MICKY DOLENZ

There was never any pressure on me to go into the business, but I was always aware of it. I'd go on the set with my father and he and my mother would always be singing.

My parents were both in show business. My father was an actor, my mom an actress, and both singers, dancers and actors. They met in Los Angeles doing a play together and so I grew up in a show biz family.

Writing is a great love of mine.

Ever since I was a kid, I've had an enormous interest in the sciences - everything from quantum physics to anthropology.

In 1962 I was 17, so I was definitely watching the dance shows on television.

I've never been one to chase awards or anything like that, to be honest.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is not a public democratic organization; it's a private club basically. It's like a private golf club and they decide who they're going to let in the club.

They were looking for actors - real actors - who could play instruments. There was a lot of improvisation and scene work involved in addition to the music. The auditions went on for a long time.

I am extremely lucky; I've never been ill - although about 20 years ago I broke my right arm hang gliding.

What happened was, my parents after 'Circus Boy' decided to take me out of show business for two years to go back to normal school. It was the smartest thing they ever did.

My influences were Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry.

No matter how tired I am, I can only sleep for four hours at a time.

When I look back on my life, I wonder how I survived - my mother said I had a guardian angel.

After high school I was going to be an architect. In fact, I was studying to be an architect when the audition for 'The Monkees' came along.

When my 'Scientific American' arrives every month, I read it cover to cover.

I was an entertainer, ever since I was a kid.

I had piano lessons at five and started guitar at ten, but although music and acting was always around me, my parents never pressured me into it.

The thing is, I'm not a prolific songwriter.

Many people have fond memories of 'The Monkees.' I fondly remember it, too.

I'm now learning how to distinguish when I'm acting and when I'm not acting - offstage as well as onstage.

And singing is a physical thing - your vocal cords are these muscles.

When I do my solo concerts, I'm used to being on the stage for two hours solid, singing 16 songs. And when I did 'Funny Thing,' I was on the stage the whole time. This is much more difficult. It's the difference between racing and sprinting. This is sprinting. And I have to learn to pace myself.

To dispose of a two-headed Org, jump up and down three times, roll a head of cabbage, and giggle!

The Monkees are to the Beatles what 'Star Trek' is to NASA. They are both totally valid in their contexts.

Yeah I did put my clothes on, but my clothes took off... Could it be my clothes are putting me on??