Interviewing Bassists Stories part 2

[Arthritic_Tom]

Looking forward to your book. I just finished "In Cold Sweat" tonight and I really enjoyed it.

Thanks very much. I re-read it when all of this started, and I'm very proud of it.

The memoir will describe in some detail how it came about and how it was absolutely ignored by the magazine that should've had the brains to promote the hell out of it.

 

[TinIndian]

Well, Looks like we'll have that book sooner than we thought! Fairly obvious it was in you the whole time, you just needed a little nudge.

Congrats!

 

[haddieman]

Can't wait to read your book. I'm especially interested in the parts about your experiences in Japan. I went to Tokyo last year for a few weeks and had a great time, but judging from your excerpt it's not all sushi and cherry blossoms

 

[Arthritic_Tom]

Can't wait to read your book. I'm especially interested in the parts about your experiences in Japan. I went to Tokyo last year for a few weeks and had a great time, but judging from your excerpt it's not all sushi and cherry blossoms

Beautiful country, but with a really dark side. Musically, it's amazing. Excerpt from Anthology One:

One of the greatest musical experiences of my life happened completely by accident when our group went to Kyoto for a week. Most of the time we were under the thumbs of the Japanese professors who dragged us from one tourist spot to another, but one night we were released to prowl around on our own.

I paired up with a Hawaiian girl who later became a stuntwoman in the movies. We chose a little bar at random to have a beer or five before we hit the town. When you enter a Japanese bar, the employees all bellow “Irrashaimase!” (“Welcome!”) at the tops of their lungs. It can be very startling. At this bar the two young guys doing the bellowing were the rare smart-alecky Japanese. Ninety-five percent of Japanese are bowing, smiling machines, while five percent are sarcastic iconoclasts who like giving you a hard time, probably because they know they can do it only with foreigners. The two waiters in their short blue happi coats served us our beer and quizzed us in English, repeating our answers in mocking, drawn-out shouts.

“Where you live in America?”

“Los Angeles.”

“Laas Aaaaaaaaanjelessss! What you doing in Japan?”

“Studying.”

“Staaaaaaadyeeeeeeeeng!”

We’d had just about enough when the two waiters abruptly went to a tiny stage. One picked up a shamisen--a three-stringed banjolike lute--and the other a tsuzumi, a hand drum. They began playing min’yō, Japanese folk music. Until that moment, I didn’t know how the style should be correctly performed. Those two young ball busters were absolute virtuosos of the genre. The complex and ardent melodies of the singing, the syncopation of the drumming, and the plaintive chords and notes of the lute created an alternate universe, transporting us back centuries. We imagined harvest festivals, illicit romances, the thousands of deities that inhabit the islands, village life, and the daily rituals of farmers and artisans. The Hawaiian girl and I spent the entire night in that bar, listening. I wish I’d recorded it. Nearly 30 years later, I still remember it as though I heard it last night.

 

[bherman]

Tom - lurker here ....TB member also dealing with Menieres. I am sending you a pm with some info on my experience.

 

[maxgroover]

Hi Tom

Just wanted to thank you for this thread. Have loved reading all your short stories and seeing the thread transform into a publishing deal. You certainly have a captivating style of writing. Congratulations in advance on what will no doubt be an amazing book.

I've been reading this thread on and off over the last couple of weeks, including one stint in the toilet at work where I sat on a loo and read a couple of pages on my iPhone with my elbows resting on my legs. When I went to stand up... pins and needles all through both feet!! I couldn't walk properly for a couple of minutes lol!

One thing I wanted to ask which I don't think has been asked yet - with the arthritis you have that stopped you playing bass, how do you get on with typing on a computer keyboard? Does it not affect you when typing or are you dictating into an app that converts voice to text? Whatever the answer, I hope it's not a painful process.

Keep up the wonderful work and I look forward to reading Ghosts and Ballyhoo when it's available.

 

[Arthritic_Tom]

Hi Tom

Just wanted to thank you for this thread. Have loved reading all your short stories and seeing the thread transform into a publishing deal. You certainly have a captivating style of writing. Congratulations in advance on what will no doubt be an amazing book.

I've been reading this thread on and off over the last couple of weeks, including one stint in the toilet at work where I sat on a loo and read a couple of pages on my iPhone with my elbows resting on my legs. When I went to stand up... pins and needles all through both feet!! I couldn't walk properly for a couple of minutes lol!

One thing I wanted to ask which I don't think has been asked yet - with the arthritis you have that stopped you playing bass, how do you get on with typing on a computer keyboard? Does it not affect you when typing or are you dictating into an app that converts voice to text? Whatever the answer, I hope it's not a painful process.

Keep up the wonderful work and I look forward to reading Ghosts and Ballyhoo when it's available.

Thanks for your kind words.

The osteoarthritis only kicked in when I played the bass and when i did certain types of yard work. Today's computer keyboards are much easier on the hands, so I can type all day and night.

I'm happy to report that I signed the publishing contract yesterday. The deadline is August 31, which I'll easily meet. That means it'll be available in the fall catalog, if all goes according to plan.

Another totally hilarious development in this saga. Usually, in the publishing industry, it takes a minimum of a year to get a book into the stores, but Schiffer really believes in this project.

You'll have it soon.

 

[MartinG1957]

Way to go Tom!
Many congratulations - its "official" now - looking forward immensely to placing my advance order.
All the Best!

