Monkees fans were probably ecstatic when they heard that the band is slated to tour for the first time since 1997.
Sadly, due to the untimely demise of Davey Jones, the musicians will have to give it the old college try since the "DayDream Believer" won't be on-hand to shake his - um - tambourine during the duration of the much-anticipated tour.
I expect that without the charismatic English Pop Star up-front, that there will be a big gaping hole smack dab in the middle of the stage at each venue, eh?
A favorite song of mine that Mr. Jones once crooned?
I want to be Free!
Of course, I was a boy coming-of-age when the Monkees first popped up on the old boob tube cleverly packaged in a hilarious TV sitcom rife with odd-the-wall jokes, looney-tune sight gags, you name it.
I used to dash home from school every precious day to catch each-and-every episode.
You betcha!
There was a definite rivalry between Monkees fans and the Beatles "die-hards" during that musical era known as the British invasion, I recall.
Some kids felt that the young upstarts out of Hollywood were just a manufactured band.
Well, sort-a, kind-a!
Micky Dolenz, one of the band members, described the creation of the "Monkees" this way.
"The Monkees was a TV show about an imaginary band that wanted to be The Beatles that was never supposed to be successful," he noted earnestly, one day for the record.
"For the Monkees to become an actual band - shortly after it went into production - was the equivalent of Leonard Nimoy becoming a Vulcan," he mused later in so many words in an afterthought at a press junket.
It was because a lot of butting of heads with studio execs (and taking an artistic stand) that the likeable actor-musicians - Mickey Dolenz, Mike Nesmith, Peter Tork, and Davey Jones - were able to eventually transform their tight-knit group - as if by magic - into a real band.
At a screening of "Head" - a Monkees movie that sought to squelch their squeaky-clean plastic image in the music industry (Jack Nicolson was a power-player in their corner who helped orchestrate the sly effort) Dolenz spilled his guts about the reality of the Hollywood studio "dream factory" behind-the-scenes as it directly related to the Monkees (and their fake TV band).
In fact, articulate Dolenz spat up his guts - and gave the rapt audience an insider-peek - about the whole Monkees phenomenon.
Post: 12/15/2007
http://ijulian.blogspot.com/2007/12/edgar-wrightgives-us-head-at-screening.html
Obviously, the alleged rivalry with the Beatles was a clever publicity stunt designed to catapult the Monkees further into the stratosphere once they were in the glare of the public eye and racking up frenzied fans around the face of the Globe.
In the final analysis?
The Monkees weren't as talented - or as uniquely charismatic - as the Fab Four!
But, if Dolenz has his way, the band will never slip into oblivion (or become a footnote in music history) in spite of the odds.
Uh-huh!
A case in point?
In the fall, the Monkees are slated to kick off a 12-city tour which launches in Escondido (November 8th) with gigs to follow in Santa Barbara (November 9th) and at the legendary Greek Theatre (November 10th).
For many, it will be like an acid flashback, just betcha!
See 'ya there.
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