Ray Manzarek CHUD Interview April 16 2002

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CHUD INTERVIEW: RAY MANZAREK
April 16 2000 Interviewed By: Smiling Jack Ruby

Ray Manzarek, the co-founder and keyboardist for The Doors as well as the guy who shot their concert films and the fellow who produced a slew of albums for the band X, is now the author of a fictional novel (the follow-up to his autobiography, Light My Fire: My Life
With The Doors) entitled The Poet In Exile.

What's this book about, pray tell?

Well, a former rock musician named Roy whose notorious psychedelic band broke up after a controversial and celebrated run in the '60s
and '70s when their lead singer, Jordan, died in Paris, suddenly starts getting poetry sent to him from the Seychelles (a string of islands in the South Pacific) implying that, in fact, the lead singer (referred to as "The Poet" most often in the book) faked his
own death and now lives in a secluded paradise. Naturally, Roy goes on a lengthy journey to find the Poet and when they reunite, the Poet fills him in on exactly what's been going down with his life
since faking his own death in Paris so many years ago.

I spoke with Ray about the book, but also asked him a bunch of questions that you guys had for him as well concerning his career with The Doors and X as well as other random questions in general. The first one, for instance:

Smilin' Jack Ruby: How are you?

Ray Manzarek: Good, man.

S.J.R.: The first thing I was wondering was, what prompted you to write a fictional narrative that was so autobiographical?

Ray: Well, it seemed time to put a lot of bad stories about Jim Morrison to rest and to give him my fictional life rather than living the Oliver Stone life and what happened to him. The good and
decent human being that I knew that got seduced by alcohol, but eventually kicks alcohol and what happens to him – the human being that he becomes. I wanted to portray Jim Morrison as the human
being that I knew and loved.

S.J.R.: Is the book meant to be a straight narrative? It feels, at times, like a dream, sometimes like a walk into an after-life...

Ray: Absolutely. It's multi-layered. Simplistically, it's the
story of what happened to Jim Morrison. I tried to give it that aspect of a dream, of a different dimension of possibilities, of what's true? What isn't? It's all of that. It's like a Doors concert.

S.J.R.: So, as there's a lot of factual stuff in it, where did you draw the line really between fiction and reality?

Ray: All of it is fiction after the point in the story where Jim Morrison stages his own death or "The Poet." I don't call him Jim, I call him "The Poet."

S.J.R.: And sometimes Jordan.

Ray: Well, we call him Jordan, but he's the Poet. I'll stick with the Poet. When the Poet stages his own death, from that point on it's all fiction. Any references to when the band was together are based on fact?

S.J.R.: Why the Seychelles?

Ray: Because he showed me a picture of the Seychelles and told me, "a man could disappear there" just like it says in the book.

S.J.R.: Have you ever been there?

Ray: No.

S.J.R.: How long ago did you know you wanted to write a book like this?

Ray: Two years ago.

S.J.R.: So you started immediately?

Ray: Yeah. The idea came to me and I said, "yeah, I'm going to do that." I'll write an entire narrative talking about that goddamn Oliver Stone movie and "crazy, wild Jim Morrison." I want them to know about the other Jim Morrison, so this is the other Jim Morrison. This is what I'd hope would've happened. This is my
wish. This is my wish fulfillment for Jim Morrison.

S.J.R.: Was it daunting to just sit down and write all this out?

Ray: No, not really. It's like an extension of a film script. What I tried to do is take the film scripts that I've done and expand that way of writing, but just put it into straight-ahead prose paragraph by paragraph. I wanted to make it visual, full of conversation, but very visual. It's not hard, it's like playing the piano. It's not hard, but you have to sit down and do it. You just have to discipline yourself to sit down for a couple of hours every day/every other day and write the damn thing.

S.J.R.: When you started putting this all together, did you know where it was going to land?

Ray: No, you just sit down and start writing it. If you can get an outline together and get it to an agent and I did that. I got an outline to the agent that handled my first book, Light My Fire. He said, "ah, this is no good. Not enough to sell. You're going to have to write the whole damn thing." Aw, shit. I said, "but I've
got Light My Fire!" He said, "yeah, but that's an autobiography, this is a novel. They've got to read the whole thing. You've got to write this whole thing on spec." "All right, fine. I'll write it." So, I wrote the whole thing. Then I sold it.

S.J.R.: How do you think Doors fans will react to the book?

Ray: I have no idea. I have no idea. But, so far the response has been incredible. I've done book signings and it's a marathon of people coming up with the book saying, "I love the Doors, I love the book! Sign my book!" So, it's like jeez. This has been going on
for these three or four hour marathon signings. My hand starts to cramp up. So far, everyone's been really pleased with it.

S.J.R. Because of this experience, have you thought about writing something else?

Ray: Onto the next novel! As soon as I finish up the book tour, I'll get back to work.

S.J.R. Now, here are some questions for the CHUD readers. Easy one first – what is your favorite Doors song?

Ray: "Light My Fire." It's just the most fun to play. It's a great song to play in person. In person it was just...you've got that long improvisational section and so you can really trip out in person.

S.J.R.: Do you think it's "weird" that people are continuing to make a lot of money off the image of Jim Morrison?

Ray: Absolutely. Do I think it's weird? Yes, I think it's weird. Is it weird? Yes, it's weird that people can make money off of Jim Morrison, but they're making money off of John Lennon, too, and Elvis Presley. My God, I mean people are making money off of Beethoven – busts of Beethoven. Who the hell's making money off
that? Not the Beethoven's! It's weird! Weird, man. It's weird. But, you know, that's the way things are here in the modern world. We make money off of dead people. It's weird.

S.J.R.: When the Doors debuted and all through y'all's career, you were seen as "dangerous." The same could be said of X. Is it possible to be "dangerous" today or has it all been done?

