The Questlove Show - Questlove Supreme: John Densmore

Episode Date: January 27, 2021

This week's episode of Questlove Supreme pairs Quest and Team Supreme with Rock and Roll royalty, hall of famer and legendary Doors drummer, John Densmore. Listen as John breaks down the creative process of Jim Morrison, life in one of the most rebellious bands of all time and shares his love for Stacey Abrams? You don't want to miss this one! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media.

Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clivert Show on the I-Hard Radio app,

Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. This week on the Sports Slice podcast, it's all about the NFL draft. And we've got a special guest. The director of the NFL's East West Shrine Bowl, Eric Galco, joins the Sports Slice podcast to break down what really matters when evaluating draft prospects. From hidden traits teams look for to the biggest mistakes franchises make to the players flying under the radar. This is the insight you won't hear anywhere else. If you want to understand the draft like an insider, you don't want to miss this episode.

Listen to the Sports Slice Podcast on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slica Life 12 and TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. When a group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist, they take matters into their own hands. I vowed. I will be his last target. He is not going to get away with this. He's going to get what he deserves. We always say that Trust your girlfriends

Listen to the girlfriends Trust me babe On the Iheart radio app Apple Podcasts Or wherever you get your podcast Questlove Supreme is a production Of Iheart Radio It's a Steve show

This is Steve show Brough I can't carry I believe our best episodes Are when we don't know the guys Yeah everybody calm down Because I can't carry out I'm just

I just know I know bringing on through. I know five to one. All right. You know five to one. When I start talking takeover, you drumming Fonte. I know that whole Valckelmovie. I know the whole Valcimer movie.

I know the whole lot of course. Aren't there samples? Did anyone sample the doors? Yes. We're cool. Okay. Y'all ready. Amir's a drummer too, by the way.

I know, right? I think we have a whole thing about drums. What kind of sticks you like? We're going to take the Donnie Simpson test today. Yeah, okay. I ain't mad at that. Okay. All right. I'm with it.

All right. Here we go. Oh. Oh, there's jimba happening already. Oh, let's go. How you doing? Hey, man, I'm good. Good to be here with you. Oh, hey.

I don't know if you can see this. My wardrobe? I don't see. Late night of Jimmy Coo. I see it out. Look at that. Thank you. Yeah, he sat.

He sat in with us. Late night. Yeah, man. I remember. Is it because of COVID that the roots are paired down? Yeah, it's because of COVID. We can't state law says that only six people out of 11 are in formation. So that's how it is.

I got it. Okay. Well, I used to love that the tube of duplicating the baselines that sent me right to Norland. It's beautiful. Nice. Optive lower. Yeah. That's cool.

crap since we're already talking let me start the introduction uh ladies and gentlemen this is quest love supreme my name is quest love we have team supreme with us we got fine take hello hello sir what up happy new year happy new year happy new year this this is also the time that i'm uh not pluralizing the word year uh i always say happy new years and i've been corrected one too many times um uh sugar steve hello hello how you doing everybody hi John. It's kind of weird for me to say hello to you because I see you every day. Yeah, I'm pretty sick of you too. Let's move on. Okay. Yeah.

He's really excited. This is so cool. Unpaid Bill. Happy runoff. It's going to be the sugar Steve really is a live episode. Yeah. Um, pay Bill. Yeah, man, with us as well. How you doing? Good. Happy runoff day. Good. Yeah. Happy. Yeah. Happy whatever you said day. Yep. And Laya is with us as well. That's right. Happy 50th month, my friend. Oh, you're right. With. me there's okay you're still 19 yeah no i'm i'm not yes i'm right with you as far as our birthdays

on the same day but it's y'all 50 but not 50 you know what i'm saying yeah anyway all right so our guest today y'all uh our guest this is huge man yeah very huge he's a member of the rock and roll hall of fame um and he's literally from one of the most influential bands of all time um the doors have sold over one million records. That's nothing to stop at. Their music and their influence still resonate to this day. Yes, I don't know if you know that, John, but you go over a hundred million records too. Not extreme. That's true. I better check my, check my royalties. Yeah. We're on the verge of an ad, you know, an ask how payback. Today, it would be good for it, John. Not to mention,

our guest is also an author, actor, playwright, uh, Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner recipient and we are extremely honored to have him talk shop with us today and his illustrious career. Please welcome to course love Supreme John Dinsmore, drummer of the doors. Yes, welcome. Hey, hey, yo, thank you. And I'm not dead, you know? Yes, you're very much alive. Yeah, it's a good start. Yeah. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. That's an achievement. We're all alive right now. Where are you right now? I'm in my office slash rehearsal room, you know. Okay. I mean, like in what part of the world? Oh, oh, I'm in L.A. Okay. Uh, where I was born. My mom was, my mom was born here in 1904. And, but, but we're not native.

The Chumash Indians are the first people's got to get that right. You got to credit. You better get it. Yeah. Uh, so listen, I want to say, um, I'm, I'm really pleased to be doing this because, you know, Quest and I are in the same tribe, a tribe called drummers. Yes, we are. You know, and I just... Nice wordplay there. Yeah, I love that, you know, you're the leader of the roots, and not a lot of drummers or leaders,

and it makes me think of you and Lionel Hampton or Art Blakey and the jazz messengers, you know, who I saw many times, or Chico Hamilton, who I stole the ride symbol. bell beat from, you know, so. Wade, how did you pull that? Time out. Please tell our audience who Chico Hamilton is, please,

because nobody ever talks about him. Well, he was a wonderful jazz cat in the early 60s, and I saw him as a teenager. I think Charles Lloyd was playing with him. And, man, you know, I heard a real cool thing, and later I put it in the end. You know, you steal from the best, right? Exactly.

