Progress Report #3: Disturbing the Peace: 415 Records and the Rise of New Wave

I love my work; I really do. But even against the backdrop of the thousands of other stories with which I’ve been – and continue to be – involved, the work on my book about 415 Records stands apart. The manuscript is coming along briskly; I’ve already written more than 35,000 words, and have drafts of 22 (out of what looks to be about 50) of the book’s chapters.

The VIPs with their pal Ric Ocasek. Photo courtesy Randy Gzebb

The images I’ve collected are pretty amazing, too. 645 of them, at last count, though I might not be able to use quite all of them. More are on the way, too. Once the ms. Is delivered to my publisher, I’ll move fully into promotion mode; at that point I expect to share some of those images as well as interview excerpts and more. If you’ve ever been interested in indie rock, punk or new wave of the late ‘70s and early-to-mid 1980s, or in the growth of indie labels as part of that scene …

… or in the music and/or history of 391, Jo Allen and the Shapes, Baby Buddha, The Contractions, The Donuts, Roky Erickson and the Aliens, Eddy Godoretsky, The Impostors, Monkey Rhythm, The Mutants, New Math, The Nuns, The Offs, Pearl Harbor and the Explosions, Pop-O-Pies, The Readymades, Red Rockers, Romeo Void, Sudden Fun, SVT, The Symptoms, Times 5, Translator, The VIPs, VKTMS, Wire Train, The Units, The Uptones and/or Until December …

… or the thoughts and recollections of The Avengers’ Penelope Houston, Dead Kennedys’ Jello Biafra, producers Stu Cook, David Kahne, Peter Maunu, Tim Palmer, Ed Stasium and/or Matt Wallace … then you’ll want to read this book. Out later this year.