Monkees Convention Part Two

For this special segment, I enlisted Charles Rosenay !!! to get HIS perspective, who then tapped Fred Velez to fill in all the happy details!

 

M60: Monkees 60th Anniversary Convention – A Recap by Fred Velez

 

The M60 Convention for Monkees fans on the 60th Anniversary was held September 4, 5, and 6, 2026, in Connecticut. It was a fun event for the fans who attended to mark the 60^th anniversary of the debut of The Monkees as a multimedia phenomenon. Fans from as far away as Australia and the U.K. joined in with fans from throughout the U.S. to share their love of the Monkees. And that love was on display all weekend long.

The M60 festivities began on Friday with an opening night party in the host venue, the Clarion Inn Hotel in North Haven. Fans started to come in at 7PM and were greeted by convention producer/host Charles F. Rosenay!!! The music started with singer/musician Scott Ringle entertaining the crowd, performing both familiar Monkees songs and deeper cuts. The happy atmosphere set the tone for the weekend, with attendees singing along and dancing. Entertainer Mick Lawless joined Scott for a few numbers, and Charles did some announcements.

 

Friday night 

also gave us 

the first look at Rosenay!!!’s 

new book 

“The Monkees Comic Book Book,” 

co-authored 

with Mark Arnold.

The pair had previously released 

“Not Just 

Happy Together: The Turtles A-Z

(AM Radio to Zappa), 

but their Monkees book was in the 

works for years. It is a loving collection of the 

original Monkees comic books 

that were issued during the original 

run of the Monkees television series, 

restored, remastered, and delivered 

 in a beautiful format. It includes an 

exclusive interview with the late artist 

Jose Delbo, who worked on the original 

comic series. Also inside the book it is a 

valuable timeline, a comprehensive price 

guide for all the original comic books, 

plus celebrity commentary on the comics 

and The Monkees themselves. It’s a must 

for all Monkees fans, comic book collectors, 

and pop culture aficionados.  

        

 

On Saturday September 5^th, the main part of the convention began at 11am with fans lining up to get in, and the opening of the vendors room.

 

 

There, fans were able to purchase rare Monkees items for their collections, ogle at all the amazing memorabilia, records, and merch, and visit all the guest authors. In the same ballroom, they were able to meet and hobnob with the guests: Present and past Monkees band members Felipe Torres, John Billings, Rich Dart, David Robicheau; Peppy Castro of the 60’s band Blues Magoos; actor Greg Evigan of “My Two Dads” (in which Davy Jones guest starred in two episodes); “The 5^th Monkee” Bill Chadwick; legendary photographer Henry Diltz; and Monkees producer Chip Douglas making his very first appearance at an East Coast convention. Sadly, actress and Monkees friend Valerie Kairys-Venet and author Mark Arnold were unable to attend.

In the welcome area, fans were greeted by MMR (Monkee Mania Radio), where Professor Microdose roadcasting and interviewing the numerous special guests and fans.    

 

 

Attendees were really in the spirit at the convention, with a few fans even cosplaying as Monkee Men and as a Wind-Up Man from the “33 & 1/3 Revolution Per Monkee” TV special!     

 

 

The on-stage events began with an Author’s panel moderated by Charles F. Rosenay!!! featuring Monkees book authors Joe Russo (“Smoke Filled Dreams”) Ed Rilley (“The Monkees: A Manufactured Image”) Melanie Mitchell (“Monkee Magic: A Book About A TV Show And A Band”), Michael A. Ventrella (“Long Title: Looking For The Good Time - Examining The Monkees’ Songs One By One” and “Headquartered: A Timeline Of The Monkees Solo Years”), and Fred Velez (“A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You: The Monkees From A Fan’s Perspective” and “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You 2: The Monkees From International Fan Perspectives”).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pictured below are authors Reilly, Mitchell, Ventrella, and Velez (plus Russo’s hand and book)

A panel of Monkees Musicians followed with current Monkees bassist John Billings and former tour drummer Felipe Torres was moderated by Professor Microdose of MMR (Monkee Mania Radio). Rich Dart and David Robichaeu came to the event later on in the day, so they didn’t get to participate in the interview.

