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Phoenix, Arizona, 1950.

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The 1965 New York City blackout.

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Weather in the desert

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Inside New York, 1991. Scan (first of a new series)

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Western Zen Ryshorosky — 2024

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Paris steet scenes by Sarah van Rij

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Harald Percival Renbjor. Landscapes, circa 1954.

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Tyrannosaurus Rex & Impala, 1984, Richard Misrach

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peter at the screen gems block party september 1966

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Lawrence N. Shustak, Thelonious Monk

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António Rosa Casaco. Lavanderas. Portugal, 1940s

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London, 1969. Photograph via Glen Fairweather.

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Laguna Beach, 1989

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Melting ice and snow meet open water and sand at Lake Michigan.

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Peter Tork onstage at Wembley in 1967; photo courtesy of Melody Maker.

Q: “Peter, starting with Headquarters in 1967, it seems you were one of the first guys to actually make the banjo a significant element of pop-rock songs.” Peter Tork: “I wasn’t even thinking about doing that. I just thought, ‘The banjo would sound good here.’ If I’m fond of my own work at all, it’s the opening lick to ‘You Told Me’ from Headquarters. The guitar starts off [mimics guitar] and then the banjo cuts in [mimics banjo] and suddenly, you’re in a whole new realm. To me, building those kinds of textures is what music is all about, and there are a couple of places where the banjo contributed nicely to the Monkees’ basic rock. It seems I’m a rocker who happens to play banjo, or a banjo player who happens to rock. I don’t know.” Q: “Was it pretty seamless when you first started working out your parts for Headquarters, or did the whole studio look at you and go, ‘Peter, what are you doing with a banjo?’” Peter: “It was seamless. Everybody knew I had a banjo, and so they knew it was part of what I brought to the table musically. Nobody was surprised.” - Guitar Player Magazine, October 2016 “[On ‘You Told Me,’] it really kills when the banjo comes right in the middle and then the band hits with that nice bass drop. That moment is really exciting, that’s what music is supposed to be.” - Peter Tork, Headquarters, 1995 liner notes