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Amp'd: A Fathers Backstage Pass

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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

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!

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.

or are a fan of any band, this book will give you a fathers' insight to how it all begins, and goes along the way.

Gary Fincke doesn't hold anything back in his experience as the guitarists' dad in Breaking Benjamin. If you have never heard of this band, you seriously need to find a radio. They are breaking into the world of Rock and Roll.

You hear a fathers' thoughts,comments, and emotions as the band goes through many changes. An EXCELLENT book for the rocker!!!

I ordered it, and received it 2 days later! AWESOME reading when you have to "limit" yourself to a chapter a night!

Your typical book about a rock band is a knock off and a turn off. Some hack writer grabs a stack of promotional blurble and interview pull-quotes together, then rushes a volume out. Often without even nominal assistance of the artist involved, these books are the equivalent of pulp junk food, aimed squarely at the fan for whom even a tiny scrap of information is like sugar. They are also usually dumped into the market place long after the band has become successful, so the quotes are practiced and edited as to present their topics in the best light (or not, depending on the author's agenda). We will also not discuss the fact that most of these books are thrown together by people that simply can't write to save their word processing arses.

Not so with "Amp'd." Dr. Gary Fincke is a Professor of English at a college in central Pennsylvania, a published poet, and story teller. He also loves rock with the passion of most adolescents. So when his guitarist son Aaron began playing guitar and being serious about it, Dad began writing about his kid the musician. As it turns out, Aaron is one of the lucky talents. His band, "Strangers With Candy," won a nationally televised MTV contest, morphed into Lifer and released Lifer. Like most bands in the music business world, they discover that getting a record out is not the key to the kingdom, but then Aaron joins Breaking Benjamin, and lightning struck twice. Breaking Benjamin got signed to Hollywood Records and now have three great rock albums out, "Saturate," "We Are Not Alone" and "Phobia."

Like most bands and musicians, Aaron finds himself being first a local star, then trying to climb the ladder to bigger things. The difference between "Amp'd" and other books about rock bands is there is a minimum of hyperbole involved. Dr Fincke watches from the sidelines as his son plays dive clubs, weird local festivals where I'm sure shouts of "Freebird!" were more to the norm than a bunch of young and aggressive year 2000 rockers would be, and venues that, as Senior Fincke describes them, have fewer sinks and toilets than his house. It's that kind of attention to detail that makes you really (and I know it's an overused phrase) feel like you're right their with him and the bands Aaron becomes involved in.

Perhaps the freshest thing about "Amp'd" is that it isn't an "insiders" view of the music industry, where people that have been working the same deals and scams for years on end try to act like they haven't already been there and done that. Nor is it a disconnected outsider doing emotionless research. It is obvious that Aaron loves making music and Dr. Fincke is equally fascinated by the process. Some of the book's best moments are when Dr Fincke tries to persuade his University colleagues to listen or watch some of Aaron's work, then describes their reactions. These range from mild enthusiasm to utter disdain.

There is also a strong message here in the amount of support that Dr. Fincke and his family invests in Aaron. Where most parents are probably yelling down to the basement to "turn it down," you'll discover that Aaron's family kicked in with money for T-shirts and early CD demos. "Amp'd" is a great read, a fine journal of the creative process and a testament to a family's willingness to let their children explore their creativity. Even if you don't like hard rock, you should be reading "Amp'd."

The book provided a unique insight into the making of a modern day, headlining rock band. Would like to read a part II, now that Breaking Benjamin has evolved.

I'll be honest-I bought Amp'd solely to learn more about the roots of the band Breaking Benjamin, and member Aaron Fink. What I received, however, was much more. Gary Fincke delivers a captivating, suspenseful, and beautifully written story in Amp'd. Spanning from Aaron's high school band to 2003 Breaking Benjamin, Professor Fincke recounts his son's transformation as a musician and human being. Amp'd is filled with anecdotes that are sure to make you chuckle, and in some cases, experience a strangely authentic fearful sensation. Even though I am an avid Breaking Benjamin fan, Aaron's success did not seem assured throughout the story; I had serious trouble putting the book down.

To summarize, Amp'd is a powerful account of Aaron Fink's rise to stardom. Its captivating narrative is sure to engage any reader-fan of Breaking Benjamin or not. 5/5 for an amazing work of literature.

It is definitely an intriguing concept for a book: a rural PA father's account of his son's rock life as the son gets signed by a major label not once, but twice - and has two national CDs released within 8 months of each other. For a guy who is a professor of English and Creative Writing at Susquehanna Univ., the book is (strangely) not that well-written or compelling. There is hardly any time spent on how both of those bands got signed, the management and politics behind two major-label bands struggling to "make it," and he misspells Lynyrd Skynyrd and Isle of Q several times(!) As the dad, Gary seems to forget that unless you're a family member it's hard to follow who is who and most of his accounts are descriptions of the crowds and bouncers from the shows and surface-level conversations with his son. Although the book is billed truthfully as a father's observation of his son's life, it was frustrating that the book didn't provide more insight into the bands as they tried/try to navigate careers in the music business. Gary's "research" amounts to driving to shows and he pretty much admits that. It *is* interesting to see a dichotomy unfolding: Lifer's demise from outside forces to internal chaos and Breaking Benjamin's slow rise to success from inside out.

Having said all that, it's interesting reading for anybody in the NE PA and Lehigh Valley music scenes and for any young fan who wouldn't be distracted by the mediocre writing and who would salivate at this supposedly "intimate" look at their favorite band (Aaron is the handyman type! The band goes to media training!). I think BB is a great band and singer Ben Burnley is an excellent songwriter. He turns out to be the quirkiest, most-interesting person in the book. It's weird to read a book and know a number of the people and places.