Below is a rare shot of John Billings, Rich Dart, and Felipe Torres sitting together, with Fred Velez.

 

 

 

Actor Greg Evigan of “My Two Dads” and “B.J. and The Bear” followed, interviewed by Edwin Thrower, sharing stories and memories of when Davy Jones guest starred on two episodes of “My Two Dads.”

 

Photo of Charles and his three children (Harry, Ian, Lauren) with Greg Evigan.

 

A town representative welcomed the attendees and introduced Connecticut Governor Ted Lamont, who said a few words, declared it was “Official Monkees Day,” and had the fans join him singing the first few verses of “The Monkees’ Theme.

 

Following the surprise ceremony, veteran convention emcee and author Fred Velez took the stage to introduce legendary photographer Henry Diltz, who moderated a slide show of his incredible photographs of the Monkees.

 

Photo below of producer Charles F. Rosenay!!!’s son, Harry, with legacy guests Bill Chadwick, Chip Douglas and Henry Diltz.

 

An auction of rare Monkees items took place, and some lucky fans walked away with autographed items and other treasures at great prices.

This was followed by a special panel featuring Bill Chadwick, Henry Diltz and Chip Douglas moderated by Charles F. Rosenay!!!, with the legacy guests sharing their memories of the Monkees and fielding questions from the fans.

Throughout the day, fans were posing for photos with the guests and getting autographs, sharing special moments and collecting memories that would last a lifetime.

After a short break to visit the food trucks for dinner, the vendors room started to wind down, and the evening musical festivities began with concerts by Scott Ringle returning to perform a set of Monkees rarities. After that was a special surprise set. 

 

Danny Solazzi and his band, The Characters have performed at Monkees conventions since 1986, and this was no exception, except it wasn’t their set in the spotlight. They served as the back-up band for the Special Guests who each came up to do a few songs, including the various members of the Monkees bands, actor and performer Greg Evigan, Bill Chadwick, Henry Diltz and Chip Douglas. It was magical.

Just before Mick Lawless took the stage with his band Loose Salute, Fred Velez played a segment of the Uncle Floyd Podcast where Floyd’s stage partner Scott Gordon told a couple of short stories of Peter Tork and Davy Jones appearing on the Uncle Floyd show that included a funny story concerning Davy. The segment can be heard on the Uncle Floyd Show Podcast #89 on all Podcast platforms, the stories come in at the six-minute point of the episode. Mick Lawless and Loose Salute then performed a selection of Monkees and solo songs by Michael Nesmith. 

The Characters, with Danny Solazzi as frontman, returned to the stage and closed the Saturday night festivities with a rousing selection of Monkees tunes that had fans dancing all over the ballroom. The evening ended with all the special guests joining in for a grand finale of “Daydream Believer” and “I’m A Believer.”

Photo includes Mick Lawless, Bill Chadwick, Charles, Danny Solazzi, Chip Douglas, and members of The Characters.

It was an unforgettable day, and 100% of the fans who attended all had an amazing time.

If that wasn’t enough, the magic continued the next day in nearby Burlington, CT, where Katherine McCabe has put together an incredible exhibition of Monkees collectibles, posters memorabilia, and rarities. She and co-curator Mick Lawless call it the “Underground Frodis Adventure,” and it boasts sections devoted to each individual Monkee.

Katherine’s collection was featured on MeTV’s “Collector’s Call” show that was hosted by Lisa Whelchel, with Charles F. Rosenay!!! as the Monkees expert appraiser.

Photo of Katherine showing Chip Douglas around.  

Among the many items at the museum is Peter Tork’s family piano, a custom-designed and fully-working Monkees Pinball machine (of which there are only two in the whole world), a Monkees jukebox, slot machine and so much more. McCabe was a great host as she took fans on a tour of the world-class collection. Meanwhile, outside there was a stage set up for musical performances. We were once again entertained by Scott Ringle, along with Mick Lawless who broadcasts his “Frodis Room” show on MMR. Bill Chadwick, Chip Douglas, and Henry Diltz surprised everyone, attended and even performed on stage. They mingled and took photos with fans. A birthday cake was presented to Diltz to celebrate his 88th birthday that day.  

