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Books of rock - when local musicians become authors
Justin Pearson, Alfred Howard, Eve Selis & Mattie Mills and more
Urban fantasist Ben Johnson signs his novel, A Shadow Cast in Dust, at a 2014 event
The local music scene abounds in literary aspirations, with books available from players such as Ben Johnson, Alfred Howard, J.D. Boucharde, Wayne Riker, Justin Pearson, Eben Brooks, Eve Selis & Mattie Mills, Jon Kanis. and many others.
Drummer and longtime Casbah bartender Ben Johnson’s book, A Shadow Cast in Dust, subtitled “An Urban Fantasy Epic,” mostly takes place in Golden Hill and concerns an “ancient order of web spinners,” a silver knife, a detective, and a boy “running from his captors through the canyons of San Diego with his new friends and special dog.” Johnson is also the author of the 2021 book Children of the Web.
Man of a dozen bands Alfred Howard released The Autobiography of No One, which includes essays, scrapbook images, lyrics, and more. The late acoustic crooner J.D. Boucharde wrote When I’m No Longer There, a children’s book “about the life of a house,” illustrated by Jody Shannon. Guitar teacher Wayne Riker’s Blues Licks Encyclopedia offers over 300 licks, intros, and turnarounds covering Delta, Chicago, Texas, rock, country, swing, minor, and slide blues styles.
Jon Kanis’s Encyclopedia Walking: Pop Culture and the Alchemy of Rock ’n’ Roll is "A selective anthology of my published writing, mostly feature articles spanning the time frame of 1994 to 2014,” he says of the collection, which includes work from the Reader, Schlock, Ugly Things, and San Diego Troubadour. “The general slant of the work is regarding the history and biography of music and film, but there are also examinations about pop culture. The last chapter of the book focuses on how the mass-media informs and shapes general consciousness across the globe, whilst looking back at being 12 in the summer of 1976 in D.C. during the bicentennial.”
2018 saw the release of a book by Justin Pearson called The Race to Zero, a collection of all lyrics he has written throughout his career up until 2018, as well as various examples of short creative vignettes and prose. In addition, Pearson’s book How to Lose Friends and Irritate People chronicles a miserable Australian tour with the Bloody Beetroots.
Singer/songwriters Eve Selis and Mattie Mills wrote a book, Forty Schmorty; Life Keeps Happening. “During the process of writing the book,” says Selis, “Mattie was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 45, and I became pregnant at age 43.”
“Mattie and I helped each other get through this journey,” says Selis. “She went through her chemotherapy with courage and the knowledge that she was going to kick cancer’s ass, not the other way around. I felt powerless over the disease, but knew our friendship would help us conquer anything.” Selis’ sister is a breast cancer survivor.
“As for my pregnancy, our friendship provided support…Mattie had two children in her forties, and had her fourth child at age 45. She was a great inspiration and help to me, because it had been so long since my first pregnancy…my daughter is thirteen years old.”
Seiis adds “Most males have been very curious and said that they’d love to read our book, just to get a better idea of what’s inside a women’s mind. It definitely helps answer a lot of questions men have when their wives are going through difficult or challenging times.”
Buzzbombs guitarist Ryan C. Thomas (aka “Johnny Fuego”), has also moonlighted as a horror and sci-fi author. “My first paying sale was a story called ‘Cookies Have No Souls,’ for Space Squid Magazine,” he says. “Up until that sale, all my stories were freebies for webzines or fiction magazine that paid, like, $5 a story.”
The one-time executive editor for North County’s Ranch & Coast Magazine says his first novel The Summer I Died, published by Canada’s Coscom Entertainment (mainly known for comic books), pits rural teens against a razor-happy killer with a man-eating dog. “It’s my attempt to do a written version of a slasher film.” Thomas’ short stories have been published in anthologies like DreamGoblin and Twisted Cat Tales.
The Summer I Died concerns Roger, a nebbish comic book geek of the new Millennium variety, ie less Comic Book Guy and more Kevin Smith but still likely to cut in front of you in line to meet Scott Bakula. Gun totin’ dope smokin’ buddy “Tooth” would like to drag his friend-slash-pet-nerd into a more adventurous and thrill-filled life, far from the four color bubble our hero Roger has so far immersed himself in. As bad luck would have it, he does just that
Here's something you might be interested in.
