Hey hey: Old-timers "monkee" around State News (Michigan State Univ.), East Lansing, MI July 24, 1997 by Charlie Garden This man is no monkey. Well, technically, he IS a Monkee--referring, of course, to America's answer to the "Hard Day's Night" era Beatles, which stormed the airwaves of NBC-TV in September 1966. But when I spoke via phone with Davy Jones one Wednesday night, what really clicked was that Jones is a truly friendly and thoughtful guy. This was no simple social call. Jones was calling to tell me how the group---he, Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork, minus Michael Nesmith---are launching a US tour, which started in Phoenix July 19. I was blown away by his openness as he described the "prefab" four's latest adventure. The conversation went something like this: State News: Tell me a little about the tour. Davy Jones: Micky, Peter, and I just got done in Phoenix, and we'll be headed to the East Coast for about 6-8 weeks, touring pretty much straight through the summer. SN: What's the stage show like this time around? DJ: There's a great band backing us on this tour. We've got lots of stuff to choose from when it comes to what we'll be playing. There'll be a lot of material from "Justus" [which all four Monkees turned out in 1996] and from "HEAD" [their 1968 feature film, written by Jack Nicholson]. Each show is about 3 hours, and we each get the chance to do a solo segment of our own material. The Monkees are all about entertaining. It's all about the show up there. SN: The Monkees have been criticized for not playing their own instruments. Do you three play on stage? DJ: Yes, we do. Each guy plays many of their own instruments, in addition to the backup band. SN: Do you ever do that song "Girl" that you sang on "The Brady Bunch"? DJ: I've been known to. (laughs) SN: Where's Mike Nesmith? DJ: Mike did 14 stadium shows with us in England [where the band was before starting the US tour]. Mike's always been the odd man out. He's limited as a musician and doesn't have that much of his own stuff to perform on stage. Even when we were doing the show, Mike didn't contribute a lot. There could have been a broomstick wearing a wool hat and it would have been as exciting as him. He didn't do much, he really just filled up space on stage. Mike never exactly blew the charts into chaos. He's not what you would call a team player. But he's definitely an interesting character. SN: What's it like being back out on tour with Micky and Peter again? DJ: We're closer on stage than we ever were during the show. That was just a job; it's not like we hung out with each other or were great buddies or anything. We were, and still are, working actors doing a show. The Monkees have gone from A to B and back again, and if we're any closer, it's because we've been there together. SN: Thanks for your time. I have to admit, I don't get many calls at home from rock stars. DJ: No problem! I'm not out to be untouchable. The Monkees have had a hit show, which in large part lead to the creation of music videos, MTV and all of that stuff. Besides, my father always used to say, "The bigger they are, the nicer they are." SN: What's the one thing you want people to know about the Monkees' tour? DJ: We're sheer fun on stage and it's a great show, which I think people really respond to. That's all!