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John Densmore

"I play the drums," says John Densmore, with tangible pride.

He may be belaboring the obvious, considering that, as the rhythmic engine of The Doors, he's responsible for some of the most famous beats in rock history. But Densmore still bristles at what he calls the "dumb drummer" stereotype.

"The drum was the first fucking instrument," he declares. "The reason people move and dance is that they're trying to get back to that heartbeat. It's the heartbeat you hear in the womb that started the whole deal. An orchestra, a four-piece rock band, whatever it is, they're trying to get back to that heartbeat."

The universal, ancient call of this heartbeat has been Densmore's obsession since his childhood in Southern California.

"I took piano when I was eight, and I loved it," he recalls. "I liked improvising on songs I had learned, rather than learning new ones. I got turned on by the piano. My teacher would give me songs to play, simplified classical and pop, and I got off on it."

Eager to try his hand at another instrument, young John at first fixated on the clarinet. His orthodontist, however, strictly forbade him to wrap his wired mouth around any reed instruments. The world has this medical professional to thank, then, for the fact that John Densmore headed for the drums.

"I was in the orchestra, the marching band with those stupid uniforms," Densmore recollects. "I got a rush from playing with 40 musicians, no matter how amateurish--there's power in a marching band."

He became enamored, in his teens, with jazz--and particularly with the playing of drummer Elvin Jones, whose evocative, muscular grooves with John Coltrane's band influenced a multitude of rock musicians. He also became a habitué of the L.A. club scene, where bands like The Byrds and Love were a foretaste of things to come.

He met guitarist Robby Krieger, and the two began writing and playing together in a band called Psychedelic Rangers. Densmore next hooked up with Chicago-bred keyboardist Ray Manzarek, who was then playing in a group known as Rick and the Ravens with his brothers and a shy Floridian named Jim Morrison, who knew Manzarek from UCLA film school.

Eventually, Manzarek's brothers left the band, and Densmore brought Krieger in. The foursome gelled, despite lacking an element most bands took for granted. "We couldn't find a bass player," Densmore remembers. "We tried once or twice, but we sounded like the Stones. A white blues band. Who cares? We wanted to be different."

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Album Review

The Doors: Live In Bakersfield August 21, 1970 (2CD)

Read "Live In Bakersfield August 21, 1970 (2CD)" reviewed by Doug Collette


The somewhat checkered history of archival exhumations from the vault of the Doors would no doubt preclude thinking that Live at the Matrix 1967: The Complete Masters (Rhino, 2023) would constitute anything like a 'be all and end all' of such efforts. Still, to see Live in Bakersfield August 21, 1970 issued in such short order (ten weeks) after the aforementioned package is something of a surprise, if for no other reason than its appearance in compact disc ...

8
Album Review

The Doors: Live At The Matrix 1967: The Original Masters

Read "Live At The Matrix 1967: The Original Masters" reviewed by Doug Collette


With a glossy finish adding to the diaphanous effect, the color filters applied to the images of the Doors inside and outside the package capture the essence of the music inside. In a most practical sense. Reliably sourced from the master tapes this time--in contrast to the 2008 release--Live At The Matrix 1967 : The Original Masters contains thirty- seven tracks from the San Francisco shows and posits the iconic group as a balanced four-man collective prior to the popularity ...

9
Album Review

The Doors: L. A. Woman: Fiftieth Anniversary Deluxe Edition

Read "L. A. Woman: Fiftieth Anniversary Deluxe Edition" reviewed by Doug Collette


The 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of The Doors' L.A. Woman is the fifth such package issued of the iconic band's catalog (the sole exception to the CD-plus-vinyl LP configuration is the corresponding anniversary edition of Strange Days (Elektra, 1967). And, like its predecessors, as well as other titles such as the audio and video configurations of The Doors: Live At The Bowl '68 (Rhino, 2012), the package benefits tremendously from the insightful recollections and technical wizardry of the group's long-time ...