Flattery. I was going to say, though, you told me at Fallon that your weapon of choice wasn't initially the drums. You started out, you said, as a piano player. Yeah, yeah, that's in my new book. My mom is the first chapter because she encouraged me to play piano, and I just was crazy for music. And I wanted to play any instrument. And then I got into junior high, and there was no piano in the, band or the orchestra. And I chose clarinet because I thought, you know, Benny Goodman's cool,

whatever. And I had braces on my teeth. And they said, no, no, no, you can't do that. You're trying to push them back and they're going to come out with that instrument. So drums, yeah. So I owe my career to the dentist, you know. Really? Oh, so you're saying that adults encouraged you to play the drums. Because normally in my situation, adults, drums are always the last resort of every drummer that I know because their parents don't want them to make noise or anything. I got you. Now, my parents were okay with it. But, Quest, did you have one of those black rubber pads, a drum pad? You know, they bounce back, but they have no sound. And that's what you got to do when you're too loud. Right. Exactly. Well, even,

that I'll say like my first two years of taking drum lessons you know my teacher had like this shiny Ludwig drum set and also a practice pad next to that drum set yeah and we would just walk to the practice pad and I would ask him like wait when do I get to play with those yeah and he's like you're not ready yet so like for two years I had to play on that practice pad almost like it was like torture for, you know, to sit there in front of that drum set and not even touch it for the first two years. Yeah, no, same deal with me. I was told if I took private lessons, I'd get better. And so I did. And I was surrounded by drum sets on the damn practice pad with the teacher. So who was your, who's your, like, who's your North Star as far as drumming was concerned?

like you know because i mean you were the rock era the modern rock era so it wasn't like you have tales of seeing anyone that modern musicians see now so who was your north star as far as like like who would have been your Beatles on sullivan moment as far as like that's what i want to do for a living elvin jones wow great i got my fake id in tijuana and went to shelley's manhole which the doorman looked at and said this is fake but come on in you know and uh and i saw coltrain many times oh my god i wanted you to say that your fake id said elvin jones on it what was that like to see like people that we take for granted i don't think we've ever had a guest on the show that saw coltrane yeah that seemed like gods and you knew they were gods then

So what was that like for you to see? All right. Well, you can read all about it in my new book. The second or third chapter is on Elvin. So, you know, I knew there was magic. I mean, I didn't know that I was seeing iconic, that people were going to be just legendary, you know. But I sensed just, I don't know,

there was fire and energy. Like I couldn't believe the conversation Elvin would have with Coltrane. They'd just be, you know, he'd keep the groove, but he'd be riffing off him all the time. And, you know, it gave me a little courage now and then to riff off Jim Morrison, you know, and fuck around with what he's saying and, you know, keep the groove. But, you know, Elvin, he's my man. And so after Coltrane died, I saw Elvin. Well, let me back up.

All right. So my idols are in the dressing room at the jazz club. And the bathroom is right next to the jazz club. club next to the, you know, my brain. It's one of the musicians hang out, the green room, green room. And so I went to the bathroom a lot, you know, because they were right around the corner, you know. And I was afraid to say anything, but later, after Coltrane died, I introduced myself to Elvin and then I had

I have three self-centered memoirs and the first one Riders on the Storm I gave to Elvin and I quickly said hey man I wrote in here you gave me my hands worried that he would be condescending this jazz giant and he was so warm and friendly and

I saw many more times and I took his symbol bag to the car towards the end of his life so we're talking a real mentor, you know. What was it about his playing? Because a lot of homies I went to school with

that were in the jazz department, they all just swore about Elvin Jones. So if you could explain to kind of a layperson, what was it about his drumming technique that just made him so amazing? I think they called it polyrhythms. You know, I mean, he'd have

the pocket. You have to have the pocket, of course, but he was continually playing triplets. and all this shit all going on all the time like churning up an rhythmic egg beater and and it sounded like he was going to fall into his kit he was it was just but he didn't you know yeah i don't know that's how i describe it you know that's what's up can i ask a question so with with um your clear love for for jazz um did you ever actually play jazz in a in a serious way yeah um A few years back, I had a group called Tribal Jazz, which was a jazz quartet or quintet with two African drummers, which was really fun.

Because, you know, I'm trying to integrate Senegalese rhythms into a drum kit, you know. So it rearranged some brain cells. It was good. And what about back when you were younger, did you play any jazz then? well as a kid like crazy and then I stumbled into this uh rock band I say it worked out pretty good no one's ever heard of well let me let me ask because um yeah like was there's musical snobbery uh in the in the 60s to the level of where you know like it was a big deal for like Leonard Cohen to say like I actually like the Beatles like that sort of thing

Oh, I see. Was it was it a struggle back in to win respect? Like, did you care as much or just were you unaware? Back then, the whole country was polarized into for and against the Vietnam War. Kind of like today's kind of polarized, you know. And, you know, rock and roll was against the war and sort of a liberal bent. And so you were either for that. or, you know, I would say that country music kind of represented the other side.

But the last chapter I got in this book is on Willie Nelson. And, you know, I'm looking for the soul in any genre. You know, I can get fed by if you're saying something truthful. And if it's in a simplistic form, it doesn't matter, man. In fact, in my old age, I've learned that if I put, the right symbol crash in the exact right spot, it can be as powerful as, you know, in my 20s when I showed all my shit or when I had more chops. You know what I mean? What was the, what was the, the modern music scene like in Los Angeles in the mid-60s

before, before you guys really got established? Like was Whiskey Go-Go a thing sort of before you guys came along or like what was just a modern scene like exactly now the whiskey was mecca and uh we were playing in a little club a block down from the whiskey uh the night we were fired because there was a fight which we did not cause but they blamed it on the band uh the the the booker from the whiskey dropped in and saw us and she hired us as the house band at the whiskey and it was heaven i mean uh every night the streets were packed with hippies and music freaks and and and every band that came in uh i don't know let's see frank sappa captain beefheart van morrison etc etc the birds all you know they had to deal with the opening act wow i don't mean to well that sound a little self-serving

but we were different. You know, we were the undeclared Vietnam War. We were not singing about peace and love. We were singing about, this is the end, beautiful friend, man. Things are, there's a lot of lying going on. And so, you know, we play Light My Fire and everybody danced, and that was really cool. And then we play the end, and it got very quiet. And then people had to follow.

of that, the other bands, which, I mean, we were friends with them all, but it was a really cool scene. What were your thoughts on like the post-mod kind of movement of music? Like, people that weren't that political and more poppy, like, I guess I still want to know, like, were there different tribes or different cliques of, did you guys mess together at all? You know, the British invasion was kind of poppy, you know? But then we all started experimenting with then legal psychedelics. And the Beatles' music got a little darker like ours. Did you appreciate it at the time?

Well, appreciate their contribution at the time. You know, it's from a person, from my generation, we'll be quick to lump like anyone that came from the mid to late 60s in the same bowl, you know, whereas I'm certain that three, four decades from now, you know, somebody will look at my band or Fonte's band and, you know, just think like, oh, okay, well, you know, Kanye West, Alcass, you guys are all the same. Right, right. We've talked much shit about each other and that sort of thing.

So, like, you know, were you, were you, where you thought? your contemporaries at the time, like the stones, the Beatles, the Who, the Kinks. Let me break it down. You know, in the beginning, I was a jazz snob, but I was certainly aware of the roots of rock and roll, Chuck Barry and Little Richard and all, and Elvas and whatever. Then I saw these four mop tops on Ed Sullivan, and I thought, wow, man, are they gay? What is this, you know? And then I noticed. It's a random thing. I noticed their melodies.

