Staci's Second Volume of True Rock & Roll Stories

Bruce Von Stiers

Staci Layne Wilson is a filmmaker. She is also a podcaster and a screenwriter. Staci is also the author of short story collections related to rock music. And she has been writing a series of books with the heading of Rock & Roll Nightmares.

The latest book in the Rock & Roll Nightmares series is Rock & Roll Nightmares: True Stories, Volume Two. The book was published by Excessive Nuance. The book is soft covered and has 525 pages.

There are 13 chapters in the book with an introduction, an afterwards and a few pages that list sources.

The first chapter is Psycho Killer. It is all about musical artists who lost their lives to killers. From John Lennon to Sam Cooke to Frankie Little Jr, these are tales of lives cut short by violence done by others. John Lennon's murder was extensively covered as was Mia Zapata's, the leader of the Seattle grunge band, The Gits.

The second chapter is Been Caught Stealing. A lot of the chapter is about musical artists taking work from other people and using it as their own. The Ice, Ice Baby rip-off of Under Pressure to George Harrison's supposedly rip-off of a Chiffons song for his My Sweet Lord, there are many instances of either deliberate or unintentional plagiarism with popular songs. Then there is not paying your band or people stealing your prized guitars or other instruments such as a custom drum kit. And there is a whole segment about a guy who stole several of the Eagles identities over the years to get free food, lodging, some material things, and of course, chicks.

Later chapters have titles such as Stage Fright, Hell Is For Children and Your Disease. The chapter Lunatic Fringe deals with obsessed fans and the dangerous and deadly ways they interacted with certain rock artists. The chapter titled Sex Type Thing has stories about rape by artists, rape of a pop icon and sexual liaisons that border on pedophilia. One of those liaisons dealt with Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, which recently made a big splash in a lawsuit against him.

Boulevard of Broken Dreams details the death of Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix to name a few.

Staci does a great job of detailing events and circumstances for the rock artists spotlighted in the book. Some of it is done with sarcastic wit, such as the death of a rock star by his wife described as “divorce by derringer.” She also lists extensive sources. So, even though Staci might have interjected a bit of personal opinion, the facts of each story are solid and true.

If you like stories about rock and roll stars, with some grit, grime and a hint of sarcasm, then Rock & Roll Nightmares: True Stories Volume 2 is a book that should be on your reading list.

Rock & Roll Nightmares: True Stories Volume 2 is available at amazon and other book retailers.

If you'd like to find out more about the Rock & Roll Nightmares series, visit Staci Layne Wilson's website at https://www.stacilaynewilson.com/

Back to the BVS Reviews Main Menu

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

© 2023 Bruce E Von Stiers