 

 

Photo: Monkees archivist Gary Strobl, Chip Douglas, Charles, Henry Diltz, Katherine and Mick Lawless.

 

 

 

The Sunday closing party was a perfect ending to an amazing weekend. For those who were unable to attend, the Convention events can be viewed on the archived stream and saved for later viewing (https://evt.live/m60-convention-for-fans-of-the-monkees-september-5th-noon-11pm).

Many thanks go to all the special guests and fans who attended this amazing event. Extra kudos to event producer Charles F. Rosenay!!! and his family and staff for putting this wonderful convention together. There was no other event in the U.S. commemorating the 60^th Anniversary of The Monkees, and his hard work was greatly appreciated.

Charles’ new book, officially released to the public on September 12 to coincide with the actual Monkees TV premiere date, is available from Genius Book Publishing for $45 at https://geniusbookpublishing.com/products/the-monkees-comic-book-book-paperback (Genius Book Published also released The Turtles book). Better yet, for a signed and numbered copy of “The Monkees Comic Book Book,” email monkeesfanconvention@gmail.com or call (203) 795-4737.

We don’t know if this will be the last full convention for Monkees fans, but we sure hope not.

For those who were there, we KNOW we had a GOOD TIME!!!

Fred Velez, 2026

Monkees Convention - Part One

We are so proud, fortunate (and excited!) to be able to present to you TWO complete reviews of the recent Monkees Convention held in Connecticut this past September 4th, 5th and 6th. 

Here is Part One, courtesy of Shelley Sweet- Tufano ... 

I arrive at noon and am greeted by MMR (Monkee Madness Radio) as I reach the entrance. Professor Microdose (DJ name) gives us some info and an MMR shopping bag with two Jolly Ranchers and an MMR pen inside. Around 3:00 I return the bag to my car in order to prohibit myself from any more shopping. There were books galore that I wanted to buy, get signed and read, but living homeless and hungry is not my cup of tea. OK, I would not even have tea that was mine. Moving into the vendors' room, I find it already packed with shoppers and looking around, I don't know whether to start browsing or run through quickly into the ballroom where the panel discussions will be. I linger ...

I make it into the ballroom to take a seat before the first panel is seated. These will be the guest authors. Left to right I see Joe Russo, Ed Reilly, Melanie Mitchell, Michael Ventrella, and Fred Velez. Each of these people has written a book about, concerning, debating and exploring The Monkees. Joe Russo has been a Monkees fan since high school and confirms that Monkee fans were then looked down upon. Being persistent, he acquired Peter Tork's personal phone number and after a period of inner debate, called him. Peter told him, "I know you're going to call me again. Just don't call me ALL the time." It sounds as though Joe was respectful of that request. 

Ed Reilly agrees with Joe about Monkee fans being "low on the list."  He found an auction of Monkees acetates that he took a chance bidding on, and surprisingly, he won them all. It makes you wonder just how many people even tried. When they arrived, they looked as though they had been stored in a basement. They were filled with dirt, dust and mud. He did play them after he carefully cleaned each one.

Melanie Mitchell has a Facebook group called Monkee Magic. She also wrote a book with the same title. 

Monkee Magic: a Book about a TV Show about a Band.

She is thankful for the fans who kept going, as did she.

Michael Ventrella talked about being a kid going into record stores and being told, "I don't sell Monkees records."

Fred Velez, an original fan by his judgement was crest-fallen, more than disappointed when the show ended. He was also the first EMCEE for Monkees Conventions.

I remember this and other periods in time when certain groups were considered "less than" for all different reasons and so many kept their admiration (and records) to themselves. I felt that glaring critical stare but kept on playing whatever records I liked, Monkees included. 

