Living legend
Ray Manzarek
is best known as a co-founder and the keyboardist of The Doors. If he did
nothing after the death of Jim Morrison he would still be highly regarded. But
Manzarek has directed feature films, done spoken word and written novels. Now
he can add another feather into his cap with his recent publication of a
historical fiction novel called Snake Moon. With a cover by Hellboy creator
Mike Mignola, Snake Moon takes place in 1863 deep in the backwoods of
Tennessee. A family that is unaware that the Civil War is taking place sets a
chain of events in motion that awakens restless ghosts.
Buy
Snake Moon
Daniel Robert Epstein: When did you start writing the
screenplay that Snake Moon is based on?
Ray Manzarek: My co-writer on the screenplay, Rick
Valentine, and I met in 1990. We were pumping iron at the local gymnasium
and we got to talking. He is a big film buff so we talked about movies. He
was working on a script based on [Mikhail] Bulgakov’s Master and Margarita
which is a fantasy/realistic novel set in Russia. In it the devil comes back
with his little troupe of people to stage a ball for his most illustrious
denizens. He needs a girl and that girl is Margarita, who is the girlfriend
of the writer of the book. Rick took that 450 page Russian novel and reduced
it down to a 135 page screenplay. I thought that was so impressive.
Are you guys around the same age?
Ray:
No, everybody’s younger than me.
DRE:
Is he a fan of your music?
Ray:
Oh yeah. He’s a Doors fan.
DRE:
That’s true. Who isn’t?
Ray:
Well, John Densmore is not. Not at this time anyway, only as it existed in
the past. He is a man who is stuck in the past.
DRE:
What was the inspiration for the screenplay which led to the book?
Ray:
That’s one of those things that just comes out of the unconscious. All of
the sudden, there it is.
DRE:
Are you a history buff?
Ray:
Yes and no. I obviously had to do a lot of research and make sure facts
were correct. Rick’s a Civil War buff too so between the two of us, we
nail it.
DRE:
What made the Civil War a good setting?
Ray:
In all honesty I have no idea. It was one of those things that seemed to
be good. It did have to be an American story. We could’ve set it in World
War I France but it’s a couple of American guys writing an American story.
It was a milieu we were the most familiar with.
DRE:
Was it inevitable you would do a ghost story?
Ray:
[laughs] Sure, ghost stories and the darkness and that whole dark side of
things is interesting.
DRE:
How personal is the story?
Ray:
It wasn’t personal at all. It was a totally made up piece of fiction. But
what is personal is the fact that they’re living in that little veil of
Eden where it’s almost paradise. That’s very personal because I try to
live my life in a place that is almost paradise. I’m living in the Napa
Valley.
DRE:
What happened with the screenplay?
Ray:
We couldn’t sell it because Cold Mountain had killed off all Civil War
stories so it was ridiculous even taking it around. We took it maybe to
one or two places and they said, “Civil War stories? That’s out. That rock
and roll guy? What the fuck does he know?”
DRE:
Were you looking to direct it?
Ray:
No after [I directed] Love Her Madly, I quit. God was that hard.
DRE:
I haven’t seen the movie.
DRE:
Were you unhappy with the way it came out?
Ray:
No, it came out fine. It’s a small movie about three college students in
love with the same girl. A sculptor, a video artist and a teacher of drama
who 20 years before won a Pulitzer prize for a play and is now a reprobate
and a drunk. The girl inspires them all, but drives them all mad and a
murder has been committed.
DRE:
Did being Ray Manzarek help you get in the door to show producers the
Snake Moon script?
Ray:
Sure, The Doors open the door. “Oh, I love The Doors. Let me see the
script. Civil War? Out. Even if you’re in the Beatles. I don’t care.” At
that point I said, “All right. I’m just going to novelize this.” I
novelized the whole thing all by myself.
DRE:
Who would you like to have directed Snake Moon?
Ray:
It didn’t matter. I’d be there saying “yes, no, yes, no” to the best of my
abilities with a director who might then at one point say, “Get out of
here. Get off the set. Don’t tell me how to direct.” That’s what Oliver
Stone said to me. He said, “Don’t tell me how to direct.”
DRE:
You were on the set of The Doors?
