The (I think) official description of the book:
Ghosts and Ballyhoo: Memoirs of a Failed L.A. Music Journalist chronicles Thomas Wictor’s ten years in the Los Angeles music industry and his quest to free himself from the past. Ostensibly a memoir, Ghosts also asks--and possibly answers--provocative questions about fate, destiny, and life after death. Central to the story is the issue of how the author is to continue on after the loss of the Cardinal Ghost, the person he recognized and remembered the first time he met her.
The book is structured as a collection of anthologies rather than a continuous narrative; the seven anthologies detailing Wictor's failed career are separated by six interludes with the Collateral Ghost, one of the most brilliant yet unsuccessful musicians who ever played--former Frank Zappa bassist Scott Thunes.
Thomas Wictor’s experiences include multiple failures across multiple spectra; a spontaneous recovery from total hepatic failure; adopting an apparently reincarnated cat; losing much of his eyesight and the ability to play the bass guitar; purchasing a painting of the Cardinal Ghost done by an artist who never met her; discovering that Scott Thunes played a role in his life years before Wictor even heard of him; a near-death experience complete with tunnel, bright light, and vision of what lies beyond; a miraculous escape from an attempted murder; contracting an incurable illness that will eventually cost him his hearing; the discovery of a life-saving poet; and an endless series of coincidences that always returned him to the notion that nothing is random. These occurrences left the author convinced that losing most of what he loved was worth the price because it brought him clarity and enabled him to see patterns of guidance and sustenance visible everywhere once he was no longer blinded by rage and negativity.
Clarity un-haunted Thomas Wictor and brought him peace of mind, which allowed him to transform the anger over what he lost into gratitude for what he once had. Written with profane humor and no self-pity, Ghosts and Ballyhoo includes previously unpublished articles, excerpts from interview transcripts and personal correspondence, photo inserts, a bibliography, and index.
Ghosts and Ballyhoo: Memoirs of a Failed L.A. Music Journalist chronicles Thomas Wictor’s ten years in the Los Angeles music industry and his quest to free himself from the past. Ostensibly a memoir, Ghosts also asks--and possibly answers--provocative questions about fate, destiny, and life after death. Central to the story is the issue of how the author is to continue on after the loss of the Cardinal Ghost, the person he recognized and remembered the first time he met her.
The book is structured as a collection of anthologies rather than a continuous narrative; the seven anthologies detailing Wictor's failed career are separated by six interludes with the Collateral Ghost, one of the most brilliant yet unsuccessful musicians who ever played--former Frank Zappa bassist Scott Thunes.
Thomas Wictor’s experiences include multiple failures across multiple spectra; a spontaneous recovery from total hepatic failure; adopting an apparently reincarnated cat; losing much of his eyesight and the ability to play the bass guitar; purchasing a painting of the Cardinal Ghost done by an artist who never met her; discovering that Scott Thunes played a role in his life years before Wictor even heard of him; a near-death experience complete with tunnel, bright light, and vision of what lies beyond; a miraculous escape from an attempted murder; contracting an incurable illness that will eventually cost him his hearing; the discovery of a life-saving poet; and an endless series of coincidences that always returned him to the notion that nothing is random. These occurrences left the author convinced that losing most of what he loved was worth the price because it brought him clarity and enabled him to see patterns of guidance and sustenance visible everywhere once he was no longer blinded by rage and negativity.
Clarity un-haunted Thomas Wictor and brought him peace of mind, which allowed him to transform the anger over what he lost into gratitude for what he once had. Written with profane humor and no self-pity, Ghosts and Ballyhoo includes previously unpublished articles, excerpts from interview transcripts and personal correspondence, photo inserts, a bibliography, and index.
