A few years ago, in a column about Father Greg Boyle, I noted that he was quite meticulous and even preached a bit about righteousness. way to eat steak.
It should be medium rare, never underdone, and served with a suitable potion.
Doors drummer John Densmore noted this. One thing led to another, and in July Densmore, Boyle, former Times reporter Greg Krikorian and I went to dinner at the Smoke House in Burbank.
We didn’t exactly follow Boyle’s meat and drink protocols, but we nattered away in a red leather booth and everyone had a good time.
Then in August I received an email from Boyle.
“John enters the Homeboy Academy of Arts,” she wrote, “and starts making music while his friends play ‘Stand By Me.’
Boyle sent a short video and Densmore still maintains a perfect rating of 81.
John Densmore enjoys a lighthearted moment while teaching music at Homeboy Academy of Arts.
I’m not surprised. Densmore is a busy man with a variety of jobs. charitable purposes And artistic endeavors. He and former Public Enemy rapper Chuck D divide their musical genre into “No Country for Old Men.” But he is a fan of Boyle and his decades-long mission of gang intervention and rehabilitation.
“Hey,” Densmore said to the musicians he was playing with that day, “maybe I can do something here.”
He suggested going back and hosting a music workshop or drum group.
They said of course.
On Wednesday, before the music started, Densmore insisted that I see the Homeboy Academy of Arts, which he founded. artist Fabian Debora.
“I grew up in the projects when Father Greg first came in,” Debora told me, referring to Homeboy’s early days in the 1980s, when Boyle was pastor of Dolores Mission Church in Boyle Heights. “I found a way to healing and transformation through art. Then I thought, ‘How can I fill a need that’s missing in my life?’ I said.”
Reply: academy, which he currently runs with Dre Comers.Located near the Metro’s Chinatown station and providing art education to tens of thousands of people. Teachers were busy Wednesday helping students with artwork in various stages of completion, including a painting of Boyle with a halo.
Most of the participants are young adults who were born decades after the release of the Doors’ last album. A student in his 20s greeted us and asked Densmore what he was known for.
“I’m a drummer,” Densmore said.
Many more people knew him, including longtime musician/instructors in the music room. Joe Calderón and Martin Flores. Them, Young Musicians Foundation’s Music Gets Better The program was largely funded by legendary songwriter Mike Stoller, who co-wrote dozens of hit songs including “Jailhouse Rock,” “Hound Dog,” “Poison Ivy” and “Stand by Me.”
The latter song appears on the brand new “Music Heals” album, which was conceived by art academy attendees and released on Tuesday, so it’s been a big week for Homeboy arts with Densmore’s arrival on Wednesday.
“When you play music, you can enter a state of timelessness,” Densmore told about 30 students and instructors. “It’s kind of like meditation… A little bit of eternity creeps in… And anyone can enter that space. If you want to be a professional musician, great. If you play the piano in a closet and no one hears you, you still enter this space that heals and nourishes you.”
And then it was concert time, with instructors Densmore on drums and Calderon on guitar, Flores on percussion and Mackenzie Azela on bass. Fabian Debora Jr. (bass and vocals) and Ralph Quintero (vocals) are in the Homeboy rehab program.
The band started with a blues number called “Got My Mojo Work,” followed by Ben E. King’s “Stand by Me” and then Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love.”
Everything went pretty smoothly for a group that didn’t work together, except for one brief moment on Densmore’s previous visit. The musicians were smiling, the audience was tapping and clapping, and that magical sense of timelessness that spanned multiple generations was real.
In a place full of people facing the challenge of rebuilding their lives, the lyrics of one particular song seemed like a dream.
NO, I won’t be afraid.
Oh, I won’t be afraid.
As long as you’re by my side.
Doors drummer John Densmore (right) leads a jam session while teaching music at Homeboy Academy of Arts in downtown Los Angeles.
27-year-old Debora Jr. He told me that it was quite nice to play with a member of the Doors band, which he knew from his elders. Quintero, 50, who is studying psychology and wants to become a drug counselor, said he still can’t believe he just performed with a member of the Doors.
“It’s an honor,” he said.
Everyone in the room grabbed either a shaker or a small drum, and with Densmore instructing and directing, the ensemble created what he calls the heartbeat of Mother Earth. The music rose and fell, rose and fell as the players became one, followed by an orchestrated silence that served as a quiet accent.
“It’s like sex,” Densmore said.
He moved on to a brief Q&A, and one of the first questions was what it was like to be around Doors frontman Jim Morrison.
“I miss his art,” Densmore said. “I don’t miss him destroying himself. I mean, I’m 81. He died at 27. There are different ways to do it. I hope you continue to breathe like I do.”
While Densmore was packing his belongings, a young man named Jeremiah asked the drummer if he would record a short video for his girlfriend’s family. He had just lost his grandfather, a long-time Doors fan.
“This was their favorite music on every car ride,” Jeremiah said.
He sent the clip to his girlfriend and asked her what the family’s favorite songs were. “Riders in the Storm” was one of them. Along with “Break on Through”, “Touch Me” and “LA Woman”.
John Densmore (right) congratulates musicians Joe Calderon (from left), Fabian Debora Jr. (bass) and Ralph Quintero after their performance.
Boyle’s mission at Homeboy is, in a sense, twofold. Showing love to their criminals and preparing them for lives different from the ones they know. And through his books and teachings to remind us that we all belong together.
There was some of that good news in the note Flores, Music Heals’ program director, sent Densmore after his visit. Thanking him, he credited Densmore with providing “not only an incredible artistic experience for our students, but also a deep sense of connection, inspiration, and hope in their journey.”
Densmore responded immediately.
“I think I may have gotten more than I gave.”
steve.lopez@latimes.com