ISSUE #38 MMUSICMAG.COM

Q&A Neil Zlozower

ROBBY KRIEGER The innovative Doors guitarist wants fans to know the band’s real story

DIRECTOR OLIVER STONE’S 1991 Morrison seems like an average guy. lyrics. Jim was really good at finding the right biopic The Doors offered many insights into That’s the cool thing about it. The Oliver words for the music. the legendary group’s music. Now, with the Stone movie gave the impression that release of the Doors’ self-produced 1968 Jim was a total weirdo, 24/7. People find Any happy accidents? film documentary Feast of Friends, fans have it hard to believe Jim could be a normal The solo in “When the Music’s Over” is access to a more realistic depiction of band person—a good friend and a great guy. As actually two solos playing at once. [Producer] members’ lives and their creative process. At he started drinking too much that became Paul Rothchild had modified the input of the its center is Robby Krieger, whose dazzling less apparent, but deep down he was always mixing board to give the guitar a violin sound. guitar work helped spark magic with singer that same guy. That made it easy for me to play what I was Jim Morrison—who died in 1971—keyboardist trying to play, which was basically Coltrane. Ray Manzarek and drummer John Densmore. You originally wrote “Light My Fire” as I did one solo I kind of liked, and Paul said, “Somehow we gelled perfectly,” says Krieger, a folk song? “Let’s do another.” We ended up doing 68, who wrote many of the band’s hits, That’s right. I was listening to artists like three or four—and by accident our engineer including “Light My Fire.” “If any one of us the Byrds and the Leaves. I came up with played two at once as we were listening hadn’t been there, it wouldn’t have worked.” folk-rock chords, but fortunately John put to the playback. It worked perfectly—one of that Latin beat to it. I really don’t know what those magic moments. Whose idea was it to make this? kind of music you would call “Light My Fire.” Jim, Ray and I were students at UCLA—but There’s a folk-rock and East Indian influence— How’d you feel about the Stone film? they were in the film department and were and John Coltrane chords in the solo. There are some good things. I actually big film nuts. On our first tour we decided worked as an advisor for the musical parts. to get some of our UCLA buddies to follow Did you and Morrison find the time I wanted to make sure they were as true to us around with a camera. We didn’t know to write together? life as possible. And I thought Val Kilmer what it was going to be. Jim liked to say, We did quite a bit. Sometimes he would was amazing, but that the script was kind “Let the film make itself.” We wanted it to have lyrics, and either Ray or I would put of bad—it only showed the crazy side of Jim. be feature-length, but we ended up with music to it. Other times I would have some Much of the time, as the Feast of Friends only 45 minutes we were happy with. chords and he would put words to them. It documentary shows, Jim was a normal guy. Eventually we thought, “Let’s just put it out happened in all sorts of ways. Later I would I hope people will see this film and weigh it the way it was supposed to be, even though write some music and then we would look against the Oliver Stone depiction. it isn’t complete.” through Jim’s poetry books to find ideas for –Russell Hall

‘People find it hard to believe Jim [Morrison] could be a normal person.’

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