I thought, wow, you know, because melodies, man, are the key. I don't care if it's heavy metal or country. If you got a beautiful melody with a cool lyric, they got to be wedded together. Wow, you got great songs. So, you know, I knew the Beatles had great songs. And we looked up to the stones and like that. Were they of an older generation? to you because even in my world like someone that came out four or five years ago

I'll see that as in hip-hop terms like someone that that made their debut in 2010 even is kind of old even though they're not old school they're considered old school so you know because of the of the years between you guys them starting in 61, 62. Was it still the same fraternity or were they seen as older statesmen? Not older statesmen, but that's what I'm asking. No, they were just a few years older. So they weren't an entirely different genre, you know.

You know, and then as you go along, can you keep making records that are important? And a lot of folks followed by the wayside. and we managed to do okay. Even though Jim, you know, he started drinking so much that it got quite difficult. You know, like I got a chapter in this new book on Jim and one on Janice. Two cautionary, Janice Joplin. Yeah, Joplin. Two cautionary tales, you know.

Self-destruction and creativity come in the same package with them, but not with everybody. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. And the next, we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger.

So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok. Podcast Network on TikTok. There's two golden rules that any man should live by.

Rule one, never mess with a country girl. You play stupid games, you get stupid prizes. And rule two, never mess with her friends either. We always say that trust your girlfriends. I'm Anna Sinfield, and in this new season of the girlfriends, oh my God, this is the same man. A group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist. I felt like I got hit by a truck. I thought, how could this happen to me?

The cops didn't seem to care. So they take matters into their own hands. I said, oh, hell no. I vowed. I will be his last target. He's going to get what he deserves. Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe. On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This week on the Sports Slice podcast, it's all about the NFL draft. And we've got a special The director of the NFL's East West Shrine Bowl, Eric Galko, joins the Sports Slice podcast to break down what really matters

when evaluating draft prospects. From hidden traits teams look for to the biggest mistakes franchises make, to the players flying under the radar. This is the insight you won't hear anywhere else. If you want to understand the draft like an insider, you don't want to miss this episode.

Listen to the Sports Slice podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slica Life 12 and TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. We're really good friends with Shep Gordon. Oh, yeah.

Who told us a lot about the scene in L.A., especially at the hotel. I forget the hotel on sunset where. Yeah. Oh, where they were fighting. Yeah, everyone. Yeah. Well, yeah.

Everyone just hung and whatnot. Like he spoke of the group love and all those things. Were you directly like a part of that scene like offstage where you guys sort of... Not quite that scene. I'm trying to think of the hotel too, but once you played the whiskey, Mario, the door guy, let anybody in. So we would all go see each other when we were not playing.

And so it was a fraternity, you know. And we love, for example, man, they were really, liked them a lot. They were so different. Forever changes is a masterpiece that album. Yeah. Forever changes. Forever changes is masterpiece. It's, you know, that's from the summer I love, too. I mean, there's just like, there's a few, there's a few albums from that era that are just, yeah. I want to get on the soapbox for a second. I get pissed off when people diss the 60s as a failure. Wait, who does this is a 60s? Oh, good. Okay. All right. Life based on everything from the 60s. I mean, there's no progress without the 60s.

I never mind what I was going to say. Oh, no, I want to hear it. Let's go. Somebody out there is feeling that way. So go ahead. Talk to it. Yeah, well, there is the perception that like post-69 that there was not diminished returns per se, but everything was over and everything that that was fought for and built was sort of just washed away. So what were you saying? Well, yeah. The seeds of civil rights, the peace movement, feminism, all were planted in the 60s. And maybe these seeds take like a long time, 50, 100 years for full fruition.

So don't dis, you know, we're on the shoulders of all folks before. And so, you know, yeah, progress is not as fast as we wanted, you know, like, gee, Obama got elected. So there's no more racism. Yeah, right. You know. So, but anyway, and speaking of which I was hoping sometime during this podcast, I could do a five-minute poem for Stacey. Abrams. Oh, because I've been thinking about, Jesus. All right, now I'm going to prove I've never had that before. I'm going to prove I'm the drummer, not the singer. I've been thinking about Georgia,

Georgia, no peace of fun. You're on my mind. They're voting today. Georgia's definitely on our minds. Yeah. Yeah. So everybody, man. I want to do a little. Hopefully by the time this air is we'll have the results that we want. Yeah. Yeah. But we're going to get that poem too, because I I'm going to get that old to stay. Yes, yes. I was curious to know, man. Do you have to give us kind of a parallel the band that the doors and kind of what you guys represented when you guys came out, who would you say is probably the closest modern day

contemporary? And by modern day, I mean, it could be anyone from the last, you know, 20 years, whatever, but that you think kind of embodies the spirit of what you guys were about. Oh, putting me on. the spot here. I mean, Nirvana would be my guess. Really? Yeah. It was weird, though. I always thought the doors were doors are really kind of, I feel like the doors are hip-hop as far as they were rebellion is concerned. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, that's good. That's good. Okay, let me, let me tell you something way back. Jay-Z asked for, um, um, um, five to one. Five to one, five to one, you know, and I was just coming on board. I didn't know what was happening. And I went,

wait a minute, you know, what, huh? It's all bitches and hoes? No, you can't have it. And he writes me a letter and he sends me a team rock jersey. And he breaks it down for me and says, man, you know, we're doing what you're doing, fighting the establishment, going for truth. And I got it. Believe me, I got it. Okay.

Along those lines, the doors is one of the only bands that I can think of, didn't have a bass player. And while Ray played bass in his left hand is one of the few bands that didn't have like a legit bass player. Can you talk about what that was like? Because that's not a thing. It's not a normal. A lot of work. I mean, usually the bass player and the drummer are the rhythm section, you know, holding, holding down the groove in the basement. And it was me and Ray's left hand. And, but, but, but he, he, he, He played simplified sort of boogie-woogie baselines with his left hand, which turned out to be gold, like don't, don't-d-do-don-do-do.

It's just hooky stuff. And so fortunately, we felt the same pocket. Actually, the first tune we played together ever was all blues by Miles Davis. By Miles Davis, yeah. Yeah, which is in three, you know. And then I knew Ray knew Ray knew some shit. So then we played the blues. blues and we were sort of laying back on the groove as you do with the blues and then we started

writing our own stuff and then we kind of found our pocket but so were were you and ray the kind of the beginning the start of the doors were you the primary songwriters or how did that well jim had all these words and melodies and couldn't play one chord on any instrument we're talking gifted here so he would sing a cappella and and you know roadhouse blues which we played with what i played with you guys you know is blues that's not too difficult but he would sing these complicated before you slip into unconsciousness i'd like to have another kiss like wait a minute f sharp what the hell you know he just had this shit in his head So, wow, you know.

