Ray Manzarek Quotes

Jim wanted to be known as a poet, first and foremost.

Through all of history mankind has ingested psychedelic substances. Those substances exist to put you in touch with spirits beyond yourself, with the creator, with the creative impulse of the planet.

The Doors movie is a pack of lies. It did not make money. You want to make money in America? Tell the truth.

You want a showman, go see rock 'n' roll bands today. You want to have a shamanistic experience, get psychedelic, then you watch The Doors.

Alan Ginsberg was fabulous. The man is so filled with energy. He's 65 years old and he's just loaded with energy and charm and wit and his mind is constantly racing.

Rock 'n' roll is like a circus today.

Doors music is not a simple kind of music. It's like the Bauhaus. It's clean and pure. Morrison's lyrics are psychologically deep. So for people to understand Doors music is certainly a testament to their intellects.

Jim, as just a spoken poet, was not that good. He needed the music behind him. He felt a security and a sense of abandon when the music existed around him.

Drugs shouldn't be used for recreation although they can be, but ultimately the point of psychedelics is to put you in touch with the powers of the universe.

You have to be open to the energy. If you can open your heart to the energy, that great love energy, of this entire universe, good things will happen to you. BUT, you've gotta believe. You've gotta believe in the goodness.

The only thing that ultimately matters is to eat an ice-cream cone, play a slide trombone, plant a small tree, good God, now you're free.

The Doors were never that good as musicians.

I played music practically my entire life. But the first time I ever really played music was with John and Robby and Jim That's where it happened. it was an epiphany, a moment of profound clarity

If there was no black man there would be no Rock'n'Roll. The beat, the rhythms of Africa are what created Rock'n'Roll and Jazz.

I'm basically a cocktail jazz kind of pianist. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a very good keyboard player. People think I think I'm good. I think I'm a very poor piano player.

You dont make music for immortality you make music for the moment of capturing the sheer joy of being alive on planet earth, WOW! is this fun ... this is just the greatest everybody should live it that way.

Time is just a moment that we occupy in this brief spin around the planet.

One of the great gifts of being a human being is that you can get rid of yourself and enter into the oneness of music.