Book Title: Frontman: Surviving the Rock Star Myth
Author: Richard Barone
Released: 2007
Publisher: Backbeat/Hal Leonard Books
Reviewer: Shauna Brock
Links: www.frontmanbook.com | www.myspace.com/frontmanbook
Author: Richard Barone
Released: 2007
Publisher: Backbeat/Hal Leonard Books
Reviewer: Shauna Brock
Links: www.frontmanbook.com | www.myspace.com/frontmanbook
|
Every so often, a book comes along that makes you believe in fairy tales again. Every so often, a book reminds you that working the grind, 9-5 isn't always the way to achieve your dreams, that we don't get to where we want to go in life by playing it safe; that we get there by taking risks, by being dangerous, and by not cow-towing to the schedule of the mainstream world. Every so often a book comes along that makes you realize that you can, honestly, be what you want to be and all you have to do is take that first step into greatness. The dreams are waiting for you. We do have a destiny. All we have to do is follow our hearts. This past year, that book was Richard Barone's Frontman: Surviving the Rock Star Myth. Celebrity memoirs are a tricky needle to thread - it is so easy for them to become self-aggrandizing tales of "look how great I am and how good my life has been!" Barone, however, not only threads that needle beautifully but takes his reader one step further - and literally sews his life and dreams around you. This brief history of Barone's rockstar life begins at age seven, where he takes the reader through his first experience on the radio at a summer beach festival. Through that, we see how easily he accepts what he believes to be his destiny and, as time goes on, how each step he makes through his world leads him to the moment when he is the Frontman of his own band and completely in charge of his own life. A short story at only 197 pages, Barone's concise telling of his life is entertaining and touching. Moving moments such as his reaction to the AIDS crisis in the New York artist community and of course, 9-11, left me searching for tissues. I laughed out loud as he described antics such as his 4th grade discovery of sex and the drama and subsequent joy that came with the creation of Patti Lupone tribute shows. He is not coy about the amount of drugs he did while recording in the 1980’s, but his sobering up seems a bit too easy and I was left wondering what he really went through to stay clean. Yet, the rest of the story is so endearingly honest, you want to believe him. Perhaps the most touching story, however, is the history he tells about the legendary performer Tiny Tim. From an early age, Barone's idolatry of the man is clear and nothing sets the young wannabe frontman on his way than time spent with the iconic character. The relationship with the singer and his music continued into adulthood and up until Tiny Tim's death. Somehow, Barone has managed to strip away the fairy tale around the rock star life and yet, in doing so, made the fairy tale even more believable. Because, despite drug abuse, failed love, hard times, and every other problem that comes along with trying to be successful in the music industry (and life), he weaves a tale of outright destiny. There was nowhere else but to the spotlight for him to go, and he followed his path without question. Yet, there is such childlike candor in his words that you cannot help but believe he was meant for his role in life. It is inspiring and humbling, hilarious and heartbreaking, and as honest as it is fantastical.
|
 |
|||
| About | Contact | Link | Be Featured | Advertise | |
||||