The Cult are energized for 2006 tour

The Cult is returning to the road after a three-and-a-half year hiatus. Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy are in the midst of auditions and rehearsals, and the tour is set to begin on March 1st and continue until March 26th. Astbury is hoping that new Cult music will be a byproduct of the reunion. The story is here:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060131/music_nm/cult_dc_1

In April, Astbury is apparently scheduled to rejoin Doors Of The 21st Century, now known as Riders On The Storm, for dates in Europe. For those who are unfamiliar with that story: Astbury has toured for the last three years with original Doors members Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger, taking the place of Jim Morrison as the band's frontman. Original Doors drummer John Densmore sued his former bandmates for breach of contract in February 2003. Last July, a judge ruled in Densmore's favor, and issued an injunction barring Manzarek and Krieger from using the Doors name and any likeness of Morrison. (Morrison's and Pamela Courson's estates were also plaintiffs in the lawsuit). The group was touring Canada at that time, and reluctantly changed their name to the acronym "D21C". More recently, they have called themselves Riders On The Storm.

The Doors Of The 21st Century generally receive favorable notices for their performances. The only time I saw them perform was on the Tonight Show in January 2003. Ex-Police drummer Stewart Copeland was their drummer at the time. (Copeland later bailed out and sued them as well -- but that's another story). They performed "Light My Fire", and performed it well. But Astbury appeared to be wearing a Jim Morrison costume, with his hair, sunglasses and leather jacket groomed to make him look like Morrison. It gave the whole thing a campy Las Vegas feel, and Astbury looked like an Elvis impersonator who switched to Morrison. At the end, Jay Leno told Astbury: "Nice job. Looks good." He's so diplomatic. I hope Astbury doesn't don that get-up on tour; that could violate the injunction against using Morrison's likeless.

Comments