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Starting a tribute band to The Doors

::::BASSIST::::

::::BASSIST::::

Progress Not Perfection.
Sep 2, 2004
12,524
291
Vancouver, BC Canada
#1
I love the music and I want to do something completely different from my roots rock/rockabilly band. I've got the people off craigslist so it will be an interesting event upon our first meeting. I already know the drummer and he's a good guy and competent drummer. Hope he can play like Densmore though. Obviously the most difficult matter will be to find a Jim Morrision. I have seen some trib bands online that have had some pretty good Jims and some which were pretty bad. I've got two guys lined up.

And before some say that "Hey Man, the Doors didn't have a bass player!" I do acknowledge this. However, at times they did use one in the studio, Jeff Scheff, I believe his name was. I think they also used one from time to time on stage. Riders on The Storm, the current Doors band with Ray and Robbie also have a bass player. Obviously I am biased towards having a bass player in the band so its pretty much a moot point.


So basically I have two questions:
1. what is more important - that he look like Jim or sound like Jim? I'm thinking voice match is more important.

2. Name suggestions? I have come up with The Doors of Deconstruction which is sort of a play on The Doors of Perception (the book from which the original name came from).

de·con·struc·tion - A philosophical movement and theory of literary criticism that questions traditional assumptions about certainty, identity, and truth; asserts that words can only refer to other words; and attempts to demonstrate how statements about any text subvert their own meanings.
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#3
Hate the name. "Deconstruction", both as a word, and as a movement, has been a cliche for about ten years now.

Sorry to be such a downer, but I was an English literature major, and was force-fed all that nonsense (Foucault, Baudrillard, "deference") by a lot of lettered and degreed morons. Looking back on it, I suppose I should majored in something like chemistry or physics.

Good luck with your project, though. You will get to play some great basslines -- that series of descending arpeggios in the turnaround to "Love Me Two Times" is quite nice.
 
#4
The band im in play a lot of Doors stuff. Its just fun to play. My fav is Peace Frog and Changeling to play, but there is some amazing bass on those later Doors albums. Anyone listen to the bass on The Soft Parade? Great stuff IMO
 
#5
Yeah, I should mention one of the key reasons for starting this project is that I love playing doors basslines... especially the longer ones. Light My Fire is one of my all time favourite songs. I am currently learning LA Woman and man, keeping that verse / pulse line going without flubbing it isn't easy.
 
#6
This is a cool idea! The Doors have some really fun basslines. Riders On The Storm, The Spy, People Are Strange, et cetera. Good idea man. As for Jim, the two things are almost equally important, but if it comes down to one or the other, I think the voice should take it. But that's my opinion, and you should really try and find a nice medium.
 
#12
::::BASSIST:::: said:
Yeah, I should mention one of the key reasons for starting this project is that I love playing doors basslines... especially the longer ones. Light My Fire is one of my all time favourite songs. I am currently learning LA Woman and man, keeping that verse / pulse line going without flubbing it isn't easy.
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Ive been playing LA Woman for 10+ years. It is tough if your drummer cant play the right tempo like my last drummer.
He tends to force the beat and cannot play it to save his life without changing speeds in the middle of it. With a competant drummer it is much easier. I love playing that one too!

Peace Frog is a great name!
 
#15
::::BASSIST:::: said:
And before some say that "Hey Man, the Doors didn't have a bass player!" I do acknowledge this. However, at times they did use one in the studio Jeff Scheff, I believe his name was.
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oldrocker said:
I think his name was Jerry Sheff. Great bassplayer.
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The great Jerry Scheff, whose resume includes everyone from the Association, Bobby Sherman and Tiny Tim, to Neil Diamond, Sammy Davis Jr., Jim Nabors and Leonard Nimoy, to the Doors, Linda Ronstadt and Bob Dylan, and most of all, Elvis Presley! :bassist:
 
#16
sound over looks. i know plenty of folks who have chosen the other much to their dismay.

a semi-local group called riders on the storm does a pretty good trib here, the most convincing part? the keys are exact, i think the kb player actually uses the same setup as the doors.
 
