The Byrds and The Monkees?
Q & A with Roger McGuinn of the Byrds
Interview by Planting Seeds Records
A little while ago we asked Roger McGuinn of The
Byrds a few short questions about the Byrds and The Monkees, (This brief
Q&A coincided with the release of Planting Seeds Records Monkees indie pop
tribute - "Through The Looking Glass: Indie Pop Plays The Monkees") see
what he had to say:
PSR:
We're big Monkees & Byrds Fans and were hoping to somehow tie them together:
In a Monkees biography, it states Michael Nesmith was rumored to have a
short stint as pedal steel player with the Byrds. Is that true in any way?
RM: I used to hang out with Mike, but don't remember him playing with the
Byrds. Mike and I were friends and used to jam together.
PSR: I'm sure this question has been asked often, but I was wondering
if the song "So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star" was a direct stab at
the Monkees or was it a stab at the actual state of pop music around that
time? I've read various articles on that subject that contradict each other.
So what angle were you and Chris Hillman actually writing about?
RM: Right, "Rock & Roll Star" was NOT about the Monkees, But the whole pop
music business.
PSR: On the other musical half of the Monkees, did you ever hang out
with Peter Tork? We read he used to hang out with David Crosby.
RM:
I was acquainted with Peter Tork in Greenwich Village, but never really
got to know him.
PSR: In The Byrds Box Set from 1990, there's an excerpt of each of The
Byrds profile from a teen magazine - Did you ever feel the band would fall
into that "Teenybopper" category?
RM: Yes, for a while we were in the teen magazine category.
PSR: Do you happen to have a favorite Monkees song?
RM: "I'm A Believer"
PSR: And last question Roger, are there any plans for a new Roger McGuinn
album or even a Byrds Reunion - ever?
RM: I'm laying down tracks for a new CD now. No release date yet
PSR: Thanks again Roger
RM: Ok Neil, All the best, Cheers
Roger Mcguinn later went on to release a slew of "Folk Den" CD's via his
website as well as MP3.com. He also supervised the re-release of the entire
Byrds catalogue on Columbia/Legacy Records.
This brief interview originally appeared on the Planting Seeds' Records site "The Monkees Party," 1998. Visit Roger McGuinn at: http://mcguinn.com and http://folkden.com
The above photos "Roger as a Byrd 1967" reprinted from "Younger Than Yesterday" CD insert. Recent McGuinn photo courtesy of Roger McGuinn.
