Laddy Groove

Ever since moving to Seattle from LA, Trevor Burwen has wanted out: out of his dad’s dingy suburban tract home; out of his soul-sucking job at an alternative music hall; out of the city that has let him down. It’s 1990 and the cusp of the grunge explosion. But to Trevor, Seattle is still a cultural and social backwater. When Trevor joins in with a gang of scooter hooligans, his grey-tinged life explodes into Technicolor—cool threads, music, mates and a vintage Vespa. He’s got the mod look now—and the girls start paying attention. After multiple altercations, a wrecked Jag, a run-in with Swedish mobsters, his love life in the balance and a face that practically gets rearranged, Trevor learns two enduring life lessons. One, “the best scenes are the scenes that die.” And two, “once a mod, always a mod.” Think of Laddy Groove as Quadrophenia for the now generation. Go!

Jerry Boak is a writer and media consultant in New York City. He still has his two-tone 1966 Vespa 180 Super Sport from his days in Seattle. This is his first novel.