How stupid can you get?

I haven't blogged about the Doors for a long time, but I just had to have my say on this topic. Some Frenchman had the clever idea to open up a bar and cash in on the small, but heavily drinking crowd that comes along once or twice a year. Conveniently located near the infamous 17 Rue Beautreillis he thought he just couldn't miss. Of course, in order to succeed he needed to give it a nice Jim Morrison touch, but he wasn't looking forward to all the red tape that came with that. Even worse, the Doors could just say "No". So he decided to completely ignore this part of his business plan and go ahead anyway. After all, a small bar in Paris, who was gonna notice?

Tada! Surprise, the Doors sniffed him out anyway and sent a nice "cease-and-desist" order. Take it all down or you're gonna bleed. No Morrison, no clientèle, no money, no bar - expect perhaps for a few local alcoholics who fancy a nifty cocktail every now and then. So he decided to go public, counting on the bleeding heart fans out there who swallowed his story that this was just a tribute to the late alcoholic and self-proclaimed poet Jim Morrison, who had drank himself to death 40 years ago.

Some of those fans think we can still achieve this "brave new world" that was promised us in the sixties and started a Facebook page in order to "petition the Doors with prayer". Now that may not have been the deciding factor. What was important is that the media picked up the story. Especially the part that "the Doors don't want to be associated with alcohol" did it particularly well, given the daily consumption of the substance by their late lead singer.

This threatened to become a PR-disaster, so the Doors reacted quickly, coming up with a bunch of flimsy excuses, from "it's the lawyers fault, we never saw the letter" to "it was badly translated and we don't read French". Of course, the fans don't take the remaining members of Jim's accompanying band too serious - which they shouldn't - but who cares. As long as there are still idiots who are willing to fork out 70 bucks for one of the worst tribute bands in the world or buy the zillionth "The Best Of" album just to complete their collection, things are just fine.

So, all's well that ends well - and everyone can continue to make money. Fans excepted, of course. Morrison said it so well, so many years ago:

Ya walk across the floor with a flower in your hand
Trying to tell me no one understands
Trade in your hours for a handful dimes
Gonna' make it, baby, in our prime

You get yours, baby
I'll get mine
Gonna make it, baby
If we try

Well, everybody made it, except for Morrison himself and his rather ignorant following. The fun part of it all is, everybody acted stupid. The owner of the bar, who conveniently skipped a few steps in executing his clever business plan. The Doors, who thought they could get away with such a rational business decision. The fans, who figured that they could make a difference, although everybody knows (especially the bean counters of the Doors Music Corporation) they are so hooked on their poison that they will continue to voluntarily hand out all their cash to the estate of their beloved idol.

And in the end everybody got what they wanted. The owner of the bar, who can continue to charge five or ten bucks for a pop of ROTS. The Doors, who will continue to cash in on their dead "friend", trademarking anything that can be remotely associated with the myth of the Lizard King. The fans, who can continue to live on in a cloud of "peace and understanding".

There are no winners and no losers. I can just shake my head once again. Why for Pete's sake, do I love that music so much?

Don't touch it

I'm always in for something new, so when I heard about a new Dutch coverband, featuring Polle Eduard, I just had to see it. So I went to Delft, hoping it wasn't too far away from the railway station. It wasn't. Fortunately, the usual gang wasn't there, so I was in for a new and fresh experience. First disappointment, the beer was way too expensive, 3 euros a bottle. That is NLG 6.50 for those who remember the good old days. I used to pay that in exclusive nightclubs, for Pete's sake!

Rock Morton was the support act. It was clear that this band had a lot of fun playing their own music and there's nothing wrong with that. But don't bother the general public with it. A support act should heat up the public before the main act arrives. Rock Morton didn't, despite their efforts.

If "Touch me" had been a local garage band in a community center there had been nothing wrong with it. You get what you don't pay for. But this was Polle Eduard, a professional musician for more years than I can remember, and I had been expecting a lot more. When they played "LA Woman" during the sound check I didn't think it was all that bad, but I was in for a lot worse. I will never forgive them for slaughtering "Indian Summer" the way they did. It was horrible. The Doors' music allows you to improvise and you can get away with a lot. But there are certain cues where the band has to react on, the moment where everything comes together again. This band didn't know that. There were six individuals there playing Doors music. That simply doesn't work, especially when you're a hardcore Doors fan. Although there were quite some people in Lorre, few were dancing, so I think I wasn't the only one that thought this concert was a bummer.

Most vocalists gave a passable performance. I was happy too see that some even knew their lyrics or were able to pronounce them properly, because to my surprise that obviously didn't seem required. The best part of the whole afternoon was the completely stoned out announcer. I'd hire the guy on the spot for his hilarious introductions which were probably inspired by Wikipedia. He even surpassed the equally stoned out guy that announced Purple Legion in Illingen, who managed to crank out more f-words per minute than Gordon Ramsey.

