Don Pyle's tantalizing memoir, Rough Description, recalls first bands, the absurdity and incredible rewards of touring, and dubious-dealing stories of the groups he's been in, most prominently as drummer and co-founder of beloved group Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet. It recounts friend and work relationships with musician Dallas Good, venerable producer/engineer Steve Albini, iconic comedy troupe Kids in the Hall, whose series and theme his group created, and others.
Alternately melancholic and hilarious, this book chronicles Pyle's bonkers experiences while attending hair school, his evolving relationship with his mother, how the Ramones affected his young teen brain, a life-changing car accident, and other situations from a creative life lived fully, providing oodles of salacious dish. You'll discover how a punk rock pen pal led to a career in showbiz and how to put out the same record over and over again.
Photography, performing and writing music in bands, recording and producing numerous other artists, writing about music, and scoring for film and TV are all part of Pyle's distinct observer's eye - one that sees all creative media as aspects of the same stream. A melancholic and hilarious memoir in which Pyle touches on his band Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet; his friendships and work relationships with Dallas Good, Steve Albini, and The Kids in the Hall; attending hair school; his mother; the Ramones; a future-altering car accident; and other situations from a creative existence lived fully.
Don Pyle is a Toronto artist, working primarily in music, sound, photography, and writing. Author of two books, including Trouble in the Camera Club, he's released 15 albums, has shot photos for the covers of numerous books and records, and has scored music for feature films and TV series.
Sales and Market Bullets
• SHADOWY MEN ON A SHADOWY PLANET: Don Pyle's band was together for 20 years and became widely known when the song "Having an Average Weekend" became the theme for the Canadian sketch comedy television series The Kids in the Hall. Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet won a Juno Award for Instrumental Artist of the Year (1992).
• INSPIRED BY AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT: This book arose from expansive audience engagement when Don would do talks about his portraits in the book Shot in a Mirror. That book had minimal text accompanying the photographs, and people wanted to know more about the stories behind the images. His uniquely successful career provided more than enough reflections to warrant a book of stories, and his distinct observer's eye brings fresh insight.
• FEATURING STORIES FROM MUSICAL AND CULTURAL PHENOMENONS: Beat Happening, Crash Kills Five, Dallas Good, Fred Schneider, Girl Trouble, Helix, The Jesus and Mary Chain, John Peel, Louie Beeson, Phono-Comb, Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet, Steve Albini, Steve Koch, The Cramps, The Demics, The Fleshtones, The Kids in the Hall, The Ramones, The Sadies, Tina Turner, Wendy Coburn, Yo La Tengo.