Ray: No, there's always danger. The new danger will be the exploration of religion. If you dare to explore true religious impulse, that's what'll be truly dangerous in this society, in this Judeo-Christian-Islamic People of the Book society that rules the world. What if you transcend the book? Oh, my God – you'd be a
heretic. You'd be a heretic in three different religions. That'll be the new psychological danger.

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S.J.R.: How did you find about X? Were you following the L.A. punk scene already.

Ray: I read some X lyrics. The first thing that turned me onto X were their lyrics. In an article called "Sounds Like Murder" in the L.A. Free Press or the L.A. Reader, whichever one it was, I thought the lyrics were terrific. There were lyrics for "Johnny Hit And Run Pauline." I thought, "whoooaaa." They had some other lyrics from a
couple of other bands and they were talking about punk rock and I said, "God, I've got to go see these guys." So, they were playing at the Whiskey A Go-Go as the opening act for a rockabilly band. Levi and the Rockats they were called – a very good rockabilly
band. So, I got to hear X and it was just so incredible, I just forget about Levi and the Rockats. I went backstage and said, "you guys are fantastic. Let's make a record together. I'll produce and bring what little expertise I have. Let's go make a record! Let's
get you guys on a record label!" And John (Doe) said, "do you think we can get on a bigtime record label?" I said, "no, you guys are too good to get on a major record label. It'll have to be a smaller one." Sure enough, we made the record and got on Slash Records.

S.J.R.: Do you still follow the L.A. music scene?

Ray: Well, there is no L.A. scene. I don't know that there is any. Is there music in Los Angeles? No, I don't follow the L.A. scene, I follow the electronic scene. Electronica, acid jazz, trip-hop and
trance music is what I'm into.

S.J.R.: Someone asked something similar to that – as a lot of what you did with keyboards on the Doors is somewhat of the precursor to modern electronica, what do you like?

Ray: I like Future Sounds of London, DJ Spooky (That Subliminal Kid) and I like Tricky and Moby. There's just so many. DJ Rodriguez that nobody knows out of Italy – I like him. There's just a whole bunch, a cut here, a cut there. There's so many good things. Those
are the artists that I like.

S.J.R.: Somebody asked specifically if you are still in contact with Billy Zoom or DJ Bonebrake?

Ray: Yes. Well, I see them occasionally. Not an awful lot. Yeah, DJ Bonebrake played on the Doors tribute album on "Roadhouse Blues," a duet of John Lee Hooker and Jim Morrison, so that was fun. I
played keyboards, Flea from the Chili Peppers, and DJ and Robbie (Krieger) and John Lee Hooker. So yeah, I keep in contact with DJ, Billy not so much. I run into Billy every once and awhile, but I try to make a point to talk to John Doe and Exene (Cervenka) every couple of months.

S.J.R.: What's your opinion of the way the song "The End" is used in Apocalypse Now?

Ray: Absolutely perfect. I was blown away by it. I talked to Francis (Ford Coppola) when he was first getting the movie together and he said he wanted to use "The End" to open the movie and I
said, "wait a minute! 'The End' goes at the end of the movie! It's all over, Kurtz is dead and Willard is leaving and it's the end!" He said, "No, I want to put it at the beginning of the movie because it's just starting the end – and then it goes worse." It's the end
of everything and the rest of the movie is even worse than "The End." He said, "it's a journey into Hell." All right, go for it! We'll see how it works. It worked brilliantly.

S.J.R.: What did you think of Kyle MacLachlan's performance as you in The Doors?

Ray: Kyle MacLachlan as me was rather stiff and wooden.

S.J.R.: Are you still friends with Oliver Stone? (Smilin' Jack Note: Oops)

Ray: I'm not friends with Oliver Stone. I was never friends with Oliver Stone. He's a guy who made a movie about the Doors and messed it up or fucked it up, as I would say. He's a man who made a movie about the Doors and didn't understand what a psychedelic rock
band was. He's a white powder man. It's a white powder movie about the Doors rather than a psychedelic movie about the Doors.

S.J.R.: During the Doors' heyday, were you aware of similarly edgy, less-commercial music makers that have lasted through to today like The Velvet Underground, the Stooges or MC5?

Ray: Oh, of course. We were aware of everything that was going on.

S.J.R.: Did you feel any sort of kinship with them?

Ray: No, no. Two ships passing in the night. You're on the road, they're on the road and you see people in airports and go, "hey, Velvet Underground – where are you guys going?" or "We're going
to the West Coast," "Well, we're going to the East Coast!" We knew Iggy and the Stooges, of course. We thought about Iggy taking over Jim's role after Jim died.

S.J.R.: If that same thing happened today, who in music would you now consider for taking over Jim's role in the Doors?

Ray: Scott Stapp (from Creed). Scott Weiland from Stone Temple Pilots. Ian Astbury from The Cult. There's quite a few good singers. Terence Trent D'arby, I'd love to work.

S.J.R.: Have there been lyrics to any songs written of late that have reminded you of the way you guys used to write as the Doors or have reminded you specifically of your friendship with Jim Morrison?

Ray: Whoa, that's a good question. No, I can't honestly say I've seen any lyrics that are reminiscent of Morrison or Doors lyrics. I think that that's yet to come. But you know what? I did like "Losing My Religion." I thought that that was a song that might've been written by Morrison. That was Michael Stipe. So, no. I can't say I've heard anything that makes me think of Morrison's lyrics. Not at this particular time.

Ray Manzarek is currently on a book tour promoting The Poet In Exile and will be at the Borders Books & Music at 14651 Ventura Blvd. in Sherman Oaks, California this Friday night, January 18th starting at 8 p.m.

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