Coco Dolenz (Vocals / Percussion)

(Photo by Sherri Hansen)

Wayne Avers (Guitar / Vocals)

(Photo courtesy of Wayne Avers)

Christian Nesmith (Guitar / Vocals)

(Photo by Sherri Hansen)

Rich Dart (Drums)

(Photo courtesy of Rich Dart)

John Billings (Bass Guitar)

(Photo by Sherri Hansen)

Pete Finney (Pedal Steel / Guitar)

(Photo by Tami Bassler)

Alex Jules (Keyboards / Vocals)

(Photo by Sherri Hansen)

Circe Link (Vocals / Percussion)

(Photo by Sherri Hansen)

Emeen Zarookian (Guitar / Vocals)

(Photo by John Billings)

Dear Beatland Reader:

Well, I promised to write you from the road and here I am, eight miles high, in flight to Burbank. I have left the Monkees’ tour for a few days to take care of Beatland Books business. After several false flags, I was told your books would be arriving today at the shipper (hence my leaving the Monkees for a day or two) and as my flight was delayed, so I have found the books are too.

As the plane took off, I shot out a very quick email wondering if there would be no end to these delays. The customs broker has now said a trucker would try and pull the Beatland container tonight for delivery in the morning. If everyone can just cross their fingers and toes, maybe our wait will be over. Seriously though, I am starting to take these delays very personally and honestly feel a bit down about this uncertain process. However, the books are done and ready to go as soon as I can get my hands on the finished product. I have been told by my printer and the fulfillment house that this is just how things are right now. Their other clients are having terrible delays, but the trust all of you have all placed in me to deliver is something I think of every day. Many have written me privately to say they are okay with waiting, but I am just so ready to fulfill my end of the bargain.

(Photo courtesy of Andrew Sandoval)

The Monkees On Tour

This is the 21st Monkees Tour since 1966 and my 8th as their show producer & manager. Micky has been on all 21 tours and Michael has been on 10. The dates the Monkees are doing now are a mixture of shows scheduled in 2019 and newer ones. With the rise of the Delta variant, our plans have been fluid. Getting over the tremendous anxiety of rehearsals to being in contact with large crowds for the first time in two years has been overwhelming.

My job for the Monkees is currently a 24-hour-a-day affair. Michael is an early riser, so a call may come from him at 7am with a question or a personal dilemma. Meanwhile, Micky is a late riser and has trouble sleeping, so he may want to talk down show order or setlist concerns up to about 2am. And in between we usually ride to the next town directly overnight. So, I may be up at 4am handing out hotel keys as our buses arrive. My right-hand man for many of these tours, Dan Mapp, is an excellent tour manager and has a lot of personal experience with the Monkees. I have learned from him never to freak out over all the many bumps we encounter. We must consider all possibilities of helping our friends do their best on and offstage.


When I wrote the original Monkees book 16 years ago, I had touring experience as a member of Dave Davies’ band (I was rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist). Still, the last ten years of touring with the Monkees has given me a deeper insight into their characters and informed me of the depth of their artistry. Now when I describe a song or session, it might very well be one I know every fiber of – from hearing the raw session tape to actually going through it chord by chord with the Monkees. This most recent tour even has me acting in the role of scratch vocalist, singing leads for the band or with Micky & Michael to work off of during soundcheck and rehearsals.

Yesterday, we were at a circular theatre (like the one in Head) and got into a discussion of the chords of “Papa Gene’s Blues” with Michael. His son, Christian, wondered if it was a Bm or B7 in the turnarounds. Michael explained it was a passing Bm and we corrected our charts. A similar thing happened years ago with “Listen To The Band.” Peter Tork was flummoxed that he’d been playing the wrong chords for several decades (in Nesmith’s absence).

The tide is turning and the shows are getting better and better as much of the rust from lockdown has been shaken off. And we are constantly trying to refine what we are doing. Michael hasn’t been playing guitar so far and is less mobile, but he is starting to stand up more and being on the road has given him a spring to his increasing steps.

The other night he told the audience in San Jose, “These concerts are life giving.” I think he was speaking for so many of us. His spirit is so different now that he made it out his front door. His performances of “While I Cry” are becoming a very special part of the shows. There is really something more personal and intense about the performances overall on this final Monkees tour.

I think it is clear to the audiences that more than anything we are all doing this tour because we want to. Our window is this window and this is a final wave goodbye. Last night onstage, Michael clasped his hands together in prayer as Micky sang “As We Go Along.” It was really a spiritual moment for a group of unlikely friends brought together in a surreal setting. The cyclical theme of Head and the Monkees’ quest to escape may have found an ending. They are at peace with what they created and the roles they played and the music they made.

