Books

…AND THE CATHEDRAL FELL TO THE GROUND: The Lonesome Death of Rock & Roll (2023)

…and the Cathedral Fell to the Ground: The Lonesome Death of Rock & Roll is a collection of vignettes highlighting key rock & roll moments in the life of a Gen Xer against the backdrop of a slowly changing zeitgeist amidst rock’s inevitable decline and disappearance from the center of pop culture.

Everyone has their own experiences with the cracks in the foundation. There are countless stories to tell. This is one of them. Or several.

Order…AND THE CATHEDRAL FELL TO THE GROUND:

THE LOCKER NOTES, a novel (2021)

The 1970s…Suburbia…Peer Pressure…Drugs…Politics…Pathetic School Crushes…and a Whole Lotta Rock & Roll!

On the eve of his sixth grade year at the Cypress Elementary School, Eugene Devine flashes back to early childhood, and all of the traumatizing absurdities that have made him into the shy, timid and neurotic kid that he has become. Caught between fear and the increasing need to be cool, Eugene sketches his encounters with the friends, villains and outlandish characters of the small suburban town of Oakwoods during the 1970s. Inspired by the author’s memories of growing up in the suburbs of New Jersey, THE LOCKER NOTES is written in the tradition of The Wonder Years and A Christmas Story. It is suburban life before the Internet, video games, cell phones and social media. Depicting the paranoia of an overprotected child all too aware of the “bad kids,” THE LOCKER NOTES unfolds before the backdrop of the music, movies, television, fashion, sports, politics and world events of the Seventies…all seen through the eyes of a child during simpler yet turbulent times that are marked by an ever-present sense that something inevitably horrible is just around the corner. THE LOCKER NOTES… EVERY GENERATION LIVES AT THE END OF THE WORLD

Order THE LOCKER NOTES:

AUTUMN AND EVERYTHING AFTER: The Murder of John Lennon, Evolution of Bruce Springsteen & the Birth of the Reagan Era (2020)

The fateful events of the consequential last months of 1980, how they changed music & politics, and set the tone for today’s toxic climate. A story about rock and roll, murder, war, politics, the cultural divide and the current assault on democracy in America.

Fall 1980…a growing distrust for government and a rejection of the counter cultural values of the 1960s bred the rise of a multi-layered conservative movement that results in Ronald Reagan winning the presidency. The coming decade would manage to alter and redefine the political landscape of America, having a direct impact on world events well into the next century.

Fall 1980…former Beatle John Lennon returns to the music world after a five-year absence. With a successful new album, Double Fantasy, Lennon at the age of 40, is attempting to reconcile adulthood with his radical past. It is a celebrated comeback with high hopes for the future until he is murdered in early December.

Fall 1980…31-year old rocker, Bruce Springsteen releases The River to the commercial success that will turn him from a critically-praised cult figure to a worldwide superstar. Unlike John Lennon, however, Springsteen stays out of politics and has never made his views known…until November 4, when he is so profoundly transformed by the election of Ronald Reagan, that it will serve as the dividing line pointing toward the artist he would become while informing his work for the rest of his career.

The last months of 1980 were a political and artistic crossroads for three of the most influential people of modern times. In this critical exploration into a pivotal period of musical and political history, these three lives inadvertently intersect and intertwine during the last months of 1980 and beyond, in ways in which the influence is still felt today. In essence, it is where the 1960s really ends, and the 21st Century begins. Rock and roll’s past, rock and roll’s future and the future of America with the entire world at stake.

Order AUTUMN AND EVERYTHING AFTER: