People - Article: Doors legend still lighting fires

[Euphoric]

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/reg...icleid=1038331

After growing up on Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry records, Doors guitarist Robby Krieger though he would take a stab at song writing in 1965.


“The first song I ever wrote was ‘Light My Fire,’ Krieger told an audience of fans and students at Berklee Performance Center yesterday afternoon, “and it’s been downhill ever since.”


Krieger came to Boston to talk about his old band and, in particular, a new historic release, “Live in Boston 1970,” a three-CD set recorded at the old Boston Arena (now Northeastern’s Matthews Arena). On the East Coast this week as part of the Jimi Hendrix tribute tour, Experience Hendrix (which stops in Providence next Sunday), Krieger answered questions from Berklee Internet Radio DJs and the crowd before playing a short set of Doors classics with four Berklee students.


Candid and dry-witted, the ’60s star openly discussed the history and legacy of the Doors from Jim Morrisons antics on the road (“He didnt travel well,” said Krieger) to the role LSD played in shaping the music.


“I hate to admit it, but, yeah, LSD did have a big influence on what we were writing,” he said. “It was almost like a new religion. We didn’t just take it to get high. It was a quest, a religious quest.”


The event was a testament to the Doors’ ability to continually reach new generations - many of the students were fanatical devotees, including a 25-year-old who asked the nonplussed guitarist if Jim Morrison had been reincarnated as Mr. Mojo Rising.


Krieger offered fond memories of the Doors in Boston. He recalled dining at Durgin Park as well as their tumultuous Boston Arena concert, the first show on the Los Angeles quartet’s final tour.


“I remember that the audience was great,” said Krieger. “Jim was definitely feeling no pain that night.”


Gerard Ginnetty, 55, a fan who was at the 1970 show, remembered utter pandemonium.


“It was the first time that I ever saw people climbing over cars to get to the arena,” said Ginnetty, who still has his ticket stub from the concert.



“There were so many people there that we all actually just started climbing over the cars parked on the side of the street. It was just chaos.”


Krieger ended the event by picking up his guitar and blasting through Doors staples, including “Roadhouse Blues” and “L.A. Woman,” with backing by a student ensemble called Morrison Crossing.


The interview, audience Q&A and performance can be heard on Berklee radio at www.thebirn.com.