Let's ask Nez

[Wakeup]

Well, I have a cool opportunity to do an email interview with Michael Nesmith for the newspaper I work for.

He's doing a short U.S. tour beginning this month, and he'll have a date in Somerville.

So, I'll be doing a preview article and the publicity people are setting me up with this interview.

Now, Nez is a smart guy and I don't want to waste the opportunity with banality and "What was Davy really like?" type of stuff. He's known for giving thoughtful and insightful answers to interesting questions.

What interesting questions would you have for the man? Believe me, I welcome the help on this one.

He wants to focus on his solo career, media projects, etc.

All ideas gratefully accepted.

This is happening soon, so think fast.

Thanks!

[uncleson]

Michael is of course associated strongly with rock and country rock music, but he also produced blues singer/guitarist Carolyn Wonderland and her version of Ellmore Jame's "Dust My Broom"

Is Michael a big fan of the blues?

[bamajohn1]

This is a real cool professional coup for you Wakeup! Here are a few off the top of my head!


Does he like or embrace the nickname Papa Nez?



What does he think is his best album from his early 70s solo records; Magnetic South, Loose Salute, Nevada Fighter, Tantamount to Treason Vol. 1, or And The Hits Just Keep On Comin'?



Is he particularly proud of his cover of 'I Fall To Pieces'?



What is his favorite cover of one his songs?



What was it like working on his own NBC tv series 'Television Parts' (8 episodes) and working with Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, Garry Shandling, Whoopi Goldberg, and Arsenio Hall before they became bigger stars.



Does he consider winning the first Grammy for (Long Form) Music Video in 1982 for 'Elephant Parts' and it being lauded as a blueprint for MTV as being his most cherished professional accomplishment?

Does he think he might not have quite gotten the credit he deserves as a pioneer of, or possibly even the Father of, Country Rock?

I think 'Nine Times Blue' is a great song but seemed somewhat unfinished. I think it could have become a hit. Does Nez think another verse might have bolstered the song?

You are known for taking control of your own music catalogue and selling it on your own website as well as being an early convert to selling downloads. Do you think the download model has lived up to it's billing as a profit maker or has the initial promise not been met?

Vinyl is the one area of the music market on a sizable sales upswing (total US music sales rose ever so slightly for the 1st time in 13 years- vinyl may have accounted for that)! Have all of your albums been reissued on vinyl and if not, do you plan to re-release them on vinyl?

[Wakeup]

Nice ones, guys. Thanks a lot.

I just heard back again from the publicity folks - Cary Baker's Conqueroo, which also handles some other forum favorites like Billy Joe Shaver, Marshall Crenshaw, and, ironically, Alvin Lee - and I was told that about 5 questions would be accepted. That has deflated my expectations, of course. But it is still a rare opportunity.

They will also provide some oft-asked, oft-answered questions in order for me to focus on submitting something pithier for his consideration.

I'm sure I can use some here that have been suggested.

Thanks again.

[HollyH]

That Cary Baker -- such a buzz-kill.

Be sure to ask him if he still has that little wool beanie he used to wear.

[Wakeup]

I wouldn't blame Baker. It's probably Nez's preference.

And the beanie question - hmm...ah... - with only five questions allowed, not so sure that'll make the cut. But I'll try to squeeze it in.

[gary]

I would ask about whatever he's been doing lately. I think artists really appreciate interest in their newer stuff, as opposed to something they did decades ago, so i think that kind of question would elicit the best response.

[Wakeup]

Thanks Gary. You're right. That's common sense, and that's what the publicity rep said too. That he will give lengthy, thoughtful responses to interesting questions focused on his recent solo work.

Still thinking...

[Wakeup]

Well, I got the answers to my questions back today, and the article hits the street tomorrow. I'll post a link when it goes online.

He was a real gent for doing this.

Here's the Q & A...(btw, squishy metaphors are my best thing)...