So what were those songwriting sessions like? Like he would just, would it start with him and his words first? You guys figure out where he's going with it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We'd figure out the groove, then we'd stop and change chords or say, oh, man, we need a bridge or a solo here or whatever. So that's why he said, hey, let's credit all the songs written by the doors, not lyrics by me, you know. Wow. And let's split all the dough.

Really? Wow. Oh. Can I ask a question? Because you talked about this and you touched on it, but I got to know, you said you were kind of like in your own snobby sense when you were an early musician,

and somehow you met him, and he convinced you to go to this route, because it sounds like you weren't even trying to go this rock and roll route. Like you had this jazz mind. So what was that moment that he convinced you? You know, I was passionate for music, but I never thought I'd make a living at it. You know what I mean?

mean. What did you think you were going to the club? You know how. And then when the doors got going, I thought, oh, God, man, you know, if we can pay the rent for for a decade, wouldn't that be a miracle? Well, let's see. I'm 76 and it's, wow. 50 years later, I'm still talking about this damn band. But was it a conversation that you had that convinced you that I'm going this ride because I know that this is going somewhere or was it something that he's saying or something? Yeah, yeah. Good, good, good, good. All right. So after we play all blues, and I'm noticing this guy in the corner,

and Ray says, this is Jim, the singer, he's never sung before, and he can't play any instrument, but look at these lyrics. And he hands me a crumpled piece of paper. And on the paper, it says, day destroys the night. Night divides the day, tried to run, tried to hide, break on through to the other side. The other side. Oh, okay. Oh, right, right away. Rhythmic stuff starts, that's, that pulled me in immediately, you know.

So was, I always wanted to know, was that song somewhat influenced from Ray Charles is what I say? Oh, wow. It's funny, man. We're past the statute of liberty. Oh, this is good. No, I, you know, I, I used to play that. What did I say? Only I couldn't do it with one hand. I had to have both hands on the bell of the ride symbol. Didn't have the chops yet. Anyway, what was going on was Basanova was coming up from Brazil, big time, big time. And so this little, da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-gurf-mipan.

And I'm digging the groove. It's real light. Okay. going to make it stiffer and harder and faster. And so I copped the whole thing and made it rock and roll. But break on through is kind of a rock and, Basanova rock or whatever. Basa rock.

Baza rock. Can I ask a question? Getting back to what Bill asked you about playing with Ray Manzarek and him playing the bass with his left hand. So that's that's the main. That's the door sound, basically. But on later albums, you did use actual electric bass players on certain things. Really good question.

On the process of records, yeah. Yeah, I mean, my question is actually, you know, as the drummer, from the drummer's perspective, what's the difference being, you know, half the rhythm section with somebody who's playing it on the organ and somebody who's playing it with a guitar? Well, first of all, when we played live, when Ray would take a solo on organ, he'd get excited. And the bass player would speed up, holy, moly. There's no more frustrating. Yeah, that happening.

I got to pull the reins back. Okay, so this was before Moog synthesizers were even invented. So we knew that the keyboard bass he had, a fender roe. keyboard bass, kind of was mushy. And it needed a little more punch. And so even on the first record, we had Larry Nectal studio bass player

overdub on Fender, electric bass, raise exact bass lines to give it the pluck of the string gave it the punch we need it, you know. And then later, we did have bass players. And, you know, God,

Harvey Brooks was on soft parade. Great bass player played with Dylan and the electric flag. So that was a lot of fun for me, you know. Elvis's bass player played on L.A. woman, Jerry Schiff. And that was cool. He even said that he put a little line from, let's see, L.A. woman, do, do, do, do do do do do.

He stuck a little bit of it in an Elvis recording session. So that was cool. Oh, really? So we can just finish up this thought. playing with Ray versus playing with Harvey Brooks, you know, from a rhythm section sense. Yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, I could almost play one-handed because when there's a separate bass player plucking and concentrating on the groove, you know, he's your brother helping, it's easier, you know, and you play off each other and whatever. And Ray was playing sort of simplistic lines. But

it kind of gave space. There was more air and openness in the sound, which was quite cool and unique. You know, we auditioned bass players way back. We even had a girl for a minute there, but we felt like, eh, we sound like another white blues band, the Rolling Stones or something.

And then we discovered this keyboard bass and went, oh, man. And the guy who made all the LSD in San Francisco, I can't think of his name. You can't think of his name. Of course you can. What was your name? He was we're playing one of the psychedelic ballrooms.

He comes back, Owsley, that's his name, Owsley. He comes backstage and says, hey, man, you guys, you're great. You got a hole in your sound, though. You need a bass player. He leaves, and I turned to Ray, and I said, wow. We're making the acid king nervous. I think we're on the right track here. I have a question of, I can't think of another.

Besides the look of love, I believe that Light My Fire. The most covered song ever. It's probably, no, no, no, even more than that. I feel like Light My Fire is probably the only song in which you cannot drop the as far as covering is concerned. And billions of people have covered it. Do you have a preference of the many covers that... Yeah, good.

Of that song? First of all, Quest, thanks for putting Light My Fire in the same category as the look of love. Who's saying? I've never found a bad cover like a fire, man. Who's saying? I never found a bad cover of Light My Fire. Never found a bad cover of Light My Fire. Look of Love. Like it's impossible to drop the ball in that song.

Who sang Look of Love? The original was, God, who was the original? Oh, well. Was it John Warwick? Yeah. Birdbacker. No, it was Birdback rack. Right, right, right.

Right, right. Okay, so what's cool is somebody covers your song and finds a new way to interpret it. That's really cool. I mean, it's cool to get any song covered, even if they copy your arrangement because you get the writer's share. But. Facts. But Jose Feliciano takes Light My Fire and he makes it a ballad. And we all went, wow, that is beautiful.

What do you think of Al Green's version, man? I think that's probably my favorite one. I bet I can't, I didn't hear it, give it to me. Really? He did it? What? You never heard Alguer's version like my father? Jesus Christ. Can we play a ball, please?

Oh, wait a minute. This is fair use. This is fair use. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Fair use. We talk about it, journalistic. Yeah. Even the spoken part is the, right, right, right.

There's a, have you, his version and have you, John, have you ever heard the free design? Have you ever heard their version of it? Jesus Christ. Oh. Yeah, free design. They body. They just. It's like the mom's and the poppers on LSD.

