JUSTUS AT BILLBOARD LIVE
Los Angeles, California
November 20, 1996
"Doing the album gave us a lot of satisfaction and a sense of brotherhood. And though in the past it was always 'Davy's the cute one, Mike's the serious one, Micky's the wacky one, and Peter's the shy one,' we ate lunch and dinner together for a month, and we all put up a quarter share of the tab each time. Nobody was in charge, nobody was inferior."
-Davy Jones, commenting on Justus to
Entertainment Weekly, July 19, 1996
"Doing the album gave us a lot of satisfaction and a sense of brotherhood. And though in the past it was always 'Davy's the cute one, Mike's the serious one, Micky's the wacky one, and Peter's the shy one,' we ate lunch and dinner together for a month, and we all put up a quarter share of the tab each time. Nobody was in charge, nobody was inferior."
-Davy Jones, commenting on Justus to
Entertainment Weekly, July 19, 1996
THE SET LIST
In March 1996 at a Los Angeles rehearsal hall, Micky, Mike, and Peter got together and jammed their way through old rock and roll classics as well as a few Monkees songs. The situation proved enjoyable enough to all involved, and after later being joined by Davy, the band decided to record an album of all new material. A 1978 interview with Blitz magazine publisher Mike McDowell seemed to foreshadow what eventually became the Justus project. In the interview, Nesmith was asked about the prospects of a Monkees reunion:
"Well, it's not likely that the four of us would come to terms on this situation, but this is the way I'd want it to happen. I'd have Micky, David and Pete come up here to Carmel and we'd go into the studio and do an album completely on our own, based upon a synthesis of our own musical directions. I'd put the album out on Pacific Arts [Nesmith's production company at the time]. No hype, no full page ads in the trade papers saying 'Monkees comeback album!' or anything like that. I'd just quietly put the album out and let people discover it on its own musical merit. Under those circumstances, yeah, I'd do it."
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In late 1996, Michael explained his return to The Monkees and the eventual recording sessions for Justus. "Coming to terms with the iconography of The Monkees took a long time," he said while speaking with USA Today. "I finally decided there was zero downside." Regarding his absence during previous reunions, Nesmith pointed to his career as a producer and the busy schedule that accompanied it. "The principal reason was allocation of time," he told the Chicago Tribune. "I was always doing something else I couldn't get out of. Add to that the fact that I don't like to be out touring for long." But the jam sessions with the group earlier in the year proved infectious for Michael. "We finally got into a rehearsal studio and it dawned on us, 'Gee, we could make a record here. This sounds great!'"
Years later, Peter recalled the genesis of the Justus album, noting the time when Michael was becoming involved with [his future wife] Victoria [Kennedy] and that he had played "Circle Sky" for her. "She listened and exclaimed, 'Who is playing bass on that?' Michael said, 'Well, Peter.' She quickly replied, 'Well, who wrote the part?' And he responded, 'Well, Peter.' Soon he was sort of enjoying what we had done before. He thought, ‘God, these guys are pretty good.’ So he invited Micky and me, and we took over a rehearsal hall. The three of us banged away for a couple of hours, and danged if we didn’t sound just exactly the same as we did when we left off nearly 30 years previously."
After the jam sessions, the quartet met at Micky's house to review demos. Initially songs from outside songwriters were being reviewed to accompany songs submitted by the individual Monkees, but all outside contributions would be set aside to make way for an album completely written, produced and recorded by The Monkees. Despite the diverse musical directions each member of The Monkees often pursued on their classic albums, Nesmith reported a general consensus ruled the Justus sessions. "With this one, it wasn't quite as disparate as it was in the '60s," he told the Chicago Tribune. "It was very harmonious. We had a constitution for the album. We would write all the material and produce it. Whoever wrote the song would have the last word on it. And nobody would play on the album but us."
