Robby Krieger to play at Newton Theatre

NEWTON — The Newton Theatre welcomes Robby Krieger, legendary guitarist of The Doors, with his band on Saturday, April 22, 2017 at 8 p.m.
This celebration of the music of The Doors is a one-of-a-kind experience. Robby Krieger is one of the legendary figures in rock, who had no small part in creating the music of The Doors, helping pen the majority of the group’s songs. He wrote or co-wrote hits like Light My Fire, Love Her Madly, Break On Through, Hello I Love You, LA Woman, Love Me Two Times, Touch Me, and many more. Robby is playing Doors songs with his Robby Krieger Band and special guest vocalist Waylon Krieger.
Born on Jan. 8, 1946, in Los Angeles, Calif., Robby Krieger was first taken by classical music, before discovering such early rock & roll artists as Elvis Presley via the radio. When surfing proved to be taking Krieger’s mind off of studying during his teenage years, his parents enrolled him in a private school. Each night, students were forced to study in their rooms for a few hours — instead, Krieger used this time to teach himself how to play guitar. First interested in flamenco guitar, Krieger’s playing style soon expanded into folk, jazz, and blues. But it was a Chuck Berry concert that finally convinced Krieger to give rock music a go, which resulted in the guitarist trading his classical guitar in for a Gibson SG, that would eventually become his signature musical instrument.
Studying physics and Indian music at UCLA, Krieger played in bands with friends, and eventually bumped into a drummer he’d met a few years before, John Densmore. The two began jamming on blues together, while Krieger’s interest in Indian music and culture continued to flourish, as he began dabbling with sitars (studying at the Kinnara School, which was founded by Ravi Shankar), and attending meditation classes. It was at one of these meditation classes that Krieger met keyboardist Ray Manzarek. Manzarek eventually convinced Krieger to come down and rehearse with a poet/singer he’d been working with, Jim Morrison. Their first rehearsal supposedly resulted in the penning of Moonlight Drive, resulting in the birth of the Doors.
Quickly building a name for themselves in L.A. with their unpredictable live shows, The Doors were signed to Elektra Records, and issued their debut album, The Doors, in 1967. The album would become one of rock’s all-time classics, as it spawned the monster hit Light My Fire, a tune penned entirely by Krieger. Subsequent studio releases — 1967's Strange Days, 1968's Waiting for the Sun, and 1969's the Soft Parade — all included several classic songs, and by the dawn of the ’70s, the band issued a pair of strong releases, 1970's Morrison Hotel and 1971's L.A. Woman. In the wake of Morrison’s untimely passing The Doors attempted to continue on, resulting in a pair of so-so albums, 1971's Other Voices and 1972's Full Circle, before packing it in.
Krieger would go on to issue solo albums (debuting in 1977 with Robby Krieger & Friends), in addition to playing live dates, and guest appearances on albums by other artists (the Butts Band, Blue Öyster Cult, etc.). In the early 21st century, Krieger and Manzarek resuscitated the Doors (with the Cult’s Ian Astbury taking Morrison’s position, and the Police’s Stewart Copeland initially taking Densmore’s spot) for live shows and recordings.
Tickets for Robby Krieger range from $39 to $54. Purchase tickets by visiting www.thenewtontheatre.com or contact the Box Office at 973-383-3700.