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In this video, Circe Link, Christian Nesmith, Alex Jules, and Coco Dolenz harmonize on the Beatles classic "Nowhere Man" before the show at the Bob Hope Theatre in Stockton, California on June 8. They are joined for some comic relief by John Billings:
Were there any particular records or films that inspired the album? Sean Lennon: Les got a telepathic communication from Buzz Aldrin. Les Claypool: A big inspiration was us sitting down and watching the Monkees' Head. Sean Lennon: Head is, like, my bible. Any project or important thought I've ever had was inspired by Head. We were talking about the amazing revelation that Buzz [Aldrin] revealed on C-SPAN. He said, "There's a monolith on Phobos with a tiny, potato-shaped moon that's revolving around Mars." It's the most mind-blowing thing I've ever seen on television. We were just hanging out watching that video, and Les came back the next day with a full song about it.  (Image by SirQ and shared with the Live Almanac)  Warwick Hotel in New York City during the 1967 summer tour (From "The Monkees '67 Concerts Photo Album")  Janis Joplin and Peter Tork at Monterey (Photo by Michael T. Denham)  The Monkees check out "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" while filming the episode "It's a Nice Place to Visit")
The Beatles community is celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and REBEAT helps us find Nez during the sessions for the iconic track, "A Day in the Life":
In June 1968, Davy attended a Beatles recording session for "Revolution" with Lulu, who opened The Monkees' shows at Wembley in June/July 1967.  “I’d met George when he was visiting Cass Elliot in Los Angeles, and I was dating Cass’s sister, Leah,” Peter Tork says. “Later, the Monkees met the Beatles in England, and he invited me to his house. He played the sitar and said: ‘I’m working on a soundtrack album, I’d love to have you play a little banjo.’” Tork had travelled without his instrument, so Harrison borrowed McCartney’s five-string banjo for the session – “which Paul couldn’t play – at least conventionally, because the folk five-string banjo can’t be restrung in reverse order for left-handers, it must be custom made. I played for 45 minutes, George said, ‘Thanks very much,’ and we went our separate ways.” Tork’s breezy contribution didn’t make the record, but it can be heard 15 minutes into the film, after Collins is chided by his mother for spying through the wall. “And I did not get paid,” he laughs. “George said: ‘We’ll figure that out later.’ He knew that the honour itself was payment enough!”  Peter Tork on his fellow Monkees: “Well, I’ve never been really close with Michael [Nesmith] for some reason. You know, I have a lot of respect for him and admiration. But somehow we’ve never integrated. We’ve never been warm with each other. We worked together and did pretty well at it really. But Micky on the other hand, I enjoy hugely. We have some very good times together. We laugh a lot. We pay attention to what each other is doing on stage and so there’s communication there. Micky’s always been a lot of fun.” Tork then shares a warm sentiment on his late friend, Davy Jones, who passed away at age 66 back in 2012. “Who I miss is Davy of course. Davy is the guy who…I’ve always said I loved, liked and respected [the band members] in different proportions but Davy actually kinda got my heart.” Micky and Peter talk about their friendship with The Beatles, and Ringo Starr in particular: Both Monkees seem to agree on their favorite Beatle: “I would say by far the person I spent the most time with probably would have been Ringo,” Dolenz shares. “He moved out to L.A. and spent a lot of time there in the 70’s and we had a lot of mutual friends like Harry Nilsson, the singer/songwriter. I also spent time with John and Paul.” Tork is quick to share on his affection for good old Ringo: “He is my favorite Beatle. It truly was Ringo that I found to be the most open and human.”
Ric Klein was Micky's stand-in on The Monkees television show and can be seen frequently in the background or as an extra on the series. Ric also acted as stage manager for The Monkees when the group was on tour in the '60s, and was the best man when Micky married Samantha Juste in July 1968. He co-wrote "Bye Bye Baby Bye Bye" with Micky, too, a song that appeared on The Monkees Present album in 1969.  (From the November 1967 issue of Flip - click each image to enlarge)    Thanks to JD McCutcheon of Monkee45s for sharing this with the Live Almanac!  (Both articles courtesy of KLRA Beat Archive - click each to enlarge)  |
Remembering
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