 #76 "To create their 50th-anniversary LP Good Times!, the Monkees turned creative control over to lifelong fans of the group, like producer Adam Schlesinger and songwriters like Rivers Cuomo, Paul Weller, and Noel Gallagher. The result is, improbably enough, the greatest album of the 2010s by a Sixties band, highlighted by the achingly gorgeous love ballad 'Me & Magdalena,' by Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard. The voices of Michael Nesmith and Micky Dolenz blend together as perfectly as they did in the Sixties. And now with decades of wisdom and tough loss underneath their glossy exterior (beloved members Peter Tork and Davy Jones are no longer with us), they somehow mean more than ever." —Andy Greene
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Earlier this afternoon, Rolling Stone magazine's website published an interview with Michael Nesmith conducted by Andy Greene. In it, Nez speaks openly about a wide array of topics and people, including the post-Monkees days with Red Rhodes, his relationships with Peter Tork and Davy Jones, touring with Micky Dolenz in early 2020, the scope of The Monkees' legacy today, the recently issued Cosmic Partners live album from 7a Records, and much more:  UPDATE: Rolling Stone followed-up their interview with Nez by putting the spotlight on the opening track of his 1972 album, And the Hits Just Keep on Comin':
Zilch host Ken Mills welcomes Videoranch's Ed Heffelfinger and 7a Records co-founder Glenn Gretlund as they talk about 7a's Cosmic Partners - The McCabe's Tapes, available this Friday on CD and vinyl. And, a special guest turns up - Michael Nesmith himself! 
Al Bigley and Alan Williams are back with a packed episode, speaking with Jerry Blavat, who guested on the second season episode "Some Like It Lukewarm," and Peter Rafelson, son of Monkees co-creator Bob Rafelson. Plus, the duo catch up with Jodi Ritzen who talks about the upcoming Dolenz/Nesmith 2020 tour, along with much more!
Last year, The Monkees released Christmas Party, the group's first collection of holiday songs. This past September, the album made its debut on vinyl. And now, an official trailer for the LP was just uploaded on The Monkees' YouTube channel!  Pete Finney and Michael Nesmith at Lobero Theatre, Santa Barbara, California (Photo by Paul Wellman) And here's some footage from the recent run of concerts by Nez and the First National Band Redux at the Fremont Theater in San Luis Obispo, California, thanks to Lisa Duclo:  (Photo by Henry Diltz)  Nez & FNB silkscreened poster (Image courtesy of Jodi Ritzen) "White Album" tribute tour, co-starring Micky Dolenz, opens this weekend in Atlantic City (UPDATED)9/18/2019  (Photo courtesy of GLASS ONYON PR) "It Was Fifty Years Ago Today," a tribute to The Beatles' White Album, co-starring Micky Dolenz, Christopher Cross, and Todd Rundgren, is currently in rehearsals and will debut this Saturday in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The articles linked below take a closer look inside the presentation of the upcoming tour, songs you can expect Micky to sing, along with notable quotes about potential future projects and releases. And if you are attending one of these special shows, be on the look out for longtime Monkees touring guitarist and musical director, Wayne Avers, who will be playing in the band! Will 'The Monkees Present the Mike & Micky Show' return? Absolutely, Dolenz enthuses, although there’s "nothing on the books" at the moment. This is Dolenz’s second high-priority project this year. The first was his first-ever teaming with fellow Monkee Michael Nesmith on a worldwide tour last year. The trek was interrupted after Nesmith suffered health issues, but resumed this year. Before the end of the year expect to see a live recording via Rhino Records. Following the [White Album] tour, look for a Dolenz-fronted reprise of his 'A Little Bit Broadway, A Little Bit Rock & Roll' show in New York City. Dolenz added that as far as he’s concerned, when it comes to rock drummers, no one supersedes [Ringo] Starr. "Ringo was the greatest," he insisted. "I mean, my God, he almost defined rock drumming in the ‘60s." Dolenz isn't giving away his selections yet and will only say "I'm very happy with what I ended up with." His own view of The White Album meanwhile, is it "was pretty unique in many ways. It was very diversified, as you know, so it's hard