Corporate Rock Sucks Is Coming
Cover reveal, release date, and pre-order giveaway
My next book, Corporate Rock Sucks: The Rise & Fall of SST Records, has a cover (ta-da!), a pub date (April 12, 2022) and is now available for pre-order from Hachette Books.
What is SST Records? Formed in Hermosa Beach in 1979, the label released music by Black Flag, Minutemen, Hüsker Dü, Bad Brains, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr, Screaming Trees, Soundgarden, and scores of other influential bands. SST was the most popular indie label on the planet until a tsunami of legal jeopardy, financial peril, and dysfunctional management brought the empire tumbling down.
Corporate Rock Sucks features over 50 photographs—many published for the very first time—from Linda Aronow, Alison Braun, Edward Colver, Fred Hammer, Wild Don Lewis, Naomi Petersen, EJ Porter, Paul Rachman, and the incomparable SPOT. Through extensive research and interviews with the label's former employees, as well as musicians, managers, producers, photographers, video directors, and label heads, Corporate Rock Sucks presents an unauthorized narrative history of the indie record label that was the sound of the underground.
I’ll have much more to say about the book in coming weeks and months, but you can find a few more details on my website, which I’ll update with blurbs, reviews, interviews, etc. as they become available. Now on to the good stuff...
Why pre-orders matter
The best way to get your hands on the book is to pre-order it. Pre-orders are how the publishing industry gauges interest in a book. The more pre-orders there are, the more resources they’ll put behind the book. It’s that simple. Pre-orders are crucial for writers like me. Think of it this way: you’re not just buying a book, you’re investing in the next book I’ll write as well.
Pre-orders are more important than ever. There’s a national paper shortage that’s affecting book distribution right now. Also, disruptions in the global supply chain are delaying shipping. How bad is it? If you have a book lover in your life, booksellers are recommending that you do your Xmas shopping now.
Another little-known fact about pre-orders: you get the book at the lowest price. If you pre-order today and the price drops tomorrow, you pay tomorrow’s price. So do your future self a favor and pre-order Corporate Rock Sucks right this very second at your favorite retailer:
Bookshop. Amazon. Barnes & Noble. Indiebound. Target.
Pre-order today for a chance to win
I’m giving away five signed copies of Do What You Want: The Story of Bad Religion and five Punk Van Gogh enamel pins to readers who pre-order Corporate Rock Sucks.
Simply pre-order Corporate Rock Sucks by October 16 and send a screenshot of your receipt to corproxsux@gmail.com for a chance to win a free book or pin. (Keep in mind that you can’t reply to this email with an attachment because Substack won’t allow it. Also, make sure there aren’t any banking details in your screenshot.)
Then, tell your friends. For every friend that also pre-orders (and mentions your name, obviously), you’ll get an extra entry.
To recap:
1. Pre-order Corporate Rock Sucks
2. Send a screenshot to corproxsux@gmail.com
3. Tell your friends
4. Win free shit (maybe)
Wait, there’s more. . . .
Some more exciting news. Back when I was writing My Damage with Keith Morris, I traveled to New York City to interview Raymond Pettibon at his studio. It’s an experience I’ll never forget that involved a zine exchange and a battle with a pitching machine. The interview had a profound impact not just on My Damage but my new book as well.
Here’s the good news: Last week I received permission to print that interview as a zine. This exclusive interview will only be available to subscribers of Message from the Underworld. Paying subscribers will get it first and for free. I’m shooting to have it available late 2021 or early 2022.
PsssSST!
I’m finishing up copyedits on Corporate Rock Sucks this week. After recent events here at home, I was dreading going through the edits. My editor has been a dream to work with and it’s been a really positive experience. So many smart, gifted people have helped me with this book.
Also, I’ll let you in on a little secret. Don’t tell me publisher, but at the eleventh hour I was able to squeeze in a few more interviews, including one from an SST artist who hasn’t given an interview in 40 years! (No, I’m not going to say who it is. No, I’m not sorry.)
Next week, and just about every week after that, I’m going to use this space to review an SST record (or tape or CD) in my collection. I’ll post images of inserts and ephemera and, when appropriate, share additional material from interviews or things I discovered that didn’t make it into the book. My SST collection is neither complete nor comprehensive, and I’m going to skip around, so feel free to make requests as to what records you’d like me to cover.
Not-so-secret show
Evan Dando is coming to California. Prior to the Lemonheads tour this fall, Dando is going to play a pair of dates in California. First, he’s performing at Hollywood Forever on Thursday October 7. Then on Sunday October 10, he’s allegedly playing the Tower Bar with Chris Doherty of Gang Green. When I told Evan I couldn’t find a listing for the show he sent me the following:
Evan Dando & Chris Doherty, in a joint celebration of Britney Spears’s financial independence, will be playing the Tower Bar in San Diego.
Be safe, don’t forget to pre-order Corporate Rock Sucks, and see you at the Tower Bar!