Ventura County’s Micky Dolenz talks about The Monkees new tour

Micky Dolenz, Mike Nesmith and Peter Tork on “The Monkees” set in 1966. “I don’t look at (The Monkees) as a band,” Dolenz says. “It was a cast for a television show that became a band. It’s more like musical theater to me. … I’m playing the role of Micky, the wacky drummer.”

Here they come …

The three surviving Monkees — Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork and Mike Nesmith — will appear at the Arlington Theatre in Santa Barbara tonight and the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on Saturday as part of a 12-city nationwide tour, the group’s first since the passing of fourth member Davy Jones from a sudden heart attack at age 66 this past February.

The Monkees were a phenomenon in the 1960s, created to capitalize on Beatlemania, but for an American television audience. In time, the quartet decided to become a real group and play their own instruments. To the music world’s surprise, they showed a great deal of talent on their subsequent albums.

After “The Monkees” series was canceled in 1968, the group slowly disintegrated. Beginning in 1986, successful reunion tours brought Dolenz, Tork and Jones back together regularly — but Nesmith rarely participated. His appearance on this tour marks only the second time since 1969 that he’s taken part in a Monkees tour; his last jaunt with the group came in 1997.

For Monkees fans, this is a melancholy time; they’re excited about Nesmith’s return, but sad Jones isn’t around to take part.

The tour came together after Dolenz, Tork and Nesmith got together in Los Angeles at a private memorial for Jones.

“This seems like a good time to do this — the right time,” Nesmith said in August when the tour was announced. “Who knows when we will get another chance?”

This week on The Monkees’ Facebook page, Nesmith began dropping hints about what the shows will be like. Fans can expect some deep album cuts, like “Tapioca Tundra” and “Daily Nightly,” alongside more familiar hits like “Pleasant Valley Sunday.” Special emphasis will be placed on the group’s third album, “Headquarters,” which featured such songs as “Shades of Gray,” “For Pete’s Sake,” “No Time” and “You Just May Be the One.”

“So far so good,” Nesmith wrote on Facebook, referring to the tour rehearsals. “Back-up band sounds good. Mick and Pete are in fine form. I’m happy and working hard to learn all the songs. It’s been a long time, but I’m getting up to speed.”

Dolenz, the group’s drummer and singer of such hits as “Last Train to Clarksville” and “I’m a Believer,” has lived in Ventura County for 10 years. When he was a child actor, he starred in “Circus Boy,” which was filmed at the old Jungleland facility in Thousand Oaks. In September, he released a new CD called “Remember,” which features versions of songs that had significant meaning for him during the ’60s and ’70s.

via Ventura County’s Micky Dolenz talks about The Monkees new tour » Ventura County Star.