message 5 of 8
by John » Sun Oct 10, 2021 04:17 pm
Wow, that's terrific! If I'm not working I've really got to see the Monkees. They're primarily responsible for what I do right now, Mike Nesmith in particular. When I got my first guitar for Christmas they were huge on television. In school, the girls all liked Davey Jones, most of the guys liked Mickey Dolenz, the class clowns all liked PeterTork, and as far as I know, I was the only one who liked Mike Nesmith! Nesmith and Jim Morrison were both hugely influential in how I dressed, how I looked and inspiring me to be on stage. As I sometimes joke to people, it's all their fault!
I've missed so many great concerts because I had to work at the same time, notably Steppenwolf. The Monkees were broke up, Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix were dead before I was old enough to go. I've seen remarkably few real concerts. My first was the James Gang. I saw David Crosby and Graham Nash together. I watched the Ozark Mountain Daredevils, (which was not a great show) and I saw Pink Floyd, which was the most incredible and amazing show I've ever seen. I've seen Leo Kottke 3 times! But that's about it!
I regretted not seeing some of my childhood heroes before it was too late, but I was always able to look at it like, OK, I never got rich and famous, but I always wanted to be like those guys, and if I can't be there to see them, it's because I was too busy doing the same thing they were, (if on a much smaller scale). John