Carmel Magazine

54 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 1 LOCALKNOWLEDGE Michael Nesmith Singer, Songwriter, Author, Artist, Innovator, Grammy Award Winner M ichael Nesmith spent the early part of his profes- sional life very much in the limelight of Hollywood as a television star and rock-and-roll icon. As he enters his golden years Nez—as he is known—has found the life of a reclusive country gentleman in bucolic Carmel Valley much more to his liking. Following his stint as a member of the made-for-TV pop band The Monkees, the singer/songwriter/ guitarist embarked on a successful solo career and is credit- ed with being at the forefront of the creation of the "coun- try rock" genre in the early 1970s. He is also recognized as ETMSRIIVMRXLIQYWMGZMHIS½IPHTPE]MRKEWMKRM½GERXVSPI in the creation of MTV. Today, at Video Ranch, his Sand City music and video studio, Nez continues to explore new means of commu- nicating his unique ar tistic ideas to the world. He's even returned to stages around the world with his First National Band (that includes sons Christian and Jonathan plus Christian's wife Circe) and recently with Monkees co-star Micky Dolenz. That duo recently released a live record "The Monkees Live: The Mike and Micky Show." The album features 25 tracks that span the Monkees career and was mixed by Christian. Nez is somewhat of a Renaissance man—at various times he's been an actor, musician, novelist, ½PQTVSHYGIVTLMPERXLVSTMWXERHJEQMP]QERSRSGGEWMSR all at the same time). Witty, sharp minded, well-read, charm- ing and fascinating, he is a spellbinding conversationalist. We spoke with Nez at his studio. 5;LIRHMH]SY½VWXGSQIXS'EVQIP# A: 1954. My mother and I lived in Dallas and she bought a second house on 8th and Junipero in Carmel-by-the-Sea as a vacation home. Later, she got another on Scenic that I inherited but immediately sold. I regret that, but I also real- ized that there was nothing I could do with it. A seven-mil- lion-dollar house is not something you can keep in a drawer. Carmel has always felt like home, although I raised my children in LA, because their mother was comfor table XLIVI;LIR-½REPP]PIJX0%-[EWMR¾MKLX-X´WELEVWL place and not a great environment. There's something inspirational about the quality of life here. 5&YX]SYVXMQIMR0%[EWELMKLP]GVIEXMZI TIVMSHJSV]SY# A: I attribute that to my (then) wife Phyllis. She was at the time, one of the smartest people I knew, and she steered me in the way of doing the music that I think made it work. I would get stuck on something and she would introduce a possible line or a new point of view. That's what I look for in inspirational backgrounds. Unless you have those moments XLEX½PP]SYVLIEVX]SY´ZIKSXRSXLMRK%RH0%GERHSXLEX FYX]SY´ZIKSXXS½RHXLIVMKLXTISTPI I tried to lead the life of a pop star but eventually I real- ized I just wasn't cut out for it. 5;LEXEVI]SYPMWXIRMRKXSXLIWIHE]W# A: Vapor Wave. I really like it. It's inspiring to me and not too many people do it. It's subtle, highly original. Listening to this music is satisfying and a revelation to me. It's mantra-esque. You hear the chorus of this music like you do the chorus of a river. It's not like pop music that goes verse/chorus and repeats again and again. 5;LEXPSGEPEVXMWXWHS]SYEHQMVI# %-´QRSXERE½GMSREHSFYX-´QEFMK°JERMWR´XXLIVMKLX word, and proponent probably is not enough—of Clint Eastwood. He's a real master at this point in his life, so I pay attention to what he's doing. And one of the things he's done is Tehama. I go out there and eat and play golf and think…wow…how did he put this together? It's a supreme work of art. He's fully integrated into whatever he's doing. He's contributed so much. Recently I worked on a project in Marfa, Texas with John Cerney, the artist who does those photo-realistic murals MRXLI½IPHWSJXLI7EPMREW:EPPI]-X´WERLSQEKIXSXLI½PQ ±+MERX²XLEX[EW½PQIHXLIVI1]QYWMGTPE]WMREPSSTEXXLI installation. I think John had a huge effect on this area. When ]SY´VIHVMZMRKERH]SYWIIXLIWIXLMRKWMRXLI½IPHWXLMWTPEGI changes, in my mind. It was inspiring to work with him. °1MGLEIP'LEX½IPH

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