Monkee Mania

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Hey, hey, did you like the Monkees? I NEVER missed a show—and back then (senior citizen voice) you had to watch it when it was on—or you missed it.   Remember?

Well, Monkee mania has changed the life of a dear friend of mine…and I cannot wait for him to tell you all about it.

“They Made a Monkee (Writer) Out Of Me”

By Scott C. Forrest-Allen

It took me nearly fifty years for me to score my first official writing assignment – and it came so easily!

A routine scroll through Facebook led me to a post from Rebeat Magazine  with whom I was unfamiliar at the time. They were honoring the Monkees’ 50^th Anniversary with a countdown of their Top 50 Songs. My love for both the Monkees and countdowns drew me in. 

Reading these song reviews brought me back to when I was in my single digits enjoying their TV program. I have vivid memories of watching them and seeing how much fun these boys were having challenging authority and society.

Initially impressed at how much research each individual Rebeat writer had contributed to the entries, I was hooked, especially since they were including several album tracks and not just the “hits.” There were even some tunes that I had forgotten.

HANK: So then what?

I reviewed the entire website and noticed how well written the articles were. Then I spotted the “Write For Rebeat” button. Deciding to be bold, (which is rare for me), I wrote an email expressing how much I enjoyed the countdown and asked if they would consider me to be on their staff. Included in my email were writing samples with links to my blog and theatre reviews. It is both humbling and rewarding for me to admit that several of my musical reviews have made it to the North Shore Music Theatre website.

  

HANK: Holding breath. And then what?

They responded to me, and I was thrilled to read that not only did they appreciate my writing, but they invited me to be a contributing writer to their upcoming weekly series that would recap the Monkees’ TV episodes fifty years after their premieres!

HANK: Oh, that is hilarious. What a job!

SCOTT: Yes, after I started breathing again, I accepted. Not long after that, my first assignment arrived – to review the episode “Your Friendly Neighborhood Kidnappers.”

And soon: there it was! My very first official article on-line! What made it more real was to see it as a post on Facebook! I did it! It was and is happening! It was okay to breathe again!

Here’s where you can read it:

http://www.rebeatmag.com/every-monkees-episode-your-friendly-neighborhood-kidnappers-s1e4/

The Monkees helped my dream come true!

(And there’s a villain named Trump! This was what, fifty years ago?)

Since then I’ve written eight more articles, including a recap of “Success Story,” my personal favorite episode. It was very early in the TV series and was unafraid to take a serious turn halfway through.

HANK: What happens?

SCOTT: In it, Davy’s uncle threatens to take him back to England because he is not a success. There is a very poignant scene during which his band mates say farewell to him before his flies back to England, complete with Peter handing Davy a parachute in case his uncle changes his mind. It was that sincerity that cemented my love for the Monkees, both TV show and music. This scene always made me cry when I was younger, and I loathe admitting that I choked up when I was writing about it! I’ve seen the episode numerous times, and I know how it all turns out!

HANK: Aw.  Has this assignment taught you anything?

SCOTT: Yes, absolutely. Reviewing these episodes and reading other articles by my fellow scribes has me refelcting on the band’s career and my never-ending attachment to them.

Although time has been kind to the Monkees, I will never understand the initial backlash from critics and fans alike. Remember?  People were outraged when they discovered that the Monkees weren’t playing their own instruments; at least not initially. They had never lied to their public – the TV show was about four actors portraying a struggling rock band. Mission accomplished.

To be fair, Mike Nesmith and Peter Tork were accomplished musicians in their own rights, and Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones both had musical theatre backgrounds. So, they had all approached the project with valid experience. Eventually, they became a “real” band and played all of their own instruments for their concerts and would eventually compose material for subsequent albums. Theirs are some of the most professional concerts I’ve every attended.

People are just now realizing how important they are to popular music. On one side, the show could be considered nothing more than an entertaining half-hour filled with great music; on the flip side it was and still is one of the most clever half-hour commercials to promote a band and sell albums, complete with an unofficial introduction to Music Videos.

The plan worked. If the TV show was an innocent salute to the madcap comedy of the Marx Brothers, the music was always approached seriously, being written by the top songwriters in the business and professionally produced.

HANK: There were some big names!

SCOTT:  Definitely. Carole King helped to catapult the Monkees’ success with “Sometime in the Morning” and “Take a Giant Step,” both co-written with Gerry Goffin.

Neil Diamond contributed “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You,” to the group’s catalog. The song peaked at #2 on the Billboard Singles Chart, but his “I’m A Believer” peaked at #1.

The band enjoyed two more #1 singles – “Last Train To Clarksville” and “Daydream Believer.”

As a matter of fact, their first four albums (The Monkees, More of the Monkees, Headquarters, and Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, and Jones, Ltd.) all peaked at #1.

HANK: What if you run out of Monkee episodes?

SCOTT: No problem!  Since then, Rebeat Magazine has asked me to contribute to their “Deep Tracks” Section with an article reviewing 10 underrated songs and one album by Fleetwood Mac, who is also celebrating fifty years!

This has been such a rewarding experience for me because not only am I discussing subjects that I love, but I am learning how to expand my writing style. I’ve always written with a very compact approach, but Rebeat Magazine has taught me how to write and express more. Instead of expressing my thoughts in a few sentences, I am now writing several paragraphs.

