Joel McIver
The Life and Death of Metallica’s Cliff Burton
January 14, 2010 by Publisher
by Chris A.
Staff Writer
Metallica bass player Cliff Burton was killed Sept. 27, 1986 while on tour with Metallica. He was asleep in his bunk on the band’s tour bus, when, in the early mist-covered morning hours on a Swedish road, the vehicle suddenly ran off the road and flipped over. Burton was ejected as the bus overturned and was crushed beneath it. “To Live Is To Die”, the title of the book, is taken from the title of the last song penned for Metallica by Cliff Burton. With far more focus on Burton’s life than his tragic death, author Joel McIver relies on first hand interviews of friends, associates, fellow musicians and his band mates to try to turn nearly 25 years of media sound-bites into a sensible, cognizant story of a man whom we really knew very little about…until now. Read more
Dave Thompson
I Hate New Music: The Classic Rock Manifesto Backbeat
September 30, 2009 by Publisher
by Justin Gaines
Staff Writer
When you strip away the caustic observations and bitter humor of Dave Thompson’s I Hate New Music: The Classic Rock Manifesto, what you’re left with is a fierce, passionate love letter to the classic rock ‘n’ roll (never rock and roll) bands the veteran music journalist cut his teeth on. The fact that those caustic observations and bitter humor are what makes I Hate New Music so much fun is an added bonus. Its Fargo Rock City if you replaced Chuck Klosterman’s wide-eyed farm boy with the bitter troll hunched over stacks of used vinyl at the local record show. Read more
Alissa Ordabai
Grapes from Thornbushes Merodach Publishing
February 23, 2009 by Publisher
by Derric Miller
Staff Writer
The debut novel from English writer Alissa Ordabai, Biblically titled Grapes from Thornbushes, introduces you to a writer with keen insight into the human condition … at least the condition of wannabe rock stars. Grapes from Thornbushes follows the travails of the somewhat soulless yet naïve Joey Mormile, a 22-year-old guitarist with magazine cover hair and good looks, as he is torn between the love of his muse and the whorish music industry itself.
The narrative is told from Joey’s voice, and when you first meet him, he is naturally at a pub, dissecting with scathing precision one of the local underground writers, who already “elderly” at 35 years of age, is a bit of a laughingstock to Joey. Read more
Chris A.
Courage and Carnage at the Alrosa Villa MJS Music Publications
Written by Derric Miller
Staff Writer
It is not up for debate: what happened to Dimebag Darrell Abbott on Dec. 8, 2004, is one of the worst tragedies in Heavy Metal history. You cannot even compare the simple insanity that ended John Lennon’s life to Dimebag’s passing. Lennon’s killer had a cycloptic focus on his goal; Dimebag’s killer, Nathan Gale, was a schizophrenic slaughterer who somehow only managed to take four people out before the heroic efforts of Police Officer James Niggemeyer ended Gale in one shotgun blast.
The new book by Chris A., titled A Vulgar Display of Power, is an homage to the fallen heroes of that tragedy — Nathan Bray, Erin Halk, Jeffery Thompson, and of course, Dimebag. Read more
Lonn Friend
Life on Planet Rock Morgan Road Books
February 23, 2009 by Publisher
by John Kindred
Staff Writer
At a time when Metal was king and fans lived and died to know the inside skinny on their favorite bands, Lonn Friend lived the lifestyle and reported to a generation of metal fans, from an insider’s perspective, the happenings of daily living from the pulpit of RIP magazine.
Lonn Friend’s days as editor of RIP (’87 – ‘94) lifted him to a level of equal status as bands treated Friend to the inside scoop of their existence, for a moment in the sun in the celebrated pages of RIP magazine. Friend’s rise to editor carried him from the sleaze pages of smut to the penthouse of rock when Larry Flint’s wife, Althea, proposed the magazine, and Larry Flint made it so. Read more
Jaime Vendera
Raise Your Voice Vendera Publishing
February 23, 2009 by Publisher
Written by Derric Miller
Staff Writer
Do you know what “The Bullfrog” is? Or how about the “Falsetto Slide,” “Transcending Tone” or “The Siren?” Even better, do you know how to shatter a wine glass just by the power of your own voice? Well, the only documented person to do so, Jaime Vendera, has written a new book called<em> Raise Your Voice</em> so you can arm yourself with the best techniques in the industry, and maybe even learn how to shatter a wine glass yourself.
Vendera gives all of his credits to Nitro singer Jim Gillette, who is also capable of blowing up wine glasses with his voice. In fact, Vendera honed his ability under Gillette’s tutelage. But Raise Your Voice< is really a vocal system that will teach you the proper techniques to be the best overall singer you can be. Read more
Chuck Klosterman
Killing Yourself to Live Scribner
February 22, 2009 by Publisher
Written by Derric Miller
Staff Writer
Chuck Klosterman lives in a world rife with beautiful, intelligent women, who all happen to know the melting point of Einsteinium — yeah, they are that smart. In his new book titled “Killing Yourself to Live, 85% of a True Story,” you’ll meet many of those women that he shares his life with and watch him fumble through a love triumvirate as he travels across the country, penning his emotions and thoughts as he visits rock and roll tragedy sites. And does drugs.
That’s a lot.
Klosterman is honest. Reading his new book, you are going to step inside the head of a man you do not know, and after only a few pages, you’ll want to know more about. His writing is spare and precise, almost a surgical strike. Not stream of consciousness, because he makes sense throughout, but he does meander from time to time. Read more
