Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Illinois Entertainer Article

Doors Music Revived
by Terence Moore
With Francis Ford Coppola's use of the Oedipal epic, The End, in Apocalypse Now, and the almost simultaneous release of the Morrison biography No One Here Gets Out Alive at the beginning of the decade there's been a resurgence of interest in all things Doors. One consequence of this is there's a new kind of rock band touring the country today. Not exactly new, cover bands have been quietly playing clubs across the country for a couple of years now. In case you're not familiar with the concept, the cover band is a band in which one or more of the band members play members of an already famous band. In this case the covered band is The Doors, and the band covering them is "The Unknown Soldiers", taken from The Doors' controversial anti-Vietnam anthem of the same name.
The cover band is a concept, the band says has its roots in Beatlemania and Elvis impersonators. "The Unknown Soldiers is an attempt to revive the music of The Doors for those who are curious as to what The Doors were like live, for those people who were too young to see them the first time around, or for those who want to relive the experience." Says lead singer Michael Desmond, who seems to live in Jim Morrison's skin as he came to the interview for this article in his Morrison drag.
"How did you and the band get the idea to cover The Doors?"
"It's the last stage of being a fan, you know? You either emulate your idol or you get all wrapped up in them and you start to believe you are them and have to assassinate them."
"That's a very Morrisonsonian thing to say."
"Well, it's more interesting than the truth."
"Which is?"
"I just had the idea. I was a Doors fan and was one of those people who were too young to see them. Part of The Doors appeal was their theatricality, so I thought it would be a natural that The Doors would translate easily to this format."
"What are you trying to accomplish with this cover band?"
"I'm trying to create a truth through fiction. I want to give people the experience of what it was like to see The Doors live because The Doors will never be able to tour again."
"I was able to see one of your rehearsals and you really seem to have Morrison's moves down."
"We've all seen videotapes of The Doors of course, but I seem to have an affinity for Morrison. I've read about him and I can just see him doing these things. Although I don't consciously recall seeing them, I just do what I'm seeing in my head. I don't know, maybe I just have a vivid imagination."
"How long have you guys been performing together?"
"Not long. This is really our first performance away from a hometown audience, and the public at large. We don't really know what to expect, but we've been getting a really good response."
"You and the band seem to have a great rapport."
"We all love The Doors, the band and me. That's what drew us together in the first place. We even split everything equally like The Doors. We're a unit, no one any more important than the other." With that kind of ethic this band could tour for a very long time.

The Unknown Soldiers are playing at Fitzgerald's this weekend and are currently touring the Midwest, signed for small clubs, and a couple of the outdoor fests. If you saw The Doors in concert and want a bit of a nostalgic return, or if you want to see what a Doors concert was like, see The Unknown Soldiers this weekend at Fitzgerald's.

(The Last Stage is available on Kindle, Nook Books, or if you would like a signed copy of The Last Stage they're available from my website (only $20!) at Jymsbooks via Paypal (jymwrite@aol.com, please don't forget your mailing address!)

Chapter 25: The First Gig

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