Lonn Friend "Life On Planet Rock" (Morgan Road Books)
by Paul Autry
When I was told that I would be doing a review on this book...I thought to myself, "Yeah...sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. I can get into that." That's what I figured this book would be about. After all, we're talking about Lonn Friend here. The Rip Magazine Lonn Friend! If anyone had any dirt to dish, it would be this guy. Unfortunately...that's not what this book is all about. However, don't think it's a disappointment because that's not the case.
In this book, Lonn Friend takes a trip down memory lane and, during said trip, he talks about his experiences with Guns 'N' Roses, Kurt Cobain, Metallica, Bon Jovi, Clive Barker, Larry Flynt, Aerosmith, Ian Astbury and The Rolling Stones to name a few. There's a page or two of famous names who sing the praises of this book...Paul Stanley, Lemmy, Scott Ian, Kevin Cronin, Alice Cooper...and I don't wanna take away from anything any of them said. However, I don't think any of them really hit the nail on the head when it comes to an honest description of this book. My opinion...my impression...picture this...you're sitting in a bar/club/whatever, kickin' back with a cold one and you're having a conversation about music with the guy sitting next to you. You ask him what he thinks about Alice Cooper and he responds with, "I used to play golf with him" or something like that. Of course, you're gonna ask questions, "What was that like, dude?" Then you'll get excited and you ask about Guns 'N' Roses or Metallica or whoever you wanna know about. You'll ask if he has a story about them and he'll respond with, "Yes, I do. Would you like to hear it?" You'll spend the entire evening talking about the people he knows and you'll hear a story about this person and that person...not the huge media tales that everyone knows. Just a little personal information...a backstage/behind the scenes story or what have you. At some point in the conversation, you say to yourself, "This is a pretty cool conversation. But, I have no idea who this guy is." So, you end up saying something like, "Hey...I didn't catch your name" to which the stranger responds, "My name's Lonn Friend."
That's the impression I got after reading this book. The only difference is...you know who that stranger is before you belly up to the bar to order your first drink. It's a good, honest read. Sure, it wasn't what I expected. But, it was still a rather enjoyable experience. It could have used a few more pictures though. Then again...that kind of goes with the whole conversation impression I got. After all, we all carry a snapshot or two around in our wallet...right?
Be sure to pick up your copy today.
