The Hold Steady's Franz Nicolay in convo with the Drive-By Truckers' Jay Gonzalez | Band People

Name: The Hold Steady's Franz Nicolay in convo with the Drive-By Truckers' Jay Gonzalez | Band People
Start: 2024-10-04T17:30:00-04:00
Location: Criminal Records Atlanta

Schedule

Fri Oct 04 2024 at 05:30 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

Criminal Records Atlanta | Atlanta, GA

"Most books about musicians focus on the superstars that everybody knows. Franz Nicolay’s writing is so valuable because he cares about the other 99.9 percent of performers—the sidemen, the session musicians, the road dogs who make their living in the shadows. In 'Band People,' Nicolay shows just how fascinating—and difficult, and rewarding, and important—the lives of these people can be". --Steven Hyden, author of "Twilight of the Gods: A Journey to the End of Classic Rock"
Criminal Records and A Cappella Books are welcome author and The Hold Steady's Franz Nicolay for a talk on his new book, "Band People: Life and Work in Popular Music" on Friday, October 4, at 5:30 PM. Nicolay will appear in conversation with the Drive-By Truckers' Jay Gonzalez. The talk will be followed by a book signing.
This event is free and open to the public. Copies of "Band People" will be available for purchase at the store.
About the Book
Secret (and not-so-secret) weapons, side-of-the-stagers, rhythm and horn sections, backup singers, accompanists—these and other “band people" are the anonymous but irreplaceable character actors of popular music. Through interviews and incisive cultural critique, writer and musician Franz Nicolay provides a portrait of the musical middle class. Artists talk frankly about their careers and attitudes toward their craft, work environment, and group dynamics, and shed light on how support musicians make sense of the weird combination of friend group, gang, small business consortium, long-term creative collaboration, and chosen family that constitutes a band. Is it more important to be a good hang or a virtuoso player? Do bands work best as democracies or autocracies? How do musicians with children balance their personal and professional lives? How much money is too little? And how does it feel to play on hundreds of records, with none released under your name? In exploring these and other questions, "Band People" gives voice to those who collaborate to create and dissects what it means to be a laborer in the culture industry.
About the Author
Franz Nicolay is a writer, musician, and faculty member in music and written arts at Bard College. In addition to records under his own name, he has been a member of World/Inferno Friendship Society and the Hold Steady. He is the author of "The Humorless Ladies of Border Control: Touring the Punk Underground from Belgrade to Ulaanbaatar" and the novel "Someone Should Pay for Your Pain."