Yeah, they take chromatic, like, ninth harmony chords to another place. I'll say the free design is probably my go-to version, even though I love Al's version. Actually, it's funny you mention Jose. Jose actually doubles down because even on many Ripperton's version, Jose shows up and does his riffing at the end. Light by fire, light by fire. Right, right, exactly. Oh, Minnie Ripperton.

Wow. So, okay, I got to know this because the one thing that I know that you're big on, which, you know, it's weird because even though with the rebellion of the first wave of modern rock, not modern rock but you know the the the 60s rock cats and hip hop cats is this rebellious spirit to the system but somehow I will say that in hip hop terms our relationship with capitalism slightly different from the 60s rock generation how so that that Yeah, good. You know, licensing songs and commercial uses, you know, rappers are about that all day.

I made a commercial. Whereas, you know, I often hear the 60s generation sort of like, I'm not selling out and da-da-da-da-da-da. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So you're world famous for your thumbs down on licensing. I turn down a lot of paper, man. Which, you know, I'm like, that must be nice. but I see it from all sides. I mean, you know, Tavis Smiley said to me,

you're either really great or you're crazy, you know, about that. But, you know, what can I say? If you're trying to pay the rent and you get, do it commercial, pay, you do it, man, it's hard enough out there. What happened was that we got this office. offer. Come on Buick light my fire. Oh, no. That ain't. And, uh, that is that. No. No. Yeah. And see, that's not on the article. If that's not on the Google. Like if the Google said that, it'd be a very different thing.

That's it. Everyone would understand why you told him to fuck off. Like, yeah. So, um, uh, Jim was out of town. It was a lot of dough. And we were kind of drooling. And he came back and he said, said, yeah, let's do it. And I got a really good idea for a TV ad. I'll smash a Buick on television with a sledgehammer. That's a great idea. Okay. And laid it on fire. That's a no. And so, all right, Jim wrote one line in Light My Fire. Robbie Krieger wrote all the lyrics, and Jim added, Our Love Become a Funeral Pire, Morrison-esque. And so this guy is so upset about a song he didn't write.

I'm like, wow, he cares about the whole catalog, everything we're doing. And, you know, I'm a little hard ass, but he's passed. He's my ancestor. So I'm trying to stick to what he wanted. But I mean, you know, I get, hey, you know, I get hip hoppers doing. I get it, you know. It's just we're different and it was back a ways and I don't know. In a modern context, they might offer you a lot more money now for something than you were offered for the Buick ad.

And it would be kind of a no-brainer to take the money. And also, too, to be fair. now it may be, I think now you have people in position who understand kind of the spirit of what you guys were about and would do it in a very tasteful way as opposed to a cheesy way like, you know, like my bea, whatever the hell. You know, I think people now, you know what I'm saying? Actually, I would like to see someone. So what's that of beauty going on fire? All right, let's see. Break on food or a new deodorant? No. Yeah. No, right. Right. I don't know. I don't. I don't. I don't. I don't. I I think, bring on. But the thing is, is that I, I,

I think the common denominator for the average creator is avoiding erasure. And yeah. Yes, the music of the doors, I feel is,

you know, at least the, the ripple effect and the resonance of it all, I have no doubt that the songs, you know, as I, Riders of the Storm still sound, every time I play it, people, you know, oh my God, what is that? Like it's brand new or something.

Yeah, thanks. So, you know, it's timeless. But does it ever, do you ever have thoughts that, you know, one day? Because, you know, I will say that when songs are placed in, and this is me as a DJ speaking, when songs are placed in a movie or placed on a television show. or in a commercial it just extends the life of it just a little bit more

so I'm one of those guys and again as a DJ who mainly uses his DJ sets to educate people and stuff it kind of makes my job easier even though I have to correct them like no this isn't just the song that you heard

in the blah blah blah movie like this is where it comes from but do you ever have thoughts of like if you clutch too tight to the pearls that there's a possibility of erasure.

I know the Beastie Boys are going through that right now. Like they just recently kind of loosened the the reins a little bit to allow one of their songs to get licensed for a commercial.

Even though they took this hard stance like we will never ever do that. Right. Right. Right. Right. integrity. Yeah, I got you. I mean, you know, Bob Dylan's certainly making me nervous. Man, man. He sold all his shit.

I was about to say he been doing it for a while, right? Yeah, but you can't take it with him. So you might as well just, you know what I'm saying? Yeah. Like. Okay. So first of all, I don't, we okay movies, TV shows. It's just a specific product selling, which makes me.

me twitch a little. I mean, like, and also we, we are pretty established, and there's a lot of people who say to us, oh, man, you know, I was in Vietnam, you guys helped me. First time I made love, the first time I had a joint, whatever. And so it's sort of like the soundtrack to people's lives. And so I kind of, well, Vietnam, for example, recently, Robbie told me, I didn't know this, that the lyric Love Me Two Times he wrote He goes

Love me two times Because I'm going away He was thinking going away To Vietnam But that's not in the lyric And so how about Love Me Two Times Because I just took Viagra

Uh-uh It's true Some Some commercials have seriously ruined Certain songs forever You know Where they're known

More for the commercial Than from The original album Or from Yeah, I was going to say hot chocolates, you sexy thing is definitely ruined Viagra. Yes. Yeah, but you're right. I'm, you know, I'm going to be erased, I don't know, in the next 20 years or so.

Anyway, so I've got to think about this. No, stick to your guns. I vote stick to your guns. Yeah, stick to your guns. How, I was going to know how accurate or what were your thoughts on Oliver Stone. filmed the doors. Yeah. He was in it.

Yeah, no, no. Yeah, I was in it for a second there. No, I liked it. Now, it was primarily about a tortured artist. And Oliver, you know, kind of fits that category,

brilliant and kind of out there. And I wished it had been a little more about the 60s and the climate of the Times. There was a documentary called When You're Strange that Johnny Depp narrated. And that has more of that.

And I think the two of them together really represent our whole career. But I got to say, Val Kilmer, man, he gave me the creeps. I thought Jim was back. Yo. Yes, he looked just like him. He sounded just like. It was, I mean, I didn't know him like you did, but it gave me the creeps watching him play that role.

these actors are amazing the way they transform their bodies and everything yeah yeah yeah yeah i got a question can we uh can we talk about like drummers from your era and and the and the african influence the ginger baker's and the yeah yeah and like dudes like that i feel like like i got that bug when i was a kid but i was i'm not the same thing but like was it was it my experience was it's like everything sort of began there so it made sense to figure out that shit and how to bring it into your own thing. Like what was, why did you get into it? And how did you apply it to the doors or whatever else you're doing? Well, the African stuff I primarily got into later. Right. But, but I will say that we were recording, um, hello, I love you. And we're struggling with the arrangement. And

Robbie, the guitar player said, why don't you turn the beat around like Ginger does in sunshine of your love? You know, da, da, da, do. Uh, oh, uh, uh. And I go, okay. Hello, I love you. So I copped a couple bars of ginger. And here we are, Basidima copping and ginger copping. And here we are, all day.

