June, 2001:
Four years have passed since four cyber-anarchists pooled their talents and gave birth to an over-the-top, in-your-face webzine called “Tribe”.
In June, 1997, Leonette Miles (Skye), Joe Rossi (Hwy), Billy Ramirez (Bee), and Byron Velasquez (Sohum) put action behind the motto “The Only Sure Thing is Change”. A section of the Doors Official Website referred to as “The Ancient Gallery” was then host to the poetry and art of fans worldwide who regularly amassed and partied in the Doors Chatroom (DCHAT). But The Gallery had stagnated from lack of attention, hence the launching of a full fledged webzine, a free form forum for the “Tribal Community”.
In my slightly biased opinion, the result was and is unique. Tribe has evolved, ebbing and flowing amidst skirmishes and all-out war from within and without. It has survived name and server changes--
Hey... “The Only Sure Thing is Change”. What a concept!
The scope of the zine has widened far beyond DCHAT and The Tribal Community, though the solid friendships forged remain... which is the test imposed on true bonds. How complex it once seemed. But it’s really quite simple...
Another “anniversary” comes to mind. July 3, 2001, marks thirty years since James Douglas Morrison departed this life, or, as he dubbed it: “The strangest life I’ve ever known”. Personal words of tribute will always seem inadequate, but it so happens a landmark of my own has coincided with this bittersweet thirty year commemoration. This May marked fifty years of remaining in the strangest life I’ve ever known.
My memories of Jim from a 1968 concert freeze him in time, Still, I craved closure. So, in May, 2001, my son visited Pere LaChaise Cemetary in Paris. With him were strands of my hair and a photo I had taken at the concert. He found Jim’s resting place serene and atmospheric, nestled among the ornate tombs of some of the most influential creative people to grace the planet.
JDM is in good company.
Due to the “naughty” tendencies of generations of fans, Jim is now constantly under guard. On this particular morning, as reported by my son, the grave was stood over by a hefty serious woman he playfully refers to as “Helga”.
Hmmm, I wonder... Is she the lucky little lady in the City of Light? Or just another lost angel?
1968 Doors concert photo copyright of Jane Gwaltney(poe sparrow)
2001 Pere Lachaise gravesite photo copyright of Gabe Hobbs
