Rant #1,680: The Interviews

We are right smack dab in the middle of "Monkees Week," leading up to the release of their brand new album, their first new one in 20 years, this Friday, May 27.

What a great time it is to be a Monkees fan, and especially nice for those who have been fans since 1966, like I have.

As you know, writing is my career, and I have been doing one form of writing or another for decades. It helps put food on my table, and whether I like what I am writing or not, every word that I type out is worth a lot to me.

And when I am writing about something that I really want to write about, something that really interests me, well, every word is truly golden.

From 1987 to 1999, I had a side job, and it was a job that made me no money at all, but it was something that I loved doing.

I was a freelance writer for something called "The Island Ear," a freebie newspaper that you picked up for free at you local record shops, movie theaters, and other places on Long Island.

It was a very successful publication for quite a while, and it morphed into something called "The Long Island Press," not the fabled paper that had its headquarters in Jamaica, New York, but another freebie newspaper that I believe still exists, one with more a bent on news than entertainment.

Whatever the case, I was the Island Ear's longest tenured (I think) freelancer, and I loved the job, even though it didn't pay me anything.

The hours were good, and the perks were plenty.

I got into concerts for free, got free CDs and other stuff to review, and I got to interview, both in person and via the phone, some very interesting celebrities, everyone from Michael Winslow, the guy who made all the noises in the "Police Academy" movies, to Jamie Foxx, who was still on "In Living Color" at the time, but later, would win an Academy Award for his portrayal of Ray Charles in the film "Ray."

I also interviewed two once and forever Monkees--Micky Dolenz in person, and Mike Nesmith over the phone.

I still have the Dolenz interview, but the Nesmith interview is gone to interview heaven. So most of what we will look back on today will be the Dolenz interview, one of my most memorable interviews that I ever did for The Island Ear.

In early 1992, Dolenz was promoting one of his first solo LPs, "Micky Dolenz Puts You To Sleep," which was basically a kids' record featuring some soft tunes to help young children go to sleep, including some different readings of Monkees' tunes, including "Porpoise Song."

Concurrently, Rhino Records released a compendium of Monkees material on a multi-disk boxed set called "Listen to the Band," so Dolenz had a lot on his plate at the time.

He was in Manhattan to attend his buddy Paul McCartney's "Oratorio," the once and future Beatle's first classical work, one that was playing in the city at that time.

So I was contacted by The Island Ear to do this interview, and, I mean, how many times in your life to you actually meet an idol of yours from when you were a kid?

Dolenz was staying in a hotel room in the 50s in Manhattan. I forget which hotel, but it was one with some very pricey accommodations.

I was told to get there by a certain hour, and wait for him in the hallway. I just had to tell the man behind the desk that I was there, and I would be led up to his room.

I got there, did what I had to do, and I was told that Micky was out, but would be returning momentarily. I sat down, and then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw him, in dark sunglasses, walk into the hotel, and a few minutes later, I was led up to his room by his manager.

The "room" was larger than my house, with multiple rooms and a living room that was probably the biggest and most luxurious one I had ever been in, and Dolenz was sitting on the couch. The manager said I had a half hour, and he let us talk.

I asked him about the then-new Monkees boxed set. "It's great material, and I'm pleased and gratified that it has stood up over the years," he said. "Look, very few people had any idea that this would stand the test of time, and it doesn't bother me at all that the two albums were released at virtually the same time."

Looking back at the Monkees years, Dolenz told me that it was a satisfying experience, although it was a tough sell to get the show on the air.

"Quite honestly, we nearly didn't get on TV," he noted. "NBC was so frightened of us. We were the first longhairs on TV every week. The network thought that we would be part of some 'heinous activities.' Long hair at the time signified terrible things. We battled with the censors, and what you got was watered down, anyway. But it was successful."

With his solo album out at the time--his first legitimate solo album--he was already planning for a followup. "At this point, I'm not ready for this record, I'm looking for material, and writing material for it. It will be a hard rock record, featuring elements of blues, rock and jazz, things that I was into before the Monkees."

He went on about what the Monkees actually were, from his insiders' perspective. "The Monkees project was a pop project," he explained. "Before that, in bands that I played in and music that I listened to, the Animals, Van Morrison and Them, and the Rolling Stones, were more to my liking. Actually, back then all of that type of music was considered to be 'pop.' In today's world, everything has a label, and I'm as confused about those labels as the next guy."

He spoke about his next record again. "As for my next record, just let's say it will be in the rock vein, not rap (side note: Run DMC's version of "Mary Mary" was charting at the time, and you can actually hear Dolenz's voice faintly in the background, which I brought up to the singer and he said he didn't know anything about it, but would look into his presence on that record), not heavy metal. It'll have lots of guitars ... Tom Petty, Eric Clapton ... if you have to put it into a category, put it into that guitar-based rock genre."

About his career up to that point--he started out as a child actor, morphed into a Monkee, was a successful director in England--he said. "I don't have a great strategy. It seems that whenever I have a strategy, I'm not that successful. I flow with the rapids, but I don't drift. When you're pretty well known, you can get on a bus, so to speak, and ride along."

There were some things that we talked about that did not make the printed interview. At the time, we were both going through divorces, and we did talk about that subject at great length. In fact, the half hour had vanished, his agent came into the room to get me out of there, but Micky literally waved the agent away as we both got to talking about what we were going through at the time.

Finally, we parted, and I had my interview, and my meeting with one of my idols as a kid. I met a few more along the road, but this was probably the most memorable one.

As for the Nesmith interview, as I said, I don't have it. I know that some former Island Ear people read this column and are on Facebook, and I hope that perhaps they still have the printed interview somewhere in their archives and can forward it to me. In fact I don't have much from the last four years I wrote for the newspaper, and would welcome anything I wrote from them if they have it.

I did the interview in 1996, when the newly reformed Monkees were promoting their "Justus" LP, where they did everything themselves without outside help.

It ended up being a bit of a misguided project with not enough promotion to make it successful, but to speak to Nesmith on the phone was another dream assignment for me.

I know he spoke about the then-new LP, but the only other thing I remember is that he stopped the interview in the middle of me asking questions, and here is what happened.

"Excuse me, how old are you?"

"I am 39, I am going to be 40 in April."

"So you were nine years old when we were on TV."

"Yes."

"We were made for you!"

... and the interview went back on track after that.

And he was so right.

The Monkees were made for me, and my generation.

"We're the young generation, and we've got something to say ... ."

They did, and I hope I did in this Rant, and 20 years or more ago in The Island Ear.

More tomorrow.