Bang Bang Crash

September 1, 2022

As a young man, Brown was living his dream as a rock'n'roll drummer, successfully landing a big record deal and an interview in Rolling Stone. Then he realized it really wasn't his dream and enrolled in the Iowa Writers' Workshop; he's since published novels like the LJ-starred Doubles. Be inspired.

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 5, 2022
Writing professor and former alt-rock drummer Brown (Floodmarkers) charts his rise from hopeful high school musician to professional percussionist in this mellow memoir. Detailing his early obsession with drumming and his first record deal at 19, Brown recounts feeling he’d “achieved all he wanted” before turning 21, but he eventually grew disenchanted with the music scene and turned to writing. He chronicles his path in episodic style, and in its most dynamic spots the narrative blossoms into a punchy portrait hinting at a deep-rooted passion for writing, evident in the way he describes the first time he notices hearing loss after a show (“my own nightly proof of self-destruction”) or when he fabricates a backstory for his band, Athenaeum, that gets picked up by the press. As well, his love for the people he encounters is palpable, among them famous actors, musicians he’d idolized in his childhood, and his many tour mates. Unfortunately, these events fail to coalesce, and when he finally lands a spot at the Iowa Writer’s Workshop (after having initially declined Ivy League admission to pursue music), it’s hard not to long for a touch more tension. Budding writers and former musicians who’ve long hung up their instruments are likely to find some resonance, but others will be underwhelmed. Agent: Nat Jacks, InkWell Management.

February 1, 2023
Amiable memoir by a rock drummer-turned-writer. "I never play the drums anymore, but they never cease playing me," writes Brown, who found elementary school fame by slapping knees and desk in a creditable version of Ringo Starr's drumming on "The End." Ask the author about his career in rock, though, and he's likely to demur--in large measure, he writes, because you wouldn't have heard of the bands he played with despite the fact that they had a radio hit or two. Brown likens himself to a minor league ball player called up to the majors but never quite distinguishing himself: "I wasn't one of the greats. I was just good enough." An ardent music fan might be the judge of that, but Brown delivers a well-written rock memoir that evades the usual clich�s. There's not a lot of sex and drugs, for instance, but there's plenty on how a nondysfunctional rhythm section works and how a drummer can get the yips as surely as can a golf pro. Egos, contracts, publishing rights, rolling along the interstate on a tour bus supporting the Foo Fighters--all figure in Brown's pages. The author also tackles deeper issues, such as the racism that pervaded the music scene in the North Carolina city where he got his start and the musical differences that cleaved communities ("It's just rock stuff," he says apologetically to a jazz master). There are funny anecdotes along the way, as when Brown figures out a devastatingly difficult drum pattern before an audition only to discover that the band had actually used two drummers. The author also writes seriously without taking himself too much so, as when he recalls reaching a sideman's apogee: "I'd made myself invisible." Later passages of the book recount his friendship with mentor and writer Jim McPherson and how he developed his own writing chops while becoming a more appreciative consumer of music. Both former and aspiring rockers will find plenty to reflect on in Brown's reminiscences.

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February 1, 2023
Fiction author Brown (Floodmarkers, 2009) is of an elusive and fascinating micropopulation: 1990s rock drummers who went on to discover writing careers. It all began for Brown when he was growing up in Greensboro, North Carolina, taking lessons from a jazz musician named Pete. Brown became part of his first official band, Athenaeum, in high school. For this, he would forgo college, spend time recording in L.A., and then move on to other bands to live out his childhood dream of being a full-time musician. He would eventually make time to return to school at Columbia, where he realized a love of writing. When he pursued an MFA in Iowa, and life there started to stick, Brown wondered if he'd given up drumming. But was it that simple? This memoir, crafted in beautiful, vivid prose, explores a life devoted to art, and an artist with many facets and branches to his talent. Music fans will adore the behind-the-scenes look at a drummer's life, but anyone who has ever radically changed course will find connection in Brown's words.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from January 1, 2023

Novelist Brown (In Every Way) used to be a drummer, which he often doesn't want people to know. He deftly brings readers along on a journey of self-discovery and acceptance in his raw and melodic memoir that introduces readers to a young boy passionate for drumming and the man who loses that passion. In the mid-1990s, fresh out of high school, Brown played drums in a rock 'n' roll band that was signed to a major label. He toured the country, appeared on television, and had a hit song. But he was not sure it was the path he wanted to be on. Realizing he wanted to become a writer, he quit music, went to college, attended the Iowa Writers' Workshop, and now has a successful career as a writer and creative-writing professor. Told with brilliant writing, this story is filled with introspection and both laugh-out-loud and cringeworthy moments. VERDICT This poignant memoir will not only be loved by music fans but will also likely appeal to readers who want to go on a journey of love, ambivalence, and acceptance.--Rebekah J. Buchanan

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.