 

[Jeff Constantine]

Tom waits sings in his song, Little Man, "Luck is when opportunity Meets with preparation And the same is true for every generation." Your life has prepared you for this exact moment, Tom. All the hardships have made you a stronger individual to be able to teach others that living through the bad times will sometimes bring you to the great times. Having studied and written some sermons, I have always liked the illustration of the oyster forming the pearl, a source of great irritation. It actually uses a compound within its structure and takes this course grain of sand and transforms it into a smooth round pearl. The pearl is actually made of the same compound that the oyster's shell is made up of, now turning this once source of travail into a piece of itself that it can now live with and be treasured by someone else. Of course, the oyster has to die, but in this case, I appreciate that you have lived through these tough times and can now share in your pearls of wisdom. Thanks Tom. And congrats on the book. I will definitely be looking forward to purchasing a copy.

 

[mcj2x]

Thanks for your kind words.

The osteoarthritis only kicked in when I played the bass and when i did certain types of yard work. Today's computer keyboards are much easier on the hands, so I can type all day and night.

I'm happy to report that I signed the publishing contract yesterday. The deadline is August 31, which I'll easily meet. That means it'll be available in the fall catalog, if all goes according to plan.

Another totally hilarious development in this saga. Usually, in the publishing industry, it takes a minimum of a year to get a book into the stores, but Schiffer really believes in this project.

You'll have it soon.

Tom- tore through In Cold Sweat last weekend. Since I had a kid, the books have just been piling up.... but this one just didn't stand a chance. Great reading- everyone should have this book!

BTW, do I really need to point out that your deadline is the last day of the 8th month??!!

 

[Arthritic_Tom]

Tom- tore through In Cold Sweat last weekend. Since I had a kid, the books have just been piling up.... but this one just didn't stand a chance. Great reading- everyone should have this book!

BTW, do I really need to point out that your deadline is the last day of the 8th month??!!

Holy crap. I didn't even see that. Another August.

If you ever meet me, either stick to me like glue in August, or run like hell from me in August.

 

[TBrett]

Stopping by to check in and am delighted to see that part 2 of this thread is progressing nicely, and that the rough draft is done! Excellent! When it flows that quickly, you know you've hit the vein. Love the excerpts. I'm going to have to block off a chunk of time in my schedule when this thing comes out. For as long as it takes, it's going to be, "Don't talk to me, can't you see I'm reading???"

Also very pleased that the publishers have taken pity on us and will include the book in their fall catalog. Many thanks to them for not making us suffer through a whole year of desperate anticipation!

 

[Arthritic_Tom]

Stopping by to check in and am delighted to see that part 2 of this thread is progressing nicely, and that the rough draft is done! Excellent! When it flows that quickly, you know you've hit the vein. Love the excerpts. I'm going to have to block off a chunk of time in my schedule when this thing comes out. For as long as it takes, it's going to be, "Don't talk to me, can't you see I'm reading???"

Also very pleased that the publishers have taken pity on us and will include the book in their fall catalog. Many thanks to them for not making us suffer through a whole year of desperate anticipation!

It was your enthusiasm that convinced them to get this thing into print.

The Best Editor in the World, Jason S. Sitzes, has agreed to edit it, so now it's going to be fantastic. I send him the manuscript on Monday.

Everyone here needs to pat themselves on the back. Seriously. First, you convinced me to do this, and secondly, you convinced the publishing house to put it on the fast track.

This almost never happens in the publishing world. Usually, they have experts who convince them to go with another chick-lit navel gazer; it bombs; and everyone says, "How'd it happen?"

This time, you people showed them that there's a market, so they're trusting you.

Good job.

 

[wagdog]

My gut instinct tells me this is going to be a great book. And by great I mean classic. The kind of book that will be required reading in classes. Listen to your editor Tom, for he knoweth the path.

 

[SevenJacks]

I'm just on page 5 of the FIRST thread and oh boy this is GOLD!

Thank you Tom!

 

[TBrett]

A thought for release time, Tom: will you create an online campaign? Just thinking that with all the musicians on this site, if you create a website or Facebook page or what have you for the book, we'll all be able to promote it far and wide through our personal and band networks. I can think of at least a dozen people off the top of my head who would enjoy your book.

 

[Arthritic_Tom]

A thought for release time, Tom: will you create an online campaign? Just thinking that with all the musicians on this site, if you create a website or Facebook page or what have you for the book, we'll all be able to promote it far and wide through our personal and band networks. I can think of at least a dozen people off the top of my head who would enjoy your book.

I'm going all out for this. Web site, Facebook, Twitter, and I'm hiring an independent publicist. Since I can't do a book tour, signings, or TV appearances, I have to market it on the 'Net, in print, and on the radio.

What you've seen here is only half the story. The memoir is also about the corruption of Hollywood and how one lives one's life apart from the person you were meant to be with.

It's deeply personal without descending into the repulsive gut spillage that embarrasses everybody. The secret is that I followed my formula for music journalism and okayed what I wrote with the people I wrote about, except for the creeps and goons whom I disguised.

I can safely say that you've never read a memoir like this. It's full of correspondence from the parties involved, all of which was approved by them.

 

[TBrett]

I'm going all out for this. Web site, Facebook, Twitter, and I'm hiring an independent publicist. Since I can't do a book tour, signings, or TV appearances, I have to market it on the 'Net, in print, and on the radio.

What you've seen here is only half the story. The memoir is also about the corruption of Hollywood and how one lives one's life apart from the person you were meant to be with.

It's deeply personal without descending into the repulsive gut spillage that embarrasses everybody. The secret is that I followed my formula for music journalism and okayed what I wrote with the people I wrote about, except for the creeps and goons whom I disguised.

I can safely say that you've never read a memoir like this. It's full of correspondence from the parties involved, all of which was approved by them.

Fantastic!

 

[wingmanborge]

I am in for buying a copy. Your BP interview with mr Thunes made me play bass again. Thanx thom. T from DK

 

[Chebass88]

I ordered "In Cold Sweat" from Amazon, and it is on the way. I am looking forward to reading it. I have enjoyed your stories in the first half of this thread, including the contributions by Scott Thunes.