06/20/03

John Soeder
Plain Dealer Pop Music Critic
 

C'mon, baby, fight their lawyer.

When keyboardist Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robby Krieger announced they were hitting the road with Cult singer Ian Astbury and calling themselves the Doors of the 21st Century, they became riders on a legal storm.

"We must be doing something right," Manzarek said by phone last month. "People want a piece of the action for doing nothing."

Erstwhile Doors drummer John Densmore sued his ex-bandmates for breach of contract. A judge denied Densmore's request for an injunction to prevent Manzarek and Krieger from touring as the Doors.

"John didn't want to be part of it," said Manzarek, 68. "We asked him repeatedly."

The reconfigured classic-rock band performs tomorrow at the Scene Pavilion. Trippy as ever, Manzarek promised an evening of "mystical moments of mystery and magic."

Ex-Police drummer Stewart Copeland sued Manzarek and Krieger for breach of contract, too. Terms of a recent out-of-court settlement were not disclosed. Copeland sat in with the Doors last year, but the band opted to go forward without him.

"He's the wrong kind of drummer for the Doors," Krieger said during a separate phone interview. "A lot of our songs are very moody. The way he drums is on top of the beat, with a lot of fills. It just didn't jell."

Still pending is a copyright-infringement suit filed against the latest Doors lineup by the parents and in-laws of original Doors singer Jim Morrison, who died of heart failure in 1971.

"I don't think they'll win, either," Manzarek said. "Money always has been the supreme goal of the [Morrison] estate."

Astbury sang with the surviving Doors three years ago for a VH1 "Storytellers" special. It got Manzarek and Krieger itching to hit the comeback trail.

Astbury "comes from the same psychic space that Jim Morrison came from," Manzarek said. "Ian has a sense of shamanism about him, just like Jim did."

"Ian sort of looks like Jim, too, even without the leather pants," said Krieger, 57.

Rounding out the Doors of the 21st Century are bass player Angelo Barbera and drummer Ty Dennis.

Manzarek said fans can look forward to hearing "Light My Fire," "L.A. Woman" and other signature Doors songs in concert, alongside some of the group's lesser-known tunes, including "Maggie M'gill." The band also has been road-testing new songs, including "Cops Talk" and "American Express," both featuring lyrics by poet Jim Carroll of "The Basketball Diaries" fame.

Look for a new Doors album next year, with fresh music by Manzarek and Krieger and lyrics by Astbury, Carroll, John Doe of X and Henry Rollins, among others.

"We're just seeing where this takes us," Krieger said. "We're open to anything."

In the meantime, Manzarek and Krieger aren't about to back down from staking their claim to the Doors' name.

"I put the Doors together with Jim Morrison," Manzarek said. "Robby wrote 'Light My Fire.' If we get together and play Doors songs, by God, we're the Doors - the Doors of the 21st Century."

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

jsoeder@plaind.com, 216-999-4562