An Interview With Peter Tork
The Former Monkee Talks About His Cancer Diagnosis and Recovery
May 18, 2009
43 years ago, in an effort to capitalize on the wild popularity of the Beatles, a new show called The Monkees premiered on NBC. It featured four zany young men trying to make it in the music business. One of them was Peter Tork.
On screen he was the naïve, slightly dim but very lovable bass player. In reality though he is highly intelligent, witty, and well spoken. (Fans got to see hints of the real Peter in the on set interviews that were inserted into the ends of 12 Monkee episodes that ran short.)
After the show was cancelled and the group broke up, he went on to release a solo album, “Stranger Things Have Happened”, and work with good friend James Lee Stanley before settling in as front man for his current band, Shoe Suede Blues, which is gearing up for several tour dates this summer. We recently had the chance to chat with him about his recent cancer diagnosis.
Q: Hi Peter! Thanks for taking time to talk to me. First things first. How are you feeling? Has your perspective on life changed as a result of having cancer?
I'm fine, thanks. I'm still healing from the surgery, and there are some residual challenges, like my s's are lispy, kinda, but nothing serious. No, my perspective on life hasn't changed a bit as a result of having (had) cancer. I've worked kinda hard on my attitude toward life, and damn' cheap it would have been, too, if I hadn't made provision in it for illness and death, wouldn't it?
Q: You seem to have such an upbeat and positive attitude, but I’m sure the diagnosis was a real shock. What was going through your mind when you were told? Were you ever worried about losing your voice?
Yeah, well, I had a bad moment or two upon being told. If I have a good attitude towards it all for real and not just idiot denial, it's because I was able to acknowledge the shock and go thru what feelings came up for me. Once I'd gone thru that, I was able to get on with the business of taking care of the business. As to the voice, no, that didn't come up. I'd have been a great deal more upset if that had been part of the transition, but even that, according to my philosophy, would have been an indication towards something exciting and fulfilling, just in another direction. I don't mean to indicate that I'd have been perfectly okay with that kind of a prognosis; I'm sure I'd have had my screaming at god session before I settled down. It's just that I'm sure that I'm able to (eventually) get on with whatever is there to get on with.
Q: You are one of the celebrities who use Facebook. Are you enjoying your Facebook page?
Yeah, I am. I'm mostly amazed at the number of people who are wishing me well. Not that I didn't know there was good will towards me, but the size and intensity are still surprising. As I go through radiation I'm sure I will be even more grateful.
Q: How did a guy like you, who started out as a folk singer and spent years as a Monkee get into the Blues? Do you think your love for them helped you get through this rough time?
As to how I got into it, I can only say that I've always been into it in my heart, but my voice and guitar playing took some time to catch up...like, 25 years! As to whether my love for the blues helped me get thru this rough time, I have to say it was probably the other way round. It was my realization that everybody has tough times that enabled me to approach the blues with what felt anything like authenticity.
Q: Finally, you mentioned on Facebook that you'd been syruping. how was the syruping this year? Ever think of marketing it?
Yeah, I kind of have thought about marketing it. Only thing is, the grade is a bit inconsistent for commercial application, plus I don't think there's enough to make it worth my while to try to put it out. This year the syruping was pretty good, tho' I didn't get to participate as much as I'd have liked, because this whole recovering from surgery thing was happening just about then.
Thanks so much for your time Peter! For more information on Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma and Peter’s fundraising project, check out this article!
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