Do you have any particular impressions of playing to Boston area audiences in your past appearances? Any favorite venues or memorable stories?
Very clear memories – it is one of my favorite areas of the country and I have spent quite a bit of time there. The most salient memory is as the Repo Man redoubt. Repo Man was a movie I made in the eighties and the studio refused to give it a release after I delivered it. There was a single theater in Boston/Cambridge that obtained a print and started playing it and played it every day for a year. Finally the studio caved in and gave it a small release but it never actually played anywhere for any length of time except there in Cambridge. As I recall it was The Brattle – but I might be wrong. It was many years ago – but that theater in Boston is the only reason Repo Man is alive today and has such a safe place in the general consciousness.

When can we expect a new album release from you?
Actually never. Albums have gone the way of the dodo and I am not sure what format will come next. Net delivery is now the main method for getting works out and the album/CD concept is not viable there. I have many new recordings that I am regularly putting up one at a time on my website (www.videoranch.com) along with the iteration that follows – for instance, there are several versions of one song up there now and I will keep putting the recordings there as they come out of the oven – then messing with them and tweaking them and putting out the next iteration – and on it will go. I have no idea all that will work out.

Do you have any plans for producing more television or film projects in the future? If so, can you say what they may involve?
I have several but the means of production is not clear to me. The virtual net is just around the corner and I would like to see where the linear narrative fits in all that before I start trying to build something there. I am drawn to larger and more intricate stories involving real time performances.

When writing a new song, do you often find that your initial idea changes significantly throughout the development process, or is the first “visualization” generally retained?
It changes significantly over time. Different Drum as I sing it today is almost unrecognizable from its first release. I have written about this at some length on my Facebook page – the whole first impression vs. the second and third one. But songs mature as we do with the same strange appendages and wrinkles. All the better as far as I am concerned and I am happy for that to happen and I manage for it.

When recording, do you prefer serving as your own producer solely, or do you value receiving objective input and suggestions from others?
I find objective input and thoughtful suggestions almost critical path. Recording won’t come together for me without the input from others with whom I share a point of view. They keep me on track and call me out on things that stray from the central vision. I find that encouraging and valuable beyond measure.

How important is fan feedback to you as you perform in concert?
If you mean audience feedback it is also critical path. The show I am doing now is very much like a play. The set is fixed, the order of the songs is the same night to night as are the introductions to each song. The audience feedback lets me know where I am. There isn’t much I can do about it if they don’t like it but at least I know we are in for a long night and if they like it then I am sailing on a reach.

Do you find that a particularly responsive and enthusiastic audience response compounds the energy of yourself and the band in performance?
Yes very much. When the audience is on the same page as the show and falls into the arms of the songs the reciprocity is like an engine that drives the whole evening. The call/response is recursive and increases by 1’s or 10’s depending on how happy the audience is with the show. Each recursion jacks everything up.

Do you feel that your history as a member of The Monkees overshadows your solo accomplishments with some audiences? Does this matter to you?
No and no. Monkees fans who have stayed with me are very supportive of the solo work and the fans who support the solo work but know nothing about The Monkees are not confused at all. The two career paths are so different that they don’t really cross talk at all. I don’t think any of my solo work would have survived in The Monkees and vice versa.

Bonus gratuitous nuts-and-berries question: If life is a pizza, what are your favorite toppings?
Well – the metaphor is a little squishy so it is hard to say – but off the top of my head I would say “sunglasses and a hat.”

[HollyH]

Great interview! Nez is always ahead of the curve, and your questions really put that out there.

Here's a link to another piece about Nez: www.wired.com/wired/archive/8.12/nesmith.html

I guess our fellow Kinks fan Geoff Edgers is doing a radio interview with Nez before the Somerville show. He posted about it on Facebook.

[uncleson]

Great interview, Wakeup!

[Wakeup]

Thanks, folks. Nez is notoriously generous with the press and always gives thoughtful, considered responses. One of the smartest guys out there.

Here's a link to the full article...

www.thesomervillenews.com/archives/36895

I'd like to catch Geoff's interview. I wonder if it streams. I'll look into that.