names Of All Time" according to Guitar One Magazine, April 2004 issue (cover: Incubus). To (try to) put this in perspective, The Beatles topped the list at #1. Yes ranked #7, Toto ranked #8, The Band ranked #10. Other "honorable mention" honors went to Queen, U2, Echo & the Bunnymen, Jethro Tull, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Crash Test Dummies, and Counting Crows, plus some others.
Jim Morrison is included in an inset box entitled "Femme Fatale - Nico's men" in a story about the Velvet Underground's Nico in Mojo Magazine's March 2004 issue (cover: Brian Wilson). The inset reads: "Morrison admired Nico not only for her beauty and elegant composure, for also for her abiity to put away industrial quantities of beer. While the rest of the Factory crowd dismissed Morrison as a pretentious drunk, Nico called him her "soul brother." They enjoyed a romantic, drunken LA summer together in 1967."
Ray Manzarek will perform at a benefit for presidential candidate John Kerry at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, California on March 29th. Other performers include Mickey Hart, Phil Lesh, Carlos Santana, Boz Scaggs, John Fogerty and Roy Rogers. This news came from http://www.raymanzarek.com/appear.html
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March 17, 2004 Chicago show at Orpheum is cancelled
The Doors of the 21st Century appearance at Orpheum Theater in Chicago is cancelled, according to both TicketMaster and the venue site. It is probable that TicketMaster shows the cancellation because the show cannot be re-scheduled at the same venue in the desired time frame: there is another act booked for the Saturday night following the Minneapolis re-scheduled date. Keep the faith that the band will find another suitable venue to play in that same time frame, and will make an announcement of a new venue and new date. Chicago is Ray's hometown .. so, of course the band management will do everything they can do re-schedule that cancelled show!!
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March 16, 2004 West Palm Beach music festival date is confirmed? <> more dates coming for northeast US and Europe <> new documentary film from Leslie Neale & John Densmore
The Doors of the 21st Century appearance at West Palm Beach's SunFest on May 2nd has been discussed at: http://robbykrieger.com/doors/doorsnews.htm However, it cannot be considered confirmed until the information is posted on tour page on Robby Krieger's website, at http://robbykrieger.com/doors/tour.htm
The Doors of the 21st Century are rumored to be adding some northeast U.S. dates for mid-May, as well as adding 5 or 6 more dates to the European tour. No other details are released yet. This news also comes from http://robbykrieger.com/doors/doorsnews.htm
"Juvies" is the latest documentary film from Leslie Neale and John Densmore. The film chronicles the journey of Los Angeles area adolescents as they make their way through the criminal justice system. It had its world premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on February 1st, and has been awarded an OSI (Open Society Institute) Justice Media Fellowship to show the film at major metropolitan area high schools across the United States. The Open Society Institute is a private operating and grant-making foundation based in New York City. The following website link provides a history and an overview of the documentary, the screening schedule, as well as how to order a copy. go here (thanks, Beverly)
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March 14, 2004 Atlanta and West Palm Beach music festivals are on sale
The Doors of the 21st Century advertised appearances at Atlanta's Music MidTown festival, and West Palm Beach's SunFest during the first weekend of May, have not yet been confirmed on http://robbykrieger.com/doors/tour.htm However, tickets for both of those festivals are on sale. The currently advertised dates of appearance may change once confirmed by D21C management.
