The Cat in the Hat is Back

To most people, Michael Nesmith will never be more than the member of the Monkees most likely to have been wearing a knit cap in the LA sun. Or perhaps the answer to the trivia question, "Which pop star's mother invented Liquid Paper?" But to music insiders, "Papa Nez" is the real deal -- a bona fide producer, media innovator, composer and musician.

ArtistPro magazine recently published an exclusive interview with Nesmith, who has granted few in recent years.

Nesmith was already an accomplished musician in 1966 when the Monkees put him on the world's pop stage. His first solo release came in 1968, as did his first hit as a songwriter (Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Ponies' "Different Drum"). In 1970 he left the Monkees to form the First National Band, part of the emerging country-rock fusion movement. Nesmith's discography includes 17 releases dating back to 1968.

Back in the early 1970's, more than a decade before MTV, he created some of the first music videos for some of his own works. (He also sold to Warner Amex a show idea that later became MTV.) In 1981 he released "Elephant Parts," a mix of long form videos and comedy that earned the first GRAMMY for a video. "Parts" is still considered a cult classic, along with some of the feature films Nesmith had produced ("Repo Man," "Timerider," and "Tapeheads").

During his lengthy ArtistPro interview, which the interviewer described as one of the most thoughtful he ever experienced, Nesmith commented on:

• Norah Jones (likes her; unique voice for her age; has an adult presence like the Beatles did when they, too, were young)
• musical epiphanies (seeing Hoyt Axton perform convinced him that's what he wanted to do)
• the global music video revolution (doesn't feel connected to it; had a totally different notion of it, one that was less marketing-driven)
• instruments ("I'm pretty much a Fender player.")
• recording (keeps his home setup modest: ProTools HD3 6.0)

Browse the ArtistPro issue featuring Papa Nez

Visit Michael Nesmith at his Video Ranch site or one of many fan sites