AN EVENING OF MONKEES MEMORIES TRIBUTE

Davy Jones

In the sixties, The Monkees captured the hearts of millions. They sold more records than The Beatles & The Rolling Stones in 1967. The Monkees had such hits as "(Theme From) The Monkees," "Last Train to Clarksville," "I'm a Believer," "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone," "Pleasant Valley Sunday," "Valleri" and "Daydream Believer." Their albums and singles have sold over 65 million copies worldwide, and the band was a pop-culture phenomenon, with songs that have stood the test of time.

They reunited through the years and toured occasionally from 1986 through 2011. On February 29, 2012, Davy Jones of The Monkees passed away. Up until Jones' death, the Monkees had been one of the few remaining major pop groups from the 1960s with all its members still alive. Their greatest hits CD, "The Best of The Monkees," just re-entered the Billboard Top 200 chart at number 20.

On Friday night, March 30, in tribute to Davy Jones, Liverpool Productions will be presenting "An Evening of Monkees Memories" at Aldario's Restaurant, 240 Naugatuck Avenue in Milford, CT. The event is open to all ages and doors open at 7pm.

"An Evening of Monkees Memories" features the New Jersey pop-rock band "The Characters." The Characters were a backing band not only for Davy Jones, but also for Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork, and they appeared in The Monkees' video for their song "Heart and Soul." They will be headlining the evening with a full set of the Monkees' hits, along with a second set of favorites from the Monkees' era. There will also be trivia, giveaways and DJ entertainment by Charles F. Rosenay!!!

Charles F. Rosenay!!!'s Liverpool Productions, organizers of the event, not only presented Beatles Conventions in Connecticut for four decades, but also produced Monkees Convention in the state in the 80s. Peter Tork was a special guest at two conventions, and Davy Jones was the special guest of honor at one of the events. Charles considered Davy Jones a friend, and they were working on a project together just before the time of Jones' death.

The Friday night, March 30 "An Evening of Monkees Memories" tribute to Davy Jones at Aldario's Restaurant in Milford, CT is a dance party which will feature the live concerts by The Characters, DJ entertainment, special guests, a full all-you-can-eat dinner buffet plus open bar. Admission is $40 and reservation can be made at (203) 874-6096. For further info on the event, call Liverpool Productions at (203) 795-4737.


Photo By:RD / AARON CRISLER / Retna Digital

MICKY DOLENZ SPEAKS ON DEATH OF A MONKEE

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THE WEB GOSSIP EXTRA!
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Micky Dolenz

DEATH OF A MONKEE - It was quite a week for Monkee-Micky Dolenz as his mate Davy Jones unexpectedly passed away on Wednesday. Per his spokesperson David Salidor, “Micky was in New York to rehearse for a projected new play Garage Band.” Dolenz appeared on CNN’s Piers Morgan later that night; and, followed up Thursday morning with Today; Access Hollywood; Good Morning America; and Good Day New York, with Roseanna Scotto and Greg Kelly. Over the weekend he spoke to People; L.A. Times and Gary Graff from The Detroit Free Press. It’s always a delicate maneuver handling the media after such an incident, but from what I witnessed, Dolenz handled it with true class. You want to properly memorialize your friend. I heard him say in one interview that the two had known each other for 47 years. Personally, I liked the interview he did with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos; with his interview being succinct, concise and spot-on perfect. I actually met Jones for the first time last summer when the band performed on The View; during their 45th reunion tour. I found him exceptionally charming and exactly like I had heard he was for years. I tell you one thing; the media coverage was very impressive. No doubt his passing touched the nerves of many. Rest easy Davy.

GARY SOHMERS ON MONKEES COLLECTIBLES

Gary Sohmers

In the wake of Davy Jones' sudden passing yesterday, one way to remember and cherish his memory is to look back at the abundance of MONKEES collectibles and recall just how huge this pop culture phenomenon really was.



And the guy who knows all about them is the “King of Pop Culture” – Gary Sohmers, very colorful and flamboyant longtime appraiser on “Antiques Roadshow,” the show that started the collectibles craze on TV. (You'll instantly recognize him with his loud Hawaiian shirt and silver/gray ponytail).

“In fact,” says Gary, “there was more Monkees memorabilia made than Beatles memorabilia. The questions is, are they worth more than the Beatles? “

He’s central to the spirit of all the reality shows from Storage Wars to American Pickers to Pawn Stars and Hardcore Pawn, that are flooding TV based on the premise of discovering what people’s stashes are worth.

