Scene on Colfax: John Densmore of The Doors

Just announced: John Densmore will be doing a cross-country tour in support of his book The Doors Unhinged: Jim Morrison’s Legacy Goes on Trial. As of this writing 14 dates and cities have been announced, a couple are still tentative. John is scheduled to arrive in Denver, Colorado on May 15 at 7:00pm - at Independent Records, 937 E Colfax Avenue.

THE DOORS: UNHINGED 

JIM MORRISON'S LEGACY GOES ON TRIAL

by John Densmore

     For fans of the Doors, timeless tracks like “Break on Through” and “Light My Fire” were the soundtrack to an era, and Jim Morrison’s lyrics the voice of a revolution. Holding steadfast to their progressive 1960s ideology, the members of the Doors refused to sell out and, as four equal members, agreed that their music would never be used to push cars or cigarettes. Then, more than thirty years after Jim Morrison’s death, Cadillac offered the remaining members an astounding $15 million for the use of a song. Drummer John Densmore vetoed the deal, but his former band mates Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger had a hard time turning down all that money. Soon afterwards, Manzarek and Krieger took a new incarnation of the band out on the road, under the misleading moniker The Doors of the 21st Century, using Jim Morrison’s face to sell tickets. When Densmore took legal action against his friends and band mates to defend Morrison’s artistic legacy, he landed in court, the subject of a countersuit.
     In THE DOORS: UNHINGED (CreateSpace and Kindle Direct Publishing – available through Amazon.com; April 17, 2013), New York Times bestselling author John Densmore takes fans into the Los Angeles courtroom where he spent three summer months with Jim Morrison’s aging parents, fighting for integrity over greed. While Krieger and Manzarek lived the rock star life on their world tour, Densmore weathered betrayals by his “musical family,” character assassinations, and the rising fear that he would lose everything in his efforts to stand up for what he believed in. The process of litigation consumed Densmore’s life for five years, plus a half a year while everyone waited to see if the Supreme Court of California would overturn the judge’s ruling.
     In THE DOORS: UNHINGED, Densmore describes:
● How Jim Morrison threatened to smash a car onstage if Buick used a Doors song in a commercial;
● Being sued by his former band mates for $40 million, more than they collectively had ever made;
● The opposing lawyer’s bizarre attempts to label him a communist, anarchist & al-Qaeda supporter;
● How testimony from Police drummer Stewart Copeland changed the trial;
● Getting tossed in the paddywagon with Bonnie Raitt after a protest to protect old-growth trees;
● How even years after the Doors’ success, his excitement when he got to carry his hero Coltrane drummer Elvin Jones’ cymbals to his car;
● How Morrison’s father, a career Navy man, was thwarted in his career ambitions by his son’s rock star antics, but how he sided with his late son in court.
     John Densmore is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the author of the critically-acclaimed memoir Riders on the Storm. In addition to his musical activities, he has produced award-winning documentaries “Road to Return” and “Juvies,” and contributed articles to Rolling Stone, London’s The Guardian, the Nation, LA Times, Chicago Tribune, Huffington Post and the Utne Reader.
Featuring previously-unreleased photos of Jim Morrison, the band, the Morrison family, and the author himself, Densmore’s second book gives readers an intimate glimpse into this recent chapter of The Doors’ history. With endorsements and support from Neil Young, Tom Petty, Bonnie Raitt, Randy Newman, Tom Waits, Eddie Vedder, Jim Ladd, Oliver Stone, Tim Robbins, Jeff Bridges, Michael Blake, Tom Robbins, Michael Connelly, Anthony DeCurtis, Nigel Williamson, Pearl “Penny” Courson, and the Jim Morrison estate, John Densmore’s THE DOORS: UNHINGED is a humorous and heartbreaking account of one man’s fight to preserve the meaning behind the music. Densmore joins the growing number of authors opting to tell their story their way by self-publishing via Amazon.com’s indie publishing platforms, CreateSpace and Kindle Direct Publishing.