A Tiger Beat Monthly Column
The Monkees write to YOU… by Davy, Peter, Mike and Micky
Davy talking: Permalink
It’s hard to have a girlfriend if you’re a Monkee. You may not believe it, but Micky, Peter, and I can’t have a simple girl-boy relationship as easily as most of the regular boys in high school.
In the first place if we should get interested in a certain girl, right away she’s up for a lot of publicity and often some very unkind things are said about her in print. She’s put down by some fans and critics and all of a sudden the poor girl is getting knocked right and left. Most girls won’t put up with this so there goes one more fun relationship out the window.
There’s very little time to date when you’re a Monkee, as I’ve said many times before, so it’s more likely that you’ll meet many different girls and go out on one or two dates without getting serious over anyone. This is the way it has to be for all of us, unless, of course, the girl in our lives is totally understanding about the other demands upon our time.
We’ve been put down for having too many girls on the set when we work, but I don’t think this is quite fair. We enjoy having girls around whether they’re fans or personal friends. It’s important to us to get a girl’s reaction over our songs and performances. And it makes everything more fun. Also, there’s a certain excitement when girls are around that just plain isn’t there when you have a film crew working all alone without anyone watching.
Since we’ve been together, Micky, Peter, and I have all had quite a few different girlfriends. With each of these girls we shared a great deal of fun and understanding and we hope that their experiences with us proved valuable in many ways. When we go to choose a wife, it’ll be these experiences that help us know when the right person comes along.
The one thing that stands out most in my mind about Mike and Phyllis’ marriage is the fact that even though they love each other and are married, Phyllis is still Mike’s girlfriend. The fun and excitement of their relationship has never seemed to wear off. I hope this is the way it will be with me when I finally get the chance to marry. In the meantime, I hope all of you will learn to like our choices as girlfriends because they really do make our lives much happier.
David Jones
Micky talking: Permalink
How old are you? To me, it really doesn’t matter, because if you’re reading my column chances are pretty good that you like the Monkees. But it seems to make a big difference to some of our fans. They don’t think that someone nine or ten should be a fan of the Monkees. They think you should be a teenager to like the Monkees and to buy our records or watch our TV show.
So many fans have asked me what I thought about this that I just had to answer. I hope the people who like us number in age from one to 100. Does this surprise you? Well, I hope it doesn’t because we just try to be entertaining. We don’t limit ourselves to any particular age group. If you are seven or eleven or sixteen and you come up to me and ask me for my autograph, I’m not going to turn you down because you’re not the right age to be a fan.
I’m glad preteeners like the Monkees, just as I’m glad that teenagers like us. In our music we are trying to do different things that will appeal to everyone in one sense or other. Some songs you may like better than others because they appeal to your age group more. But this is fine with us. We hope we find something for all our fans to enjoy.
As far as younger kids go, I guess you’d have to say I’m sort of turned on by them. My younger sisters right now are really interesting because they don’t think like someone my age. When we get together to talk, I learn all kinds of weird things that I never would have thought of before if I hadn’t talked to them. They give me all sorts of ideas.
One thing I think is wrong is thinking that one age group is all you can have anything to do with. There’s no reason freshmen and seniors can’t get along in a school just as well as people in a similar grade. It’s groovy to know what people of all age groups think even if they can’t be our closest friends. We have to have respect for one another no matter what our ages might be.
So, anyway, I hope all of you will keep liking the Monkees no matter what age group you’re in.
Peace
Micky Dolenz
Peter talking: Permalink
So you don’t like school! Well, I guess that makes two of us. But don’t jump to any conclusions. There are some very groovy things about school even if you have to search very hard for them.
You’ve all heard the story about how I flunked out of college. It’s true, but at that time I just wasn’t very interested in getting an education. There were other things I wanted to do so I did them.
But I sure would have been sorry if I felt the same way about my high school education. Fortunately, things went smoothly there. Now, if you feel like tossing in the towel and quitting school before you get your high school diploma, it isn’t up to me to tell you what to do. Each person has to make up his own mind. But I will say this. You’d better think pretty hard about such a decision because it will change your life.
Parents have a hard time understanding about school because today’s classes are more difficult and time consuming than the classes they had to take. I guess the classes most of you have right now are even much harder than the ones I took when I was in school.
If you don’t like school and can’t think of anything good about it, try to find a reason for your being there besides the fact you are required to. For instance, you may hate a subject like geometry or algebra, but if it teaches you to concentrate on one thing, then it’s groovy. You see I have to work very hard sometimes on my music or the show and whether you think so or not, being a Monkee isn’t always as glamorous as you think. Anyway, I’m glad for those subjects in school that taught me some concentration.
Then there’re your friends. Once you’re out of school it won’t be easy to find something to do where you’re surrounded by as many good friends as you are right now. I’ll bet if you sit down right this minute and start making a list of the reasons you do dig school, they’d be pretty long. Hey, if you do this, how about sending them to me c/o Tiger Beat, 1800 North Highland Ave., Hollywood, Calif. 90028. If you come up with some groovy ones, I’ll do another column on school and publish some of your suggestions.
Peter Tork
Mike talking: Permalink
Has anyone ever accused you of being a “Tom Boy?” If they have, I guess you’re not the only one, because a few columns back when I asked you to write me, many of you asked what I thought about Tom Boys.
Well, to really tell the truth, I’ve never thought much about them either way. When I was very little there were lots of girls who could fit into that category, but as I grew up most of them sort of got more and more feminine and stopped playing any of the games they used to.
It’s kind of hard to know whether there really is such a thing as a Tom Boy because girls mature at all different times. I think a girl who’s out playing lawn football every day at the age of 16 might be called a Tom Boy. But I sure don’t think it’s wrong for a girl to want to play a sport like that once in awhile no matter how old she is.
Girls can be very feminine and still like to put on old levis and get themselves messed up. I think it’s pretty phony when a girl begins thinking so much about herself that she can’t bring herself to do anything except sit and look pretty.
I think a Tom Boy is actually a girl who doesn’t like to do anything that girls are supposed to like. For instance, if she doesn’t like to dance, use makeup, experiment around with hairstyles, try on new clothes, read fashion magazines, learn to cook or sew, or do any of the things girls are supposed to like, but does love sports, wearing dirty old clothes and generally rough houseing around all the time, then she certainly is a Tom Boy.
Is it so bad? Permalink
Since I don’t like extremes in anything, I’d have to say that this kind of girl is on the wrong track if she keeps this up until she’s way up in her teens. A little of this goes a long way with boys.
But I do think a girl can be kind of a Tom Boy and still keep her femininity. In fact, this is the kind of girl I really prefer. She’s sweet, feminine, and quiet, but occasionally she doesn’t mind getting out and having a ball, either doing some kind of sport or just generally letting her hair down and having fun.
I can’t tell any of you whether it’s better to be a Tom Boy or not. But what I can tell you is to just be yourself and do the things that make you feel most natural. If you do this there’s nothing to worry about because the boys you want to meet will like you for yourself.
Mike Nesmith
