New DBT Bio

[beantownbubba]

The book is now, finally!, being shown as "available" on my order confirmations (as opposed to "backordered"), but no indication yet that it has actually been shipped. Hopefully this is the beginning of the end.

[chuckrh]

The book is now, finally!, being shown as "available" on my order confirmations (as opposed to "backordered"), but no indication yet that it has actually been shipped. Hopefully this is the beginning of the end.

Maybe came out earlier in Canada. A good friend mailed me a copy that I got last week if you're talking about Where the Devil Don't Stay. Haven't started it yet as I'm in the middle of some epic (& so so) George RR Martin. Next up on the read list.

[emandrisdad]

My copy was supposed to arrive Monday but now says tomorrow. Stuck here in COVID quarantine and would love to be plowing through it right now.

[beantownbubba]

The book is now, finally!, being shown as "available" on my order confirmations (as opposed to "backordered"), but no indication yet that it has actually been shipped. Hopefully this is the beginning of the end.

Maybe came out earlier in Canada. A good friend mailed me a copy that I got last week if you're talking about Where the Devil Don't Stay. Haven't started it yet as I'm in the middle of some epic (& so so) George RR Martin. Next up on the read list.

Not that it matters, but more likely better availability rather than different pub date. The pub date in the US was 9/7 and I pre-ordered, but got backordered anyway.

[Yaz Rock]

I emailed bookshop.org. Their reply:

"Thank you for your email. I have attached a screenshot of what our distributor is reporting. It appears that this title is backordered because while there is currently stock on the way to our distributors' warehouses, said stock hasn't arrived yet, most likely due to a delay from the publisher. With printing and publishing shortages, it has been a process for certain titles to get to where they need to go. Would you like to keep this order in tact or should I cancel it?"

So, basically, it sounds like no one has the book yet.

[Clams]

Well given the terrible track record of DBT album pre-orders, it kinda makes sense that the book release has been so botched. Just sayin. (Of course I got my copy a month ago)

[emandrisdad]

If this thing ever arrives I might shit myself.

[gepman]

I pre-ordered a month ago from Amazon, was back-ordered.
Ordered from the publisher 2 weeks ago, got it 4 days later.
Cancelled Amazon pre-order.

[beantownbubba]

Apparently, they're at the local post office. Sloooowly I turn, step by step...

Maybe this week?

[pearlbeer]

Article in the WaPo by Deusner

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/ ... -truckers/

[beantownbubba]

Don't know how I missed this, so thanks for bringing it to our attention, pearlbeer. A nice appetizer while waiting for the main course to arrive.

[Yaz Rock]

My copy arrived today! Hudson Valley, NY.

[beantownbubba]

They're here! Both copies arrived today. Had to crack it open immediately of course.

The introduction is quite good, especially the passage on "What It Means." It's interesting to see how Duesner edited the intro into the WaPo piece linked above. Impressive group of "supporters" on the back cover saying impressive, more than the typical pablum, stuff. The only HeAthen I've seen mentioned in the intro and the "back of the book" is Mark Lynn. Neither Stephen Hyden nor Ann Powers are in the bibliography which surprises me and almost certainly can't be because Duesner hasn't read their stuff on the band. OTOH, Hyden's on the back cover and Powers is in the acknowledgements.

Needless to say, looking forward to diving into the meat of the story asap.

[emandrisdad]

I finished it this morning. I can’t do reviews like BTB so I won’t try. I liked it.

[chuckrh]

I'm a few chapters in. A bit on the dry side. It's only rock n' roll.....

[jr29]

I am really digging the book so far.
However, in a book that explicitly stresses the importance of places and the people who come from those places, it says Lynyrd Skynyrd is from Gainesville. They definitely were not.

[beantownbubba]

I liked the book and enjoyed reading it. I think pretty much any DBT fan would feel the same. If anyone's wondering, I don't think it's a good introduction to the band because it assumes a fair amount of knowledge of the music as a starting point. A few thoughts/reactions as opposed to a more "formal" review:

Deusner is as knowledgeable about the band and the music as one could ask for and his comments about and descriptions of the music are thoughtful, accurate and insightful. I could stop there and that might well be all you need to know.

Calling American Band the band's "breakthrough" album has a bigger than one might think impact on the entire book. I have no doubt Deusner is correct from a commercial perspective - everything I've heard is that the album is the band's biggest seller by a considerable margin. And from the time of its release I have always personally celebrated the achievement of a band that's been around so long coming up with an album that good, fresh and original. But by considering it the "breakthrough," the story points to AB as the high point and the narrative is directed towards it. To me, the band's "breakthrough" is either Southern Rock Opera because, you know, it's the Southern Rock Opera, or maybe Decoration Day which proved that SRO was not a fluke and that the band hadn't simply lucked into a one-off that depended on its concept for its success. DD also has that "extra" third songwriter contributing sterling material which puts the band and that album in pretty rare company. Deusner definitely gives SRO an appropriate amount of attention and has some interesting things to say about it. I would argue that DD and The Dirty South get a bit less than the appropriate amount of attention, but it's not like Deusner ignores them.