On a more mundane note, because of motion sickness concerns, I had to help move the venue’s rotating stage by hand every four songs. Most days I am not heads in the cloud or soaking in the sights. I am usually figuring out placement of items onstage, what time Michael & Micky go on, booking air travel or collecting money for their business manager. It is a point of pride for me to look out for them. And suffice to say: the same guy who turns the stage for the fans will also make sure you get your books, no matter what. Thank you for your love and support as we near the conclusion of this remarkable story.

- Andrew Sandoval

Beatland Books

Andrew spins the stage in Phoenix, Arizona (Photo courtesy of Andrew Sandoval)

Portland, Oregon (9/12/21)

Sacramento, California (9/14/21)

San Jose, California (9/15/21)

(Photo by Chris Willman)

Hey Hey:

I wanted to write a very long open letter to my fellow Monkee fans about my current endeavors on the road with Michael Nesmith and Micky Dolenz. Let me be clear and upfront: this is a personal letter from me and I am not speaking as a representative of the Monkees. The ideas and thoughts expressed are purely my own.
​
We are on a farewell concert tour through November 2021. As you may know, it is part of a tour that was postponed from April 2020, what you don’t know is we originally planned a farewell tour for September and October 2020 that could only be announced after we fulfilled a promise to Rhino to promote the live album I produced. As time went on, the tour got moved due to Covid and compressed into one long final run.

It is really not in my comfort zone to open up in this way and tell you every last personal thing going on, but I am literally on my knees begging for some relief. Being out on tour is actually not my first choice right now. But out of an abundance of love for Micky & Michael and our band and crew - who have each struggled with different personal aspects of Covid life that only they should share - I am here to symbolically give them strength and support. And, as a result, I am in talk therapy to deal with the intense stress that organizing and reorganizing an effort such as this takes on me personally.

There is a campaign that I am quite aware of to “Save Michael Nesmith” – I talk about it with my therapist and my loved ones. The campaign has collected a list of incidents and unflattering pictures in an effort to expose individuals as being abusers of the great man. Unfortunately, I have seen this thread take on more of a “Shame Michael Nesmith” tone in recent days as he has finally reemerged publicly. I got a call from Nez this morning, he said: “Andrew, I am in bed and in tears over the terrible things people are saying about me online. You know it is very hard for me to move around right now and now I don’t even want to get out of bed.”

I am aware that some are saying: “Why did you even bring this poor man on the road in the first place?” Well, actually you are one of the reasons. I was paying attention to your posts saying he was a prisoner and not allowed to talk with his friends or family. I reached out to Nez regularly during Covid and he called me even more often. His recurring question directly to me was: “When can I go out and play?” I kept saying, “Nez, it is just not safe.” But the vaccine came and seemed like it would resolve the safety issues and I bowed to the desire to complete the tour dates we had. Furthermore, I felt it would be Nez’s opportunity to reconnect and directly communicate to his fans.

I am not sure about you, but during Covid I aged several years and gained a lot of extra weight. If you didn’t, I admire you! However, from reading some of the intensely critical posts about the guy of late, I question your motivations just as much as I sit and question my own. I DO want to do the right thing for the Monkees and their fans and it is more complex than you might imagine. Still, I know I am not perfect – no person is.

I visited Nez after I was vaccinated and found he was not in shape to walk or exercise much or even make music, but he did talk of his dream to “be with the band” and he never failed to display his brilliant wit. I believe that one of the things that got him through Covid’s dark days was the idea that he would once again be among the people who loved him and brought him light. I thought too this might resolve the whispers that he was cut off from everyone.

I visited him several more times and we played through his songs and his voice sounded as good as it did in 2019. I remain convinced of his talents and that is the basis of the mutual decision to do this farewell tour. Not the money, not our needs for exposure but rather a collective closure. I talked with his family, I spoke to his friends and they all thought having creative purpose might encourage Nez to find further years to share with us. It is as simple and difficult as that. Michael does not need the money and he only does what he likes. He is here because of a wish he communicated to many of us again and again.

The first show in Spokane was quite good. At least I thought so. I quickly read that Nez was being used as a mascot and sent out like a circus animal out of greed or malice. That is so very untrue. It is so very mean and it is so very hurtful – to Micky, the band, our families and everyone involved. Do you honestly think we are all that soulless and selfish? That not a one among us looks after or cares for his well-being? Social media has given us all a voice and the power to hurt one another. And right now, I and others are hurting.

