He is a drummer and writer and attended Santa Monica City College and
Cal. State-Northridge.
"I've been playing for six years. I took piano lessons when I was ten. They
tried to get me to play Bach. They tried for two years. When I was in junior
high I got my first set of drums. I played symphonic music in high school
(tympani, snare drum), then I played jazz for three years. I used to play
sessions in Compton and Topanga Canyon."
John Densmore made his departure from the world of rock-and-roll in the
eighties, to the world of dance as he performed with Bess Snyder and Co.,
touring the United States for two years. In 1984, at La Mama Theatre in New
York, he had his stage acting debut in Skins, a one-act play he wrote. In
1985, he went on to win the L.A. Weekly Theatre Award for music with
Methusalem, directed by Tim Robbins. The play, Rounds, which he co-produced,
won the NAACP award for theatre in 1987. In 1988, he played a feature role
in Band Dreams and Bebop at the Gene Dynarski Theatre. He developed and
performed a one-man piece from the short story, The King of Jazz, at the
Wallenboyd Theatre in 1989. With Adam Ant, he co-produced "Be Bop A Lula" at
Theatre Theatre in 1992. He has acted in numerous TV shows, and his film
credits include: "Get Crazy" with Malcolm McDowell, "Dudes" directed by
Penelope Spheres, and, most recently "The Doors" directed by Oliver Stone.
John wrote his best-selling autobiography, "Riders On The Storm"; and as
drummer and founding member of The Doors, he was inducted into the
Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame in January of last year.
He presently is working on his first novel, producing a documentary film, an
after-care program for ex-criminal offenders titled "Project Return"
directed by Leslie Neil. When time permits he lectures in colleges all over
the United States, most recently in Texas and New Mexico.