Gary is going to be giving appraisals of pop culture items for charity (American Cancer Society) at the upcoming NY Pier Antiques Show - New York’s largest antique, art, style and collecting event - on March 17 & 18 at Pier 94.

DAVY JONES ON THE NEWLYWED GAME TO AIR

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TIMES SQUARE GOSSIP TELEVISION
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Davy Jones On The Newlywed Game With Jessica Pacheco

GSN will pay tribute to The Monkees front man Davy Jones, who passed away on February 29th, with a special encore airing of Jones’ appearance on THE NEWLYWED GAME. The episode, from GSN’s new, original version of the iconic game show, will air on Tuesday, March 6, 2012, at 7:00 PM ET.



The episode features appearances by a number of celebrity couples, including: Jones and his wife, Telemundo actress Jessica Pacheco; Jonny Fairplay (“Survivor”) and Michelle Deighton (“America's Next Top Model”); Ronn Moss (“The Bold and the Beautiful”) and Devin DeVasquez (actress-model and former Playboy Playmate). It originally aired on January 21, 2010.



THE NEWLYWED GAME is GSN’s modern installment of the classic series showcasing three newly married couples of wide-ranging backgrounds who face off in a series of question rounds. During each round, a spouse attempts to guess his or her mate’s answer to questions about their relationship, ranging from the first time they met to the details of their love lives. At the end of the game, the couple with the most correct matches wins exciting prizes.


Photo Courtesy Of: GSN

MICKY DOLENZ SPEAKS ON DAVY JONES DEATH

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MICKY DOLENZ MAKES STATEMENT TO
TIMES SQUARE GOSSIP ON DAVY JONES DEATH
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Micky Dolenz

We reached out to Monkee Micky Dolenz on the death on Davy Jones. Below is what he had to say.


"I am in a state of shock; Davy and I grew up together and shared in the unique success of what became The Monkees phenomena. The time we worked together and had together is something I'll never forget. He was the brother I never had and this leaves a gigantic hole in my heart. The memories have and will last a lifetime. My condolences go out to his family.”

MONKEES LEGEND DAVY JONES IS DEAD AT 66

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DEATH OF ICON DAVY JONES
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Davy Jones

Monkees legend Davy Jones has died of a heart attack at age 66, according to media reports. No other information has been given out yet.

Davey Jones was famous for his role in the pop group The Monkees, which got together in 1965 for the TV show of the same name. Their huge mega-hits included "Daydream Believer," "Last Train to Clarksville," "I'm a Believer," and "Pleasant Valley Sunday."

Photo By:RD / AARON CRISLER / Retna Digital

BEFORE ROBERT PATTINSON & JUSTIN BIEBER

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THE WEB GOSSIP
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Justin Bieber

BOP NO MORE -- Charles Laufer, the founder of Tiger Beat, passed away at the age of 86 this week, according to the New York Times. Laufer, a pioneer in the teen-targeted magazine industry of the 70s, 80s, and early 90s, started his career as a high school teacher, who was upset that his students had virtually nothing entertaining to read. He began publishing teen oriented fanzines in 1955, with a magazine called Coaster; that morphed into Teen. Before Justin Bieber and Robert Pattinson came The Beach Boys and The Monkees, yet all these years later the stories are basically the same: who’s dating who; what stars look for in girls; and, where they go shopping. Gloria Stavers’ 16 Magazine (which officially began in 1957) was really the biggest of them all. She is credited with being one of the first women rock and roll journalists, but male editors, her detractors, and those who scoffed at teen or celebrity magazines sometime called her mother superior of the inferior. Laufer’s style of excessive exclamation points and cluttered photo collages can still be seen today; although probably more on the web than elsewhere. Perez Hilton’s deliberate highlighting (usually in white!) of a photo or story on his site is a direct correlation. Laufer and his brother, Ira, started TB in 1965 after selling Teen in 1957. The tag line for the magazine pretty much sums up its stories: Guys in their 20s singing La La songs to 13-year old girls! Laufer was one of the first supporters of the pre-fab four and put them on the cover of TB in 1965, which helped shoot the band into superstardom and put the magazine on the map. Research editor Anthony Pomes; he did the terrific work with Micky Dolenz on the artist's Micky Dolenz' Rock 'N Rollin' Trivia from Square One publishing, said, “Laufer brought an early enthusiasm to teen culture that exploded at nearly the same time as The Monkess. A pioneer in 'tween' mass merchandising, he deserves credit of creating in Tiger Beat a magazine that aimed to please the kids before anything else. The fact that both Charles Laufer, the man who helped popularize the Monkees' image, and Don Kirshner, the man who helped popularize the Monkees' music, have died the same year as the group is about to re-unite lends even more poignancy to the upcoming tour than was there before.” The brothers sold TB in 1978 for a reported $15 million, with its circulation being around 700,000. We worked with daughter Julie Laufer in the 80s and found her to be one of hardest working people out there and terrifically creative. Rest easy Mr. Laufer!


