The Doors’ Robby Krieger has reflected on recruiting The Cult frontman Ian Astbury for live shows in 2002.
Astbury hooked up with Krieger and Ray Manzarek in the outfit originally called The Doors Of The 21st Century in 2002. They later changed the name to D21C and then to Riders On The Storm amid legal wrangles over the use of The Doors name.
The Cult singer appeared with them live until 2007, and with Krieger playing on the same bill as The Cult over the weekend at the Republic Of Texas Biker Rally, he was asked what led him to bring Astbury into the fold 12 years ago.
Krieger tells The Austin Chronicle: “Ian was always a Doors fan. Obviously you could tell from the band’s first couple of albums, but he was friends with Danny Sugarman, who wrote Doors biography No One Here Gets Out Alive.
“For a long time, Danny would tell me, ‘Oh, you have to get together with Ian. He’d be perfect for you guys.’
“We never really took it seriously until we did the VH1 Storytellers show, so we had Ian come along with Scott Weiland and a bunch of other guys and sing a Doors song.
“He was one of the better guys, I thought. That’s when we first met him and how it came about.”
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Krieger has lined up a number of live dates over the coming months with his band – and he praises keyboardist Natham Wilmarth, who took over duties following Manzarek’s death in 2013.
He adds: “My son Waylon is singing, and the bass and drums are the guys who played with Ray and I these last 20 years – Phil Chin on bass and Ty Dennis on the drums.
“We have a great keyboard player, Nathan Wilmarth, who’s a total Ray nut. He’s learned every lick that Ray ever played – and he’s collected all of Ray’s keyboards. It’s a good group.”
The band’s next appearance is at the Las Vegas Fremont Street Free Show on Jul 23.
Robby Krieger 2016 live dates
Jul 23: Las Vegas Fremont Street Free Show, NV
Aug 04: Osh Gosh Leach Amphitheatre, WI
Aug 05: Cincinnati Sharonville Convention Center, OH
Aug 06: Kokomo Foster Park, IN
The Doors: Krieger and Densmore on America's most influential band