By my nature, I am a caretaker and speaking up for myself is the last thing I want to do after a very tough childhood. I would rather be behind the scenes. All of Nez’s guitars are out with us on the road and he has played some, but he didn’t feel immediately up to doing it the first couple of nights. Last night before the show in Portland, his son Christian showed me his phone and one of the many posts made by concerned fans. He said, “Don’t they understand that my dad is 78-years-old?” I told him I couldn’t go there with him. I was struggling with all of the criticism and felt personally responsible. Whenever we laugh backstage with the band and Nez I think to myself: “Is this okay?”

Nez uses a teleprompter. It is called a Presidential and he really likes it. For the last 8 years he had an iPad that was too small and he had all of the chords and words squeezed to a single page. He got lost sometimes. Have you ever been onstage and forgotten what you were supposed to sing or say? I have. A teleprompter is actually a very professional device that nearly every major artist uses on tour. Some are better hidden than others. I have also sat with him in recent weeks and watched him sing and play his songs from memory flawlessly. But he doesn’t really feel comfortable doing that. He would much rather have the structure of the device.

Given everyone’s safety and the timing of our rehearsals, expectations must be tempered. Even my own expectations in asking the Monkees to perform obscurities that they only sung once in the studio in 1967 are on the edge and I acknowledge that. Every tour we go through this: we all have to study up even on the obvious songs as well as the new obscure ones. Last week I went line by line with them on “Love Is Only Sleeping.” They both wanted to sing parts. We had a lengthy process where we broke up the parts so they could each sing sections of the song (which is in two different time signatures). Then people online immediately said: “Look! They barely let Nez sing." Actually, he was involved in what parts he and Micky are singing.

Micky mentioned the feedback to me too. His first reaction was to ask to drop the obscure songs. He said, “Don’t these people understand we’ve only done two shows and we haven’t been onstage in two years?” I said that people felt it was their duty to call us out as though Nez was performing against his will. We both discussed the fact that Michael Nesmith has never done anything against his will. I have seen him leave tours and close the door when he felt it was best for him. That is his nature and it is to be expected and to be accepted.

Now I know there were a group of people who had greater interaction with him in the last ten years and felt unceremoniously dumped by him online and otherwise. You may never accept that the guy who played World of Warcraft with you changed or moved to a different phase of his life or let you slip through the cracks of his world. You can try to pin all of this on another individual, but basically Nez still picks and choses who he deals with and when he communicates. He also picks and choses what he eats, what he wears, when he shaves and how he wishes to be presented. It has been that way since the first time we spoke in 1991.

However, I DO know first-hand the hurt this group of people might feel. Very honestly, Nez and I have had a number of fallings out over the past 30 years. In 2014, I was dumped after making considerable sacrifices for him. He did not want me around at all. I walked away and said not a word. But I suffered emotionally for several years. We patched things up after enduring some horrible feelings. That is just real life.

I am glad I didn’t burn the bridge personally because it resulted in some key elements of Good Times! and the final show at the Pantages. Two-years-later he said to me, “You know, I knew we’d get back together at some point.” And if your accusation is that I personally profit off of Nez by trotting him out, I will tell you this: I set up his solo tours gratis as a matter of personal pride. I have worked tirelessly to prove something to the man: he is one of the greatest songwriters of his time. People DO love his solo music and they DO genuinely love the Monkees.

And that is why I am here to this day. It is that belief. You may doubt it, you may want proof. You may want to know why he is sitting, why he slouched once, why he mumbled, why he jumbled. He is under such scrutiny when all he wants is to share his soul and his remarkable voice. Can you imagine how hard it is to be in his sparkle shoes right now? He has taken a leap of faith to challenge himself and to be vulnerable. You can kick him while he’s down or you can try to lift him up. That is your choice.

Nez has chosen his time to say goodbye to the Monkees. If you feel safe to join us we hope you respect our safety, because we certainly care about yours (which is why I postponed and cancelled some tour dates). And if you don’t feel safe, we respect that too. We are all taking a risk in an attempt to move forward with our lives. It is hard. It hurts and it will be this way for some time. But there is a positive light ahead. Last night was their best show yet. People got up and danced. And before the show, Nez made me laugh. I am working on myself to help others and enjoy being here one last time. Maybe you will read my words and know they are sincere.

Much love to you all – each and every one of you – let this music be your music.

Goodbye, Goodbye, Goodbye.