Michael Nesmith plans SoCal shows

Country-rock pioneer Michael Nesmith will revisit the critically acclaimed solo albums he made after his exit from the Monkees in 1969 with a pair of Southern California shows in January.

The shows are themed Michael Nesmith & the First National Band, the name of the group he assembled for the albums “Magnetic South,” “Loose Salute” and “Nevada Fighter” in 1970 and 1971, respectively.

“I could just feel this happening, that there was this ‘thing,’ ” Nesmith, 74, said in a statement announcing the performances Jan. 23 at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano and Jan. 25 at the Troubadour in West Hollywood. “So, I headed off to Nashville to see if I couldn’t get some of the Nashville country thing into the rock ’n’ roll or vice versa.”

Nesmith, a Texas native, injected some twang into the Monkees’ music with songs he wrote such as “Papa Gene’s Blues” as well as their recording of Michael Martin Murphey’s “What Am I Doing Hanging ’Round.”

In 1968, he traveled to Nashville to work with seasoned country players in sessions that yielded the Monkees’ 1969 single “Listen to the Band,” and which sparked him to create the First National Band.