This month’s guest interviewer is Jean Artt of Preble, Indiana, age 15.
Mike Permalink
1. What is your motto?
“Save the Texas Prairie Chicken,” of course!
2. What type of boy do you want Christian to become?
I hope he learns all he can as early as he can and then applies it to good means. I hope he is a free-thinking individual and a leader in his time.
3. What do you think of the Monkees show that was shot in Paris? It was different from the others you’ve done.
I was delighted with that show. All the Monkees are eager to try new and different approches [sic] to television and I think our Paris show was a rather successful attempt. I only hope we can do more like that. Anyway, it was a ball to film!
4. Should Micky keep his hair curly?
Micky should do exactly as he likes. Like Peter, I think the word “should” implies a moral standard. I like to think for myself.
5. Describe your type of girl.
In one word, Phyllis.
Davy Permalink
1. Do you think Sally Field is the happiness you’ve been looking for?
Well, Sally and I are no longer dating. You might say we each heard the “beat of a different drum” and decided to go our separate ways. We are still friends, though. So, to answer your question, it was a gas dating Sally, she’s a great girl, but the long-time, get-married type happiness hasn’t found me yet.
2. What do you think is the proper age for marriage and the limit of children?
The proper age for marriage is when two people in love are ready to face life together forever. I don’t believe in divorce, so I believe you have to be old enough to forsee [sic] the problems you’ll have to face and know that the two of you will be able to meet them and stay happy. As for children, I, personally would like to have two or three of my own and then adopt a few.
3. I have short blond hair, blue eyes and I’m 15 and I’m five feet tall. If you met me on the street and thought I was groovy how would you get acquainted with me?
You’d think that with all the girls I work with and meet I’d be very at ease around them. The truth is, in a case like you described, I get very shy. Somehow I lose my confidence and just can’t walk up to a person and start a conversation.
4. Who thought of the name, “The Monkees”?
When Bert Schneider and Bob Rafelson were conceiving the idea of a half-hour TV show about a struggling rock group, the name The Monkees just came along with all the other ideas.
5. For this last question, will you just talk about anything you’re interested in at the moment?
Sure. I’ve been spending a lot of time working on my house lately and I’m anxiously awaiting my big pool table from England. The recording studio in my garage is slowly being put together and I just finished carpeting my dog Susie’s dog house.
Peter Permalink
1. When boys started letting their hair grow long, what did you think of it at first?
About that time my hair was already long and I thought it was fine, since I began to get hasseled [sic] less.
2. Do you think girls go for your Monkee hair cut, your singing, your cute dimple or just your remarkable personality?
I hope that my fans are particularly interested in thinking for themselves and perhaps admire that quality in me. It’s a quality I admire in others and I appreciate it when it is recognized in me.
3. Is it true you saw George Harrison when you were in London?
Yes. I saw George again and we had some great conversations. He showed me the “Magical Mystery Tour” film which is fantastic and then he asked me to play banjo on one of the tracks from the film score (Wonderwall) he was working on. It was a great thrill and he was a great person to work with.
4. Did the publicity about Karen and her baby, Justin, bother you?
I thought it was rather silly since the press made such a big thing out of nothing. To set the record straight, Karen and her husband, Bob, and their son Justin live at my house in Hollywood. I have known them for years and we are all very close.
5. If you had the power to read minds, would you use it or not?
I think everyone has the power to read minds to an extent. You can pick up vibrations from people by looking at them and listening to what they have to say. If you think carefully about what you see and hear, it’s almost like mind reading.
Micky Permalink
1. Are you in favor of marriage?
Of course, when the time is right.
2. If you could describe Coco in one word, what would the word be?
Wonderful.
3. If you picked a certain city in the United States, where would it be?
I don’t exactly know what you mean by “pick a city.” To live it would be Los Angeles. To play a concert, it would be a hundred different wonderful places with great audiences. To visit like a tourist I love San Francisco and New York.
4. Since you’ve hardly mentioned Gina in any of the magazines, what is she like, how old is she and what do you think of her?
My seven-year-old sister, Gina, like my other sisters, is an absolute doll. She’s a Monkee fan and sometimes she writes little notes to the other guys and I give them to Davy, Peter and Mike. She writes me notes too and I write back. When I’m home we always play great games like I’m the monster chasing Gina and Debbie. I have as much fun as the girls. Lately I’ve been taking pictures of her every time I go home and some of them are outasite.
5. Do you think hillbilly music will become hit music in the near future?
I really don’t think so in the near future. What I think will happen is that country music, in time, will influence pop and other forms of music, just as all music influences the different branches. Country music has had its influence—take a look at the songs Ringo sings on the Beatle albums—very country. Also, on our last album Mike used an electric steel guitar which has always been looked upon as a country music instrument.
