Where The Wild Gigs Were

A collection of essays celebrating the history of underground American music venues.

'The Stone Roses have become folk heroes, frozen in time. And their story, with roots in punk through post-punk, scooter boys, skinheads, Northern Soul, psychedelia, acid house and Madchester, is everything that is great about British street culture.' Reni. Mani. Ian Brown. John Squire. Names that will forever be remembered for creating their defining album The Stone Roses and a unique but inimitable baggy style. Their phenomenal story was first documented by the man who was with them every step of the way: John Robb. And now, in this special edition of his acclaimed and intimate biography, Robb brings the ultimate rock 'n' roll tale fully up to date.

The science of ecology as a faculty of study deals extensively with myriad aspects related to fundamental elements existing in the universe. Along with various aspects, manages cooperation between singular living beings and their surroundings, which incorporates connections with both nonspecific and individuals from different species. The interaction amplifies proportion and ratio of enquiry into relationship among various elements existing in environment and their interlinking; the aspect has proved to be beneficial in terms of internalizing characteristic features and delineate explicit patterns of ecology

Kristine McKenna's work as a journalist began in the late 1970s, when she covered the Los Angeles punk scene for various domestic and international publications. During the '80s and '90s she wrote art, film and music criticism, and profiled directors, musicians and visual artists for a variety of publications including Artforum, Playboy, Rolling Stone, The Los Angeles Times and New York Rocker. Talk to Her is McKenna's second collection (the first was 1999's Book of Changes) of favorite interviews culled from McKenna's files, and the book reveal's McKenna's highly intimate technique as an interviewer. That she manages to get such candor out of her subjects is remarkable. The stunning list of interview subjects includes: Filmmaker Robert Altman; Jackie Onassis's cousin Edie Beale; punk rocker and poet Exene Cervenka; the musician Elvis Costello; surf guitar legend Dick Dale; the postmodern critic Jacques Derrida; Beat poet Allen Ginsberg; Television's Richard Hell and Tom Verlaine; art curator Walter Hopps; Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde; country music legend Rickie Lee Jones; the Sex Pistols' John Lydon (a.k.a. Johnny Rotten); singer and songwriter Joni Mitchell; the Rabbi Jonathan Omer-Man; punk rock legend Joey Ramone; New York rock legend Lou Reed; the actress Eva Marie Saint; and the recently-departed Joe Strummer of the Clash. Also included are brief oral histories of Andy Warhol and Orson Welles.

The eclectic Orange County band No Doubt was formed in 1986 by Eric Stefani and John Spence who soon recruited Eric’s younger sister Gwen as co-vocalist. With the addition of Tony Kanal on Bass, they launched a 20 year career that would fuse ska, grunge, alt. rock and shades of several other musical genres into a unique mix. The 1987 suicide of John Spence resulted in the battlefield promotion of Gwen to lead vocalist, a shift that would prove a launch pad for her future solo career and media celebrity status. Through it all No Doubt went from strength to strength and in 1995, following the departure of Eric Stefani, finally found mainstream success when their third album, Tragic Kingdom, enjoyed over 15 million sales worldwide. Since then this ska-loving band from Southern California has flourished. Despite a frequently changing line-up and the potential distraction of Sven’s parallel solo career, No Doubt have stayed true to their mission to be musical and visual innovators.

A busker is a wee guy (or woman) who plays on the streets for tips. In bands, to busk, means to bluff your way through a song that you haven't rehearsed with whomever you happen to be standing beside on a stage. It may be the first time you have played it. Sometimes you might not have even heard the song before. When there is a big crowd in front of you, listening to every note, that's when the fun starts. This is a passionate, humorous and highly original look at the life of a musician on the road and what it is really like to be a musician. If you love music and you want to know more about what it is like to be a musician, then you will love this book.

Extensively illustrated and featuring year by year accounts of developments in music, fashion and society at large, TOMORROW IS TODAY is the definitive guide on the evolution of Australian youth culture during the heady period of the mid to late 1960s. "... this is an Aussie psychedelic music trip of a lifetime; dig in and enjoy the good vibes!" - Ian McFarlane, author of THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AUSTRALIAN ROCK AND POP.

This edited collection provides sociological and cultural research that expands our understanding of the alternative, liminal or transgressive; theorizing the status of the alternative in contemporary culture and society.