This experience has done wonders for my self-confidence when it comes to my writing. I have since then dug out drafts that had been otherwise abandoned; I’m co-writing the Book for a full-length musical; I’ve contributed an article to a charity organization’s newsletter; and an author has asked me to write reviews for his books. My Dad is happy for me, and my Mom would be proud too.

So, Fifty looks pretty good for the Monkees, Fleetwood Mac, and me!

They made a believer out of me!

HANK:  A daydream believer, right?  SO happy for you!  And now I’m singing.  So Reds, did you love the Monkees? Any Monkee memories?

Meeting Your Fences

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:   Did you see the 60 Minutes story on the Maryland Cup? And the crazy devoted talented brilliant riders who gallop four miles over fencers and water hazards and who knows what else at breakneck (oops) speeds on gorgeous horses? 

Yeah, the fabulous Sasscer Hill does stuff like that, and I cannot wait to talk to her about it at Malice.

She’s got a brand new mystery set in horse racing world, FLAMINGO ROAD, just brand new from St. Martin’s. And, dear Reds, Sasscer is about to see that the course of a book tour is almost as hazardous as a cross country steeplechase. In fact, it may be exactly the same thing.

 THE UPTOWN BOOK SIGNING

                              By Sasscer Hill

It’s a cold March afternoon and pouring as my plane skids to a halt on LaGuardia’s runway. I have arrived for the first book signing for Flamingo Road, three weeks prior to its April 18 pub date.

I rush to the baggage area, relieved to see my bag circling toward me. It has the outfit for my event at the posh ladies’ club in Manhattan where I have miraculously landed this gig. I manhandle the bag off the carousel, grab the handle, extend it, and begin marching. Except, the bag is immobile on the floor, and I am holding an unattached handle in my hand.

  

Have I just said the F word? Was it loud enough to be heard? If you’ve ever suffered an experience like this, did a four-letter word escape your lips?

This won’t do, I admonish myself, remembering the perfect, hand-written letter I received from the club announcing cell phones may not be used inside, and absolutely no photos may be taken, ever. It advised that I must not reveal the name of the club when mentioning the event on social media. A whole new meaning for “private” club.

 

I arrive at my sister’s apartment a little wet and looking like I’ve just gone ten rounds with my suitcase. The next day, as we arrive at the club, it’s still raining. I remove my rubber boots and slip on my suede Sacha London three-inch pumps. Fortified with fashion and makeup, I meet the ladies. I have never seen so many Gucci shoes and Chanel Suits outside the September issue of Vogue.

The ladies are charming, educated, and talk of their latest travels and the jewelry they bought in South America the previous month. We are having English tea and beautifully arranged pastries. I tell the head lady that I would kill for a Diet Coke and she rustles one up. Soon I’m at the podium to speak.

I go inside myself, focusing like I used to do when I’d ride in a steeplechase race. I meet my fences––which today are bullet points on a sheet of paper––and I don’t falter. Women are leaning forward, listening to every word, no one is whispering, there is perfect silence, and I know I’m winning. At the book signing, I sell out.

Have any of you experienced a recalcitrant suitcase, or wealth intimidation? How do you find your inner strength?

HANK: Heck with inner strength. I want to hear about a club that is so private you can't even talk about it.  

But WHY does something always go wrong in  situations like that? At the worst possible time? How does it know?

At least we can't get last-second runs in our stockings anymore! 

Sasscer, you are fabulous!

Author Sasscer Hill was involved in horse racing as an amateur jockey and racehorse breeder for most of her life. She sets her novels against a background of big money, gambling, and horse racing, and her mystery and suspense thrillers have received multiple award nominations.

Sasscer provided the Kirkus Review, which, she says, provides the most accurate synopsis of Flamingo Road that’s been written.

“The dark and dirty underbelly of horse racing is exposed when a Baltimore cop goes to visit relatives in Florida. Internal Affairs has been very interested in Fia McKee ever since she shot and killed the man who was choking Shyra Darnell, a hot walker at Pimlico who's so afraid of someone that she refuses to answer any questions. 

When Fia's beloved father, a racehorse trainer, was murdered five years earlier, Fia joined the police and has never given up on his case, which has now turned very cold. Put on leave, she answers a call for help from her brother, Patrick, whose wife has walked out and left him with a horse-crazy teen. Someone's been slaughtering people's horses for meat, and when Cody, her niece Jilly's gelding, becomes a victim, Fia gets mad and plots to get even. 

The night of the gelding's death, she meets a man named Zanin who runs the Protect the Animals League and is trying to stop the carnage. Zanin is sure the guilty party is a Cuban-American who lives in the dangerous and lawless area known as the C-Nine Basin, but no one's been able to prove that he's involved. Meantime, 

Fia learns that her problems back home may go away if she agrees to go undercover for the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau at Florida's Gulfstream Park, where horses that shouldn't be winning are suddenly showing amazing talent. Fia eases into a job as an exercise rider for an honest trainer while trying to discover what new, so far undetectable, drug is turning ordinary horses into superstars. Hill boasts knowledge of horses and the very real problems in horse racing that fill this sound mystery with thrills and hair-raising action from first to last.”—Kirkus