For those who thought last year's Doors of the 21st Century tour was an easy way for the surviving members of the '60s rock band to cash in on their former glory, keyboardist Ray Manzarek is quick to respond.

"This is a band committed to performing and recording," he says, speaking by phone during a recent interview. "This is not a 'one-off' tour. This is an ongoing process in which new music will be played and taken on the road along with classic Doors songs."

All of which may explain the fact that the newly reconstituted group, featuring former Cult lead singer Ian Astbury in place of the late, legendary Jim Morrison, is on another tour. In addition to Manzarek, the other original Doors member is guitarist Robby Krieger.

This was never your average rock group, ripping through one tune after another. It was - and is - a jam band.

"It's all improvisation with The Doors," says Manzarek, 65.

Although The Doors have been largely inactive since the mid-'70s - the band tried to continue for a period after Morrison's death in 1971, but the attempt failed - Manzarek never put away his keyboard, even as he dabbled in a variety of other endeavors, including working as a record producer. The results clearly show.

"I think I play better today than I did back then," he says. "You grow as a musician."

Still, The Doors have always been about the cult of personality - namely, the shaman-like figure of Morrison, who was part beat poet and part rock star. Many doubted anyone could step into his shoes. So how did Manzarek and Krieger decide upon Astbury when they started planning a reunion?

The choice came after they performed with the singer on a VH1 special - a Doors tribute that featured a number of contemporary rock vocalists, including Scott Stapp of Creed and Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots.

"We felt that (Astbury) was the one best able to do the job," says Manzarek. "He shared the same psychic space that Jim Morrison occupied."

But even as the group looks to the future, it hasn't forsaken the past. When Manzarek and Krieger stopped in Paris last year, they paid tribute to Morrison, who died in that same city from a drug-induced heart attack at the age of 27, by visiting his grave on his 60th birthday, Dec. 8. 

"It was bittersweet, because I miss my friend dearly," says Manzarek. "We burned some poems and sent them up to him."

And what would Morrison have to say about Manzarek and Krieger's decision to regroup without him? Manzarek thinks he would be thrilled. 

"Jim Morrison is a poet," he says. "Here's an opportunity 30 years later for (his) words to be sung out live. Any poet has got to love that."