It is factually correct but woefully insufficient to refer to Craig Lieske as "the band's merch guy."

Deusner works hard to find the right way to handle the "scandals" and gossip surrounding the band and on the whole succeeds. Which is to say this is not any kind of slimy "tell all" book. The "issues" are placed in the context of the band's history and more referenced than explored and like I say, I think that's essentially the right way to go about it.

Matt Patton's arrival in the band gets a couple of paragraphs and his influence on the band's sound gets a sort of nod but even that's more than what Jay Gonzalez gets, which is just a couple of one-off mentions that just assumes his presence without explaining it. It is surely my own personal prejudice but I would have liked to see at least a bit more on both.

Deusner takes a first person place in the book. Early on when he acts as observer/critic/commentator, that works very well and his commentary and insights are excellent. Later, he inserts more of himself into the actual story, talking about his own experiences growing up in the South and I don't think those passages work very well.

Deusner seems to have had fantastic access to and cooperation from band members and others important to the band's development and success and he makes the most of it. While there aren't any startling revelations, the significant number of quotes add flavor and a "you are there" perspective to the story. Deusner should probably get a medal just for getting Cooley to talk to him as much as he apparently did.

Edited once for Clams

[Clams]

I liked the book and enjoyed reading it. I think pretty much any DBT fan would feel the same. If anyone's wondering, I don't think it's a good introduction to the band because it assumes a fair amount of knowledge of the music as a starting point. A few thoughts/reactions as opposed to a more "formal" review:

Deusner is as knowledgeable about the band and the music as one could ask for and his comments about and descriptions of the music are thoughtful, accurate and insightful. I could stop there and that might well be all you need to know.

It's very interesting to me how much of the content of the book is determined by two "structural" decisions: Deusner talks a bit in the intro about the decision to structure the book "geographically" (examining the places that the band lived and were influenced by) as opposed to, say, chronologically. This seemed like (and is) a reasonable choice and I didn't think much of it until I got into the meat of the book. While it's hard to describe exactly what I mean, it is clear that this approach determines and shapes the content much more than I would have thought.

The second "structural" decision is to label American Band as the band's "breakthrough" album. I have no doubt Deusner is correct from a commercial perspective - everything I've heard is that the album is the band's biggest seller by a considerable margin. And from the time of its release I have always personally celebrated the achievement of a band that's been around so long coming up with an album that good, fresh and original. But by considering it the "breakthrough," the story points to AB as the high point and the narrative is directed towards it. To me, the band's "breakthrough" is either Southern Rock Opera because, you know, it's the Southern Rock Opera, or maybe Decoration Day which proved that SRO was not a fluke and that the band hadn't simply lucked into a one-off that depended on its concept for its success. DD also has that "extra" third songwriter contributing sterling material which puts the band and that album in pretty rare company. Deusner definitely gives SRO an appropriate amount of attention and has some interesting things to say about it. I would argue that DD and The Dirty South get a bit less than the appropriate amount of attention, but it's not like Deusner ignores them. It's more that all 3 albums are positioned as steps on the way to AB rather than the key period that I think they represent. Some detail/quotes about the critical response to those albums (and AB as well) would have added some depth to his coverage of those albums. And while Deusner mentions how hard the band was working at the time, recording, touring and writing simultaneously, he doesn't really describe that period and it feels like a lot of stories and a lot of informative background was left on the cutting room floor.

It is factually correct but woefully insufficient to refer to Craig Lieske as "the band's merch guy."

Deusner works hard to find the right way to handle the "scandals" and gossip surrounding the band and on the whole succeeds. Which is to say this is not any kind of slimy "tell all" book. The "issues" are placed in the context of the band's history and more referenced than explored and like I say, I think that's essentially the right way to go about it. Nonetheless, a little more about the departures of band members, especially Tucker and Neff and the addition of Patton and Gonzalez would have been appropriate, I think. Even as just a vignette, details about the way that Barbe had to dive in to temporarily replace Tucker should have been a good story but it remains untold.

Matt Patton's arrival in the band gets a couple of paragraphs and his influence on the band's sound gets a sort of nod but even that's more than what Jay Gonzalez gets, which is just a couple of one-off mentions that just assumes his presence without explaining it. It is surely my own personal prejudice but I would have liked to see at least a bit more on both. Considering that the current iteration of the band is its longest lasting and that is generally agreed that these musicians and their longevity have had an impact on the growth and development of the music, even on an objective basis it seems like a little bit more on this subject is warranted.

It is no doubt unrealistic of me to have hoped to read more about the band-fan connection. I think there's something pretty unique and special worth exploring there but I understand that it's unlikely that any author of a book about a band would go in that direction. OTOH, I think at least a mention of the amounts we've raised for Nuci's Space and the as far as I know unique publication of the The Company We Keep book would have been nice.

Deusner takes a first person place in the book. Early on when he acts as observer/critic/commentator, that works very well and his commentary and insights are excellent. Later, he inserts more of himself into the actual story, talking about his own experiences growing up in the South and I don't think those passages work very well. That may be related to my feeling that in general the early chapters are better than the later chapters. The last chapter in particular has the feel of being tossed off as the author raced to the publisher's office to meet a deadline.