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March 13, 2004 Mojo Mag includes 'The End' in a list <> postponed Minneapolis show is re-scheduled <> Doors screen saver
UK's Mojo Magazine, April 2004 issue (cover: Freddie Mercury), has the "100 Most Epic Rock Tracks" in its content. The Doors' "The End" ranks at a very respectable #5 on this list. Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' tops the list at #1, and Led Zep's 'Stairway To Heaven' is #2. see more (thanks, Alex)
The Minneapolis show that was postponed from Saturday, March 20th has been re-scheduled to Friday, April 23rd according to the venue itself. This has not yet been confirmed and posted on the official site at http://robbykrieger.com/doors/tour.htm (thanks, Tony & Bob)
Doors wallpaper can be downloaded from L.A. radio station KLOS. go here
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March 11, 2004 D21C to play West Palm Beach festival in May <> D21C to play Atlanta festival in May <> Doors on 'Off The Record'
The Doors of the 21st Century will play SunFest 2004 in West Palm Beach, Florida on Sunday, May 2nd, according to a press release from http://www.thewpbfchannel.com. Other performers already announced for the weekend include Cyndi Lauper, Ruben Studdard, Switchfoot, Fuel, Fountains of Wayne, Hootie & the Blowfish, Buddy Guy with Double Trouble, Peter Frampton, Chaka Khan, Guitars & Saxes, Joss Stone and The Johnny Clegg Band featuring the music of Juluka and Savuka. This event has not yet been confirmed by D21C management, which is when it will appear on the tour dates page at http://robbykrieger.com/doors/tour.htm read more
The Doors of the 21st Century will play Music Midtown 2004, a music festival in Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday, May 1st, according to the website for the event: http://musicmidtown.com. Other performers already announced for the weekend include Foo Fighters, Fountains of Wayne, Fuel, Journey, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Puddle of Mudd, REO Speedwagon, Smithereens, and many, many more. This event has not yet been confirmed by D21C management, which is when it will appear on the tour dates page at http://robbykrieger.com/doors/tour.htm (thanks, William)
Robby, Ray, and
Bruce Botnick will be the featured guests on the syndicated "Off The
Record" program on April 11th. This link has a partial listing of
stations that air the nationally syndicated OFF THE RECORD with Joe
Benson:
http://unclejoe.com/onair/OTR.htm
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March 10, 2004 US Prez hopeful was a Doors fan
The Doors were the favorite group of U.S. presidential candidate John Kerry. He blasted their music while serving in Vietnam, patrolling the Delta rivers. (thanks, Beverly) read more
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March 9, 2004 "Boot Yer Butt!" has added a distributor <> Chicago & Minneapolis shows are postponed
"Boot Yer Butt!" -- Robby's 4-CD box set of bootleg recordings spanning the band's career, appears to have a new distributor. VH-1's artist news alert indicates that this is available today through HepCat Distribution with a discounted price. This has already been available for several months through Collectors Choice, as well as retail outlets. go here
Postponed: Chicago and Minneapolis D21C shows scheduled for March 19 and March 20 are postponed. No other information such as reason or the re-schedule dates is available at this time.
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March 5, 2004 Australian on-line news item about upcoming tour
"Undercover" is an Australian on-line entertainment news service. Today's edition includes a news story about the upcoming tour dates in the midwest and Europe. There's nothing new here, but it's always nice to see them getting press! read it
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March 4, 2004 Robby profile included in book
Robby Krieger is one of the artists profiled in "Jews Who Rock," a 2001 book by Guy Oseary and published by St. Martin's Griffin. With the Foreward by Ben Stiller and the Afterword by Perry Farrell, this is a pretty cool book. Each of the 105 artists included gets a one-page profile, and include Beck, Bob & Jakob Dylan, Peter Himmelman, Billy Joel, Courtney Love, Barry Manilow, Joey Ramone, Lou Reed, Slash, Chris Stein, and Warren Zevon. This was easily ordered through my local Borders Books for $12.95 ISBN# 0-312-27267-7 (thanks, Felicia)
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March 3, 2004 info on the Warsaw show in July <> Doors song used by NASA for Rover Mission workers
The Doors of the 21st Century Warsaw, Poland show on July 20th show went on sale on Monday. More info is available, but a command of the Polish language would be helpful. (Where are my ex-in-laws when I need them?) more info
A song by The Doors is on the play list of music used by NASA's Mars rover Spirit team of engineers and scientists who are working and sleeping on Mars time and dealing with a sometimes temperamental rover millions of miles away. (thanks, Beverly) read more
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March 1, 2004 more
info on forthcoming Jim Morrison book <> New Years Eve CD availability
dwindling SOLD OUT
Jim Morrison - Life, Death, Legend by Stephen Davis will be released within the next few months in both the U.S. and the U.K. There is also an audiobook indicated for future release. more info
The 'Live In Hollywood, New Years Eve' 3-CD limited edition set availability is dwindling fast. Last week I reported that a friend had received #936 of 1,000. Today I learned of another fan who ordered it on Friday, and today received #977 of 1,000. Fewer than 25 sets remain for ordering. order here (thanks, Roxanne)
Later this evening, the DiscLive website indicated that the 3-CD set from the New Years Eve show is now SOLD OUT. Thanks to all theD21C fans who supported this live recording project.
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February 2004 Prior News & Reviews January 2004 Prior News & Reviews
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