#17
being in a tribute band myself, I know there is some debate out there on this issue. Bands that don't attempt to look like the band they are "tributing" usually say "Hey, sound is more important than the LOOK!"

Yes and no. If you don't SOUND like the band, the look doesn't matter. A bit. But a tribute band with the right look and sound beats out one with just the sound any day of the week.

We have no less than 4 other bands in our State doing the same band as us. What separates us? We are anal - BOTH on sound AND on look. No one is more authentic than us. Consequently, we get the best bookings. By far. The rest are playing places we wouldn't play now.

So. If the Doors had no bassist live, then there shouldn't be a bassist.

If you're REALLY a Doors tribute band, then your Jim needs to LOOK like Jim, not just sound like him.

You can be a Doors "cover" band but with a bass player and non-Jim Morrison, you're not really a "tribute" band.

doesn't mean people won't like it. Have fun. You're a Doors cover band. I think it would be cool.

Maybe do a 60s psychadelic tribute?? Not just the Doors, but other similar groups/hits? Then your look won't matter so much and you won't be dependent on just doing Doors music. After 6 Doors songs, most people won't know any of the rest. Just a thought.
 
#19
QORC said:
being in a tribute band myself, I know there is some debate out there on this issue. Bands that don't attempt to look like the band they are "tributing" usually say "Hey, sound is more important than the LOOK!"

Yes and no. If you don't SOUND like the band, the look doesn't matter. A bit. But a tribute band with the right look and sound beats out one with just the sound any day of the week.

We have no less than 4 other bands in our State doing the same band as us. What separates us? We are anal - BOTH on sound AND on look. No one is more authentic than us. Consequently, we get the best bookings. By far. The rest are playing places we wouldn't play now.

So. If the Doors had no bassist live, then there shouldn't be a bassist.

If you're REALLY a Doors tribute band, then your Jim needs to LOOK like Jim, not just sound like him.

You can be a Doors "cover" band but with a bass player and non-Jim Morrison, you're not really a "tribute" band.

doesn't mean people won't like it. Have fun. You're a Doors cover band. I think it would be cool.

Maybe do a 60s psychadelic tribute?? Not just the Doors, but other similar groups/hits? Then your look won't matter so much and you won't be dependent on just doing Doors music. After 6 Doors songs, most people won't know any of the rest. Just a thought.
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Interesting. Since Ray and Robby currently use a bass player live I'm going with that setup. :cool:

Here's the local competition: they have a bassist as most doors trib bands seem to have.



But I do agree with you first thing is the sound, second is the look.

Do you have a link to your trib band?
 
#20
QORC said:
being in a tribute band myself, I know there is some debate out there on this issue. Bands that don't attempt to look like the band they are "tributing" usually say "Hey, sound is more important than the LOOK!"

Yes and no. If you don't SOUND like the band, the look doesn't matter. A bit. But a tribute band with the right look and sound beats out one with just the sound any day of the week.

We have no less than 4 other bands in our State doing the same band as us. What separates us? We are anal - BOTH on sound AND on look. No one is more authentic than us. Consequently, we get the best bookings. By far. The rest are playing places we wouldn't play now.

So. If the Doors had no bassist live, then there shouldn't be a bassist.

If you're REALLY a Doors tribute band, then your Jim needs to LOOK like Jim, not just sound like him.

You can be a Doors "cover" band but with a bass player and non-Jim Morrison, you're not really a "tribute" band.

doesn't mean people won't like it. Have fun. You're a Doors cover band. I think it would be cool.

Maybe do a 60s psychadelic tribute?? Not just the Doors, but other similar groups/hits? Then your look won't matter so much and you won't be dependent on just doing Doors music. After 6 Doors songs, most people won't know any of the rest. Just a thought.
Click to expand...

+1 here. I'm not in a tribute band my self but this makes sense. Besides, I think that it would be more fun taking this route. I'm a Doors fanatic and would love to be in a Doors band but as a fan seeing a tribute band I would expect the sound AND the look including the famous "Jim attitude". If you do a 60s psyc cover band you could do Joplin, Hendrix and more. Plus QORC is right, people these days only really know maybe 10 Doors songs. Most people are going to get completely lost on some of their more obscure stuff.

The Doorways
 

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