Ray:
Yeah. I said “I’m not telling you how to direct. I’m telling you how to do
the story.” He said, “I’ve got three Academy Awards.” I said, “I’ve got
eight gold records. Who cares man? I know how The Doors movie should go
and you don’t know how The Doors movie should go. You’re going to mess it
up. The script of yours is ridiculous.” Then the movie came out to be
ridiculous which is exactly what I told him would happen. He played such
mental games. I said, “Listen, I’ve taken LSD, you don’t want to play mind
games with me. I took LSD and I’ve broken through to the other side. I can
see right through mind games. Yeah, let’s do that. Let’s have some fun.”
Except for him it was absolutely serious. One male is going to dominate
the psyche of another male. That’s what goes on in Hollywood. I thought we
were artists.
DRE:
I think he’s a special case. Maybe not unique, but special.
Ray:
Yeah, exactly. Not unique, but very special.
DRE:
I recently spoke to Nick Cave about his movie [The Proposition]. He’s
written a few scripts and he said that writing scripts is very musical. Is
it the same for you?
Ray:
I’m with him. Definitely with screenplays but not so much when you’re
writing a book. When you’re writing fiction or when you’re writing prose,
you’re writing a read. There is no music going on. But when you’re writing
a script you’re hearing music all the time. You’re cutting on the beat and
the rhythm. I couldn’t write a script without music spinning around in my
head.
DRE:
You mentioned that John Densmore is stuck in the past. Do the two of you
talk at all?
Ray:
No, he sued us to stop us from playing. Robby [Krieger] and I want to go
out and play the songs. We got Ian Astbury, who is a terrific singer, to
play with us. We’ve got a great drummer in Phil Chen and Ty Dennis is on
drums. So we’re playing now as Riders on the Storm. We couldn’t even say
“The Doors of the 21st Century.” The judge was on his side.
DRE:
Years ago Densmore wrote a piece for Rolling Stone about how he didn’t
want to put The Doors’ music in commercials. You and Robby wanted to and
he did not.
Ray:
You must agree with him. How old are you?
Ray:
Of course you agree with him. It’s a good pure position. On the other
hand, it doesn’t put The Doors on your television set. The Doors are not
on pop radio because there are no new records. Little by little classic
rock is disappearing and all you can do to get your music to the public is
to put it on the TV set. Hit records in other countries are made by
associating with a TV show and commercials.
Ray:
Yeah man. I heard Muddy Waters singing “Hootchie Kootchie Man” and selling
me a beer. We all drink beer. Hey, we all ride cars. There are a million
things we do. Densmore turned down this great Apple computer ad. That was
insane. I use a computer. We all use the Apple computer. It was just the
thing in his political correct crowd. So that’s where we are. We live in a
society where products dominate our lives. I consume all kinds of stuff
and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it.
DRE:
When you were my age, you probably would have agreed with him?
Ray:
Oh totally. It’s the easiest thing for a have not to say sell out. “You’re
a sell out. I hate those sell outs. I’ll tell you this, when I become big
and famous I’ll never sell out.” Then you start to use your brain. You
think, “Hey, jeez. It’s not an emotional thing here. I want to get Doors
songs on TV.”
DRE:
What do you think Jim would’ve said?
Ray:
Jim was very smart. If Jim were alive today, he would tell you what I just
told you. Jim would say, “Listen there’s hardly any rock radio. There is
Top 40 but we’re not on it. There’s no classic rock. That’s fading away. A
lot of people want to use Break on Through for things. Let’s find some
stuff that we like.” That’s what I told John and Robby, “Let’s find some
stuff that we like.” It’s a merchandising tool. Of course there’s a purity
to the music. It wasn’t intended to be used for commercials. It was
intended to be a moment in time and space, a construct of rhythm and
melody and vocals and words. That’s what a song is. It’s an ephemeral
construction. What you choose to use that thing for is entirely up to you.
I think Densmore has a big religious hang up there. He’s looking for
purity in a life where it may not exist. But a moment of purity at one
time did exist and he wants to keep that frozen like a dragonfly in amber.
DRE:
How do The Doors albums sell now?
Ray:
Royalty checks are real nice and everything’s good. Sales go up and down.
It’s a real cyclical. There are peaks and valleys.
DRE:
What’s going on with your music?
Ray:
Riders on the Storm will be going out next year for the 40th anniversary
celebration of the music of The Doors. 1967 was when Light My Fire, was
the number one song in America.
(thanks, Gilles)
