Michael Nesmith is currently conducting a live Q & A session at the Steel City Comic Con in Monroeville, Pennsylvania:

UPDATE: Thanks to Jodi Ritzen at Monkee Meet & Greets and Videoranch for the live feeds, and don't forget that you can see Nez all weekend in Monroeville, Pennsylvania!

UPDATE #2 on 8/11/2018: Michael reconnected with John Cusack at Steel City Comic Con. Cusack starred in the 1988 film Tapeheads that was produced by Nez.

This past June, Davy's daughters Talia Jones Roston, Sarah Jones McFadden, Jessica Cramer Jones, and Annabel Jones formed Along Came Jones Media to assist in the preservation of their father's legacy. The organization's initial Facebook post designated a book as their debut project, and fans will be happy to know that When the World & I Were Young: Snapshots from the Collection of Davy Jones will be available this September! The cover appears below, and a description of the book follows.

From the back cover:

​In the summer of 1967, The Monkees hit the road for their first major concert tour. With the success of their hit TV show energizing fans, they were greeted with screams, hysteria, love, and applause everywhere they went.

It was a lot for four young guys to take in. Fortunately, they all had cameras—Kodak Instamatic 104s, to be exact!

From June through August, The Monkees were on the go-go. Beginning at the Hollywood Bowl, the tour took them from LA to London and everywhere in between. Along the way, they introduced the US to one of their most ground-breaking opening acts: The Jimi Hendrix Experience!

Whether you were there, or just wish you had been, this rare collection of candids brings the summer of 1967 back to life. Featuring many never-before-seen images of The Monkees, their friends, and even some of their fans, When the World & I Were Young - Snapshots from the Collection of Davy Jones is a treasure that captures the excitement and spirit of the Summer of Love as only The Monkees could have experienced it.

Enjoy this groovy trip down memory lane with one of the hottest groups of the era, The Monkees!

Thanks to Written in Our Hearts on Facebook for sharing this photo a while back, and check out the YouTube video below featuring a recent review of The Monkees' 1968 feature film Head by The Cinemologists:

Micky Dolenz played an outdoor solo show in Corvallis, Oregon on Friday night, August 3. Here's a picture from that evening's performance, courtesy of bassist John Billings:

In early 1986, Arista Records, who owned the Monkees catalog at the time, started planning a greatest hits package that would mark the group’s 20th Anniversary. When Micky, Davy, and Peter hit the road in late May and surprised everyone by becoming that summer’s hottest concert ticket, Arista pared down their original 2-LP package to a single album that ended up including a couple of brand new Monkees recordings. ​

However, the three new songs that ultimately appeared on Then and Now...The Best of The Monkees ("That Was Then, This Is Now," "Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere," and "Kicks"), included participation from just Micky and Peter. (Michael Nesmith, as we all know, remained on the sidelines for most of the group's 20th Anniversary activities.) A little backstory: Davy was signed to Bell Records in the early 1970s, and the label eventually morphed into Arista Records, led by music mogul Clive Davis. For years, Davy vocalized his disdain for the Bell experience, claiming his talents were misused and that he was never given the opportunity to grow as an artist while under their auspices. When Bell was reorganized as Arista Records, Davy got lost in the shuffle. ​

Once the offer came around from Arista in 1986 regarding new recordings for the reunited Monkees, Davy balked, saying it was a bad deal while also expressing frustration that The Monkees would just be singing over pre-recorded backing tracks. Things became complicated when “That Was Then, This Is Now" took off at radio and on MTV. Davy would leave the stage when the song was performed live, and the music video, filmed in concert, led to questions of “Where’s Davy?” 

Despite the tension behind the genesis of the Arista Monkees recordings, the Then & Now album went platinum during the group's blockbuster 1986 reunion tour. “That Was Then, This Is Now” became the band's new single that summer and a music video for it was filmed at Great Arena in Jackson, New Jersey on July 25. The video received heavy airplay on MTV, making the song a Billboard Top 20 hit in the summer of 1986.

You can watch the music video for "That Was Then, This Is Now" below, which for me always brings back so many memories of waiting for it to appear on MTV!

And who can forget the video's success on MTV's Friday Night Video Fights!

The Monkees visited the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee when they were guests on the July 19, 1969 edition of The Johnny Cash Show. The trio sang Michael Nesmith's "Nine Times Blue" in an appearance that was filmed earlier that May. Micky, Davy, and Mike were joined by Johnny Cash after their performance of "Nine Times Blue" for a comedic take of "Everybody Loves a Nut," originally featured on Cash's 1966 novelty album. 

​And now, the digital television network getTV is airing The Monkees' appearance on The Johnny Cash Show on August 12, 2018 at 10pm EST.

