Hey, hey! Monkees friendly at Fox

The current tour, the Monkees’ first in a decade, has gone well. The group’s famous fans include actors Kevin Costner and Billy Bob Thornton (who shows up at numerous gigs), but Dolenz admits the travel can be arduous.

“I always tell people, they pay me to travel, I sing for free,” he says. Dolenz sings so many of the leads — “Last Train to Clarksville,” “I’m a Believer,” “Pleasant Valley Sunday,” “Steppin’ Stone,” etc., while Davy Jones leads on “Daydream Believer,” “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You,” etc. — that he knows what he’s in for, and as a veteran of musical theatre, he trains vocally to keep his voice up.

For the three veterans, falling into their old comic interactions after months and years apart is “instantaneous,” Dolenz says.

The show opens with vintage Monkees clips, which also run periodically through the show. Another extra feature: Clips from notable cover versions of their songs by other artists are played at the end of the show.

“We always do all of the hits, but we change up on the additional material like the album cuts,” as the songs from “Head,” Dolenz points out. “I jump around a lot so it’s physically demanding, but for me that’s the easy part.”

As for Detroit, the Motor City has always been a favorite stop of Dolenz’s because “being a southern California guy, I’m a car guy,” he says. He reminisces lovingly about the cars he bought with his Monkees money; a Mustang 350 GT fastback, a Pontiac Grand Prix and most specially, a 1959, two-door white Impala coupe.

“The one with the fins that look like a spaceship,” Dolenz says, sighing. “If I were ever to go buy a classic car to relive my youth, that would be the one.”

via Music and Nightlife | Hey, hey! Monkees friendly at Fox | The Detroit News.