Micky Dolenz holds meet and greet at Abbey Road on the River

May 25—JEFFERSONVILLE — Before he performed, Micky Dolenz had a meet and greet on Thursday as Abbey Road on the River kicked off its five days of music.

At the meet and greet attended by around 100 fans, Dolenz told stories about his time on the Monkees' television show and with the band "The Monkees," his childhood and more.

Dolenz, now 78, told the audience that his parents were both very musical and both actors who met performing in plays together.

"I was introduced into the business at birth," Dolenz said. "My father was an actor, quite successful. My mom played the piano and sang in the Big Band era. So, from day one there was music in the house all the time."

He sang along with his mother and his sister, Coco. His father got Dolenz into playing classical guitar, which was the first instrument he learned to play, when he was around the age of 10.

As Dolenz was growing up, he did not have a desire or a vision to make a career out of music or acting.

"My friend and I, we decided to be architects and I went to college to study to be an architect. That I was passionate about," Dolenz said. "If I couldn't make it as an architect, I could fall back on the show biz, and that's what happened."

After he started studying architecture in Los Angeles, he got the audition for the Monkees.

When Dolenz auditioned for the part, he played "Johnny B. Goode" on his guitar. When he was accepted into the cast, he was told that he was going to be the drummer despite not knowing how to play drums at the time.

"They (the producers) said, 'We have enough guitar players, you're the wacky drummer,'" Dolenz said. "I knew music, I could read music from the guitar... I started lessons immediately."

Once the show took off and the band was playing concerts, Dolenz said that he and the other members formed a sibling bond. With that bond, sibling rivalries formed as well.

Dolenz's favorite songs from the Monkees depends on the genre. For Rock n' Roll his favorite is "Pleasant Valley." For a ballad, he chooses "Sometime in the Morning," and for the country genre, his favorite is "Last Train to Clarksville."

When the show ended and the band went their own ways, Dolenz did not go on a solo tour in America until the '90s.

"After I came back from England, early in the '90s, I would do solo shows and I turned my back to the audience, not on purpose, just because I liked being with the band," Dolenz said.

He has been with the same band for around 25 years, one of the members is his sister, Coco.

Now he tours with the band and performs with them all over the nation.

"They pay me to travel, I sing for free," Dolenz said.