to say. There was so much good stuff. Frankly I was just always a big Beatles fan. I loved every album and listened to them religiously." "The Monkees were preparing to go on tour in England in 1967, and I went over by myself, first, to do some early press junkets," says Dolenz. "One of the publicists who worked with both us and the Beatles thought it might be great to get a photo of me together with them, as there had been some bullshit competition between us that never truly existed. Something stupid." McCartney must have caught wind of this, and wound up calling Dolenz personally, and invited him over for dinner. "Just he and I — and our handlers — having a casual chat. I ran into him a few years ago during his rehearsal for Coachella, and he remembered everything about the dinner… down to watching television."  Micky Dolenz "really looking forward to" White Album tribute tour with Todd Rundgren and other stars Among the White Album songs Dolenz will be performing are “Rocky Raccoon” and “Yer Blues,” plus two or three more. He says “Rocky Raccoon” stands out for him because it was “one of the songs I would sing my little kids as a lullaby.” As for his own songs, he says he’ll probably be singing the Monkees hits “I’m a Believer” and “Pleasant Valley Sunday.”  (Click the image above for tour dates and ticket links)  Peter Fonda and Micky Dolenz on the set of "Head" in 1968 (Photo by Henry Diltz) Rarely seen coverage and photos of The Monkees at Tampa, Florida's Curtis Hixon Hall in 19698/2/2019 In 2014 the former president of The Monkees Unofficial Fan Club (published in the early 1980s), Michael Luciano, passed along images and newspaper articles to the Live Almanac from his private collection that documented The Monkees' appearance at Curtis Hixon Hall on August 1, 1969. Yesterday, in honor of the 50th anniversary of that particular concert, I shared the post from 2014 on the Live Almanac's Facebook page, which generated considerable attention. And now, Michael has been kind enough to provide the Live Almanac with more exclusive coverage of this show, starting with this piece originally published on August 7, 1969 in the St. Petersburg Times:  (Click to enlarge) Also from the August 7, 1969 issue of the St. Petersburg Times is a photo of Micky Dolenz performing in Tampa:  And thanks to Michael, we can enjoy this wonderful photo of Davy Jones onstage with the band that supported The Monkees in 1969, Sam & The Goodtimers:  Finally, here's a photo of fans and the crowd assembled at Curtis Hixon Hall:  Thank you very much to Michael Luciano for sharing these fantastic pieces from his collection with The Monkees Live Almanac!!
A candid Micky Dolenz appeared on national radio talk program The Larry King Show with guest host Becky Bailey in February 1987. Micky talks about The Monkees' revival, his acting career, an upcoming guest appearance on The Mike Hammer Show, and much more. Thanks to Al Bigley of the Texas Prairie Chicken Home Companion Podcast for uploading this rarely heard radio interview!
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 Note: The set lists for the shows in Perth and Sydney were identical to the set performed in Melbourne. Live at The Palais Theatre, Melbourne, AustraliaLive at the Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia:
Micky Dolenz and Michael Nesmith continue their current tour of Australia tomorrow with a show at the Palais Theatre in Melbourne, Australia. Micky and Peter Tork performed at the Palais in late 2016, and the venue was also the source of Michael's 1978 album, Live at The Palais.
And for those inquiring, the set lists for all shows Down Under after opening night in Christchurch, New Zealand on June 8 have remained the same. (Check out the Christchurch set list here.) Thanks to Andrew Sandoval for confirming these details!
"With Micky and me, it was love at first sight," says Nez. "We just clicked and we'd always be making silly jokes. We'd joke that one day we'd do the Mike and Micky Show – and here we are."  (Photo by Sherri Hansen) Michael Nesmith and Micky Dolenz continue to promote their current tour in Australia, this time with an appearance on The Weekly with Charlie Pickering. Review of "The Mike & Micky Show" in Brisbane, Australia + Louie Shelton makes guest appearance6/13/2019
Brisbane, Australia (Photo by Linda Groundwater)
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