The Book

Praise for "Off the Record"

Review
By Mark Dudick
Anchorage Daily News (April 11, 2002)

As the guys of 36 Crazyfists will quickly admit, a major-label record deal stands as a dream come true...Not to dash or demean that scenario, but here’s a bit of advice from Hunter S. Thompson: “The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There’s also a negative side.”

That quote appears as an epigraph in David Menconi’s “Off the Record,” a fictional tale about the rise of an incendiary band much like 36 Crazyfists. The author has worked for years as the music critic for the News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C. and draws on that experience to chronicle the volatile musicians, superstar-making promoters, stepping-stone bar owners and sleazy journalists along for the ride. And don’t forget drugs, riots and hit records.

The book could have become another sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll cliche. Instead, Menconi unleashes an expose of the music business from the roots up. And the details are right on — as in this scene when the Tommy Aguilar Band crunches into an obscure Sex Pistols’ tune, “Holidays in the Sun,” in front of 40,000 screaming fans. “With the echo of his scream still stabbing everyone’s ears, Tommy jumped three feet straight up, hit a split-leg post at the apex of his leap and windmilled his guitar one last time.

“KERAAAAAAAAAANG . . .

“Ray followed the cue and hammered out a snare drum roll. As soon as Tommy came back to earth, he began pummeling his guitar at a fearsome pace, lurching across the stage. . . . Michelle had just about caught up (on bass) by the time Tommy made it back to his microphone and started to caterwaul.”

Anyone aspiring toward the spiralling hell of a music career or just looking for a great read about the biz, should buy this book. Check it out at www.OffThe RecordBook.com.