Style Weekly
Long before the days of “Hannah Montana” and “The Jonas Brothers,” television executives created one of music’s most famously manufactured artists with the Monkees. Conceived when a pair of producers developed a series centering on a fictional rock group (that just so happened to resemble another mop-topped four-piece), the Monkees and their musical comedy program were designed as a work of fiction. Despite its four open-call cast members having background in music and live performance, the group initially didn’t write the bulk of its material or even play all the instruments on its records (no big shakes today but musical blasphemy back then). Whatever the circumstances of their origins, the Monkees proved themselves by taking creative control of their work, rebelling against their handlers, and becoming respectable songwriters in their own right before disintegrating. Reunited (without lead talent Mike Nesmith), the Monkees are scheduled to play familiar hits such as “I’m a Believer,” “Last Train to Clarksville” and “Pleasant Valley Sunday” at Innsbrook Pavilion on Wednesday, June 8, at 6 p.m. $18-$75.
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