Of note, portions of the Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. album were also recorded in Nashville, along with treasured Monkees cuts like "Listen to the Band" and "Good Clean Fun" during Michael's famed '68 Nashville sessions. Be sure to check out this great article detailing the history The Monkees have with the city of Nashville.

And a little bit of trivia: Micky and Michael returned to the Ryman with Peter during the group's 2013 summer tour.

The Monkees conducted a tour of Australia in September 1968. Arriving in Sydney on September 16 to a frenzied crowd of fans waiting at the airport, the group undertook a series of television interviews and held a press conference in Sydney, and later that day, in Melbourne. Footage of The Monkees in Sydney has been available on YouTube for a while now, but there's a lot of new scenes in this video below:

When I received the news about Michael Nesmith's quadruple bypass surgery a couple of weeks ago, I was taken aback and concerned about his well-being. I'm relieved and happy to hear, as everyone will be, that Nez is on the mend! Check out Andy Greene's new Rolling Stone interview with Michael by following the link below:

Monkees’ Michael Nesmith Recovering From Quadruple Bypass Heart Surgery

UPDATE @ 3pm EST: Christian Nesmith has clarified the Rolling Stone piece linked above in a post on Facebook:

UPDATE #2 on 7/27/2018: The mainstream press is covering the news of Michael's surgery:

​Los Angeles Times: Monkees' Michael Nesmith recuperating after heart surgery; plans to resume touring in September

​People: The Monkees' Mike Nesmith Reveals Quadruple Bypass Heart Surgery Following Tour Cancellation

​Billboard: Monkees' Michael Nesmith in Recovery After Quadruple Bypass Heart Surgery

Ultimate Classic Rock: Monkees' Michael Nesmith Recovering from Heart Surgery

UPDATE #3 on 7/28/2019: Michael shared a description of his current workout routine on Facebook: 

Thanks to Ed Reilly for sharing an email he received earlier this afternoon from Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, New Jersey:

Please remember that there has been no official announcement regarding the rescheduling of dates for "The Mike & Micky Show" tour that were ultimately postponed, but this email indicates information is forthcoming. Stay tuned to The Monkees Live Almanac for future updates!

The latest single release from the illustrious 7a Records features two long lost tracks by Davy Jones. "Rainbows" was written and produced by Chip Douglas (who was also at the helm for The Monkees' Headquarters and Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. LPs along with singles like "The Girl I Knew Somewhere," "Pleasant Valley Sunday," "Daydream Believer," and "Goin' Down") and recorded by Davy in 1981. The song has long circulated in tape trading circles of Monkees/Davy fans, but this single marks its first official release.

"You Don't Have To Be A Country Boy To Sing A Country Song" was written by Davy and Tommy Boyce (who co-wrote some of The Monkees' biggest hits with Bobby Hart) and appeared as the B-side to "(Hey Ra Ra Ra) Happy Birthday Mickey Mouse," the official theme song for the 50th birthday celebration of Mickey Mouse. That single was released by Warner Brothers in 1978 in England only, and neither side has ever been officially issued on compact disc or been made available digitally.

​The limited edition 7" red vinyl single featuring "Rainbows" b/w "You Don't Have To Be A Country Boy" was released by 7a Records last month, and 7a co-founder Glenn Gretlund has confirmed with the Live Almanac that it's now officially sold out. "Only 500 were pressed and we don't have any left," Glenn told me earlier today. "Some retailers might have a very limited amount of stock left, but once it's gone, that's it."

The Live Almanac has received multiple emails inquiring whether or not the single would be made available on digital or streaming platforms, and fans will be happy to know that "Rainbows" is now ready for download on iTunes and to stream on Spotify and Apple Music! "Only the 'A' side is available," Glenn told the Live Almanac. "We don't have digital rights to 'You Don't Have To Be A Country Boy To Sing A Country Song,' but we hope to be able to add the track to a future CD release."

Thanks a lot to SirQ for sharing his fantasy album artwork and track listings for the first eight original Monkees LPs with The Monkees Live Almanac. Alternate reality Monkees albums are always a lot of fun to think about, especially since there are so many gems in the group's catalog that never made it on to their albums in the 1960s.

​"I’ve spent an absurd amount of time cleaning up my album collections, fixing slight syncing issues, stereo imaging for the later stuff, and EQ problems that usually come with older tape-based music," SirQ told the Live Almanac. "The Monkees’ releases have definitely been a great exercise in detecting and cleaning such problems. I’m particularly happy with the custom edits of 'Carlisle Wheeling' and 'Mommy and Daddy' (uncensored) that I have now.

"On the album covers side, that Pisces cover took far longer than I thought it would to clean up. I used my own LP copy as a reference to fix the highest resolution version I could find online. I was getting tired of it by the end, so I added the red to the guitar logo to make it look interesting to me again!

​"I don’t know entirely why I like doing this stuff, but it sure is a lot of fun to listen to and look at."