Years later, Peter recalled the genesis of the Justus album, noting the time when Michael was becoming involved with [his future wife] Victoria [Kennedy] and that he had played "Circle Sky" for her. "She listened and exclaimed, 'Who is playing bass on that?' Michael said, 'Well, Peter.' She quickly replied, 'Well, who wrote the part?' And he responded, 'Well, Peter.' Soon he was sort of enjoying what we had done before. He thought, ‘God, these guys are pretty good.’ So he invited Micky and me, and we took over a rehearsal hall. The three of us banged away for a couple of hours, and danged if we didn’t sound just exactly the same as we did when we left off nearly 30 years previously."
After the jam sessions, the quartet met at Micky's house to review demos. Initially songs from outside songwriters were being reviewed to accompany songs submitted by the individual Monkees, but all outside contributions would be set aside to make way for an album completely written, produced and recorded by The Monkees. Despite the diverse musical directions each member of The Monkees often pursued on their classic albums, Nesmith reported a general consensus ruled the Justus sessions. "With this one, it wasn't quite as disparate as it was in the '60s," he told the Chicago Tribune. "It was very harmonious. We had a constitution for the album. We would write all the material and produce it. Whoever wrote the song would have the last word on it. And nobody would play on the album but us."
In essence, the setting for the recording sessions of Justus was equivalent to those surrounding the making of 1967's Headquarters, the group's third album and the first made under their complete control after having Don Kirshner removed as the band's musical supervisor. Nesmith said that the sessions this time around were completed at a more relaxed pace in comparison to the 1960s. "This was much more easygoing. We didn't have to make a record, didn't need it for the show, didn't have to have a follow-up to the last record. There was no pressure. We were basically just playing and having a good time doing it."
Recording sessions for Justus were finished before Dolenz, Jones, and Tork hit the road for the band's 30th Anniversary tour. Dolenz would announce nightly that Nesmith was in Los Angeles mixing the band's new album. Final overdubs for it were completed during an early break in the tour schedule. (Nesmith did not make any live concert appearances during the 30th Anniversary tour.) During the summer of 1996, a label deal was made with Rhino Records to release the first new album made by all four Monkees since 1968.
Recording sessions for Justus were finished before Dolenz, Jones, and Tork hit the road for the band's 30th Anniversary tour. Dolenz would announce nightly that Nesmith was in Los Angeles mixing the band's new album. Final overdubs for it were completed during an early break in the tour schedule. (Nesmith did not make any live concert appearances during the 30th Anniversary tour.) During the summer of 1996, a label deal was made with Rhino Records to release the first new album made by all four Monkees since 1968.
Justus made its way to music shops on October 15, 1996. In promotion of their new album, The Monkees gathered in Los Angeles, California at Billboard Live to perform a mini-concert arranged for the media and fans lucky enough to attend. The event made entertainment headlines and features were written about the band in newspapers like USA Today and the Los Angeles Times. The concert at Billboard Live would be the only one in the United States by all four Monkees to promote Justus, as well as the last performance ever in the United States by the full quartet. Each Monkee played their respective instruments during this performance. (Peter switched between keyboards and bass. Davy played an acoustic-electric guitar as well, and keyboards on "Steppin' Stone.")
After this show, The Monkees traveled to England in early January 1997. A press conference was held at the Hard Rock Cafe in London to announce their upcoming tour of the United Kingdom. Upon returning to the United States, the quartet began work on an original one-hour prime time television special (written and directed by Nesmith) which eventually aired on ABC on February 17, 1997. A Monkees documentary also premiered on the Disney Channel on January 22, 1997.
After this show, The Monkees traveled to England in early January 1997. A press conference was held at the Hard Rock Cafe in London to announce their upcoming tour of the United Kingdom. Upon returning to the United States, the quartet began work on an original one-hour prime time television special (written and directed by Nesmith) which eventually aired on ABC on February 17, 1997. A Monkees documentary also premiered on the Disney Channel on January 22, 1997.
THE PERFORMANCE
PHOTO GALLERY
(Above) Footage of The Monkees at Billboard Live and more
(Above) The Monkees in the studio during the recording of Justus