And they say "Dead Boys" tell no tales...

Cheetah Chrome: A Dead Boy's Tale: From the Front Lines of Punk Rock
Book Review
02/27/2014

One of the things that I'd like to do when I have time to go out is look for cheap finds whether it be books, clothes, records, what have you. Often times, I am pleasantly surprised by what you can find just looking around at these types of stores. From DIY self help books to out of print records, magazines, to rare t-shirt designs ( had bought an Epitaph shirt of Joe Strummer's Mescaleros once,in an ukay of all places ) to D&D books, basta whatever. And on a recent trip to the bargain bins, here is what I found:

The book itself is in a very good state, the only setbacks were the price tag stickers that were prominently displayed in the lower left front, the book being priced several times so a total of five different price stickers were placed, one over another. I had to carefully remove each so as not to damage the cover that much and it came out okay. The last price was set at 60 Php which is very reasonable, almost criminal, a real steal. You'd expect a book like this to fetch a couple of hundred pesos more in a decent bookshop.

Country, Bluegrass and Blues...from wikipedia

Now, I am vaguely familiar with the Dead Boys as one of the pioneers of the late 70's CBGB era along with the Ramones, Television, etc. They also have a song that was covered ( reworked ?) by locals Third World Chaos ( Not Anymore ). I'd take Chaos' version anytime though which took the song to new heights.

Anyway, what I like about this autobiographical book is it appears to be a very honest look at one man's past, by himself, with all the good, the bad and the ugly that came with it, the ugly being all the drugs/alcohol and shit, being in a band like the Dead Boys, that he had to go through. He even stated in the book that if there is one thing that you can take away from all his stories, it’s that drugs, particularly the hard stuff, can cost you everything. Not in those words but close enough.

Of course, it is interesting that the background of all this is the then burgeoning NY/CBGB scene of which the Boys were a big part of. It is always nice to read about people who were there at that time, people who some of us would consider may be larger than life. Favorite parts of mine were the stories, bits and pieces of a time long gone, such as how the Dead Boys got started in CBGBs, with assistance from Joey Ramone, and how they came up with their name, even without a bass player, and how Mr. Chrome expressed his sentiments about the production of their second album, We Have Come for your Children ( "They're destroying the Dead Boys!" ). 

  

I am also impressed at the brutal honesty and sensitivity expressed here such as whenever he expressed his love for his mother and narrated his personal relationships, from CBGB main man Hilly Kristal to a now literal Dead Boy Stiv Bators and just to all the scenesters who were around that time. This is not just your regular tome of sex, drugs and rock and roll, folks.

Back and Front

Books/Stories like these show us that they are indeed the same as us, prone to all the pitfalls and challenges that life has to offer. Those challenges almost did Mr. Chrome in but he has been lucky enough to have come out of that and emerge out of the other side, scarred but very much thankful to have survived, unlike many of his contemporaries  ( here's looking at you Sid! ). This is a very good read, bonus na lang ung presyo. I can't help but think though...saan na ung mga libro/kwento/documentaries ng mga banda dito sa aten?

 
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