Robby Krieger

When the Doors were still a fledgling quartet, and the band members were honing their chops playing five sets a night at the London Fog club in Hollywood, it wasn't rock stardom on keyboardist Ray Manzarek's mind as he and his three bandmates laid down an extended jam for their debut album that ran more than seven minutes. Manzarek was thinking more of one of his jazz heroes when he cribbed some of John Coltrane's ideas from the saxophonist's recording of "My Favorite Things" for his own solo in the song that would become the Doors' signature hit, and one of the defining singles of the 1960s: "Light My Fire.

When the Doors were still a fledgling quartet, and the band members were honing their chops playing five sets a night at the London Fog club in Hollywood, it wasn't rock stardom on keyboardist Ray Manzarek's mind as he and his three bandmates laid down an extended jam for their debut album that ran more than seven minutes. Manzarek was thinking more of one of his jazz heroes when he cribbed some of John Coltrane's ideas from the saxophonist's recording of "My Favorite Things" for his own solo in the song that would become the Doors' signature hit, and one of the defining singles of the 1960s: "Light My Fire.

At first glance, the Doors seem to be an unusual object of study for Greil Marcus, the music critic and cultural historian who likes to draw connections between punk music and world history ("Lipstick Traces") or Elvis Presley and the American myth ("Mystery Train"). The Los Angeles band is, after all, an act that these days mainly gets airplay for a few scattered hits such as "Light My Fire" and "Break on Through (To the Other Side). " They wouldn't seem substantial enough for Marcus' intense gaze.

When Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger reformed the Doors with a comeback gig at the Whisky at last year's Sunset Strip Music Festival, it was the hottest ticket at the event, with landmark songs like "Riders of the Storm" and "Light My Fire" echoing once again at the club where the band first made its mark. This year's festival is giving the iconic '60s band an even larger spotlight. Now in its fifth year, the Sunset Strip Music Festival once again pays homage to the Strip's illustrious musical heritage with an event at the House of Blues on Thursday that will pay tribute to the Doors with Krieger, Manzarek and John Densmore in attendance.

When Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger reformed the Doors with a comeback gig at the Whisky at last year's Sunset Strip Music Festival, it was the hottest ticket at the event, with landmark songs like "Riders of the Storm" and "Light My Fire" echoing once again at the club where the band first made its mark. This year's festival is giving the iconic '60s band an even larger spotlight. Now in its fifth year, the Sunset Strip Music Festival once again pays homage to the Strip's illustrious musical heritage with an event at the House of Blues on Thursday that will pay tribute to the Doors with Krieger, Manzarek and John Densmore in attendance.

Robbie Krieger has nothing against the '60s. That's where his career and reputation began, as guitarist for the Doors. Just don't trap him in the role of some kind of oldies act, he says. Part of the problem is that after the death of Doors singer Jim Morrison in 1971, Krieger essentially left pop music for some lesser-known experiments instrumental jazz-rock.

When people speak of the Doors' "Light My Fire,"it's not uncommon for phrases such as "Jim Morrison's poetic genius" to come up. That leaves former Doors guitarist Robby Krieger, who actually wrote the '60s classic, feeling just a bit underappreciated. "I don't mind it so much, just so long as people don't think Jose Feliciano wrote 'Light My Fire,' " Krieger said, laughing, by phone from a Beverly Hills recording studio recently.

The Doors were in the dumps. "We need more songs," Jim Morrison told the band at a rehearsal session in the fall of 1966. Lead guitarist Robby Krieger went home and wrote a song. He called it "Light My Fire." The music world called it a hit. It stayed No. 1 for three months. The band, with its psychedelic sound and Morrison's seductive stage presence, represented the dangers and temptations of rock music in the late '60s and early '70s.

"Blueternative" is how singer-bassist Berry Oakley Jr. describes the music of his Oakley Krieger Band. It's a simple way of letting people know that the quartet is influenced by the classic blues-rock of the '60s and '70s as well as the alternative guitar rock of the '80s and '90s. For the Los Angeles-based group, which plays Saturday at Hogue Barmichael's in Newport Beach, both dimensions of its sonic mix are a natural fit.

So who can blame Doors guitarist Robby Krieger for wanting to cash in on a little notoriety--isn't that, after all, in the earliest tradition of the Doors? And doesn't he have as much right as anyone? Oliver Stone's movie may have been about Jim Morrison, but Krieger's the guy who wrote "Light My Fire." The real question posed by his concert at the Wadsworth Theater on Saturday, however, was whether Krieger would embrace Doors nostalgia at the cost of his own music.

