Post by yerblues1968 on Nov 8, 2008 1:59:53 GMT -5
DAVY JONES FILL HIS SHOWS WITH HUMOR AND OTHER MONKEE BUSINESS
dailybreeze.com
By Sam Gnerre, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 11/07/2008 09:06:56 AM PST
Davy Jones will forever be known as a Monkee, but he had a solo acting, performing and recording career long before becoming that group's lead singer.
The Monkees - Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith (wearing hat), Peter Tork, and Mickey Dolenz, who played drums.
At 11, he was plucked from his career as an apprentice jockey to appear on the long-running BBC serial Coronation Street. That led to a series of acting roles and, eventually, to a pre-Monkees solo recording career.
The Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts in Cerritos, California.
The 62-year-old Manchester, England, native will headline a show that also features crooner Gary Puckett of Union Gap fame at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday.
We caught up with Jones as he was preparing for a Boys & Girls Club benefit show in Hollywood, Fla.
What kind of songs will you be doing?
Well, we have a basic set list, but we play it by ear for the most part. We do a cross-section of songs with references to films, musicals and to different times in my career in addition to the Monkees. Of course, we'll do lots of Monkees hits: Last Train to Clarksville, Pleasant Valley Sunday, Daydream Believer and the like.
Do you ever get tired of singing the old Monkees standards?
No, never. I play shows to younger children who are discovering these songs for the first time. I still get incredible amounts of mail from enthusiastic fans of all ages. The music spans eras. Imagine how Tony Bennett felt, especially before his recent renaissance, having to sing I Left My Heart in San Francisco over and over. He had no problem singing the old songs and neither do I. My father always told me, "Find out what you do best, son, and stick with it. Nobody does what you do."
Were you the first one selected for the Monkees when they were putting the group together?
Yes. My manager at the time, Ward Sylvester, was with Columbia. He came to Colpix Records in 1965, which was my record label before the Monkees, and fired everyone. Sylvester and producer Bert Schneider had just seen "Hard Day's Night" and they said to themselves, "We can definitely do something like this. We just need to find three other people to go with Davy." They already had me signed up.
Can you clear up some of the rumors around the auditions? Did Stephen Stills try out? Charles Manson?
I was in on all the auditions for the Monkees, since I was there from the beginning. I was there when Michael Nesmith came walking in the room carrying his laundry on his back. The Charles Manson story is not true, it's one of those rumors that comes from people saying things like, "Everyone tried out, even Manson." He didn't. Stephen Stills didn't formally audition, but we all admired his early work with the Buffalo Springfield, so he was approached with an offer. But he said, "It's not my kind of music, guys, but I have this friend, Peter." So when Peter Tork showed up, he said, "Stephen Stills sent me," and they were lookalikes at the time, so we said, "Oh, really, are you his brother?" But once the field was narrowed down from 50 to 16, then to 8, we knew we were getting close to something good.
Did you know right away that the four of you would work out?
It was immediately apparent when the four of us got together that it would work, yeah. It was a very strong feeling. We were working with good people, Sylvester, Schneider and producer Bob Rafelson. And we had great songwriters: Carole King, Neil Diamond, Harry Nilsson.
The Monkees received lots of criticism, perhaps unjustly, for being a manufactured band.
Well, you have to remember that Brian Epstein presented the Beatles as a manufactured product. They all wore the same outfits, hairstyles, everything. I was a guest on The Ed Sullivan Show when the Beatles made their first live appearance. I've always loved Ringo, he's a very good friend of mine still and he has always been hilarious. George was a serious musician. And John and Paul were brilliant songwriters. But they definitely were manufactured in the beginning. People complain that session people played on our early records. Well, come on! The "Wrecking Crew," the batch of L.A. session musicians that played for Phil Spector, they played on just about every hit record from the Beach Boys on down during that era. It's not a meaningful distinction, especially now.
Have you done any recording lately?
Yes, my good friend Jeff Barry, who's worked with just about everyone - Barry Manilow, Spector, Neil Diamond, you name it - he suggested that I do an album of the songs I used to hear my father play when I was a kid. Cry, by Johnny Ray, Fly Me to the Moon, Charles Aznavour's She, these types of tunes. No one can touch Nilsson's A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night (his 1973 album of pop music standards), not Rod Stewart or Michael Bublé or anyone, but I think I've made a quality album.
When is it coming out?
We're currently listening to the mixes, and we'll be working with it when we come out to California in a few days for that part of the tour. Jeff suggested the title to me, which will be "Alone in Love." My girlfriend of two years, Jessica Pacheco, will be coming out with me. She's a professional flamenco dancer, and quite a bit younger than I. When we got to the hotel the other day, she said to me, "Let's run upstairs and make love," and I said, "Well, it's either one or the other." I do a lot of humor in the show, and people are always saying, "I didn't know you were this funny." I poke fun at older guys like Tony Orlando still kicking around: " `Knock Three Times' on the ceiling - if you hear me fall down." Humor's a big part of what I do.
Any final words?
Yes, please tell people to come see the show if they want to have a great time. If they enjoy it, they can tell all their friends to come see us. If they don't, I hope they'll tell people they just saw David Cassidy instead of me.
The Monkees "Daydream Believer." (2:44 minutes)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjV8YjDiwe8
The Monkees "I'm A Believer." (2:42 minutes)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5MfcEDeWBg
Gary Puckett and the Union Gap "Woman, Woman" and "Young Girl." (6:36 minutes)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnfAuGWQANw
Sam Gnerre (310) 540-5511, Ext. 376; sam.gnerre@dailybreeze.com.
preview>
TOGETHER AGAIN: GARY PUCKETT AND DAVY JONES
>When: 8 p.m. Saturday.
>Where: Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 12700 Center Court Drive.
>Tickets: $30-$60.
>Information: (800) 300-4345, www.cerritoscenter.com.