Peter Tork and Shoe Suede Blues

The Monkees Return, Terrific as Ever

POSTED: June 17, 2:25 PM ET
Davy Jones and Micky Dolenz of the Monkees perform at the Beacon Theatre in New York City, June 16, 2011.
Bobby Bank/WireImage

The last time we all saw Micky Dolenz, he was playing himself in the Syfy original movie Mega-Python vs. Gatoroid, which starred Tiffany and Debbie Gibson, back in January. He had a cameo where he appeared onstage to sing some hits for an Everglades preservation benefit, except the show got interrupted when he was eaten by a mega-python. Or maybe that was a gatoroid. I'll have to watch the movie again.

The point is, the Monkees have never been far from the heart of American culture. People are always glad when they show up. Their hits have never left the radio. And their first reunion tour in 10 years is a marathon. Last night at New York's Beacon Theater, they played over two hours and did literally dozens of songs. Thirty-six songs? 40? Who's counting?

Exclusive: The Monkees Resolve Personal Issues for 45th Anniversary Tour

You can't accuse the Monkees of phoning it in – this was an excellent show from a legendary pop band giving out much, much, much more than they had to. Hardcore crowd, too – the kind of Monkeemaniacs who roar when they see the roadies wheel a kettledrum onstage, because they know that means it's time for Micky's psychedelic rant "Randy Scouse Git."

Dolenz, Davy Jones and Peter Tork seem to have fixed the glitches from their 2001 tour. Of course, Mike Nesmith has apparently hung up his shades and sideburns for good. But his absence just meant Peter sang the Mike songs, doing a new banjo-driven arrangement of "What Am I Doing Hangin' Round," which by any sane standard is one of the greatest pop songs ever.

Photos: Random Notes

The Tork quotient was peaking all night, in fact. (Awesome French-horn solo on "Shades of Grey"! Anyone know where I can score one of his black velvet silver-buttoned tunics?) And predictably, they threw in plenty of Monkee-esque clowning. (Micky: "I dressed up in my hippie regalia." Peter: "I almost drowned in one of those once!")

The set list was just nuts, with one welcome surprise after another. Along with their eight-piece backing band, the trio did deep cuts, obscurities, even a long string of non-hits from their drug-addled 1968 film Head, which hardly anybody has seen except for us Monkees freaks. ("As We Go Along" – damn what a song.) Maracas master Davy Jones showed off his surprisingly nimble boogaloo moves to "She Hangs Out," while Micky scatted the lung-busting R&B workout "Goin' Down."

Davy also sang "I Wanna Be Free," one of my least favorite Monkees songs, yet even that one sounded kind of cool. (Never really noticed before, but it's basically the exact same song as Lou Reed's "Sunday Morning.")

They saved the really big hits for the final half hour – "Daydream Believer," "Pleasant Valley Sunday," "Last Train To Clarksville." But nobody in the audience left or got restless. People tend to become Monkees fans when they're little kids, so they adopt weird personal favorites, which means nobody wanted a straightforward greatest-hits show. And the Monkees left nothing out. It's hard to imagine anybody disappointed by this show unless they just plain hate life. Or unless they're a mega-python.
- Rolling Stone - Culture

The Monkees Return, Terrific as Ever

POSTED: June 17, 2:25 PM ET
Davy Jones and Micky Dolenz of the Monkees perform at the Beacon Theatre in New York City, June 16, 2011.
Bobby Bank/WireImage

The last time we all saw Micky Dolenz, he was playing himself in the Syfy original movie Mega-Python vs. Gatoroid, which starred Tiffany and Debbie Gibson, back in January. He had a cameo where he appeared onstage to sing some hits for an Everglades preservation benefit, except the show got interrupted when he was eaten by a mega-python. Or maybe that was a gatoroid. I'll have to watch the movie again.

The point is, the Monkees have never been far from the heart of American culture. People are always glad when they show up. Their hits have never left the radio. And their first reunion tour in 10 years is a marathon. Last night at New York's Beacon Theater, they played over two hours and did literally dozens of songs. Thirty-six songs? 40? Who's counting?

Exclusive: The Monkees Resolve Personal Issues for 45th Anniversary Tour

You can't accuse the Monkees of phoning it in – this was an excellent show from a legendary pop band giving out much, much, much more than they had to. Hardcore crowd, too – the kind of Monkeemaniacs who roar when they see the roadies wheel a kettledrum onstage, because they know that means it's time for Micky's psychedelic rant "Randy Scouse Git."

Dolenz, Davy Jones and Peter Tork seem to have fixed the glitches from their 2001 tour. Of course, Mike Nesmith has apparently hung up his shades and sideburns for good. But his absence just meant Peter sang the Mike songs, doing a new banjo-driven arrangement of "What Am I Doing Hangin' Round," which by any sane standard is one of the greatest pop songs ever.