Books of rock - when local musicians become authors
Justin Pearson, Alfred Howard, Eve Selis & Mattie Mills and more
Books of rock - when local musicians become authors
Justin Pearson, Alfred Howard, Eve Selis & Mattie Mills and more
Urban fantasist Ben Johnson signs his novel, A Shadow Cast in Dust, at a 2014 event
The local music scene abounds in literary aspirations, with books available from players such as Ben Johnson, Alfred Howard, J.D. Boucharde, Wayne Riker, Justin Pearson, Eben Brooks, Eve Selis & Mattie Mills, Jon Kanis. and many others.
Drummer and longtime Casbah bartender Ben Johnson’s book, A Shadow Cast in Dust, subtitled “An Urban Fantasy Epic,” mostly takes place in Golden Hill and concerns an “ancient order of web spinners,” a silver knife, a detective, and a boy “running from his captors through the canyons of San Diego with his new friends and special dog.” Johnson is also the author of the 2021 book Children of the Web.
Man of a dozen bands Alfred Howard released The Autobiography of No One, which includes essays, scrapbook images, lyrics, and more. The late acoustic crooner J.D. Boucharde wrote When I’m No Longer There, a children’s book “about the life of a house,” illustrated by Jody Shannon. Guitar teacher Wayne Riker’s Blues Licks Encyclopedia offers over 300 licks, intros, and turnarounds covering Delta, Chicago, Texas, rock, country, swing, minor, and slide blues styles.
Jon Kanis’s Encyclopedia Walking: Pop Culture and the Alchemy of Rock ’n’ Roll is "A selective anthology of my published writing, mostly feature articles spanning the time frame of 1994 to 2014,” he says of the collection, which includes work from the Reader, Schlock, Ugly Things, and San Diego Troubadour. “The general slant of the work is regarding the history and biography of music and film, but there are also examinations about pop culture. The last chapter of the book focuses on how the mass-media informs and shapes general consciousness across the globe, whilst looking back at being 12 in the summer of 1976 in D.C. during the bicentennial.”
2018 saw the release of a book by Justin Pearson called The Race to Zero, a collection of all lyrics he has written throughout his career up until 2018, as well as various examples of short creative vignettes and prose. In addition, Pearson’s book How to Lose Friends and Irritate People chronicles a miserable Australian tour with the Bloody Beetroots.
Singer/songwriters Eve Selis and Mattie Mills wrote a book, Forty Schmorty; Life Keeps Happening. “During the process of writing the book,” says Selis, “Mattie was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 45, and I became pregnant at age 43.”
“Mattie and I helped each other get through this journey,” says Selis. “She went through her chemotherapy with courage and the knowledge that she was going to kick cancer’s ass, not the other way around. I felt powerless over the disease, but knew our friendship would help us conquer anything.” Selis’ sister is a breast cancer survivor.
“As for my pregnancy, our friendship provided support…Mattie had two children in her forties, and had her fourth child at age 45. She was a great inspiration and help to me, because it had been so long since my first pregnancy…my daughter is thirteen years old.”
Seiis adds “Most males have been very curious and said that they’d love to read our book, just to get a better idea of what’s inside a women’s mind. It definitely helps answer a lot of questions men have when their wives are going through difficult or challenging times.”
Buzzbombs guitarist Ryan C. Thomas (aka “Johnny Fuego”), has also moonlighted as a horror and sci-fi author. “My first paying sale was a story called ‘Cookies Have No Souls,’ for Space Squid Magazine,” he says. “Up until that sale, all my stories were freebies for webzines or fiction magazine that paid, like, $5 a story.”
The one-time executive editor for North County’s Ranch & Coast Magazine says his first novel The Summer I Died, published by Canada’s Coscom Entertainment (mainly known for comic books), pits rural teens against a razor-happy killer with a man-eating dog. “It’s my attempt to do a written version of a slasher film.” Thomas’ short stories have been published in anthologies like DreamGoblin and Twisted Cat Tales.
The Summer I Died concerns Roger, a nebbish comic book geek of the new Millennium variety, ie less Comic Book Guy and more Kevin Smith but still likely to cut in front of you in line to meet Scott Bakula. Gun totin’ dope smokin’ buddy “Tooth” would like to drag his friend-slash-pet-nerd into a more adventurous and thrill-filled life, far from the four color bubble our hero Roger has so far immersed himself in. As bad luck would have it, he does just that
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