All in all, my fellow Doors fans had probably already heard of this act, since they weren't there. Nuff said. Don't touch it.

Money for nothing and your chicks for free

How to make a few easy bucks. Easy, you throw a Doors party and call it a "festival". Just hire any Doors coverband, invite a few "Doors related authors" and some odd artists reproducing Morrisons face on canvas with a more or less passing resemblance and you're in. Make a lot of publicity and maybe even a few unsuspecting Doors fans from abroad pick it up and make the journey.

The first time this happened was in 2003, when an event like this labeled itself as "The first European Doors festival". Fans traveled to a run down suburb of Rotterdam to find themselves in some shabby community center where a bunch of local retards were rubbing shoulders with true, hardcore Doors fans. The poetry reading was something that reminded me of a scene of the "Blues Brothers" movie – only the chicken wire was missing. Please note that the music was great. I've always liked the "Matrix Doors".

But it was hardly in the same league as the yearly event in Los Angeles, where celebrities like Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger and the late Danny Sugerman made their appearance. True, Los Angeles is their home town. All those guys need to do is hire a limo and they're done. But there is a slight difference between meeting "famous Doors related authors" and meeting what's left of the Doors themselves.

Who are these "Doors related authors"? Strange enough, the same names pop up all the time: Ineke Verheul, Hans Bezemer, Jan-Erik Hubele, Darryl Read and Jochen Maassen. No matter where you go, Utrecht, Rotterdam, Magdeburg, Illingen, they're always there. Hey guys, read my lips: if we haven't bought your book already, we're not interested. We could use your autographs for wallpaper by now. Isn't there somebody else writing anything interesting about the Doors anymore?

Well, I've bought your books and I read them all. Ineke Verheul has written a book about Morrison rising from the dead, strolling through modern day Paris contemplating his wasted life, helped by some infant wise guy and returning to the native Indians in the end. Hans Bezemer wrote a book on how to get laid and still feel sorry about yourself, comparing his alter ego with Jim Morrison and king Arthur in the last chapter. Jochen Maassens book is simply a colorful egotrip – nuff said. Jan-Erik Hubele wrote a book about the zillionth conspiracy theory on Jim Morrisons death – interesting, but hardly something new. Darryl Read did an album with Ray Manzarek – and that's all. He's just using the Doors scene to plug his completely Doors-unrelated stuff.

Please note, I have nothing against these guys. I spoke with them on a number of occasions and they seem really nice and friendly people. If you're a hardcore collector, you certainly want these books, because they are real collectors items. Some people are ripping out their hair, because they missed Maassens first book "Impressions of an anniversary" – it's out of print now and the prices are rising. But aren't there any other people in Europe who did something interesting Doors-wise? Obviously not.

So no matter where you go, you always get a slight variation on the same theme. I don't want to say that you can't have a good time at these "festivals" – quite the contrary. But it is hardly worth your hard earned cash if you don't happen to be around. Just do the math: the trip itself, a hotel and sometimes a hefty entrance fee. And with the obvious – and unfortunately rare exception – the bands aren't that much better than your local coverband. Unless you happen to like a certain brand of beer, I see no reason to go much further than your own community center.

And what about the community? Yes, you certainly will meet some well known faces and if you happen to go to Paris every year you might want to have to occasion to meet those people again. But it seems that this "family" is getting more fragmented each and every year. Community? Sure, but which one?

Still, I think that we've reached a turning point. Magdeburg is a great festival, featuring a lot of passable coverbands and this year they've shown they could do without any "Doors related authors". Illingen was the first festival where contributors outnumbered the paying visitors, leaving the organization with a considerable financial burden. Just yelling "Doors" doesn't seem enough anymore to fill your pockets, fortunately.

I know what you're thinking: "Hey Sharon, isn't it cool anymore to drink a few beers and have a good time?" Sure it is. Have all the good times that you want. Go to "Riders on the Storm" for all I care and listen to a horribly squeaking Ian Astbury. It couldn't have been worse if it really were a 60+ year old Morrison on stage, after a life of impotence, drugs, more drugs and rock and roll. It's your money anyway. In the end, you are the judge. But I've seen it all. I'll stay home in the future, listening to "An American Prayer" and hoping for better times. I've had enough of all these money making schemes. There should be better ways to save Jim Morrisons legacy, don't you think?

Why Densmore doesn't want to raise the dead..

