After Jim Morrison died in 1971, performances by the surviving members of The Doors were few and far between. Since 2002, however, keyboardist Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robbie Krieger, have been keeping the band's music alive with frequent live performances.
They called themselves The Doors of the 21st Century until the third surviving member of the original band, drummer John Densmore, sued them over the use of The Doors name.
Today, as Riders On The Storm (the name of one of The Doors' best known songs), Manzarek and Krieger continue to perform the music that changed the rules of rock back in 1967.
The making of the band's debut album, Light My Fire, is the subject of a newly released (April 22, 2008) DVD, Classic Albums - The Doors (Compare Prices), and it also dominated my interview with Manzarek about The Doors of both the 20th and 21st centuries.
About Classic Rock:
Was there a point when you were in the process of making that first album when the light came on and you sensed that, hey guys, this is really it?
Ray Manzarek:
Absolutely. Actually, I knew it the first time I heard Robbie [Krieger] play. As we started recording, the more we played the more we sensed how well we blended together and how well the music blended with Jim’s poetry. We really had the feeling that we had something very special, something that only happens once. We thought we were going to change the world.
About Classic Rock:
"Light My Fire," is somewhat iconic in rock music, as is your keyboard solo within the song. How did that solo come about?
Ray Manzarek:
It was exactly what we were doing at the time at Whiskey A Go Go -- letting the music take us wherever it might lead in a particular performance, just improvising. And that’s exactly the same way that solo came about.
About Classic Rock:
Have you spent much time over the years considering the question, if Morrison had lived, and the band had continued as it was, where it would have taken you?
Ray Manzarek:
Oh, yes. I have a recurring dream in which Jim has just returned from France [where he died] and has accomplished what he went there for in the first place – to rest, get clean, change his “rock star” lifestyle. We talk about where he’s been and what he’s been doing. I ask him if he’s been working on any new material, and just before he answers, I wake up. When I first told Robbie about it, he said, “Yeah, me too!” He had had the same dream. As for the direction our music might have taken, I think it would probably have been more along the lines of the album we did after Jim died [An American Prayer] that concentrated on the words, the poetry.
About Classic Rock:
On your list of professional priorities, where does "keeping The Doors’ music alive" fall?
Ray Manzarek:
There’s no question that it’s number one. We [Riders On The Storm] just returned from South America where, in many cases, the audience didn’t speak English, but they knew every word to every song and sang right along with us. That’s the kind of power the music has had, and still has today. Morrison was a poet, and there’s nothing a poet likes better than having an audience for his words.
About Classic Rock:
Any new Riders material in the works?
Ray Manzarek:
Oh, there’s always something new in the works. Robbie and I have been working on some songs. The wonderful beat poet Michael McClure has written some lyrics for us. Just before he died, Warren Zevon gave us two stanzas of a song called "River Of Madness" that he hadn’t recorded, and we’ve been working with that, too.
About Classic Rock:
What’s next for Riders OTS?
Ray Manzarek:
On July 4th we’re in Europe to play the Blues and Wine Festival in Malta. After that we’re in Spain and Portugal mostly for the rest of the month. Rough life, huh?
(In addition to Manzarek and Kieger, the current Riders OTS lineup includes former Fuel vocalist Brett Scallions, Phil Chen on bass and drummer Ty Dennis.)
Interview date: May 23, 2008
