Out this week is a debut novel by Joe Pernice. While his band, the Pernice Brothers, didn't ever really do much for me musically, his book sounds interesting. Course, I love any book that provides music lyric references (otherwise why else would I still be willing to read Chuck Klosterman after that god-awful Downtown Owl?). And "Charles Bukowski after listening to Dusty Springfield," how can you resist something with a comparison like that?
(From today's NY Post):
READING indie pop musician Joe Pernice's debut novel, "It Feels So Good When I Stop," is like being assaulted by Charles Bukowski after listening to Dusty Springfield.
The artist's pretty pop songs can have a lyrical dark side, but they don't generally need an R rating. On the other hand, his profanity-laced tome -- which includes a character named Dogs - - t -- might. "I didn't make it filthy for the sake of being gratuitous," says Pernice. "Plenty of guys talk like that."
In this case, the guy is a nameless 20-something musician who has fled his wife of three days after a long, tumultuous relationship. The novel, set in Cape Cod, follows his search for self and is sprinkled with musical references, varying from hits such as Todd Rundgren's "Hello It's Me," to lesser known tracks such as the Dream Syndicate's "Tell Me When It's Over."
Pernice, who is known for his '60s-pop and roots-rock style of music with bands the Scud Mountain Boys, Chappaquiddick Skyline and the Pernice Brothers, also recorded a CD of covers by artists name-checked in the book.
The singer, who grew up in the Boston area and now lives in Toronto, will read excerpts from the book and perform songs on Friday at the Bowery Ballroom.
As an undergrad at UMass Amherst, he considered writing fiction but wound up turning to poetry in grad school and published a book of poems. "Fiction took a back seat, mostly because I didn't have much to say at that age," says Pernice, now 42. "I hadn't really lived."
After the 2003 publication of his novella, "Meat Is Murder," based on the Smiths' song, Pernice revisited the idea of writing a novel.
Before he settled in to write "It Feels So Good When I Stop," he brainstormed ideas for the plot and characters for nearly a year, as he and his wife took care of their newborn.
When he finally did begin writing, he was more likely to hear Aussie kid band the Wiggles than any indie rock acts in his household. "It's true, man," he says. "Their songs are hook-y, and they're not just a bunch of washed-up guys making a buck off of kids' music. They're the real thing. Kids are berserk over them. I have listened to some of their songs 50 times in a row. No joke."
Although Pernice says he "subconsciously" had a covers album in mind while he was writing, the Wiggles didn't make it into this book. Maybe for the next novel -- if it's G-rated.
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