Stale Book Review #47: The Paths We Choose

The Paths We Choose by Sully Erna

Cost: $0.75US

Page Count: 273

I really didn't have much in the way of expectations when digging into The Paths We Choose.  Sully Erna is the frontman in the rock band Godsmack.  Since I am not really a fan of the band, and really have only heard maybe three of their songs, this book wasn't high on my list to read.  But, I love a good rock biography and had a few hours to kill…so, I picked it up.  I am going to do this one in list form, as it just feels right.

Here are some things I learned:

1.  I had no idea that Sully was a drummer.  Just thought he was a singer.

2.  I had thought that Godsmack had just arrived on the rock scene out of nowhere.  Not so, my friend.  Sully and his boy did the whole grind…working shit jobs, kept on going, built a following…respect for the grind, dude.

3.  For some reason I thought these guys were from Jersey.  Nope, Boston, yo.

4.  Sully grew up poor and had to fight for everything.  It shows in the band.  Hardscrabble, hard-fought music…it's always been a struggle for Sully.

5.  The name Godsmack is NOT about heroin.  Look it up.  It's actually a funny story.

The Paths We Choose is a breezy, late afternoon, kind-of read.  If you dig a good music biography and decent coming up story, check this out.  Sully writes a book just a little bit differently than, say, Billy Idol.  There is no glamorization about the spoils of a hard fought fight…this book is all about the fight.  

Stale Single #4: Joe Black

Song:  Joe Black
Artist:  Paul Sanchez
Album:  Wasted Lives and Bluegrass
Year:  1994

Paul Sanchez is a very nice guy.  He's also got the city of New Orleans crawling through his blood.  Both times I got to meet and speak with Paul, he was always gracious and really wanted to talk about the city he holds so dear.  Seriously…VERY nice person.

Paul was the longtime rhythm guitarist for New Orleans-born rock band, Cowboy Mouth.  In my humble opinion, that band has not been the same since Paul Sanchez left.  No disrespect to the fellas left in the band (John Thomas Griffith is a fantastic guy, too).

Anyway, Joe Black is a funky little number on the Wasted Lives and Bluegrass album.  I'm not sure why I picked this one to highlight on Stale Reviews…maybe it's the sweet little run that Paul plays on this track.  Maybe because it's just a fun song that clocks in at a little over of two minutes.

Maybe it's because I just like it!  It's my blog…I can do what I want.

Joe Black's lyrics don't really jibe with the upbeat rhythm of the guitar playing.  The lyrics are melancholy and a little bit fucked up.  But, I am  the kind of person that likes the juxtaposition of happy-feeling music with downer lyrics.

Paul did well on this one.

It also struck me that this album is also over twenty years old.  Damn!

Stale Book Review #46: Running With Monsters

Running With Monsters by Bob Forrest

Cost: $0.25US

Page Count: 230

I probably passed by Running With Monsters at least 20 times before picking it up and looking at the cover.  Bob Forrest isn't really a household name.  His former band, Thelonious Monster, was barely a household name back in their heyday…even though the band was pretty good.  Hell, I though this was just another memoir of another wannabe, former drug addict, etc…

Turns out, I was sorta right.

Here's the deal:  Forrest is a substance abuse counselor these days.  That is awesome and admirable.  I did work in the same field and it is both challenging and fucking difficult.  So, kudos Bob.

But, back in his drug using days, Bob was a hell-raisin' hang-on.  He was friends with the Chili Peppers, Gibby Haynes, Jonny Depp, River Phoenix, and on-and-on.  But, you know what?  Nobody gives a fuck who you hung out with, Bob.  I figure if they had crack or smack,  you would've hung out with them.  However, I felt that Forrest's relationships with a few of these characters was far more interesting than his actual story.  Sadly, the stories of the rich and famous WERE Bob's story.

The most interesting relationship Bob had with someone you would know would be that with John Frusciante.  Frusciante, if you were born under a rock, is the former virtuoso guitarist with the Red Hot Chili Peppers.  Not only does John have a prodigious ability with a guitar…he also has a prodigious appetite for drugs.  His life got real weird and real bad and Bob Forrest may have had a hand in saving his life.  That is very cool.

In fact, I think that Bob Forrest has had his fingerprints on the saving of many of lives..both famous and not.  I have the feeling that Bob would deny this fact, or at least downplay his role.

Anyway, I read this book in half a day.  You should, too.  There is just something about the story that hooked me…can't quite put my finger on it.  But, Running With Monsters has a quality that makes you want to read on.

In a lot of respects, Running With Monsters is a very typical Hollywood, musician, rags to riches to rags story.  But, in a lot of ways it's not.  Bob Forrest is a unique individual:  a little fucked up, a lot introspective, and, apparently, cares deeply about people.