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| So sad over Davy Jones. |
Upon hearing the news of Davy Jones' death, I just have not been able to blog. Yes, I was brokenhearted when we lost Corey Haim, but Corey was different. He lived a high risk lifestyle. Davy was healthy. He wasn't known as a wild party guy. You never saw Davy Jones on TMZ for boozing it up. You never saw Davy Jones beating up his wife. What I saw was Davy Jones as a sweet memory of my youth.
Growing up on Long Island in the 1980s, I was a huge Monkees fan. My parents would drive me all over New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut to attend Monkees conventions and concerts. I had 100s of Monkees-loving pen pals all over the world. I would meet up with them at concerts and conventions. I even attempted to plan a huge Monkees get together picnic. That's a long story I won't get into right now...
From the ages of 13 to about 15, I had a quarterly zine called Hit Factory. This was before kids had computer graphics programs and scanners. Each issue featured awkwardly snipped and frayed black and white photos alongside Dot Matrix text. I dealt with the challenge of printing costs, ad rates (yes I had paid ads!), shipping costs and in the end I think I lost money on the deal. But I wasn't in it for the money. I loved writing about my favorite band!
Hit Factory grew to become a family effort. Dad would drive me to the local Minute Man copy center in Franklin Square, New York to print out dozens of Xerox copies. My little brother would help me collate the pages and staple. Mom would take me to the Valley Stream Post Office to load up on rolls of stamps and mail the issues.
From the ages of 13 to about 15, I had a quarterly zine called Hit Factory. This was before kids had computer graphics programs and scanners. Each issue featured awkwardly snipped and frayed black and white photos alongside Dot Matrix text. I dealt with the challenge of printing costs, ad rates (yes I had paid ads!), shipping costs and in the end I think I lost money on the deal. But I wasn't in it for the money. I loved writing about my favorite band!
Hit Factory grew to become a family effort. Dad would drive me to the local Minute Man copy center in Franklin Square, New York to print out dozens of Xerox copies. My little brother would help me collate the pages and staple. Mom would take me to the Valley Stream Post Office to load up on rolls of stamps and mail the issues.
Having known firsthand what it's like to adore a teen idol, I credit The Monkees with inspiring me to pursue entertainment writing. I've since interviewed many teen bands and have published several books on teen idols. Not only did I write different articles for my zine, but my very first article ever published was about The Monkees. My very first celebrity interview was with Micky Dolenz. Although Davy wasn't my favorite Monkee, Davy Jones had such a beautiful voice. I loved his wit and his accent. He was the sweet Monkee. He was high energy and I could see why the girls loved him best.
Davy, we will miss you.
Davy, we will miss you.