The second panel is two Monkee musicians. I have seen both of them in performance; one in Davy's band, the other in Micky's. I love to read, but I am partial to musicians, so I want to hear this. Professor Microdose is the moderator for this section and starts out with the question of How Did You Become a Monkee Musician? 

Drummer Felipe Torres took drum lessons from Sandy Gennaro, percussionist to the Monkees reunions and tours. One day, Davy Jones came in to say Hi to Sandy and Felipe was having a lesson. Davy listened for a while, during which time Felipe played his drum kit with his mouth hanging on the floor. Davy then said he wanted Felipe to play in concert with him sometime. Yeah, sure ... Felipe asked Sandy if he was serious. Sandy said Davy speaks off-the-cuff a lot, but he always means what he says. The day came when Sandy asked Felipe if he could fill in for him on a couple of gigs that he couldn't make. You can guess his reply. Felipe became a regular in Davy's band. Wondering why Davy had given him this chance, he was told that he gave the kid a break because someone gave him a break and put him in Oliver.

John Billings is bassist for Micky Dolenz. He got the chance to fill in through Wayne Avers when Micky's bassist left. He "filled in" so well that he is now on tour with Micky's “60 Years of the Monkees Tour.”  When John was asked today what song was the most difficult Monkee song to learn, he replied, “Pleasant Valley Sunday.” Felipe piped in with, "Oh yeah, I would have to agree with that." 

(Take a break and listen now. What do we think?) Felipe also said copying drummer Sandy Gennaro was hard. He wanted to make sure he captured the songs the way Sandy did.

A personal note ... Felipe said Davy was old school, not technology oriented. One day he bought a smart Phone and asked Felipe to show him how to text and video chat with his grandchildren. Awwwww. A beautiful reason to force yourself into the unknown.

As they are setting up for Part 3 of the convention panels, I notice many people here that I have seen at the Fest for Beatles Fans and concerts. I had not thought about it before, but it makes sense, right?

Remember 'My Two Dads' on TV? Davy Jones guest starred on it along with Peter Noone. Greg Evigan will be interviewed by Edwin Thrower to talk about Davy as well as his own career. 

Greg started out as a singer, appearing in Jesus Christ Superstar on Broadway before he broke into television. His first role was on ‘BJ and the Bear.’ Working with a chimpanzee gave him shocker stories that included an elephant and a tiger ... NOT animals that chimps adore. He has continued and is still recording with a new record being released very soon. 

One of his most harrowing memories on TV was a guest appearance on Star Trek. He was getting his make-up put on when the make-up artist put drops in one eye to redden it for the part he was to portray. It burned, REALLY badly ... so he said, "Go ahead, put it in the other eye."

??????

(Hindsight is 20/20 and for Greg, that day it was definitely hindsight)

So now both eyes burn, white fog is appearing before him and he is going blind. Rush trip to the hospital! The conversation with the doctor is scary and only somewhat hopeful that if Greg leaves his bandages on and does not move his eyes, he may regain his sight. Well now, our Star Trek Commander, William Shatner, is too curious to let Greg be. He just wants one peek. Greg gives in, pulls up his bandage and Shatner excitedly exclaims, "That's perfect! That's just what we need! Come on, we're actors, right? Let's do the scene." Off come the bandages, Greg did the scene. What was the diagnosis you ask? His corneas had been burned off.

Henry Diltz is next with a slide show. But before he takes the stage, Governor Lamont of Connecticut shows up with a few Monkees words and sings their theme song. When I walked into the ballroom, it totally took me by surprise seeing this going on.

Henry Diltz, a musician who accidentally became a famous photographer, spent much of The Monkees Series following them around on set, taking publicity photos. Showing his work on a large screen, he remembers (with the help of a friend) just where they were and what was happening. He explains that they would film the show for 10 minutes, then break, move the cameras and sets for a half hour and then film again for 10 minutes and repeat until sometime, someday, that show would be completed. So, what to do during all these breaks? According to Mr. Diltz, and some of the photos, they just got pretty high. This was also on a repeating cycle. 

