“You know that it would be untrue. You know that I would be a liar. If I was to say to you. Girl, we couldn’t get much higher. Come on baby, light my fire.”
With these words an eternal flame was lit which would secure a place in rock and roll history for The Doors. Under the mystical shadow of demigod rock icon Jim Morrison, whose antics and sexual charisma preceded both he and the band, it’s sometimes overlooked that many of the group’s largest hits were actually penned by guitarist Robby Krieger.
In addition to writing the songs “Light My Fire,” “Love Me Two Times,” “Touch Me,” and “Love Her Madly,” Krieger has also been listed at number 91 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. His finger-style approach to electric bottleneck guitar helped establish The Doors’ sound in the late ‘60s. Following Morrison’s death in ’71, the remaining band cut two final albums (Other Voices and Full Circle) before dissolving in ’73.
Where do you go when the music’s over? Well, it wasn’t over…
Krieger says, “Since Full Circle, I had a band with John Densmore [drummer of The Doors] called The Butts Band,” who released two albums in ’74 and ’75. “After that, I got into jazz, jazz-rock, that kind of thing, and I’ve been doing that ever since.”
Ten years ago he also got together with Doors’ keyboardist Ray Manzarek and they’ve been performing to this day. That’s the general nutshell, not including various collaborations (including a stint with Eric Burdon of The Animals), and seven solo albums between 1977 and 2010. His current project is called Robby Krieger’s Jazz Kitchen, playing a blend of jazz, fusion, and progressive music.
“It’s kind of all of the above,” says Krieger. “There’s some vocals, but not too many. It’s really for music lovers and guitar fans, mostly. We do a couple of Doors songs, but you might not recognize them.”
Krieger’s Jazz Kitchen includes Frank Zappa alumnus and Hammond B3 purist Tommy Mars on keys, Arthur Barrow (also a Zappa veteran) on bass, Larry Klimas (War, Chicago, Neil Diamond) on horns, and Tom Brechtlein (Kenny Loggins, Robben Ford, Chick Corea) on drums.
Legendary guitarist Robby Krieger of The Doors plays Saint Rocke this Sunday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. as Robby Krieger’s Jazz Kitchen. Two local acts, Midnight Lamp and Trey Comstock, provide the opening support. Tickets are $18. Call (310) 372-0035 or go to saintrocke.com.
