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3.0
Amp'd: A Fathers Backstage Pass
ByPublisher Description
Set against a backdrop of aggressive rock, frenzied fans, moshing, stage diving, crowd surfing, security brutality, and occasional outright violence, Amp’d: A Father’s Backstage Pass follows four years in the life of Gary Fincke’s son, Aaron, a rock-and-roll guitarist. From bands such as Breaking Benjamin (signing with Hollywood Records and releasing CDs in 2002 and 2004), Strangers With Candy(winning MTV’s Ultimate Cover Band Prize in 2000), to Lifer (signing with Universal/Republic Records and releasing a national CD in 2001), Fincke gives a unique perspective to the bizarre and fantastical world of commercial rock and roll.
Aaron’s rock life is chronicled first-hand by his father, who attends more than fifty shows, spends time with the bands before and after shows, follows them to national tour sites, and talks intimately with his son as well as the members of the bands and some of their fans and managers. Amp’d emphasizes the character and life of the band members through the eyes of a widely published writer, college professor, and father who immerses himself in the high-adrenaline world of contemporary rock and roll. This is not only a page-turning first-hand account of a lifestyle about which many fantasize, but also a literary narrative that examines the larger issues of celebrity, success, and family.
Aaron’s rock life is chronicled first-hand by his father, who attends more than fifty shows, spends time with the bands before and after shows, follows them to national tour sites, and talks intimately with his son as well as the members of the bands and some of their fans and managers. Amp’d emphasizes the character and life of the band members through the eyes of a widely published writer, college professor, and father who immerses himself in the high-adrenaline world of contemporary rock and roll. This is not only a page-turning first-hand account of a lifestyle about which many fantasize, but also a literary narrative that examines the larger issues of celebrity, success, and family.
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3.0
“I enjoyed the parts about the music and the behind the scenes stuff. I didn’t like when he talked about women.
It was also a trip down memory lane. I used to go see some of these bands at the clubs listed. However, I don’t remember ever seeing only women dressed like we’re going to work the corner after the show. Which brings me back to what I didn’t like about the book.”
“So this book is a 2.5.
A few negative observations:
The writer's strength seems to be in short story and poetry. He needed more of a hand helping him keep this longer work cohesive; parts of it are really solid and complete and parts are just... wandering. I kept getting bored and wanting to put it down, but since I was reading it for research, I kept on. Let me be clear: the stories are interesting, BUT they are constantly interrupted or styled in a way that makes you say "can we get to the point now?" This happened to me several times. There's also a redundancy in the moments; we get that he feels awkward backstage amongst the youth population by the fourth time he mentions it, no need for the eighth.
Look, it's a biography, so I'm all for being honest, but... there is not a single description of a female's FACE in this book. I'm all for commenting on the sexual games that go on in musician life (that was part of my research), but if a female is mentioned, she's either drunk and angry or taking her clothes off or both (or a girlfriend). Mr. Band Dad here seemed to very much enjoy the peering-at-young-girls part of his lifestyle, and he enjoys writing about it even more. I felt bad for his wife while reading a few sections of the book. Here, a comparison: I liked the part where he talks about the sexual imagery in the music video, because his analysis and personal anecdotes on the erotic images chosen were insightful and personal. I didn't like the imagery that every time some chick walked by, her pants were slung so low you could see her sunshine, her shirt was pulling up so high you could see her tracts of land, etc. It's not that he experienced it, but the way he wrote about it that was annoying to me.
A few positive observations:
It was honest, frank, and didn't over-romanticize his son. In fact, the dad's infatuation with the band's life, especially their online life, more than his son's was intriguing. I mean, I'm sure there are plenty of other "stage parents" who do the same, stalking their child's online presence, etc. Not all of them are writing a book, so the fact that he could justify it to himself as "research" and then eventually realized he got way too into "researching" (the voyeur strikes again!) was important to note.
If you're a fan of Breaking Benjamin or from the music scene where the book was written, you'll find quite a few interesting stories, anecdotes, and a lot of history that you probably don't know otherwise. The way that he was dedicated to showing how Ben started early, left, came back, humbled himself to play under the band members that he had "left behind", and then eventually rose above them due to their conflicts and lack of label support is not an overplayed story here, it progresses itself. The actual writing about BB is the best in the text.
The insights on the music industry, how the lack of radio play isn't by popularity but by "list" and label encouragement, is what I was looking for in my research. These parts were valuable and definitely will give a fan the insight on how things REALLY work as opposed to "well, of course they're popular, they're awesome!" Maybe because I've been a musician and seen fellow musicians struggle for a long time, but I had a lot of sympathy for Strangers with Candy/Driver/Lifer and how they got put down by label and circumstance, so the rise of BB was heartening after being dragged through SwC's muddy career. The way that the author kept coming back to Lifer's progress in comparison to BB, despite his son's involvement in the latter, was the most personal and interesting part of the book. Over time, he had come to care for the other band, and many of the other music scene guys, and could have a strong sympathy for them as an "outside observer" as well as psuedo-family.
Overall, I thought the book had a lot of very interesting history, and the insight into the Wilkes-Barre music industry that raises and drops so many bands is priceless. It wasn't the content but the writing style that got the lowered rating. But I'm strict; if you're just looking for a quick read about one of your favorite bands, then you won't even notice half of the stuff that I did.”
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