One door leads to another….

Over the past few months, Rob Simpson has been setting up the open mike at the Doctor’s Office each Saturady (and other stuff)…but here’s a side of him you might not have known about:

Island Resident Opening Some New Doors

Rob performing as keyboard legend Ray Manzarek, of the Doors

After a lifetime as a musician and an independent producer in Los Angeles, new San Juan Islander Rob Simpson is finding unexpected opportunities.  During the eight years before he moved to Friday Harbor, Rob played organ and bass in the grandfather of DOORS tribute bands, Los Angeles’ Wild Child.

“It was funny to play in a band that has been re-creating DOORS concerts for over 20 years.  That’s almost four times longer than the original DOORS did it. But, the audiences for that show were always great…from teenagers to people who were there the first time around.”

Except for the occasional trip to L.A. to do a guest appearance, leaving Los Angeles meant Rob had to give all that up.  Then a few weeks ago he received a call from a Seattle-based DOORS tribute show called THE AMERICAN NIGHT.  Lead singer Nate Christian explained that their keyboard player was moving back to his home state, and would Rob be interested in resuming his stage role playing DOORS keyboard man Ray Manzarek in THE AMERICAN NIGHT?

“I’ve guess I’ve been given cosmic proof that when one DOOR(s) closes, another one opens.”

“The great thing about doing these shows is that it is equal parts music and theater.  We are recreating highlights of legendary concerts that have now become almost mythic on the pop music landscape. And THE DOORS music itself is often fascinating to perform.  Even their first hit (“Break On Through”) was a fusion of bossa nova and rock’n’roll
before jazz fusion was even a notion.”

How has Rob adjusted to life in Friday Harbor? “Life in the fast lane in Los Angeles is actually painfully slow these days.  Daily gridlock (both personal and social) has rendered the old Eagles tune quaint,” says Rob.  “Here on the island, things are different. It’s not too hard to adjust.  The fast lane is San Juan Valley Road….probably because there seem to be less deer.   On the road to Roche Harbor the deer seem to like to feed on license plates. I guess for deer, that IS the fast-lane lifestyle.”

Rob performed his first show with THE AMERICAN NIGHT last Friday at The Mix in Seattle.  He will be appearing with them on Saturday March 20 at Oddfellows Grill in Redmond, and Sunday March 28 at the Tulalip Casino mainstage.  There are several other dates in the works including a featured performance at the Satsop River Rock Festival  on July 31. (www.satsopriverrockfestival.com)

When not hitting the road to perform with The American Night, Rob can be seen fairly regularly sitting in with the San Juan Jazz Quintet on Friday nights at Pazzo Vivo.  Rob has also been organizing the Saturday night acoustic Open Mic events at The Doctor’s Office where all interested talents from music to poetry are welcomed.

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