4
Book Review

John Densmore: The Seekers: Meetings With Remarkable Musicians (And Other Artists)

Read "John Densmore: The Seekers: Meetings With Remarkable Musicians (And Other Artists)" reviewed by Doug Collette


The Seekers: Meetings With Remarkable Musicians (and Other Artists) John Densmore 240 pages ISBN: #978-0306846236 Hachette Books2020 John Densmore's third book, The Seekers, carries the unusual distinction of featuring a blurb on its back cover that actually speaks accurately to the contents inside. John Doe, co-founder of seminal punk band X, likens The Doors drummer's style of composition to his work at the kit. And it's true because, unlike the relatively consistent, to-the-point ...

2
Book Review

John Densmore: The Doors Unhinged

Read "John Densmore: The Doors Unhinged" reviewed by Doug Collette


The Doors Unhinged: Jim Morrison's Legacy Goes On TrialJohn Densmore296 pagesISBN: 1479263133CreateSpace2013Notwithstanding the all-too-genuine ambivalence that permeates The Doors Unhinged, John Densmore may not have done any favors for himself or the legacy of his band by writing the book. It's difficult, nigh impossible, to truly doubt the earnest intent at the heart of the writing, but in expanding the story of the legal and philosophical squabbles between ...

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140

Music Industry

John Densmore's Jazz Education

John Densmore's Jazz Education

Source: Michael Ricci

John Densmore, the former drummer for the Doors offers an essay describing the infinite musical knowledge gleaned from his club-hopping days well before he ever met Jim Morrison. THE GREAT jazz drummer Elvin Jones carried on a constant musical conversation with John Coltrane. It inspired me to have that kind of dialogue with Jim Morrison. Not that I was in Elvin's league, but his courage gave me the “huevos" to stop the steady rhythm on the Doors' “When the Music's ...

162

Performance / Tour

Doors Drummer John Densmore's "Tribaljazz" @ Keswick Friday, June 6

Doors Drummer John Densmore's "Tribaljazz" @ Keswick Friday, June 6

Source: All About Jazz

"Break on Through" to Tribaljazz! JOHN DENSMORE'S TRIBALJAZZ Exclusive Central Atlantic Concert! KESWICK THEATRE 291 Keswick Ave., Glenside, PA FRI., JUN. 6, 8 PM Tickets on sale NOW! “I've been mouthing off about being a jazz drummer since before The Doors," John Densmore relates. “Thirty years later, I'm finally putting my sticks where my mouth has been." Densmore's lifelong adoration of jazz and his insatiable hunger for global sounds has ...

79

Performance / Tour

John Densmore's Tribaljazz at the Keswick Theatre on Friday June 6, 2008

John Densmore's Tribaljazz at the Keswick Theatre on Friday June 6, 2008

Source: All About Jazz

JOHN DENSMORE'S TRIBALJAZZ Friday June 6, 2008 @ 8:00PM JOHN DENSMORE'S TRIBALJAZZ - the original drummer from THE DOORS, plus Art Ellis on soprano/alto sax & flute, two master African drummers, piano, upright bass, and a multi-instrumental percussionist, all fuel-injected by the powerful, legendary drummer. It's a truly seductive groove with driving, pulsating rhythms. Relying heavily on improv, this unique ensemble is for eclectic audiences ranging from classic rockers to cutting-edge jam band fans and all the jazz ...

194

Performance / Tour

John Densmore's Tribaljazz at the Keswick Theatre on June 6, 2008

John Densmore's Tribaljazz at the Keswick Theatre on June 6, 2008

Source: All About Jazz

JOHN DENSMORE'S TRIBALJAZZ

Exclusive Central Atlantic Concert!

“I've been mouthing off about being a jazz drummer since before The Doors," John Densmore relates. “Thirty years later, I'm finally putting my sticks where my mouth has been."

Densmore's lifelong adoration of jazz and his insatiable hunger for global sounds has prompted the birth of Tribaljazz and its exclusive area performance by a global village of musicians at Glenside's Keswick Theatre on Fri., June 6 @ 8 PM.

Tribaljazz blends and fuses ...

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Live In Bakersfield...

Rhino/Elektra Records
2023

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Tribaljazz

Hidden Beach Recordings
2006

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