Photos: Random Notes

The Tork quotient was peaking all night, in fact. (Awesome French-horn solo on "Shades of Grey"! Anyone know where I can score one of his black velvet silver-buttoned tunics?) And predictably, they threw in plenty of Monkee-esque clowning. (Micky: "I dressed up in my hippie regalia." Peter: "I almost drowned in one of those once!")

The set list was just nuts, with one welcome surprise after another. Along with their eight-piece backing band, the trio did deep cuts, obscurities, even a long string of non-hits from their drug-addled 1968 film Head, which hardly anybody has seen except for us Monkees freaks. ("As We Go Along" – damn what a song.) Maracas master Davy Jones showed off his surprisingly nimble boogaloo moves to "She Hangs Out," while Micky scatted the lung-busting R&B workout "Goin' Down."

Davy also sang "I Wanna Be Free," one of my least favorite Monkees songs, yet even that one sounded kind of cool. (Never really noticed before, but it's basically the exact same song as Lou Reed's "Sunday Morning.")

They saved the really big hits for the final half hour – "Daydream Believer," "Pleasant Valley Sunday," "Last Train To Clarksville." But nobody in the audience left or got restless. People tend to become Monkees fans when they're little kids, so they adopt weird personal favorites, which means nobody wanted a straightforward greatest-hits show. And the Monkees left nothing out. It's hard to imagine anybody disappointed by this show unless they just plain hate life. Or unless they're a mega-python.
- Rolling Stone - Culture

Volume 14, Issue 20
Published September 6th, 2006

Peter Tork & Shoe Suede Blues
The Winchester Friday, September 1

There was a warm vibe as the former Monkee and his current blues-rock band, Shoe Suede Blues, exuded a tight camaraderie and laid-back enthusiasm before a deeply affectionate audience.
Billed as "not really a blues band" but more of an amalgamation of blues and early rock/pop, Shoe Suede Blues initiated the set with a couple of blues-rock numbers, a swell, sorta-blues-flavored rendition of Marvin Gaye's "Hitch Hike," and a nifty, effective blues reinterpretation of the Monkees classic "Last Train to Clarksville," the first of the night's half-dozen Monkees tunes. With this re-contextualized "Clarksville," as well as a slightly soul-tinged "I'm a Believer," Tork found his own cool, personalized way to continue performing the Monkees material with self-respect and integrity and he never felt past his expiration date.

The night increasingly became less pop/rock-oriented and more uniformly blues-focused, emphasizing a lot of classic blues with a smattering of Shoe Suede's own originals. "Saved by the Blues" would have come off kinda dopey played straight, but its '60s Motown/psych/pop delivery made it quite fun.

The opening all-female trio, Aura Three, introduced itself as "a.k.a. the Tork Wenches," as it also later served as backing vocalists for the Monkees songs in Tork's set. The gals did mostly '60s pop classics in a country/folk/pop style a la Melanie, whom they eventually covered. — Michael David Toth



- Cleveland Free Times

Feb 12 2007

by David Harrison, Liverpool Daily Post

FORMER Monkee Peter Tork finally laid to rest the old myth that The Monkees couldn't play their own instruments.

During a set which included old Monkees hits such as Daydream Believer, I'm Not Your Stepping Stone and an excellent, bluesy Last Train to Clarksville, Tork sang lead vocals and changed instruments with ease, from guitar, to banjo and then on to keyboard.

It was this myth which had contributed to Tork's departure from the Monkees at the end of 1968. Always cast as the "dumb" one in the TV series, a role he was never comfortable with, and as a multi-instrumentalist, he was always hurt by media jibes that they were just a manufactured band with no musical talent, made in the image of The Beatles.

The last complete Monkees reunion was 10 years ago, bringing all four original members together for a UK tour, TV special and a new album, Justus, where the Monkees wrote and performed all the songs.

The album failed to chart and, despite the UK tour selling out, the shows were heavily criticised by the British music press, leading to the departure of Nesmith from further projects. Tork followed suit and, according to various sources, all four Monkees have since fallen out, putting a dampener on a 40th anniversary tour.

However, Tork definitely made up for the missing three Monkees at The Cavern, confidently mixing in Monkee classics with songs from his new blues-orientated album, Cambria Hotel, his band, Shoe Suede Blues, producing a mature and authentic sound.

The place was packed with a mixture of age groups, and for a moment, it almost seemed that you were in the original Cavern of the 1960s.

After the gig, Tork chatted to frantic fans as he signed copies of his latest album. It was like Monkeemania all over again.


