Of Monkees & Men

Scott McCaughey was eleven years old when he first heard Last Train To Clarksville and became a lifelong Monkees fan in that moment. A few years ago he gathered like-minded Minus 5 cohorts, and, starting with the surreal 10-minute epic Michael Nesmith, they crafted a song for each member, as well as one for Boyce & Hart, the duo that wrote and produced many classic Monkees tracks. The album features nine original songs, that pay heartfelt homage to the Monkees as well as other friends and artists influential to McCaughey's musical psyche. Side One tackles each member of the Monkees in song, starting with the ten-minute epic Michael Nesmith, and ending with Boyce & Hart, which praises the songwriting team behind many beloved Monkees hits. Side Two bows to iconic actor Robert Ryan, the brilliantly literate Portland-based Americana band Richmond Fontaine, and, in Blue Rickenbacker and Weymer Never Dies, two lost comrades that loom large in McCaughey's development into a rock and roll lifer.