Flying Saucers Rock 'n' Roll: Conversations with Unjustly Obscure Rock 'n' Soul Eccentrics (Refiguring American Music) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0822348497 ISBN 13: 9780822348498

Publisher: Duke University Press Books, 2011

Synopsis

For nearly twenty years, the much-beloved music magazine Roctober has featured work by some of the best underground cartoonists, exhaustive examinations of made-up genres such as “robot rock,” and an ongoing exploration of everything Sammy Davis Jr. ever sang, said, or did. But the heart of the magazine has always been the lengthy conversations with overlooked or forgotten artists. Flying Saucers Rock ’n’ Roll gathers the most compelling of these interviews. Eccentric, important artists—including the rockabilly icon Billy Lee Riley, the jazz musician and activist Oscar Brown Jr., the “Outlaw Country” singer David Allan Coe, and the pioneer rock ’n’ roll group the Treniers—give the most in-depth interviews of their lengthy careers. Obscure musicians, such as the Armenian-language novelty artist Guy Chookoorian and the frustrated interstellar glam act Zolar X, reveal fascinating lives lived at rock’s margins. Roctober’s legendarily dedicated writers convey telling anecdotes in the fervent, captivating prose that has long been appreciated by music enthusiasts. Along with the entertaining interviews, Flying Saucers Rock ’n’ Roll features more than sixty images from the pages of Roctober and ten illustrations created for the book by the underground rock ’n’ roll artist King Merinuk.

Contributors
Steve Albini
Ben Austen
Jake Austen
John Battles
Bosco
Ken Burke
Mike Maltese
King Merinuk
Ken Mottet
Jonathan Poletti
James Porter
"Colonel" Dan Sorenson
Jacqueline Stewart

About this title

About the Author

Jake Austen is an independent music writer and the editor of Roctober magazine. He is the author of TV-a-Go-Go: Rock on TV from American Bandstand to American Idol, the editor of A Friendly Game of Poker: 52 Takes on the Neighborhood Game, and a founder and co-host of the cult-favorite dance show Chic-a-Go-Go, which airs on Chicago Access Network Television (CAN-TV).

Review

“Jake Austen has the brains of a world-class scholar driven to illuminate previously obscure but vital arcana, the soul of a historian eager to bring the past roaring back to life, and the heart of a furious but funny rock ’n’ roll hell-raiser. As the majordomo of Roctober, fronting a posse of like-minded and equally passionate fellow travelers, he has picked up the mantle of that first-generation rock-critic giant Nick Tosches and at long last given us his answer to Unsung Heroes of Rock ’n’ Roll. Yes, Flying Saucers Rock ’n’ Roll really is a book worthy of being mentioned in that company, and it’s a must for any serious rock reader’s bookshelf.”—Jim DeRogatis, critic, author, educator, and co-host of Sound Opinions—the world’s only rock ’n’ roll talk show

“With an awe-inspiringly integrated and thoroughly unassuming knowledge of all the nooks, crannies, and hidden corners of American popular culture, there’s no more appropriate cheerleader for musical humanity than Jake Austen, a polymath force of nature who’s been amazing me for twenty years. If any of the rest of us had just a hundredth of the energy, enthusiasm, and big-heartedness that Jake seems to show with every project he undertakes, the world would be a much better place—and a lot more fun.”—Chris Ware, cartoonist and author of Jimmy Corrigan—The Smartest Kid on Earth

Edition details

• Publisher: Duke University Press Books
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0822348497
• ISBN 13: 9780822348498
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 320
• Editor: Austen Jake