I have a bunch of questions for Peter, if and when he ever reads this. Or if and when I ever get these to him.
I'm sick of all the DULL questions he gets when he has to do publicity at all. The reporters all seem to crib from EXACTLY the same resource, heretofore known as "The Lazy Version Of The History",
These interviews can be recognized by 2 key flags:
A) The headline is invariably some variation of a pun on the name of the band, usually trapped inside of a pun, idiom, cliche (or some combination thereof).
B) They always seems to contain (and seem to be limited to) the following words:
pre-fab four, Beatles, the dummy, "didn't play their own instruments", controversy, Struggles, Alcoholism/AA, Reunion tour
If you've read one interview, you've read them all. Even when he appeared on Rachel Maddow when he wanted to talk about Davy and share memories, they seemed to have to go through the above conversation dance.
MY questions include:
What topics, events, ideas and attitudes would you wish to be included in a biography? That is, what has been left out of your story?
Do you remember from that family trip to Venezuela before the Monkees?
What hits you about songs that you choose to include in your Shoe Suede Blues sets?
Are there any Monkee songs that you remember recording and thinking, "this is gonna be great" or "this is terrible"?
What lines in Monkee songs have surprised you after years of playing them?
What 8 bars of music that you've written would you wish to be remembered for?
You've publicly stated that you have made love to Janis Joplin. Give us 3 words to convey the experience.
Where were you (and the rest of the Monkees-if you know) when JFK was shot? What about 9/11?
The Monkees' phenomenon is almost 50 years old. Fans have a unique kinship to the show and the music. How do you make sense of it now? How has your view evolved over each decade?
You spent 3 years in the 70's teaching kids philosophy and baseball. What bits of wisdom do you hope your students have retained?
Please relate every single moment you can recall about the folk-music scene in Greenwich Village. Please include names, venues, song titles and jokes, both successful and unsuccessful.
WHAT was the impulse that made you leave NY and go to California? Be as specific as possible.
You come from a family of teachers. What has each one of them taught you?
What initially turned you on to the Blues?
Define Love. Define how you perceive of the emotion that fans may have towards you & "The Peter Character" that they may name as "Love".
Narrate the probable story of your life, if you hadn't been cast.
If you could go back in time and rewrite the contract that you signed, including all the things you know now (that not you or anyone else could have predicted at the time), what would you include? (ie What would you want to tell yourself before the whole thing began?)
Why did you get the life that you got? Why was it you? How do you make sense of it all in terms of Karma?
What is your earliest musical memory?
What do you remember from the 6 week "improvisation training" period with Jim Frawley?
What have the fans taught you over the years? What have you learned from people who you have known as fans over many years.
(That's a start, anyway)
I'm sick of all the DULL questions he gets when he has to do publicity at all. The reporters all seem to crib from EXACTLY the same resource, heretofore known as "The Lazy Version Of The History",
These interviews can be recognized by 2 key flags:
A) The headline is invariably some variation of a pun on the name of the band, usually trapped inside of a pun, idiom, cliche (or some combination thereof).
B) They always seems to contain (and seem to be limited to) the following words:
pre-fab four, Beatles, the dummy, "didn't play their own instruments", controversy, Struggles, Alcoholism/AA, Reunion tour
If you've read one interview, you've read them all. Even when he appeared on Rachel Maddow when he wanted to talk about Davy and share memories, they seemed to have to go through the above conversation dance.
MY questions include:
What topics, events, ideas and attitudes would you wish to be included in a biography? That is, what has been left out of your story?
Do you remember from that family trip to Venezuela before the Monkees?
What hits you about songs that you choose to include in your Shoe Suede Blues sets?
Are there any Monkee songs that you remember recording and thinking, "this is gonna be great" or "this is terrible"?
What lines in Monkee songs have surprised you after years of playing them?
What 8 bars of music that you've written would you wish to be remembered for?
You've publicly stated that you have made love to Janis Joplin. Give us 3 words to convey the experience.
Where were you (and the rest of the Monkees-if you know) when JFK was shot? What about 9/11?
The Monkees' phenomenon is almost 50 years old. Fans have a unique kinship to the show and the music. How do you make sense of it now? How has your view evolved over each decade?
You spent 3 years in the 70's teaching kids philosophy and baseball. What bits of wisdom do you hope your students have retained?
Please relate every single moment you can recall about the folk-music scene in Greenwich Village. Please include names, venues, song titles and jokes, both successful and unsuccessful.
WHAT was the impulse that made you leave NY and go to California? Be as specific as possible.
You come from a family of teachers. What has each one of them taught you?
What initially turned you on to the Blues?
Define Love. Define how you perceive of the emotion that fans may have towards you & "The Peter Character" that they may name as "Love".
Narrate the probable story of your life, if you hadn't been cast.
If you could go back in time and rewrite the contract that you signed, including all the things you know now (that not you or anyone else could have predicted at the time), what would you include? (ie What would you want to tell yourself before the whole thing began?)
Why did you get the life that you got? Why was it you? How do you make sense of it all in terms of Karma?
What is your earliest musical memory?
What do you remember from the 6 week "improvisation training" period with Jim Frawley?
What have the fans taught you over the years? What have you learned from people who you have known as fans over many years.
(That's a start, anyway)
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