Henry makes Virgo Love Beads. They were available at the convention. Davy first wore them and they were seen in several pictures. A specific number of blue and white beads were placed in a sequence, with the only change since the beginning being to shorten the length of the chains. Henry's words to remember: "If we all pull together, we can do this."

The last panel is the three kings of the convention: Chip Douglas, Henry Diltz and Bill Chadwick. Charles Rosenay is moderator, and I must say, that is his forte. He is energetic, praising his guests and bringing his audience to their feet. 

The obvious opening question is: WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH THE MONKEES?

Chip Douglas knew Mike Nesmith and when Mike approached him with the idea of becoming their new producer, he was caught off guard and surprised ... but said “OK, I'll do it.” Henry Diltz was asked to take candid shots of The Monkees during their second season. Bill Chadwick, who not only looks like Micky Dolenz, but sings like him as well, played in a band with Mike Nesmith for a year before The Monkees were formed. Mike naturally came to him for song writing.  Bill’s "Zor and Zam." "French Song" and "You And I" all became part of The Monkees’ repertoire. He is often called the 5th Monkee. Chip is also referred to in that same manner at times. 

Henry and Chip played together in a band before they were involved with The Monkees and have many stories to tell of that era and what life was like around The Monkees’ set and homes. Some of the stories are quite racy and the majority of them are connected to “frodis” (Micky Dolenz's word for marijuana.)

Henry told the story of John Stewart writing the hit 'Daydream Believer.'  He was actually shaving at the time, hence the lines in the song. However, he wrote a line, "Now you know how funky I can be" which was changed in the studio to "Now you know how happy I can be."  Henry prefers "funky."  I, on the other hand, prefer "happy."  Funky would have dated the song too much.

The final question was to Chip Douglas, asking him to compare The Monkees to The Turtles. Both groups were produced by him. Here is his insight:

The Turtles:  Took nothing seriously.  Fooled around in the studio and got hits.

The Monkees: More serious about the music, but had fun recording it and making hits.

When I went over to speak with Charles Rosenay and say HI! from Kent, his response was, "Didn't he do a great job promoting this?" 

You did Kent. All for the love of music. 

Shelley J Sweet-Tufano

NE Correspondent

Forgotten Hits

Sounds like a real happy … or should that be funky … time was had by all.  Wish I coulda been there but we are ALWAYS happy to promote those that work alongside us to keep this great music alive.  (kk)

 

 

Time to Fire Up Chuck Buell's Time Travelin' Machine Again!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do you realize that it was 56 Years Ago Today that then Vice President Spiro Agnew said all us Future Forgotten Hitters were being destroyed by rock music, the drug culture, and underground newspapers?

  

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welfare check ...

How’re you all doing today? 

 

For me, one thing that was being destroyed then was my excellent hearing from having my On Air Radio Studio Headphones constantly blasting the day’s rock music too loud!! The only Drug Culture I’m currently active in today is with all the on-going Prescription Drugs I’m taking! And . . . what again are . . . newspapers?!

 

So, for the historical record, it was September 14, 1970, that Agnew delivered his rant at a Republican gathering at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas when he said that the American youth were being actively "brainwashed” into accepting a “Drug Culture.” He specifically called out some undeniable drug-referenced pop songs and movies like Easy Rider, arguing the movie glorified lifestyles funded by illegal drug sales.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The then-Vice President spewing his Spiro-Jyro to anyone who would listen - kk) 

 

That being said and in the past, I invite you to spin ahead to today and join me in irresponsibly cranking up our computer speakers and headphones to about 10 and watching the opening credits featuring a particular, almost Number One Hard Rock Forgotten Hit that opens that one specific movie Agnew spoke of that led was leading us to our downfall.

 

(Some of you may want to first climb aboard your Elliptical Exercise Machine to get fully immersed in the film’s opening!)

 

So, C'mon!  Let’s ride!

 

CB ( which stands for Cinematic Boy!” )

 

And it was 66 Years Ago Today that Mrs. K was born!!!

Love you, honey!  (kk)