There are three surviving members of the Doors: Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, and John Densmore. Manzarek and Krieger want to tour and play, and they asked Densmore to join them, but he can't, because his ears are too damaged. So Densmore sues to prevent Manzarek and Krieger from using the Doors' name, and he wins because the three have a contract providing that they must all agree (along with Jim Morrison's estate) to any use of the name.
Densmore's all "I'm just so happy that the legacy of the true Doors, and Jim Morrison in particular, has been preserved by this decision."
Quite aside from his apparent legal right to prevent Manzarek and Krieger from using the name, don't you think Densmore's being a jerk? Or are you buying this "legacy of the true Doors" business?
July 23, 2005
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There might be more to the story: maybe Densmore sued because they wouldn't give him a cut.
Here's a vote for a jerk.
The Doors...didn't they used to be a band, or something?
Yeah...weren't they Oliver Stone's personal band?
Didn't Manzarek, Krieger, and Densmore do a TV concert with the lead singer from Creed?
Haven't they toured before?
What's to stop Manzarek and Krieger from touring without using the name, 'The Doors'?
What's to keep the rest of us from not caring?
I care about the use of contractual disputes and litigation to express personal feelings. And the collision of art and law.
Their current lead singer is Ian Astbury of the Cult.
Although not a large sample, some of the groups I have heard from the 60's and 70's recently just haven't cut it for me, so I would go with Densmore.
Peter, Paul and Mary sounded atrocious to me at the Democratic convention and the touring "Grass Roots" just sound old.
Maybe they need the money. Maybe they miss touring. Maybe they just want to see if they still have it. Just go under a different name (like Paul McCartney did/does) and everybody will be happy.
Miklos: The remnants of the Doors were calling themselves The Doors of the 21st Century, so the equivalent for McCartney would be something like the New Beatles. If he got a band together and wanted to play Beatles songs, I don't think Ringo should object and I don't think the estates of Lennon and Harrison should either. They probably have legal rights to assert, but I think it would be better to work it out amongst themselves, with some money changing hands. That said, McCartney wouldn't do it, because he's better than that. He's an artist who established his own career after the band died. Unlike Manzarek and Krieger, he made something of his post-band artistic life. They are rather lame, but Densmore is lamer. Still, I suspect Desmore just wanted more money and felt ripped off because his hearing loss was preventing him from cashing in and that he only sued because they weren't forking over a big enough share.
It's hard to buy the "legacy of the true Doors business" when Densmore says he can't because of his ears.
If it were truly about the band's legacy he'd have declined on that basis not his ears. The true Doors require him and Jim Morrison, not just him.
Great band. Great movie. Glad they won't be touring. Morrison was The Doors.
Well, I don't think that anyone should be overly worried about the artistic legacy of the Doors. I also don't think that many fans would be confused by having 2 of the old Doors playing and fronted by David Lee Roth.
Densmore a jerk? Probably just wanted too much of the pie. That often leads people to act like jerks.
How bout some alternative names:
Some of the Doors
Not Quite the Doors
1/2 the Doors may be better than None
Don't make your checks payable to the Doors
One Less Door to Answer
Maybe Densmore is having a bad plaid pants year....sorry
Actually I agree with Katie, Morrison was the Doors. On the other hand, being a part of a previously famous band and being a jerk seem to go hand in hand
I went to see the Kingston Trio in Woodstock CT and that night there were four because a second original joined them. That was a fun, "laid back" concert. And Peter, et al are lame today.
Actually Ann, the Beatles do not own the rights to their songs anymore, so if McCartney tours singing Beatle songs I think only the copyright holders would get a cut.
Sorry for the three back to back comments
David: Performers get their cut of the ticket sales. Paying off the various copyright holders always must be done too, but the gate ought to be far more than that. Lots of people perform songs they don't own the copyright too. Manzarek and Krieger were trying to inflate the ticket prices and draw bigger crowds by trading on the Doors name, but Densmore had a contract dealing with that. They could tour, play Doors songs, but not call themselves the Doors, and then Densmore would get nothing (except to the extent that he might own part of the copyright).
Boringmadedull: I'd go with 2-Door Sedan.
I'm sorry I was unclear(and I was). THe point I made with McCartney was that Starr and the two estates would get nothing if he sang their stuff. The Lennon estate has made it perfectly clear there will be no Beatles band on tour.
It would be interesting to know what Densmore demands were. Apparently they must have been high. Just as a theoretical question, if there are two doors, two new Musicians and Densmore what would be a reasonable cut for Densmore. No matter what method I use in my head I always end up with 10% of the musicians cut (maybe 3% or 4% of the gross?).
And yes maybe they wouldn't give him a reasonable cut, but my statement would still apply, only to two other jerks.
Bottom line though, I wouldn't spend a plug nickle on a Doors concert without Jimmy, and he is understandably hard to sign on.
Doors-way
Windows
"the legacy of the true Doors, and Jim Morrison in particular, has been preserved"
If Densmore showed way too drunk to perform, insulted everybody around him, pissed all over himself, then passed out...then I would say Morrison's legacy had been preserved.
It's just nice to see Ray Manzarek take it on the chin for all his years of exploiting Jim Morrison's death. And I have to say I don't particularly like the Doors; the best Doors song ever was recorded by Led Zeppelin, after all.
Regarding the "true Doors", Manzarek, Krieger and Densmore released two albums of new material as "The Doors" in the early 70's following Morrison's death. And the "overdub new music over old recordings of Jim reading poetry" stuff they released subsequently didn't do much to "enhance the legacy of the true Doors" either, IMHO. So, from a purity standpoint, I'd say Densmore has a weak argument. But he may have real "artistic differences" as well as personality clashes with the others, so I don't know if "jerk" is necessarily the best summation of his position. He was a heck of a drummer in his day, though the organ and guitar may have been more significant components of their signature sound. In the end, I'm not in favor of mandatory retirement of old rock bands so long as the remnants aren't pretending to be something they're really not. Densmore more or less idolized Morrison, so maybe he just hates seeing these young wannabe Lizard King vocalists hogging the spotlight in his band...
I think it all depends on the band. Jim Morrison was certainly a strong personality, so it's hard to imagine the "real" Doors without him. However, I saw the Temptations earlier in the year, and I'm not sure that they had an original member left; their website listed around 25 different members over a 40-some-odd-year career. That works for them, but that's mostly because of the lack of a strong single personality. I mean, can anyone name an individual Temptation? (I can only think of two off the top of my head.) It's a totally different thing than the Morrison-less Doors.
And as for the Duke Elliington and Glenn Miller orchestras, the music may have been originally written to feature certain performers in the band, but its timeless quality allows the music to be played authentically even decades later when the original members have passed. There are also Count Basie and Tommy Dorsey orchestras running around (we call them "ghost bands" in the jazz world).
its really sad to see the whole notion of what a real band is go down the drain with money being the primary evil driving individual behaviour.. this is totally against the spirit of the doors when they first decided to get together in venice beach..
maybe its moving on with times.. the remaining members had seen the better part of the last 4 decades of the previous century so its understandable how people change with time..
IMHO.. the whole notion of the money taking over is definitely making someone turn over in his grave far away in pere lachaise..
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