- Liverpool Daily Post

Record Collector (UK)
April issue 2007

LIVE *Reviews

Peter Tork & Shoe Suede Blues
London 100 Club
10/2/07
View: left of center

It must be tough being Peter Tork. Forty years on from Monkees mania it seems that history still puts his tele-antics well above his musical talents. Tork finished off a short tour dash across the UK with a finale at London's 100 Club. With an expectant crowd of vintage fans, garage aficionados and the curious, Tork delivered a no-nonsense set of his latter day material, speckled with a few predictable Monkee tunes. The most musically accomplished of the pre-Fabs did his best to engage the audience with his talents. Newer material from Cambria Hotel was delivered with humor and consummate professionalism. Tork can easily hold his own, and he and his band's playing was supremely competent. Tork's occasional delve into goofy facials sent the crowd into predictable hysterics. The Monkees numbers Last Train to Clarksville, I'm A Believer, Daydream Believer and Stepping Stone were strategically placed and Tork looked as though he was enjoying his independence from pop funnyman celebrity status.

- Simon Wells - Record Collector Magazine - UK

COOL 2 KNOW
He's a believer
Peter Tork defends the Monkees' viability for Rock Hall of Fame
BY JOSEPH DIONISIO
joseph.dionisio@newsday.com
April 18, 2007

'So you better get ready," shouts the theme to the Monkees' 1960s TV series, "we may be comin' to your town!" Unless, of course, your town is Cleveland.

Peter Tork - whose band Shoe Suede Blues visits East Setauket and Patchogue this week - says the Monkees merit consideration for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but one man opposes their induction.

"The only person ... holding a grudge is Jann Wenner of Rolling Stone," says the former Monkee. The magazine editor "has never written a gracious word. He personally has the veto power to keep us out."

How does the band - whose Emmy-winning show aped the Beatles' film "A Hard Day's Night" - rank against other inductees? Neither the Animals, the Rascals, the Lovin' Spoonful, the Dells, Del Shannon, Frankie Lymon nor Black Sabbath have more Top 20 singles than the Monkees' 10. Ratings aside, classics such as "Pleasant Valley Sunday" have aged better than the likes of Shannon, whose "Hat's Off to Larry" seems laughable as Hall justification.

Bands as disparate as the Sex Pistols ("Steppin' Stone"), Run-D.M.C. ("Mary, Mary") and The Church ("Porpoise Song") have covered Monkees' songs. Even Radiohead's "Go To Sleep" eerily channels Micky Dolenz's vocals.

"I'm convinced that Micky is one of the great singers of our time," Tork says. "He's always been something of a genius."

One notable fan is Michael Stipe, who reportedly vowed to bar R.E.M. from the Hall until the Monkees got in. Stipe declined comment, but in 1994 he did tell Rolling Stone that "The Monkees ... meant a lot more to me" than the Beatles. R.E.M. was finally inducted last month.

Wenner - who didn't reply to an interview request - allegedly denounces Tork, Dolenz, Davy Jones and Mike Nesmith for not playing their own instruments on the band's first albums.

In this "American Idol" era, when acts are "manufactured" like toasters, fewer critics crucify the Monkees for being a TV show that spawned a band. So have they faced an unfair standard? Were they, in fact, a "real" group?

"I've not heard the slightest murmur about the Monkees being fake," Tork, 65, says from his Connecticut home. "Everybody's forgotten it, except Wenner. He's been vicious."

One Rolling Stone reporter, Tork says, wrote a glowing story crystallizing their merits. But before publication, Tork adds, "The writer said, 'Jann took my article, gutted it and rewrote it to [bury] you.'"

Backed by producer Don Kirshner's songwriting stable - Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Neil Diamond, Neil Sedaka, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart - the band unleashed four straight No. 1 albums and three chart-toppers. They eventually penned their own catchy pop, albeit with less chart success.

"George Harrison used to say he wished his best songs were as good as the worst of Lennon-McCartney," Tork says. "So, we used to hope our best songs were as good as the worst of the Brill Building."

Tork's fame, however, is more about musicianship than songwriting. So said Jimi Hendrix, who called him the most talented Monkee. The guitarist opened several Monkees' gigs, including a '67 show at Forest Hills' West Side Tennis Club. Was his compliment accurate?

"I'm not sure it's quite true," says Tork, who plays guitar, banjo, piano and bass. "I'm far and away the best-trained musician, but I'm in awe of all three [Monkees]. Jimi meant that I was the most [receptive] to his kind of music."

Tork's new album - Shoe Suede Blues' "Cambria Hotel" (sold at cdbaby.com) - stars guitarist Richard Mikuls, bassist Arnold Jacks and drummer Jeff Olson. The band's name doesn't reflect Elvis, so much as a less fractious era in radio.

Besides a bluesy "Last Train to Clarksville," its hidden gem is an Indian violin-laced "For Pete's Sake," aka the show's closing theme. The album has medicinal value, Tork suggests.

"People listen to dance music like taking aspirin: to shut down the pain," he says. "But the blues puts you back together. Like penicillin, it's therapeutic. If I can bring a microscopic bit of that feeling ... my career's in good shape.
- Newsday