Quick chat: With John Densmore

Drummer John Densmore and the other surviving members of the Doors, Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger, team with Skrillex on Re:Generation Music Project.

Doors drummer John Densmore was part of the psychedelic revolution in rock. Now as part of the Re:Generation Music Project, Densmore and bandmates Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger are redefining music again with Grammy-lauded dancenik Skrillex. Densmore, 67, discussed the 24-year-old Skrillex, early electronic music and the Doors’ first gig in San Francisco with Pop & Hiss.

Why did you want to get involved with Skrillex in the Re:Generation Music Project?

I told my son, “I’ve never heard of a Skrillex, what the hell is that?” And he said, “Dad, you’ve got to do that, you’ve got to get his autograph, and if you don’t I won’t speak to you.”

What was your first meeting like?

I thought he was a strange-looking little, cute guy. I asked him for his autograph, and he said, “My dad would like yours.” That was an interesting exchange.

What did you think of his music?

I was into Stockhausen electronic classical music in the ’50s so I get the electronic scene.

Skrillex’s innovative sound is pretty divisive in the music world. Was that a similar reaction to the Doors’ first shows?

We went to play the Fillmore in San Francisco for the first time, and the audience up there, even though they were our peers, they just stared at us. They didn’t even applaud. It was like we landed from Mars.

Do you feel that electronic music has any similarities to jazz or punk or any other iconoclastic music?

It’s pushing the boundaries. Time will tell, but it’s not going to take over.

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--Drew Tewksbury

Photo:John Densmore of the Doors.  Credit: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times

Doors release new 'L.A. Woman' outtake 'She Smells So Nice'

A previously unreleased track by 1960s icons the Doors has found its way onto the belated 40th anniversary release of the band's landmark album "L.A. Woman" and will be released Jan. 24 on Rhino Records. The abrasively bluesy jam "She Smells So Nice," is the first "new" Doors song to be released in almost  four decades. Featuring vocals by the late Jim Morrison, the song was rediscovered by "L.A. Woman" co-producer Bruce Botnick, who stumbled on it while reviving the original session tapes during a remastering project.

The song's built on chugging blues chords, and Morrison's vocals are as wild as ever, though his shouts and yelps are a bit muffled. Though the quality of the recording is a bit rough, the band's energy still comes through. The song is posted below and also appears on the band's Facebook page.

Aside from the newly excavated track, the remastered two-disc version of the 1971 album comes with alternate takes of classic staples such as "Love Her Madly," "Riders on the Storm" and the title track. Doors fans can also look out for the Jan. 24 DVD release of "Mr. Mojo Risin': The Making of L.A. Woman."

The Doors, 'She Smells So Nice'

'She Smells So Nice' by The Doors

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Hollywood arson fires damage Doors' 'Love Street' house

--Nate Jackson

Photo: The Doors   Credit: Associated Press

Hollywood arson fires damage Doors' 'Love Street' house

The former Laurel Canyon home of the Doors' Jim Morrison was among those damaged in a string of arsons that plagued West Hollywood and Hollywood early Friday, according to the Los Angeles Times' L.A. Now. It took firefighters more than half an hour to save the piece of rock 'n' roll history, which was one of 19 overnight arson fires set in the area. 

Police, reported L.A. Now, are on tactical alert and the Los Angeles Fire Department has doubled the number of arson teams on call. Many of the fires were started in cars or carports, officials told L.A. Now. The Morrison home is at 8021 Rothdell Trail near the bordering line of West Hollywood and Los Angeles. 

Doors lore pegs it as the locale that inspired the 1968 song "Love Street." Morrison once lived at the home with his girlfriend, Pamela Courson. Much of the album on which the song appears, "Waiting for the Sun," is believed to have been written at the residence, which was built in 1922 and listed last summer at $1.119 million.

MAP: Hollywood arson fires

As noted on L.A. Now, fire crews discovered a Mazda Miata on fire, and the blaze spread to a balcony and the front of the house, officials said. Authorities, wrote reporters Andrew Blankstein and Angel Jenning, termed firefighters' efforts a "major save" because the house is old and nestled in a hillside area with a high density of brush. One firefighter was injured in a fall from a ground ladder, officials said. He was taken to the hospital, where he is listed in stable condition.