It has come to my attention that author Bryan Charles's "Wowee Zowee," his entry in Continuum's 33 1/3 series of books based on seminal music albums, is slated for release in April. The book focuses on the 1995 album of the same name recorded by the alternative rock band Pavement.According to Charles's MySpace blog, the book will feature "extensive interviews with all five members of the band about the WZ period, before and after etc. Also interviews with assorted label honchos, various engineers -- including the first-ever interview with Mark Venezia who recorded Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain and some Wowee Zowee songs -- and cover artist Steve Keene."
Adds Charles: "Wowee Zowee is my all-time favorite record by my all-time favorite band Pavement."
Charles grew up in the same city I did. He went to the same high school and the same college. His first novel, the wonderful "Grab On to Me Tightly as if I Knew the Way" (which incidentally takes its name from the Pavement song "Angel Carver Blues") reads like a semi-biographical account of my own life, set in our hometown and including episodes of restaurant dishwashing that could have come straight from my past.
All biases aside, Charles is a good writer. Read his books. Buy his books. Send him a note to say you appreciate how he acknowledges the places he's come from.
If you want a preview of what's next from Charles, an excerpt from his yet-to-be released memoir focusing on his first few years in New York City, where he now lives, was published in a recent issue of Open City.
1 comment:
Hold onto Me TIghtly Rocks! I would read anything that comes next.
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