I’m always on the hunt for a new music bio. With the large amount of these books being published today, one would think the line of great books in waiting is a long one, but that’s not always the case. This group represents a lucky period where books were practically falling off the shelves, and since then, I’ve read quite a few more.
The book that stands out for me and that I would like to own is Seymour Stein’s (2018). Great story, beautiful typography, great storyteller. But I loved all of them. The Doobies could have used a bit more grit, Geezer trailed off into journeyman metal land, and the music in Kid Congo Powers orbit is not always my style. Usually, it helps if you love the music that you’re reading about, but Mark Rivera managed to write a great book about playing with Billy Joel. Kudos to that! But the stories were all interesting and well-told.
Seymour Stein - Siren Song: My Life In Music
There was a time when I wanted to get a job in the record industry. I tried and tried, and only ended up with a writing gig, editing music fan magazines for a small publisher. That was one of the most fun jobs that I ever had but anyone who wants to make a real go as a record person should read Seymour Stein’s autobiography.
It’s a bit unfair to write a short review of the autobiography of a man who affected many more musicians’ lives and therefore potentially many more fans’ lives than the typical muso bio. Sire Records was once the top indie record label in the world, to the point that it wasn’t an indie. Talking Heads, Ramones, The Smiths and OK, here goes the indie tag out the window, Madonna all recorded for Sire, plus many more. The coolness factor was off the hook.
Stein deals honestly with his eventual realization that he was gay, how this affected his marriage and the unfortunate sad ending for his former wife and best friend. The balance between work, music and personal issues is balanced like a fine wine. I plan to revisit this book someday.
Mark Rivera - Side Man: In Pursuit of the Next Gig
Mark Rivera’s excellent memoir is written in a conversational, open style, and you can tell before too long that he’s not pulling any punches. He drops F-Bombs, talks about his disappointment in having to drive a lame second car (as opposed to the fleets of dazzling specimens owned by his employers) and generally lays it on the line.
Anyone thinking seriously about a career as a musician could benefit from reading this absorbing and not overlong book. Rivera was Billy Joel’s main sax player for many years, and he was touring musician and session man for Foreigner during their heyday. But he didn’t bank the major royalties that those acts did, and he had to struggle at times. When you tour with Foreigner, you end up living the lifestyle, and that costs major ducats, he explains. At the tours’ end, you go looking for another gig because your accounts are exhausted, possibly as much as you are.
The ever-present question is, how does someone with so much talent, know-how, determination, and movie star good looks, to boot, end up with the short end of the stick? It turns out to be a complex answer that encompasses instrumentation in rock (the popularity of the sax comes and goes), race (many rock bands are comprised of not just white men, but white men who look somewhat like each other) and some kind of difficult to explain X-Factor. While I was reading the enjoyable early part including Mark’s childhood and love for his parents, his music experiences in NYC reminded me of Nile Rodger’s also terrific bio. But although they came up through somewhat similar circumstances, Nile Rodgers was a very distinctive guitarist and a music producer to the superstars (David Bowie and Madonna, to name just two), in addition to being an excellent songwriter. It’s a tough business. But Mark’s book is an easy to read, page turner.
Geezer Butler: Into The Void: From Birth To Black Sabbath – And Beyond
Sadly, I never saw Black Sabbath play live. But as a kid growing up in the ‘70s, I did see them on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert, the TV show that turned many young fans onto the music of the day. I was impressed and intrigued by Geezer’s aggressive right-hand technique. He also looked very cool. Later, when I learned that he had written a large portion of Black Sabbath’s lyrics, I was even more impressed.
Geezer’s book is a must for any fan, but as is the case with many rock bios, the beginning is the most interesting part. Geezer’s description of his childhood, growing up in England, post WWII, is very well written and explains much of how the band came to sound like they did. In fact, there’s a finely wrought aspect to his prose that hints at his lyrical abilities without drawing attention to itself.
Later, he spends a little too much time on the hijinks and whatnot of life on the road. Tony Iommi does so in his book and if my memory serves me right, so does Ozzy. But that says something, too. These guys are cut from the same cloth, and there’s a reason why so many of the bands of this era have such a uniform look, style and sound.
The Doobie Brother – Long Train Runnin’ – Our Story of The Doobie Brothers
By Tom Johnston and Pat Simmons with Chris Epting
A full Marshall Stack. A white Fender Stratocaster. An MXR Phase 90. Onstage at my junior high school. During recess. A kid just barely playing, sitting on the floor of the stage of the school auditorium. But what did he play? “Long Train Runnin’” by The Doobie Brothers, that’s what he played.
Tom Johnston and Pat Simmons spend a lot of time on their childhoods in the first part of the book. Their early years were very similar, and you keep expecting them to meet up in high school or soon after. They both got kicked out of the Fillmore West, on separate occasions, for Christ sakes! But in reality, they met in early adulthood, when both had already decided to try and become professional musicians. The book follows the typical trajectory of many of these types of books. The early excitement, the delirious early to middle success, and then the long, slow struggle to remain relevant and continue to play their music at the highest level.
Kid Congo Powers: Some New Kind of Kick
If I hadn’t had seen Kid Congo Powers play with his band, Congo Norvell, at a small club in the ‘90s, I might never have picked this book up. But a glance at the ‘sex-drugs-and rock and roll’ storytelling on the inside quickly sealed the deal. I was surprised to learn that KPC didn’t pick up a guitar until about age twenty, about as old as you can possibly start and have a pro music career.
With stints in Gun Club, The Cramps, and Nick Cave and The Bads Seeds, this begs the question, “how does he do it?” A glance at the dust jacket blurbs hints at some of the qualities KCP possesses. From Flea to Nick Cave to Jack White, they all feel that KCP is one very cool guy. A quote from him later in the book helped explain it. Speaking of Jeffrey Lee Pierce, his partner in crime in Gun Club, KCP opined, “Everyone hated when Jeffrey played the trumpet, with a passion. I didn’t hate it so much. It was obvious he couldn’t play. I embraced it and was amused by it.” This is an attitude that will take you far in the world of Alt-Rock, where experimentation is held at a premium. It also demonstrates a tolerant and empathetic personality, good for playing in bands.
What kind of guitar did KCP play at that long ago gig at Brownie’s on Avenue A? It was one of the early Fender Squires, a Stratocaster, through a Fender Prosonic, if I remember correctly. Not exactly the rig of a punk-rocker. He sounded great. -Christian Botta