I was going to ask the recording of that particular song has such a distinctive, like modern. made for FM radio sort of recording technique to it. Were you guys aware of that as far as, like, because there's a clear difference sonically between the recording, that particular album and what came before it.

So were you guys aware of the sort of transforming of AM radio? AM radio being the, I guess the destination point of most music and then slowly morphing into FM radio at the time. Yeah. Because there's just such a clarity to it that sounds super modern. Like even if you listen to it now with the synth work,

and even the way that your drums are tuned on that song, like a deeper sound. Yeah, you're right about that. It could have like, it's almost like the, you hear the seeds of what talking. heads like Devo's second record, even Gary Newman's like first record. You're the seeds of that in there. Well, you know, our first single was Break on Through and it was too sophisticated. You know, it got to number 13 or something. That was due to us calling up the station saying,

hey, this is Fred Schwartz. Will you play this? And, uh, wait, break on through, it was not a top 10 hit? No, but later it became just, you know, everybody just is crazy for it. So, okay, okay. Like My Fire was six minutes. You know, we had that long jam and then we cut it to three minutes and then it became a hit. But then FM radio started bragging about playing the long version, which was really cool. So, you know, we had some hits. I guess people are strange. I think what's the next hit. And then in the studio, we were struggling and Paul Rothschild, our producer, pressed us on, Hello, I Love You. He said, man, we got to make this a hit. And fuzz tones that just came in on guitar, you know, fuzz boxes. And we just worked on that and worked on it. And frankly,

I thought it turned out a little too poppy for me. But that's just for me personally. But I, always was just absolutely crazy for Jim's lyrics. Oh my God. And what about Bruce Botnick, the engineer? What was his special sauce? He did all your albums? Yeah, he did all of them. And he worked at Sunset Sound and all the great studios as a teenager

with the Supremes and Phil Specter. And he knew what he was doing. And each time, you know, CDs, streaming, whatever. is he keeps us up to date sonically, you know, he's on it. Yeah. He's the fifth door, you know. I see. A win is a win.

A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brain. brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

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everyone of course makes a big deal of woodstock however um i feel like enough has not been made of enough of the aisle of right uh oh i think of olive right olive white uh festival that you guys did in in 1970 do you have any particular memories of that you know because the the lineup was yeah to me just as crazy uh that that year uh it was hendricks Uh, Joni Mitchell, the Who. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh, Moody Blues. Uh, Slime the Family Stone 10 years after.

Yeah, yeah. Chicago. Usually, you know, I know that for a lot of artists, this, for a lot of fans, this is always a disappointing question because, you know, the, the festivals are a spectator thing. And usually artists are just getting in, doing the gig, leaving, really not soaking in the atmosphere. you able to really soak in the festival at the time or was it just like you showed up and did your thing and left yeah i i took a hit off of roger daltry's peppermint schnops bottle you know what was in that bottle i didn't know they made peppermint schnapps i don't have heat schnapps oh yeah peppermint was the first i think um yeah the isle of white um we were under a lot of stress because

Jim was on trial in Miami for supposedly exposing himself, which he did not do. But he was drunk and he got real political and said, you're letting him shove your faces in the shit of the world, wake up. And that didn't go over well. So I don't know how to translate it to exposing yourself. That's crazy how he translated that into that. Well, I got the climate at the time was this polarized country. and we were, you know, the hippies and we were the dirty doors. And so Jim was targeted.

There was a rally for decency at the Orange Bowl. 30,000 people showed up. Nixon sent a letter, and Anita Bryant presided. And it was because of us, you know. Right. Yeah. Well, back to the Isle of White. The Isle of White.

So Jim was kind of subdued in his performance. I was trying to make up for it, playing really strong. But it's pretty good. But the whole festival had the feeling of the end of the era, the end of Woodstock. There was some dispute about the ticket prices, and they busted down the fences and people came in, which, you know, was all right. It was just kind of a chaotic festival that had incredible lineup, like you said. But it kind of didn't get the attention because it was sort of the crumbling of the outdoor hippie festivals being the ultimate, you know. And just for clarification, for people who don't know the concert and the city of venue, this is an island right close to London where they exclusively have this big festival.

They've been doing this for like the last 40, 50 years, right? Yeah, correct. Yeah. Yeah. Are you more of a touring person or a studio, studio person? Either one, either one. I mean, at first, I was frustrated. I didn't understand it's kind of cool to muffle the drumheads in the studio.

You know, I thought you just play live and make a record. And so it was a learning curve. I like both. What was your weapon of choice in, the early part of your career. What drums were you using? Oh, my first set was Gretsch. And then I, Ludwig, I went crazy for Ludwig and Ludwig's silver snare drum. Yeah, I always kept a little kit. I had rivets in my symbol. I saw Oscar Peterson's drummer, Ed Thigpin. He had a lot of rivets. And I went, oh, man, that's good. You can hear that on riders. There's kind of rivet sound in the

It rings forever. Yeah, exactly. Do you, have you kept a majority of your drum sets or like the sort of iconic sets that you've used through your career? Yeah, I'll be taking them over. Thank you. Some, not enough, damn it. Like the floor tom, it's the floor tom that's barking back in the hello, I love you.

But it a bow, boom, bum, bum, bum, boom, boom. Yeah. I like it when they. heads are tired and rancid and then when they break I have to get a new one and I hate it. It's because I like the personality of it talking back, you know. I see. Do you still have that Tom Tom? No.

Oh, okay. That's what I was asking. Right. You're about to ask you to send it to you. Yeah. My address is. To go in the snare collection. You have a Tom collection, too.

Yeah, I'm just saying. Is this a dumb drummer question? Y'all can tell me if not, if it is or not. But my father's a drummer, he always used to say that he likes, he prefers playing with brushes. Is that a thing where you have a certain kind of stick that you prefer, like mallet versus just regular stick versus brushes versus whatever else is around these days? Because I haven't been checking the latest. That's not a dumb question. No, that's a real good question.

My fans don't play with brushes. That's a true statement. But he's a snob. You know what's weird, Leah? What? Um, so when I was working on, uh, welcome to Detroit, um, up in, uh, in Studio A where Dilla was, he only played with mallets. And at the time, I thought, all right, that's dumb. Like, not that's dumb because by then anything he did, I declared like, who's this?