At first glance, the Doors seem to be an unusual object of study for Greil Marcus, the music critic and cultural historian who likes to draw connections between punk music and world history ("Lipstick Traces") or Elvis Presley and the American myth ("Mystery Train"). The Los Angeles band is, after all, an act that these days mainly gets airplay for a few scattered hits such as "Light My Fire" and "Break on Through (To the Other Side). " They wouldn't seem substantial enough for Marcus' intense gaze.

John Densmore, co-founder and drummer of the Doors, filed suit against former band members Ray Manzarek and Robbie Krieger in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, charging that a tour organized by the pair represents a breach of contract and trademark infringement. On the tour, due to play the Universal Amphitheatre on Friday, Stuart Copeland, formerly of the Police, substitutes for Densmore, and Ian Astbury, formerly of the Cult, stands in for singer Jim Morrison, who died in 1971.

"Blueternative" is how singer-bassist Berry Oakley Jr. describes the music of his Oakley Krieger Band. It's a simple way of letting people know that the quartet is influenced by the classic blues-rock of the '60s and '70s as well as the alternative guitar rock of the '80s and '90s. For the Los Angeles-based group, which plays Saturday at Hogue Barmichael's in Newport Beach, both dimensions of its sonic mix are a natural fit.

Robbie Krieger has nothing against the '60s. That's where his career and reputation began, as guitarist for the Doors. Just don't trap him in the role of some kind of oldies act, he says. Part of the problem is that after the death of Doors singer Jim Morrison in 1971, Krieger essentially left pop music for some lesser-known experiments instrumental jazz-rock.

So who can blame Doors guitarist Robby Krieger for wanting to cash in on a little notoriety--isn't that, after all, in the earliest tradition of the Doors? And doesn't he have as much right as anyone? Oliver Stone's movie may have been about Jim Morrison, but Krieger's the guy who wrote "Light My Fire." The real question posed by his concert at the Wadsworth Theater on Saturday, however, was whether Krieger would embrace Doors nostalgia at the cost of his own music.

The Doors were in the dumps. "We need more songs," Jim Morrison told the band at a rehearsal session in the fall of 1966. Lead guitarist Robby Krieger went home and wrote a song. He called it "Light My Fire." The music world called it a hit. It stayed No. 1 for three months. The band, with its psychedelic sound and Morrison's seductive stage presence, represented the dangers and temptations of rock music in the late '60s and early '70s.

When people speak of the Doors' "Light My Fire," it's not uncommon for phrases like "Jim Morrison's poetic genius" to come up. Which leaves Robby Krieger, who actually wrote the '60s classic, feeling just a bit under-appreciated. "I don't mind it so much, just so long as people don't think Jose Feliciano wrote 'Light My Fire,' " Krieger said, laughing, by phone from a Beverly Hills studio recently. "You get a guy like Morrison, and everybody's going to think he was the whole band.

John Densmore, co-founder and drummer of the Doors, filed suit against former band members Ray Manzarek and Robbie Krieger in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, charging that a tour organized by the pair represents a breach of contract and trademark infringement. On the tour, due to play the Universal Amphitheatre on Friday, Stuart Copeland, formerly of the Police, substitutes for Densmore, and Ian Astbury, formerly of the Cult, stands in for singer Jim Morrison, who died in 1971.

When people speak of the Doors' "Light My Fire,"it's not uncommon for phrases such as "Jim Morrison's poetic genius" to come up. That leaves former Doors guitarist Robby Krieger, who actually wrote the '60s classic, feeling just a bit underappreciated. "I don't mind it so much, just so long as people don't think Jose Feliciano wrote 'Light My Fire,' " Krieger said, laughing, by phone from a Beverly Hills recording studio recently.

When people speak of the Doors' "Light My Fire," it's not uncommon for phrases like "Jim Morrison's poetic genius" to come up. Which leaves Robby Krieger, who actually wrote the '60s classic, feeling just a bit under-appreciated. "I don't mind it so much, just so long as people don't think Jose Feliciano wrote 'Light My Fire,' " Krieger said, laughing, by phone from a Beverly Hills studio recently. "You get a guy like Morrison, and everybody's going to think he was the whole band.