As far as I am concerned it is not a question of "is Densmore right or not". That question will be decided in court with all the legalese that comes with a lawsuit. It is the question why he filed a lawsuit. Like everything in life, why is the most compelling and hardest of all questions.

Like Densmore, I think there are circumstances that I would totally disagree with him. Like when fans are begging for a reunion and they are willing to do a free concert. Ok, call it "The Doors", they have my blessing. The context in which this lawsuit is filed is far more important.

I recently read an article on Densmore in the German edition of "Rolling Stone". John was never my favorite Door, but after reading this he sharply raised in my list of "Most respected people".

I like copyright, I really do. Copyright prevents people to steal my poems and make money out of it to which they are not entitled. But when copyright is corrupted in a legal or moral sense I hate it.

I feel that nowadays copyright gets corrupted more and more. Big movie studio's and record companies think it's right to corrupt a CD in such a way that it becomes impossible for me to make perfectly legal copies or compilations. They think it is alright to charge me double for a DVD although the cost of making a DVD is LOWER than a video. And still they are wondering why they get pirated.. Microsoft thinks it is alright to let me phone a zillion times in order to add a harddisk to my computer. The activation codes for their products are linked to my hardware configuration. It has been proved that their margin is 85%!! And that is where it all boils down to.. money!

Money, money, money, money!!! The GOD of the great US of A. Like I said before, I feel it is alright to make money. Everybody should be able to eat the fruits of their work. But at some point enough is enough. How many cars do you need? I can only drive one at the time, can't I? And for the last few years it boils down on me that some of the Doors regard the fans as a cow that can be milked over and over again. And if it won't give any milk anymore, slaughtered.

A few examples. The boxset was a great thing, absolutely. The fan community has always known that there is more in the safe of the Doors than just the studio albums and a few live albums. There were the bootlegs that filled the gap. Sorry guys, if you don't bring out the goods we'll get it elsewhere. And sure enough, we were ripped off by the bootleggers as well. But we could well have done without the fourth CD, but if you say so, you're not a friend of the Doors anymore.

Sure, it was a nice box, with a nice booklet full of pictures but as far as I am concerned I could have done without it, at a lower price. So about a year after a cut-up boxset came out.. with a lower price tag. Then the remastered studio album set came out. Nobody was really waiting for that one. Apart from one or two new tracks or remixes. The "Best of the Doors" came out again, in three versions. Who was waiting for that "special edition" where the original tapes of "Riders on the Storm" was slaughtered in several horrible ways?? They did that again on "Stoned immaculate", an absolute waste of money.

Please note, I'm not against remixes or experiments: as long as it is done in a respectful way, like Fat Boy Slim did. Please note, fans have ears! I'm anxiously waiting for new reissues. Read my lips: anxious. Some of my friends are collectors and they feel obligated to buy all that junk. Although some of them are starting to doubt they should get out their wallet for every single thing that is issued or re-issued. On the other hand, some CD Recorders are running a little hot here.. Whose fault, I ask you again.

Then finally the safe opened up. Not to please the fans, but "to beat the boots" as Danny Sugerman put it. There was a market and lots of money. Unfortunately for him he put his business at a company that failed miserably several times, so I'm not sure how much money they actually made. Any idea how expensive it is to order a CD from Bright Midnight records in Europe? Ok, let's share the costs. Your CD recorder or mine..?

That the defendants do not cherish the legacy of the Doors is only confirmed when I read that Manzarek lets his kid play with an original Doors tape - which he wastes.. forever!!! Or sell "Riders on the Storm" to a commerical - something Morrison definitely did not want! At least when he was alive.

I frequently visit and like cover bands. Some of these guys are really doing a good job - recreating the Doors as they were in the late sixties. When the Doors would have been just a continuation of the original Doors they would have left that legacy alone and create new music. Move on, just like any normal band does. But this is not a normal band. This is a feeble attempt to cover themselves.

The Doors have tried to stay alive after Jim died - and they failed. The only thing that is left of that effort is two obscure albums and a more satisfying poetry album - with the regards of the late Jim Morrison. His legacy lives on and does not need the Doors in order to stay alive. It has done that successfully on its own merit. Such a legacy has to be cherished - not marketed. John seems to understand that.

No, the Doors of the 21st century is another attempt to make money - "Beat the coverbands". Sure, Sugerman did not say that, but I could almost hear him say it. Somebody had to say stop and they did it. Densmore did it for the right reasons. I'm not too sure about the others. I guess at least some of them would like to see a piece of the cake.

Nobody knows what Morrison would have said or done. He would now be an old man of almost sixty years with a whole life behind him, living in a different time. The rest is pure speculation. But I know what he said in the sixties: "We're now gonna sing the national anthem. Shhhh, pay some respect. The anthem: MONEY!!!"