If You Ask Me

John Densmore, former drummer and co-founder of the Doors, has filed a multiple-count lawsuit against surviving original band members Ray Manzarek and Robert Krieger, among others, Billboard Bulletin reports.
The suit, which seeks unspecified damages, claims that written and oral agreements mandate that the Doors name and logo can be used only by the original band members. Keyboardist Manzarek and guitarist Krieger have been playing dates as the Doors with Ian Astbury (formerly of the Cult) on vocals and Stewart Copeland (ex-Police) on drums.

Densmore said he would not want to play with the group. "Who can fill Jim's leather pants?" he said. "The Doors is John, Jim, Ray, and Robby. It's not Ray, Robby, Stewart, and Ian." Densmore said he's not after money, nor will he try to stop Friday's show. He just wants the band to change the name. "They can call themselves Formerly Members of the Doors or the Hinges or the Windows," he said.

If you ask me, John's right. What is Ray thinking? And I'm really shocked with Robby going along with it. By using the name it assumes the band is "continuing on" and that would mean our future memories of The Doors will include 2 lead singers. I mean, Come ON! If ever there was a band that is KNOWN for it's lead singer, it's The Doors!
I spent a great deal of my early life a BIG Doors fan, who jumped on the band wagon when alot people my age did. It was 1981, I was 15 and impressionable & it was also the 10th anniversary of Jim Morrison's death. A biography of Jim Morrison was released and it quickly became a bestseller. On July 3rd, alot of radio stations across America had a "Doors A - Z Day" where they played the entire Doors catalog. I was caught like a catfish on a fishing pole.
I began to transform myself into a thin, long curly hair, poet writing teenager. I drew Doors logos on the desks at school. I spent hundreds of dollars of my "restaurant dishwashing" money getting Doors bootlegs because I loved hearing new concerts. I wanted them ALL. I bought every Doors video released on the day they were released . I bought bootleg videotapes of things like The Doors trying to do a video of People Are Strange and they keep having to reshoot because Jim keeps screwing up. I don't want to tell you how much I paid for that. I could continue on, but suffice to say that, at the time, I feel like I could apply for a position as Doors historian and be hired on the spot.
Nowadays, looking back, Jim Morrison just reminds me of the drunk guy at the party who nevers shuts up and babbles on about nonsense HE doesn't even understand. But because the young Morrison became a celebrity just as he entered his drug/alcohol phases, the public had to deal with (and at first even marvelled at) his "antics". Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy the music and think no one else could put across the songs like Jim Morrison does. I just don't think he's a genius anymore. I guess it means I've grown up.
I think the remaining Doors should stop the nonsense or risk looking like grumpy old men, which they are not. They perform Doors music better than ever and would be kind of cool to see live, but only if it included the remaining 3. We've lost the most important member already, we don't want to settle for anything less than that.
I was actually stageside for a show John & Robby did in a club in New York City in 1997 to promote the Doors box set being released (during my "must go to one concert a month" years). They billed that as John Densmore & Robby Krieger of The Doors. I'm suspicious that with Ray involved, "someone" is trying to put it across as The Doors. The part that I don't understand is why is Robby allowing this? The men that are playing these gigs as The Doors are not The Doors. I think the boys should stop publicly bickering, tell Stewart Copeland it would have been an honor to play with him but John is back, find 4 cool lead singers and go on tour. Calling this new band "The Doors" not only breaks thier original contract, but also risks forever tarnishing the legacy of The Doors. End of story.