Amp'd: A Fathers Backstage Pass [Paperback]

Gary Fincke (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 31, 2004

Set against a backdrop of aggressive rock, frenzied fans, moshing, stage diving, crowd surfing, security brutality, and occasional outright violence, Amp’d: A Father’s Backstage Pass follows four years in the life of Gary Fincke’s son, Aaron, a rock-and-roll guitarist. From bands such as Breaking Benjamin (signing with Hollywood Records and releasing CDs in 2002 and 2004), Strangers With Candy(winning MTV’s Ultimate Cover Band Prize in 2000), to Lifer (signing with Universal/Republic Records and releasing a national CD in 2001), Fincke gives a unique perspective to the bizarre and fantastical world of commercial rock and roll.
     Aaron’s rock life is chronicled first-hand by his father, who attends more than fifty shows, spends time with the bands before and after shows, follows them to national tour sites, and talks intimately with his son as well as the members of the bands and some of their fans and managers. Amp’d emphasizes the character and life of the band members through the eyes of a widely published writer, college professor, and father who immerses himself in the high-adrenaline world of contemporary rock and roll. This is not only a page-turning first-hand account of a lifestyle about which many fantasize, but also a literary narrative that examines the larger issues of celebrity, success, and family.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"... is a wild ride, a father’s on the road account of his son’s sudden rise to rock stardom." -- Tom Perrotta, author of Election and Joe College

About the Author

Gary Fincke is the Charles B. Degenstein Professor of English and Creative Writing at Susquehanna University, where he directs the Writers Institute.

Product Details

• Paperback: 189 pages
• Publisher: Michigan State University Press; 1st edition (August 31, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870137298
• ISBN-13: 978-0870137297
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,066,180 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easily one of the best books I read in 2006., January 3, 2007

By 

Robert P. Beveridge "xterminal" (Lakewood, OH) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Amp'd: A Fathers Backstage Pass (Paperback)

Gary Fincke, Amp'd: A Father's Backstage Pass (University of Michigan Press, 2004)

Breaking Benjamin are one of the country's most exciting rock and roll bands presently working. And luckily (for us, anyway), their guitarist happens to have an award-winning poet for a father who really, really digs alternative rock. Said father turns in a quasi-biography quasi-memoir on five years of his son's rock and roll life, from Strangers with Candy (winners of MTV's Ultimate Cover Band contest) to Lifer to Breaking Benjamin. And it's great, great stuff. Fincke takes as much (if not more) pleasure in chronicling his family and friends' reaction to his love of the music as he does in chronicling the music itself, and the chronicling of the music spends as much time talking about the drudgery of day-to-day life as a "rock star" as he does about dealing with labels and being on stage.

Fincke's style is very much indulgent father, and there's rarely a critical eye to be found anywhere in the book, its only weakness. But as far as the whole vastly overdone memoir genre goes, this is by far the best of the lot I've encountered. In fact, one of the best books I've read this year, in any genre. **** ½

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow...That's what I call a great book!, August 31, 2004

By 

S. Rosenfeld (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Amp'd: A Fathers Backstage Pass (Paperback)

Gary Fincke takes a backstage seat on tour with Breaking Benjamin. Amp'd provides wonderful stories about the real life of a great rock band. You don't even have to like rock music to love this book. Gary Fincke shares his emotional roller coaster as he watches the journey of his son, Aaron, and he struggles and eventually succeeds in the world of rock music. The stories are so descriptive I felt like I was along side at every event. Amp'd is truly an enjoyable book and I would recommend it to anyone who has a child trying to make it in a rock band, anyone trying themselves to make it in rock, actually, I would recommend this book to anyone who knows how to read...simply put, it is a GREAT BOOK!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fathers Passion, August 25, 2004

By 

E. Philbin (PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Amp'd: A Fathers Backstage Pass (Paperback)

Amp'd is one of, if not the best book I have ever read in my entire life. I loved every second of it. I finished it in two nights, somehting i do not usually do. Its such a great read and smart and fun, and makes you want to be a rockstar. Gary Fincke is a great writer and an ever better father for being so supportive of his son.