A Tiger Beat Monthly Column
The Monkees write to YOU… by Davy, Peter, Mike and Micky
Davy talking: Permalink
So many of you have written me asking about hippies that I want to answer you in this column. First of all I don’t think I really know what a hippie is actually. I don’t like calling groups of people by certain names because no one is alike and one name sort of implies that you are.
None of us is a hippie. At least we don’t think we are. We do dig love beads and many of the peaceful principles some of the hippies stand for, but as far as belonging to any set group or doing any type of set activity, we just don’t. We are basically entertainers and almost all of our time is spent working to improve ourselves professionally.
There are a lot of so called hippies on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood. As you know, my house is right above the street so I do see them a lot and some of them I know personally. Most of them are very interesting people, at least the ones I know. They seem friendly and we laugh and talk back and forth when I’m down on the Strip.
They’ve been criticized for being dirty. Maybe some of them are. I really don’t know. But there are untidy people in all walks of life, so here again I don’t think any label should be put on these people. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not defending hippies. I just think that each of us deserves the right to individuality and to be judged on our own merits and not those of a group.
One girl wrote in and told me she thought I was dressing like a hippie. It really surprised me because outside of wearing love beads I haven’t changed the way I dress at all. Maybe she meant my rajah coats, but whatever she meant, I just want you to know that I dress like Davy Jones and no one else I can think of.
The other point I wanted to make is that none of us is really very different than we were when we started out in the Monkees. We’ve just gotten two years older. If you don’t believe me, just turn back the clock and look at yourselves two years ago. I’ll bet you’ve changed a lot, too!
David Jones
Micky talking: Permalink
My secret fear is getting up in the morning and not really wanting to do anything. You see, I just can’t imagine what living would be like if I didn’t have a dozen or more things that I wanted to do in one day.
Life has always been very exciting for me and even when I’m not working on my career I can think of so many other things to do. Before the Monkees came along I was seriously thinking of becoming an architect. And you know something, I might still even do it someday.
There’s one word that really scares me in the English language and that’s the word, “bored.” Just think how boring someone is if he’s bored. What that really means is that he can’t think of anything to do so he’s got to be in pretty bad shape if this happens. That’s why I say it scares me to just think of getting up some morning and not be able to think of anything to do. Wow!
I’m not much of a planner for the future. I just sort of let things happen. Sometimes I’ll get up in the morning, find out I don’t have to work or report to a night recording session, so I get in my car and just drive away to a groovy place and stay all day doing what I want to do. Most of the time I like to be with someone, but not always. Sometimes I’ll go by myself. Once I went to a very isolated beach all alone and lay on the sand all day listening quietly to the ocean. I don’t think I ever got this relaxed before. I’ve always wanted to do this again, but I haven’t had the chance to do it yet.
My Mom has always said that if I’d relax a little more often and not have so many things to do all the time, that maybe I’d gain some weight. She’s probably right, but for right now I don’t think it matters that much. When I’m older I’ll probably get fat enough without having to worry much about it.
Some people have accused me of not paying attention to them when they speak to me. Maybe this is true because there are so many things popping through my mind all the time that it’s hard to pay attention to much else. I’m trying to work on this and give all my attention to the person who’s talking to me.
Hope you have a groovy month. I’ll see you soon.
Peace
Micky Dolenz
Mike talking: Permalink
I don’t like to talk about myself. I don’t think I’m that interesting and I don’t really think fans want to know that much about me. A lot of times I’ll get mail addressed to me and in it will be a letter for Davy with a short note to me asking if I’ll please get this letter to Davy as they know he gets so much mail he’ll probably never see it.
This doesn’t hurt my feelings or anything like that. I kind of like it that I’m not the most popular Monkee. I’ve got my family and my extra work and if I did have to answer a lot of fan mail I just wouldn’t have the time.
Also, these girl interviewers who badger us with questions all the time can really get you down. I’ve told Ann Moses a thousand times that when she can think of some interesting questions to ask me, I’ll answer them willingly. But she’d better not chase me around the set trying to get me to list my hates and loves. This turns me off very quickly.
I do believe that my fans want to hear my opinions on certain things and these things I’ll talk about but I’m not going to bore myself and my fans talking about my favorite foods and things like this. Fans want to know about putting together Monkee songs and working on the show. Also hobbies like buying boats and taking trips. These things are interesting and fun to talk about, but me, I’m just not that fascinating.
Then there’s my family. I can’t tell anything very interesting about them either. We have a wonderful life together and I love them very much and outside of that I’m not going to reveal Phyllis’ hates and loves either. If she wants to then that’s her business. But personally I think she has better things to do.
I don’t want to sound ungrateful to magazines and newspapers who do print stories about us, but I just want you to know that when I talk about something that gets printed I want it to be something worth your while to read and understand. Not a bunch of dull copy. So I hope you’ll understand now why more stories probably aren’t printed about me.
Mike Nesmith
Peter talking: Permalink
I’ve been putting off writing this for many months but I guess I’ll just have to break down and state my case. What is my ideal girl like? Well, I’ll tell you.
She’s very much like you IF she’s completely herself in every way. By this I mean she can have long hair, short hair, be thin, fat, or tall. But she’s got to know who she is in every way, or at least be searching to find out. She must want something out of life and be willing to work hard to get it. She has to depend on herself and more than anything else, she must like herself.
Right now there are many girls in my life who fit this description. They are warm, natural, understanding people who think about themselves as people, not just as girls. Too often I’ve seen girls fall back on their femininity as the basis for their lives. This doesn’t work. You’ve got to be a real person before you can be truly feminine, especially in the eyes of someone else.
A girl’s looks are important. I’m not pretending they aren’t. But I’ve known many girls who are far from beautiful who make you think they are by what they say and what they do. There’s a way about them, a way they think about themselves that really catches your imagination. Suddenly you’re looking beneath their outer appearance and seeing true beauty because inside they stand for something.
Ok, so you say to me that this is easier said than done. I know that’s true because in school it seems that you’re expected to be like everyone else if you want to make the ‘in’ scene. Well, remember this, when you get out of school there really is no ‘in crowd’ or ‘in scene’. It’s only you and your life. This is all that matters and if you’ve copied everyone else all through school instead of just being yourself, then you’ll have to change all those habits around and become really you.
You’ll be pretty surprised, I think, if you start doing this today. At first, there may be a few catty remarks thrown your way, and a few surprised glances and some “Get her? Who does she think she is?” But once they find out you know who you are, there’ll be some pretty exciting times in store for you!
Peter Tork