Oh, I'm sorry. It's, it's my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, Jones is a producer from Detroit. His name is Jay Dilla. Oh, yeah, yeah, sure. He knows. God knows. I just can't hear at my age. Okay, I'm sorry, yeah. Jay Dill is a

actually, to bring it back to five to one, the okay, I won't say that. I know, I know you're going to do it. The original producer of that was Jay Diller. But he would I'd ask him like, Why are you using mallets instead of traditional drumsticks?

And he just wanted a different texture than that of what, when sticks hit the skins. Yeah. So I think at the time I scoffed like, eh, that's whatever. And then I caught myself doing it a lot. So I actually like the texture of it. I'm curious. What size sticks do you use?

Now we're getting into it. I'm a I'm a seven-eight guy. Oh, yeah. However, however, my sticks are a little bit unusual because I learned through,

well, Steve is like one of my long-time music engineers. So I had to, I learned about 20 years ago that the softer, at least for my purposes, the softer that, you play, the better the mixing options are because I use a lot of old ribbon mics. So I used to

like power play. Like in my mind, you think like, take like Bonzo, like John Bonham from Zeppelin. Like, you know, everyone thinks that they have to play like animal from the Muppets. And, you know, and that really destroys the sound because the compression and the microphones, like it just, it just crunches. It's not good. So I learned the softer you play, the better it is. The better it So I, when I got my deal with Vic Firth, I told them to make me 70 drumsticks, but I made mine two inches longer. Oh. So that way, I could put my wrist on my legs and not move my hands at all. What?

Like a traditional 7A, you'd have to like, you know, most non-drumers look at, uh, what's is, uh, what's, uh, what, your arms at all? Right. Yeah. What did I say? Your hands. You said hands, but. Move your arms.

Yes, yes. Like most, most non-drumers would look at, uh, what's his name? Uh, foo fighters, Nirvana. Dave Grohl. Yeah, they'll look at Dave Grohl and like smells like teen spirit and think like, that's how I should be German like, like modern animal. And for me, I get the best results when I, when I do the least. Yeah. Just, you know, the quietest.

So, yeah. I made seven, eight drumsticks. two inches longer so that I don't have to move my arms at all. Wow. So that's what I was saying about playing the right beat in the right spot. Is it much power as all that animal shit. But, you know, what's so beautiful about your playing is the way you sit. You know, you don't slump over the kit and you seem relaxed, you know.

It's just beautiful. A little too relaxed. Sometimes Jimmy complains. Whatever. John, you didn't answer that question for yourself. but that's all right. Yes. No, it's, no, 7A, 7A.

They're thin. They're thin sticks, so I can play faster, but they break all the time if you're playing a big concert, you know. So, you know, you just throw them in the audience and grab some more, you know. Speaking of throw them in the audience. You think that's rock and roll, but it's just trash.

Speaking, yeah, speaking of throwing them in the audience, would it dismay you to watch Keith Moon destroy a kit occasionally? Like, is that blasphemous to you? It was over the top. I understood the anger because, you know, we were pissed off about the establishment and everything's going on. I get it. He was bizarre. He was the most unusual drummer I've ever seen. I watched him on stage at the Isle of Wight, stood next to him. You know, the way he hits the sticks, he's like conducting or something. I don't know what it is. Yeah.

But speaking of brushes, this is what I'm going to accompany myself with on that poem for. Yeah. I didn't forget either, John. What I would want to ask you is not which Doors album is your favorite or not which one you think is the best, but which one do you think you're playing the best on? Oh, that's a good question. All of them.

That's why you got to start with guns to your head. No, because, you know, the first door, I'm just trying to make a point, I think, like the first door's album was recorded in just a few days or a couple weeks or something like that. And other albums later down the line probably took longer. Yeah, yeah. But you may think that you're playing on Light My Fire

is your absolute pinnacle or something like that. No, I don't know. A good question. All right. Thank you. So first album, we're trying to learn how to make records, you know. And we only did a few takes, but it's second album, we're getting more relaxed in the studio, like using the studio as another door and fooling around with backward tracks and shit and having fun experimenting.

But then, you know, we have to make our own Sergeant Pepper. So we get to soft parade and do put strings. Software. I was going to say soft parade. Yeah, yeah. Strings and horns and all the shit. And that was fun. and people got angry with us changing our sound,

but touch me was number one. Yeah, it was. Then Morrison Hotel and then finally, L.A. woman, we get back to the garage and the blues. And L.A. woman is, I like it a lot. It's just a few takes. I said to Ray, you know, Miles live at Carnegie Hall

there was a terrible trumpet note at the beginning of So What? And the engineer said to Miles, I can fix that. And he said, no, it feels good. See, there it is. That's the key to L.A. Woman. It's the first punk album. We're going to fuck the mistakes. We're going to go for it in a few takes, put as much passion as we can. See, there you go. It's like a jazz album. I mean, that's how a jazz album is recorded. I was well you kind of pre-answered I was going to say that um with with the soft parade

was was there a pressure to suddenly deliver like the highest art I mean based on the the the kind of atmosphere that brought upon like pet sounds and sergeant peppers and even with their satanic majesty's request and all that stuff. Well, I know people laugh at that, but I feel like one day some generation is really going to hold Satanian. No, it's not going to happen. No, I'm telling you. Thanks for playing, though. No, I believe, I believe that there's going to be a general.

Look, I'm a guy who love. I know critics hated black and blues by the stones. And that's one of my favorite records. So I feel like somebody's going to find the wrong record and make it their record. But what I was asking was with the soft parade, was that the intent to show that we're just as artistic and just as experimental as our contemporaries? Yeah. No. Thank you.

John Pinsmore for the win. Ray and I had talked about, before recording the first album, man, man, someday if we could ever have some like horn solos, tenor sacks, and, you know, that'd be cool, some jazz stuff. And so we finally got to that by Soft Parade. actually I think Sergeant Pepper and Pet Sounds they were out kind of around strange days our second album

and that's when we were like wow man this is a challenge but but a turn on too the thing about the doors though is like I never I never think about them in comparison to other bands because they have this their own world you know they create created, they're one of these few bands or artists that can create their own sonic universe.

And it's like pointless to compare them to other bands almost. Well, keep, keep talking. I feel helium rising in my skull. No, it wasn't a compliment. I'm saying you're weird. Oh, you guys are amazing. You know, we try. Thank you.

I guess we are. I do have to ask for our listeners and for myself as well. Like, what was, how long did it take you guys to come to grips after Morrison's death on whether or not you should continue or not continue and the creative direction? Yeah. First of all, I mean, is the idea of a group really kind of an illusion that's not really. Like, is it really everyone gets their equal say? And if one doesn't agree and it's not unanimous, that we don't do it? Well, that's how we were.

