On December 8, The Doors’ Jim Morrison would have celebrated his 65th birthday. This year, the momentous occasion will be marked at Barney’s Beanery, the legendary West Hollywood hangout on Route 66, which served as a stomping ground and home away from home for the rock icon. Since moving to its current Santa Monica Blvd. location in 1927 from Berkeley, the historic venue has hosted a variety of counter cultural legends over the years from the worlds of avant-garde art, movies, literature and rock and roll.

Both Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger of The Doors will be on hand that evening for a special live broadcast on L.A. rock station 95.5 KLOS, hosted by famed “Last D.J.,” Jim Ladd. The three will discuss and sign copies of Live at The Matrix 1967, a live CD on The Doors’ Bright Midnight Archives and Rhino Records. The two-CD set, which was recorded in San Francisco over two nights in March ’67, will be available on November 18th. The shows took place shortly before the group broke on through with their hit Summer of Love single, “Light My Fire.” Winners of a 95.5 KLOS contest will get to meet and greet Manzarek and Krieger.

“We decided to celebrate this occasion because Barney’s is a place where Jim Morrison hung out often,” says Barney’s Beanery principal David Houston, who bought the place in 1999 from Erwin Held. He is only the third person to own the famed venue after original founder John “Barney” Anthony and Held. “Whatever point in time you go back to, whoever was making history in pop culture, they seemed to have a foot in the Beanery.”

In the late ‘60s, Morrison and Janis Joplin were regulars at Barney’s Beanery, with Jim famously barred from the dining establishment for allegedly urinating on the bar. Houston will commemorate the event with a memorial plaque to mark the exact place.

“I’m hoping Ray’s incredibly sharp memory will help us locate it,” says Houston. “Wherever he says it happened, that’s where we’ll put it up.”

The locus of The Doors’ history, notes Houston, took place largely in a one-mile radius of the Beanery, with the band’s label Elektra headquarters and Jim’s girlfriend Pam’s clothing boutique on La Cienega Blvd., the group’s offices around the corner, the Alta Cienega Hotel, where Jim often stayed, just down the street, and the Whisky-a-Go-Go, where they regularly performed, just up the block on Sunset.

After opening new Barney’s locations at the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica in 2004, and in Old Town Pasadena on Colorado Blvd. in 2006, Houston is set to launch two new Beaneries, one later this month in Burbank and another next year in Westwood.

Rhino’s Live at The Matrix 1967 is the fourth of the Bright Midnight Archives releases, and features liner notes by all three surviving members of The Doors and brand-new cover art by renowned San Francisco artist Stanley Mouse. Whereas the three previous collections documented The Doors’ final 1970 tour, this latest edition takes you back to the early days, when the band was still working out arrangements and lyrics.

“This is probably the closest we’ve come to a true document of The Doors without constraints,” says the band’s longtime producer/engineer Bruce Botnick, who worked on the reissue. “You’ve never heard the group quite like this.”

Tired of the Rockettes’ Christmas Spectacular at Radio City? Feeling ho-ho-hum about the entertainment offerings this holiday season? Well, goodfella Mickey Marchello has a year-end offer you can’t refuse, with a swingin’ musical showcase that will have you ring-a-ding-dingin’ in the holidays in style!

The former guitarist from the legendary New York rock band Good Rats has teamed up with bandleader George Gee and his 22-piece Make-Believe Ballroom Orchestra, together with a stellar cast of performers, to create “Sleigh Bells Swing”, a high-energy musical extravaganza to celebrate the Christmas season!

Guests will feel they are being swept into a fantasy world of 1930s/1940s retro era glitz and glamour as the interactive, multimedia floor show with the full swing orchestra and cast is performed during a delectable four-course dinner at the Edison Ballroom, a stunning Art Deco edifice in midtown Manhattan. George Gee and his 22 tuxedoed musicians, captivating singers, gravity-defying lindyhoppers punctuated by a bandstand complete the look of this elegant evening. After the show, the dance floor will be open for dancing to the swingin’ Big Band sounds of George Gee and his orchestra.