Deusner seems to have had fantastic access to and cooperation from band members and others important to the band's development and success and he makes the most of it. While there aren't any startling revelations, the significant number of quotes add flavor and a "you are there" perspective to the story. Deusner should probably get a medal just for getting Cooley to talk to him as much as he apparently did.

I know that negatives get more attention than positives in posts of this type so I want to emphasize that I enjoyed reading the book, think it is well written* and informative and recommend it to any fan of the band.

*The number of mistakes and typos in the book are well within what seems to be the margin of error in modern publishing so I don't want to unfairly ding the book/author in that regard. OTOH, I find it amazing how many mistakes have crept into the publishing process generally. I assume that has something to do w/ the speed w/ which books are now produced, and that has some pluses like books being incredibly up to date and inclusive of recent events when they're published, but I would appreciate a little more attention to these kinds of details. Again, that's a general observation not a complaint about this book.

This review is longer than the actual book. Classic bubba!

[beantownbubba]

Perhaps the edited version above will meet with your approval, good sir.

[glennrwordman]

For those who can be there, I am hosting an event here in NYC as the book's NYC launch, at the new location for my Reading Series, The Swift Hibernian Bar. I can't wait to host this one.

Stephen M. Deusner "Where The Devil Don't Stay: Traveling the South With the Drive-By Truckers"
Reading and Conversation
Hosted by Glenn Raucher
PageTurners Reading Series

Monday, November 1
Swift Hibernian Bar
34 E. 4th Street
7:00 PM
Admission Free
Books available for sale and signing

[RolanK]

I liked the book and enjoyed reading it. I think pretty much any DBT fan would feel the same. If anyone's wondering, I don't think it's a good introduction to the band because it assumes a fair amount of knowledge of the music as a starting point. A few thoughts/reactions as opposed to a more "formal" review:

Deusner is as knowledgeable about the band and the music as one could ask for and his comments about and descriptions of the music are thoughtful, accurate and insightful. I could stop there and that might well be all you need to know.

Calling American Band the band's "breakthrough" album has a bigger than one might think impact on the entire book. I have no doubt Deusner is correct from a commercial perspective - everything I've heard is that the album is the band's biggest seller by a considerable margin. And from the time of its release I have always personally celebrated the achievement of a band that's been around so long coming up with an album that good, fresh and original. But by considering it the "breakthrough," the story points to AB as the high point and the narrative is directed towards it. To me, the band's "breakthrough" is either Southern Rock Opera because, you know, it's the Southern Rock Opera, or maybe Decoration Day which proved that SRO was not a fluke and that the band hadn't simply lucked into a one-off that depended on its concept for its success. DD also has that "extra" third songwriter contributing sterling material which puts the band and that album in pretty rare company. Deusner definitely gives SRO an appropriate amount of attention and has some interesting things to say about it. I would argue that DD and The Dirty South get a bit less than the appropriate amount of attention, but it's not like Deusner ignores them.

It is factually correct but woefully insufficient to refer to Craig Lieske as "the band's merch guy."

Deusner works hard to find the right way to handle the "scandals" and gossip surrounding the band and on the whole succeeds. Which is to say this is not any kind of slimy "tell all" book. The "issues" are placed in the context of the band's history and more referenced than explored and like I say, I think that's essentially the right way to go about it.

Matt Patton's arrival in the band gets a couple of paragraphs and his influence on the band's sound gets a sort of nod but even that's more than what Jay Gonzalez gets, which is just a couple of one-off mentions that just assumes his presence without explaining it. It is surely my own personal prejudice but I would have liked to see at least a bit more on both.

Deusner takes a first person place in the book. Early on when he acts as observer/critic/commentator, that works very well and his commentary and insights are excellent. Later, he inserts more of himself into the actual story, talking about his own experiences growing up in the South and I don't think those passages work very well.

Deusner seems to have had fantastic access to and cooperation from band members and others important to the band's development and success and he makes the most of it. While there aren't any startling revelations, the significant number of quotes add flavor and a "you are there" perspective to the story. Deusner should probably get a medal just for getting Cooley to talk to him as much as he apparently did.

Edited once for Clams

My copy arrived a couple of days ago. I came here to post exactly this.

I might perhaps ad, with the attention given to SRO I found myself missing some more insight into Cooleys contributions to that album - which imho is were he comes into fulll bloom as a songwriter, although as Bubba says, just getting him to open up to extend that he did for the book is probably more than we could hope for.

My "Pitchfork" score of the book: (6.3)

[brett27295]

I enjoyed the book even though I disagreed with a few points the author makes and questioned a few others. I'd have been even happier with a book that was twice as long.

[beantownbubba]

I'd have been even happier with a book that was twice as long.

x2

[pearlbeer]

https://www.al.com/life/2021/11/acclaim ... -time.html

[ford911]

Finished it yesterday. I liked it a lot.

If anyone is still having trouble finding a copy let me know and I can send you mine. I don’t keep too many books after I finish them.

[beantownbubba]

https://www.al.com/life/2021/11/acclaim ... -time.html

Good one.