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Adrian Niles

ADRIAN NILES BAND – Every so often a band comes along with a distinctive sound; some compelling integrity; and, some balls. When we first flipped on the Adrian Niles Band. we were immediately knocked out by the terrific writing; scintillating production; and, uncannily catchy songs. One song in particular, “Skylark” we’ve been particularly taken with; humming it for hours. The track is off their current CD Roll & Move, via indie-Flying Box Car Records. Says Niles, who hails from Ohio, “Some of my earliest memories are of me at 3 years old, sitting on the floor, banging pots and pan’s along with my dad’s bluegrass band as they packed in the kitchen. I guess I get it honestly.” His musical influences, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Collective Soul, Allman Brothers, Bob Dylan, and The Band, are evidenced throughout the CD making for an exceptionally good listening experience. In 1998, the band was ready to record their first full- fledged CD, co-produced by Pittsburgh legend and onetime CBS record artist Norman Nardini. As the recording emerged, they became the opening act for such rock-staples as Jefferson Airplane, Ben Orr (Cars); Pittsburgh-mainstay Donnie Iris; and, Stevie Ray Vaughn’s Double Trouble, while continuing to develop a local notoriety. Niles put the band on hold in 2006 when he formed another band, Trainjumpers, with longtime friend and fellow singer/songwriter Matt Heusel. Their CD enjoyed some regional play and earned them several more live dates. With the band full re-formed in 2010 and the release of Ghost Road, things seemed poised for success. Shows with Rock and Roll inductee Dave Mason and Los Lonely Boys followed and secured even more interest in the band. Roll & Move came out in January and has created even more widespread attention for the band. Another concert date with Mason in late May is proof positive of their star-making success. The music business is in an interesting quagmire these days; the major seven labels are now down to like two, yet there are, because of the Internet, more opportunities than ever before do exist. And, for this band, with original material and scads creativity, I predict this will be their time.


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Martin Scorsese

ROBBIE ROBERSTON IS IN – It's been 13 years since the last solo album from Robbie Robertson, and his new one, How To Become Clairvoyant is out his week. We've been in touch with his PR rep, Judi Kerr, from the West Coast for what seems like two months and she's sent us some links … but, no actual copy? What gives … we're fans!!! Regardless, what we have been able to hear sounds utterly fantastic. He was the leading force rebind the always awesome The Band; a veritable class act if there ever was one. We ran into Robertson once in L. A. where he lives and spoke to him for an extended time and found him to every bit as knowledgeable and funny as we had hoped. We've talked to him several times and can confirm he is the real deal. His appearances last week on David Letterman and The View were simply terrific. He looks great, sounds better than ever, and his singular guitar work simply outstanding. On both shows he performed the track “He Don't Live Here No More,” which tells of when he and Martin Scorsese (of all people!) shared a house. Robbie says of the song, "Marty's friends would still come over … as if he still lived there. So, this is the answer we had for them.” The one other track we've been able to glean digitally is “This Is where I Get Off” (with Eric Clapton) that chronicles the time he left The Band. In addition to Clapton, Trent Renzor and Steve Winwood also appear on the collection. His song “Somewhere Down The Crazy River” remains one of the best ever. We hope to have a more complete review soon! Please!!!


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Micky Dolenz

MICKY LOVE – How about this review (from Bristol 24/7) of Hairspray in the U.K.: “I'd already been enjoying myself, but when Michael Ball – dressed up in, ahem, large ladies' attire and sporting lovely red lipstick – received a smacker on the lips from former-Monkee Micky Dolenz and struggled to keep it together as the audience whooped and cheered, I knew the long journey to see Hairspray been worthwhile!” Sort of gives the upcoming Monkees tour a whole new edge! The touring contingent of the play just opened their last leg in Bristol, England and on May 1, Dolenz will be in Florida prepping for the group's tour.

Photos By: Derek Storm/RD/Dziekan/Kirkland/Retna