Edison Ballroom’s “Sleigh Bells Swing” runs from December 20th, 2008 through January 3rd, 2009, including a very special performance on Christmas Day (no performances on Dec. 24, and Dec. 31). Tickets for the floor show and gourmet dinner are $190.00 per person, which also includes all drinks and dancing. General admission tickets cost $75 per person (post-dinner and floor show), which will include open bar and hors d’oeuvres.

For ticket information, visit EdisonBallroom.com, or check out the fabulous Sleigh Bells Swing MySpace page!

Voodoo Vacation on Zombie Island

Tiki lovers, retro-fanatics, and lovers of pop culture kitsch can experience a full weekend of live exotica and classic surf tunes, peruse art and imbibe tropical cocktails poolside at the eighth annual Tiki Oasis extravaganza, happening August 14th-17th in sunny San Diego.

The festivities kick off on Friday night with live music performances and a special Tiki fashion show. For the rest of the weekend, guests can mingle with live Tiki carvers, shop for art and decorative home accessories in the

Painting by Brad Parker (www.tikishark.com)

A family produced event by Otto and Baby Doe von Stroheim of Tiki News Magazine, Tiki Oasis is the largest and longest running Tiki event in the world, and a place where the Tiki community from across the U.S. gathers for its annual reunion. Limited access tickets and deluxe passes for this year’s event are on sale now, and advanced room reservations are recommended. For the full scoop, visit www.TikiOasis.com.

American Cinematheque to Host “Enchanted Tiki Luau Blowout”

Tiki lovers from across southern California will descend on The American Cinemateque’s famed Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood from July 25-26 for an Enchanted Tiki Luau Blow-Out, featuring old-school island adventure pics FAIR WIND TO JAVA (1953), ALOMA OF THE SOUTH SEAS (1941) and HER JUNGLE LOVE (1938), all in gorgeously saturated color. The two-day event will also feature artist Kevin Kidney’s collection of rare, island-themed TV surprises, a bountiful luau dinner, exotic musical entertainment from King Kukelele and his Friki Tikis and the Polynesian Paradise Dancers, and a number of Tiki vendors hawking exotic wares.

Founded in 1981, The American Cinematheque is a non-profit, viewer-supported cultural organization dedicated exclusively to the public presentation of the Moving Picture in all its forms. Tickets for the Enchanted Tiki Luau Blow-Out are available for the movie program only, or the movie program and luau dinner. Advanced purchase is recommended, and discounts are available for seniors and students. Learn more about the classic movies featured in the Tiki triple-bill and see photos from last year’s event on the Tiki Weekend webpage.

Swing House Promises Summer Sizzle
Fans of big band music, hot jazz and ragtime, lindy hoppers, hepcat hipsters and lovers of all that is retro cool are invited to the last Swing House vintage dance party of the season on July 26th at Public Assembly (the erstwhile Galapagos Art Space) in Brooklyn, NY.

Billed as a mixture of modern and vintage entertainment, the next installment of the popular monthly happening will feature free a swing dance lesson, live music from the Neon Swing X-perience and the Big Bang Big Band, DJs spinning the best in remixed early jazz and vintage bass, firebreathers, aerialists, and stunning burlesque and dance performances. Guests are encouraged to wear their full-on vintage best, circa 1920s-40s. For more details and to RSVP, visit the Swing House website.

GI Film Festival Celebrates its Second Year

The Second Annual GI Film Festival will be held over Armed Forces Weekend, May 14-18, 2008, in Washington, DC. The mission of the festival is to honor the American Armed Forces through the medium of film.
The festival will feature numerous movie screenings, presented by world-famous actors, entertainers and directors, including Gary Sinise (Forrest Gump), James Franco (Fly Boys, The Great Raid, Annapolis), Academy Award-winner John Voight, and Captain Dale Dye (Saving Private Ryan, The Great Raid). The event will also feature documentaries, VIP receptions, musical performances, military exhibits, and several special guest appearances. This is the second year of the GI Film Festival, which was recently chosen to receive the George Washington Honor Medal from the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge.
The GI Film Festival is unique among the thousands of film festivals held each year, because it focuses specifically on honoring the American Armed Forces. Each of the films screened will in some way express the courage and selflessness of American troops and the value of their important work. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the GI Film Festival Website.
Those who will not be able to personally attend the festival, or who simply want to lend their support, can donate online at GIfilmfestival.com/donate08.html.