Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Micky Dolenz Without the Monkees

I freely admit that I like the Monkees.  Okay, so they weren't the Beatles or the Stones.  They were a band put together for a tv show, but I think they grew into quite a good band.  You could even say that their tv show had the earliest musical videos.
Ironically, it was a music video channel that reignited MonkeeMania.  Years after they had gone their separate ways, MTV made the Monkees popular again by airing a Monkees Marathon.  Since then, the Monkees have continued to perform on and off in various combinations of the original four.
I had the pleasure of meeting Micky Dolenz for the second time last August.  Both times, Dolenz was very nice, polite and easy-going, but he wasn't nearly as crazy as I thought he would be.
I know the character of Micky on the tv show was just that, a character, but I have seen Dolenz in plenty of interviews and other tv shows and he always comes off as goofy, funny, silly etc.  I haven't met that guy yet though.I have no complaints about Dolenz though.  It was still a thrill to meet one of my earliest musical favorites.
Micky Dolenz and me in Rosemont, IL-August 2010.

5 comments:

Hackenbush said...

I think the Monkees music, at least the best of it, is underrated. Nice pic of you and Mickey. He's got a bit of a Jack Nicholson vibe going on.

Johngy said...

I have met him twice and he has been pretty subdued each time. I didn't expect crazy Micky from the show, but he was almost regal-like in his mannerisms (although not in a snooty way). He was completely pleasant, but different from what I expected.

Jim from Downingtown said...

For years we sere sold the idea that the Monkees were "America's answer to the Beatles".

In fact, they were more like "America's answer to Hermans Hermits". Consider: the pop, the fluff, the not-playing-on-your-own-recordings. Davy Jones even has the same Manchester accent as Peter Noone.

Don't get me wrong - I like the Monkees, but "America's Beatles"? C'mon now.

Johngy said...

Jim,
Excellent points and I can't really argue. Thanks for stopping by.
By the way, you're not too far from Global Traveler headquarters in Yardley (about an hour).

Timothy said...

They're not America's answer to any British group—they're The Monkees, their own separate entity. Their sitcom was absolutely superb, ahead of its time. Their show could potentially be compared to Monty Python's Flying Circus in its absurdity. And I was disappointed when their show was cancelled in 1968.