Monkees Live At Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater Florida

Interviewing Micky Dolenz  of The Monkees
 in the '80s. Check out my Swatch and bad hair.

Last week, I did something blog-related I've never done before.

Many bloggers work closely with PR groups hooking up with freebies and all sorts of fun stuff. This doesn't really fit the Fourth Grade Nothing format. Readers stop by to remember and share experiences about our favorite '70s, '80s and '90s movies, music, books, toys, celebrities, foods and more. I put my own personal spin on it from my childhood. I sometimes even spice things up with random retro diary entries.

Okay, back to the PR issue. I was a massive Monkees fan between 1986-1987. I attended conventions, had a fanzine with more than 160 subscribers worldwide and even had my very first article published in New York's popular Newsday newspaper. I was 12. 

This year, the group is touring for their 40th Anniversary. Last night they did a show here in Florida. I contacted their PR group suggesting I attend and document the experience here for my readers at FourthGradeNothing. I was turned down. I expected that would happen as I'm not the St.Pete Times. Ya know? 

Rewind to my teen reporter days. After publishing about twelve articles with Newsday, I was asked to actually interview the Monkees. As a kid, this was a dream come true. To read more about this amazing event, check out my blog post over at Masshole Mommy's crib. 

I Interviewed Micky Dolenz of The Monkees

Micky Dolenz and me.

The summer of 1986 was probably one of my most favorite summers ever. I was 13 years old and all was right with the world. That summer I wasn't going away to camp that year, which was cool, instead I was attending an outdoor Monkees concert at Jones Beach on July 17 (now known as my husband's birthday).

That year I began writing articles for Newsday, our local Long Island newspaper. I was a kid editor for Newsday's kid-friendly column, appropriately titled, Kidsday. Pat, the editor in chief who ran the column, knew how crazy I was for the '60s bubblegum group, The Monkees. Every time we spoke, I'd beg him to hook me up with concert tickets.

I wasn't just a fan of The Monkees. I was insanely obsessed with them. I attended conventions. I ran a quarterly fanzine (my dad helped with the printing and mailing) with over 160 members. I had every album, magazine, photo, collectible, you name it, I had it! I had every episode of The Monkees show taped at least twice on VHS. I knew the lines to every song, every episode and their movie Head.

One fateful day, Pat called and said my wish was finally about to come true. Sure, he could offer me second row tickets to their Jones Beach show, but I'd have to earn them. Ugh. How? "We need you to interview them!" Pat said nonchalantly. I nearly passed out. My first big assignment. They were my most favorite band at the time next to Howard Jones and Tears for Fears of course. Wow!!!

The only Monkee who agreed to the interview for whatever reason, was Micky Dolenz. This was fine by me, Micky was my favorite member of The Monkees. I asked Micky questions about himself he was surprised I even knew about. I gave him a handful of things to autograph for me and asked him for a hug. I was sure it would forever be the best day of my life. In some ways it was the best day of my childhood life. As an adult, my wedding was the best day of my life.