Okay, so absolutely everyone. A lot of groups have singer-songwriters, Lenin McCartney, Keith Richards, and Mick, and they're kind of the dominant force. Whereas Jim not being able to, you know, how do we write songs? but I got all these words and melodies. We were really more equal because of that, you know. Y'all were his translators almost. Yeah, beautiful.

That's it. Yeah. So, yeah, as far as the meeting with you guys in what direction to take his work, well, yeah, I mean, can you just talk about that period of the decision to continue on? Oh, yeah, that's good, man. You don't let me off the hook. All right. Good. No, no, no, it's good. Okay, so Jim dies and we're working on stuff and we first entertained replacing him. And I said, excuse me, who's going to fill Jim's leather pants?

I mean, that's a tall order. So then Ray and Robbie tried to sing. We made two albums because we, hadn't this material and we were tight. And after those couple albums, we realized, wait a minute, this is ridiculous. Our focal point is gone. And let's do, you know, we wanted to do individual stuff. And so it naturally kind of fell away. We went our own ways. We came back later and we did a poetry album.

It was pretty cool, American Prayer, way out there. Jim's words, you know, he had died and we wrote all this music and that was fun. I wonder if you think that Queen pulled it off since they I'm trying to think of another band who actually has done that with their lead singer who's passed and I'm like Adam Lambert yeah pretty close I don't know yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah different kind of leather sake I mean you know Lambert is yeah yeah yeah exactly leather pants to fill yes huge different kind of leather you know like um My second book was called The Doors Unhinged. It was about my struggle with Ray and Robbie playing. And I love their playing, but they were going out as the doors. Right. Wait, you know, Ian Asbury from the cult is fine.

But it's like the police without sting. Yeah. Come on. Call it. Founding members of the doors or whatever, you know. Earth went and fire without Maurice. Well, that's how it is right now. I know, I know.

Yeah, but. I mean, I understand people want to hear them play, like, and hear Queen and Earth went and Fire. I get it. You know, I get. Yeah, so now, well, before I wrap, I do want to know where we, where we are today. Does it, does it irk you a little bit that somehow not only did we wind back? at square one were kind of way pretty like damn near Neanderth all times that we took 48 steps

backwards like just as just as a person who had ideas in the 60s to you know to fight against the corrupt system and and push us forward just to see us come back to the place where we now have to struggle all over again like it was a 60s, like, does that dismay you? Like, was it like, was your work for naught? Oh, man. Love you promised us, bro. Yeah.

Where's the peace and love you? See, there it is. Oh, my God. Big questions, you know. I mean, um, this country was founded on racism. That part. Say that.

And so, you know, I got a piece in rolling Stone asking Obama to pardon Leonard Peltier, Native American who's been in jail frigging 50 years. You know, there was a shootout, an FBI guy died, and nobody knows who did it, but they had to nail somebody and whatever. So in that article, I also said, oh, God, you know, it wouldn't be a bad thing if we could apologize to the First People's, the genocide, and then we can move on. then there's a that's how you go forward admit shit you know they'd be there a long time admitting

and apologize that doesn't work but i know but i guess i'm an eternal optimist uh i mean we got agent orange out or any minute now right yes we're all counting down it's he's out according to this recording he's out yes now we just wait to see what georgia's doing that's we's on Georgia now. And, you know, between you and me and, and, and your zillions of listeners, you know, Biden is, uh, he's like me. He's another old white guy. But, but, but, we wish he'd like you, though. We hope that he's like you. Well, oh, hey, hey, you know what? Okay. Here it is. Hillary loses. And I go, God damn it. I'm going to see a woman president before I die. And I'm up there. And now I'm like, whoa, wait a minute. I might see a black woman president.

Yeah. Two for one. And I, you know, and she's, I love her. But, you know, I, I don't want, I can't idealize her. No. Like Biden either. You know, she, she was a prosecutor. Holy she. Oh, my God. Everything you're doing for, John. She's a beautiful, you know, she threw me in jail, but she's a beautiful woman. It was her job. You know, I mean, but I still, ah, we're just, it's slow. It's slow. But we're going forward.

Here it is. Leonard Cohen, democracy is coming to the USA. It's not here. We're working on it, you know? Right. So always. There it is. I see.

You can't let the go without this. Yeah, I was, I was going to say before, before you close this out with this poem, I'd also want to remind our listeners that you're, the Seekers is your third book, correct? Correct. Okay. Yeah. The Seekers meetings with remarkable musicians is available.

It came out late 2020. And it's you exploring. the creative process of modern artist. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, we want to thank you for doing this. So could you please bless us with this poem in closing? My thing on mute until it's time for my snaps. Okay, so yeah, this goes out to Stacey Abrams,

and I'm going to play it. I'm going to play my jazz brushes on my doom, on my doom back, which is crazy. but so what and what can I say all right this is a poem by Etheridge Knight African-American poet who I think he won the National Book Award or was nominated and Gwendolyn Brooks Pulitzer poet was his mentor yes and so Etheridge wrote this for his daughter when she was 14 now I'm gonna move this mic down in in the front of my face so I won't

drown out the vocal. We'll see if this works. It's called circling the daughter. You came to be in the month of Malcolm and the rain fell with a fierce gentleness like a martyr's tears on the streets of Manhattan when your light was lit and the city sang you welcome. Now I sit trembling in your presence 14 years have brought the moon blood the roundness the girl giggles the grand leaps we are touched tender in our fears

you break my eyes with your beauty oh baby I love you okay it is ladies out of class listen with the brushes that is the legend John Dinsmore

orange brushes And do back. Poet v. Questler's Supreme. I'm an exclusive, exclusive. Yo, man, I was watching you. I was thinking, yo, they need to get John Dinsboard and cast you as Joe Biden on

S&L. Yes. That's funny. For real, I think you Jim Carrey can't do what you could do. There you go. You know, if this damn virus gets better, maybe next year my paperback will be out

and I'll get to sit in with the roots again. So, ladies and gentlemen, this is Questlove Supreme we like to thank John Dennis for blessing us with this interview, very informative the performance. We got to bring the performance back. So on behalf

of Team Supreme, Montegalo, I'm Payfield, Shugusteev, and Lai'ea. This is Questlove. We will see you on the next go round. Thank you. Hey, this is Shuggestee. Make sure you keep up with us on Instagram at QLS. Let us

know what you think and who should be next to sit down with us. Don't forget to subscribe to our podcast. Questlove Supreme is a production of IHeart Radio. For more podcasts from IHeart Radio, visit the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all

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