John Densmore, the original drummer of the Doors, is the first to admit that he was a longtime skeptic of electronic music because it almost always uses drum machines instead of real drummers. So when the surviving members of the original Doors lineup (Densmore, keyboardist Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robby Krieger) reunited for a special music project in collaboration with Skrillex (one of today’s hottest stars in electronic music), Densmore was probably the toughest for Skrillex to win over at first. But Densmore and Grammy winner Skrillex (whose real name is Sonny Moore) ended up having a great time working together. It helped that Skrillex has a background in rock music and was already a fan of the Doors before he met Densmore, Krieger and Manzarek.
The Doors’ collaboration with Skrillex is the song “Breakin’ a Sweat,” the first studio reunion of the Doors since the 1978 album “An American Prayer.” The recording of the song was chronicled in the documentary film “Re: Generation Music Project,” which was funded in part by the Grammys and Hyundai. The concept of “Re: Generation Music Project” was to take five DJs/producers (Skrillex, DJ Premier, Mark Ronson, the Crystal Method and Pretty Lights) and randomly assign a different genre of music to each them. The artists then had to team up with a leading artist in the genre to create an original song.
Skrillex got rock music as his genre, and so he recorded “Breakin’ a Sweat” with the Doors in Los Angeles. DJ Premier was assigned classical music and worked with the Berklee Symphony Orchestra in Boston on the tune “Regeneration” with a contribution from Nas. The Crystal Method was given R&B, and the duo teamed up with Martha Reeves in Detroit for “I’m Not Leaving.” Ronson traveled to New Orleans for his jazz assignment, and he worked with Erykah Badu, Trombone Shorty, Mos Def, Zigaboo Modeliste and members of the Dap Kings on the track “A La Modeliste.” Pretty Lights was assigned country music, and he went to Nashville to record “Wayfaring Stranger” with LeAnn Rimes and Dr. Ralph Stanley.
“Re: Generation Music Project” (directed by Amir Bar-Lev) opens in select U.S. theaters for one night on February 16, 2012, with an encore presentation on February 23, 2012. The documentary is also an official selection of the 2012 SXSW Film Festival. “Re: Generation Music Project” is not only a celebration of musical creativity but it is also an insightful chronicle of how even accomplished musicians can learn new things when they step outside their comfort zones. A few hours before “Re: Generation Music Project” had its Los Angeles premiere, I talked with Densmore for this exclusive interview.
In terms of the recording process for “Breakin’ a Sweat,” what were some of the things that happened that weren’t in the “Re: Generation Music Project” movie?
When I said, “We’ve got to turn the cameras off. I want to talk to Skrillex for a little bit in private,” really, we were just going over the tune, the track. I said, “I hear Doumbek hand drums and this and that.” We were getting on the same page musically, and I wanted to make sure that was going to happen off-camera, so it wouldn’t be rude.
Whose idea was it originally for you, Robby Krieger and Ray Manzarek to be a part of the “Re: Generation Music Project” movie?
We all decided together. Mainly it was this idea of crossing generations. My son said, “You’ve got to get Skrillex’s autograph.” I’d never heard of Skrillex. That’s a big generation crossing right there. And not only was it to come up with good music but maybe healing for cultures.
What was the order in which you, Robby and Ray recorded your parts for “Breakin’ a Sweat”?
Robby and Ray had recorded their keyboard and guitar parts. They hadn’t recorded the vocals. Skrillex did the [chorus] “Breakin’ a Sweat.” They [Robby Krieger and Ray Manzarek] were doing kind of back-up vocals. That was all later. I was in the middle.
Skrillex has kind of a tribal approach to his live shows. The tribal theme has been very important to your music over the years. What were your thoughts when you saw Skrillex perform “Breakin’ a Sweat” for the first time in concert, which was shown in the movie?
I immediately thought, “I want to play live with him,” which I’m going to do.
Really? When?
Oh, it’s not figured out. I can go up on stage with a little hand drum and a microphone and add a human vibe of a musician to that giant, wonderful, electronic sound. The feeling is definitely tribal. I’m a drummer, so I’m down for tribes.
You mentioned in “Re: Generation Music Project” that Jim Morrison once predicted that there would come a day when music could be made with just one man and a machine. And that’s basically what Skrillex does. Can you talk about how that prediction came about, and what was the most important thing you learned from the “Re: Generation Music Project” experience?
The most important thing I learned was to be open, because when Jim said, “In the future, music will be made by a guy with machines,” I was like, “Oh god! That sounds horrible!” And here I am playing with a guy with machines. I like the end product. I like the idea of live music on top of electronic music.
The Doors documentary “Mr. Mojo Risin’: The Story of L.A. Woman” was released in on DVD and Blu-ray in January 2012. Fans seem to really like this documentary, especially the track-by-track description of how the songs from the “L.A. Woman” album were recorded. So why wasn’t the description of the song “L’America” included?
I don’t know. I didn’t cut the film.
So you did talk about “L’America,” but it just didn’t end up in the final cut of the documentary?
Yeah.
Would you consider doing this type of documentary for each one of the other Doors studio albums?
That’s a real interesting idea. Thank you for that. I haven’t thought of it, but I’m going to tell management, and they’ll probably salivate.
What’s the latest update on your book?
It’s called “The Doors: Unhinged,” and it’s about my struggles with keeping the [Doors] name pure. That will be out in the fall [of 2012].
Is there a publisher for the book?
Yeah, but we’re still haggling. I can't say anything more about it.
For more info: "Re: Generation Music Project" website
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