Commentary: Doors drummer John Densmore jams at Homeboy: 'Maybe I can do something here'

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Set us as preferred A couple of years ago, in a column about Father Greg Boyle, I noted that he is quite particular and even a bit preachy about the right way to eat a steak.It should be medium rare, never well-done, and served with a proper elixir.Doors drummer John Densmore took note.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 did not necessarily follow Boyle’s meat and beverage protocols, but we jabbered away in a red leather booth, and a good time was had by all.Then, in August, I got an email from Boyle.“John walks into the Homeboy Art Academy,” he wrote, “and starts jamming as the homies are playing ‘Stand By Me.’”Boyle sent a short video, and there’s Densmore, still keeping perfect time at 81.I wasn’t surprised.

Densmore’s a busy guy, with various charitable causes and artistic ventures.He and former Public Enemy rapper Chuck D just fused music genres on an album called “No Country for Old Men.” But he’s an admirer of Boyle and his decades-long mission of gang intervention and rehabilitation.“Hey,” Densmore told the musicians he played with that day, “maybe I can do something here.”Steve Hideg was never rich, or particularly famous, but music always carried him.

He refuses to let go of his drumsticks.He suggested that he return and stage a music workshop or a drum circle.They said of course.On Wednesday, before the music began, Densmore insisted that I see the Homeboy Art Academy, whose founder is 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.“Through the arts, I found my way to healing and transformation.

Then I s...