The end of "Interviewing Bassist Stories"

A new Talkbass! Haven't been here in a while, but the new look befits my new life.

On March 23, 2102, I started a thread here called "Interviewing bassist stories," and it got completely out of control. It led to a book deal for what became Ghosts and Ballyhoo: Memoirs of a Failed L.a. Music Journalist, and it seemed that everything would turn around for me. Alas, it was not to be.

Both my parents committed suicide in 2013, after refusing to accept they had cancer and not cooperating in their treatments. During Mom's protracted death, I hooked up with a fake book publicist who took me for $40,000 and killed not only Ghosts and Ballyhoo but Volume Two of what became the Ghosts Trilogy, a novel titled Chasing the Last Whale.

Not a single media outlet in the United States was interested in how a housebound author with PTSD was utterly raped by grifters who read his blog to figure out when to strike. I presented my case to PayPal and was refunded $9000, based entirely on my evidence of fraud. I've been writing about the con artists regularly since January 23, 2014, posting photos of them and using their names. I even devoted a category to the head con artist on the "News" page of my Website. Not a peep from any lawyer.

After I contacted several law-enforcement agencies and got no response, I finally took the hint. My case isn't worth scare resources. Besides, caveat emptor. It was just bad luck that I was in no condition mentally to properly vet the publicist. Books can only be marketed for a short period. The fake publicists used up that period for both Volume One and Volume Two of the trilogy.

Soon I'll make an effort to find a genuine publicist, in the hopes of salvaging something from the last year. I finished Volume Three of the Ghosts Trilogy, Hallucinabulia: the Dream Diary of an Unintended Solitarian, but now I'm concentrating on a novel that I'm hoping will do what none of my other books have done. Funnily enough, it'll contain the story of Ghosts and Ballyhoo, but the real plot will be about a monstrous suspicion and the quest to determine if it's real.

A week ago I tried for the first time in I don't know how long to play the bass. I converted my Squire P-bass into a one string, thinking that might be the ticket. After noodling around on it for fifteen minutes, I had to stop because it was just too painful. I might try a Whamola in the future; right now they're not making any new ones. Seeing Les Claypool play one with a drumstick makes me think I might have a chance. But a conventional electric bass is out of the question.

To say goodbye to the bass again and to say goodbye to what I'd hoped would be a successful trilogy that started with a thread here, I had a trailer made for In Cold Sweat: Interviews with Really Scary Musicians. It's now been in print thirteen years. If you want to celebrate my first book, you can leave a review of it at Amazon. A lot of you told me you read it. Tell the world about it.

And those of you who read Ghosts and Ballyhoo can commemorate it with a review too, if you never got around to writing one. Think of it as a raised middle finger to the guy who killed it and got away with it.

We gave it a hell of shot, didn't we? I don't feel sorry for myself, so you shouldn't feel sorry for me. I've recovered my upward momentum. It got pretty dicey for a while, but when I came to the fork in the road that led to survival or perdition, I put the past behind me and chose to continue looking forward.

“Look and see, look and see,—
Men have wings at last.”

—Josephine Preston Peabody

And now, for your enjoyment, the trailer for In Cold Sweat.

 

I get 10 percent. The more copies sold and the more reviews that go on Amazon, the more likely it is that I'll be able to find a reputable publicist when I finish my current novel. The money isn't important. The way I can defeat the fake publicists is by someday having a successful book.

This might be of interest too.

 

I've gotta try the Whamola.

 

Thanks very much to everybody. You can help by writing an Amazon review of Ghosts or In Cold Sweat.The more reviews I have, the more likely it is that I can entice a real publicist to represent me.

Also, I'm having a giveaway. Click here for details.

 

Thanks very much. Every little bit helps. What's good about Amazon is that real readers can review. The Really Important Reviewer Gods don't respond to review requests, or else they have amazing butt-kissing rituals that you have to do for them.

Most people like exercising power over others or lording their "fame" over others. When you don't have an ego and just want to tell stories, it gets hard to navigate all the obstacles. So I appreciate your review. Truly.

 

I've done all I can to mitigate 2013, so I have more time now.

I found a new clip of one of my heroes, Radi Kazakov. A Bulgarian friend tried to track him down without success. I really wanted to interview him. I wish I'd been able to attend this show.

 

Physically? It's easy. Two fingered hunt-and-peck. Fast!

Emotionally? My favorite painter is Otto Dix, a veteran of World War I. He said for him, painting was an act of banishment. Every word I write relieves me of a little stress. I banish daily. That's what keeps me from inflicting great violence on the people who destroyed my writing career.

This is the fourth time I've had to start over. The first time it took me twelve years to get into the proper mindset. This time it took only a year. That's improvement!

Otto Dix was criticized for his unsparing images of war.



Would people have rather he lied about what he saw and experienced?

Another reason I write about all this is to bear witness. Since the media and law enforcement don't care, it's up to me to leave a record of what was done. Using information given to me by others that the scammers victimized, I was able to track down a few authors currently being ripped off. One absolutely refused to believe me. She keeps the scammers on permanent retainer for $3000 a month. They tell her what they told me.

"Success is right around the corner. Any day now you'll hit it big."

Hitting it big isn't important to me anymore. My plan is to start over and see what happens. If you've read any of my work and can leave a review at Amazon, that'll help. Every increment is another step upward.