Customer Reviews

Gary Benchley, Rock Star

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Gary Benchley is a hip indie scenester stuck doing data entry in upstate NY. His fictional memoir opens as he moves to New York city with dreams of becoming an indie rock star. He does have to learn more then five chords on his guitar, but he also has to assemble the right cast for his band. He succeeds at assembling his dream lineup-a gay synth player, a hot chick drummer, a cool black bassist, and no lead guitar player. The process of uncovering his stereotypical bandmates makes for deliciously wicked reading (the hot chick can be obtained via ads, but he has to racially profile black men on the street to find his dream bass player).

Benchley's rise and plateau with his band is filled with elements familiar to any NY hipster--a girlfriend whose blog he reads to try to gain insight into their relationship, alternative art and media shows, mindless blogger get-togethers (why do bloggers hand out business cards?), the local music scene, and the name-dropping of ultra-new indie bands (Gary has great fun making up fake names and trying to catch scensters lying). Of course, we also have the process of getting a band to gel, learning to perform live, getting a record deal, and touring. Gary Benchley tries his damndest to be the Rock Star his business card claims his occupation is, and it makes for hilarious reading (especially his quest for groupies). I'm waiting for Volume 2!

If you've ever dreamed of making it big or searched for the right someone to love, Ford's novel is for you. A goofy, genuine, endearing character, Benchley will crack you up and show you parts of yourself you've forgotten.

Many of the indie rock references may get lost on the less hip (like myself). Regardless, the story is so engaging it halted my life for two days. I simply couldn't put it down. It was just too easy to get lost in the adventures of a 20-something taking on New York City with empty pockets, priceless comical insight and a dream - to ROCK OUT.

I'm ready for the next installment. Gary Benchley, Rock Star part 2, please.

This is a hilarious and alarmingly accurate account of trying to 'make it' in post-millennial New York. Sort of Midnight Cowboy for the L-train set. See for yourself by reading some of the original installments on The Morning News.
[...]
Also recommended, if you've already landed somewhere, as a great (and only faintly salacious) gift that will make your teen/college-age niece or nephew think you're slightly edgy. Give it a spin.

This tightly-written and humorous novel uses backdrop of very current (i.e. 2005) musical genres, movements, and bands to tell the story of a young man who moves to New York and starts a fictional band of his own. The book is very funny, but I imagine it would be especially so if you were tuned into current alternative and rock music of that period (as I am). Otherwise some of the in-jokes might have you scratching your head or going over to the library to check out the latest copy of CMJ. And if you don't know what CMJ is, you may still like the book, but you'll miss out of many of the clever editorial asides the writer makes along the way of the narrative about music he obviously either loves or hates. The descriptions of band life on the road are dead on and he's clearly done his homework. This book was apparently first "published" online as a blog under the premise that the narrator was in fact a real person. The fact that many people believed it gives you some idea how specific and accurate the real-life references are. Though I wonder why people didn't catch a clue when the band in the book never seemed to really play anywhere in New York . . . Highly recommended for any alt/pop/rock music fan, especially those of us who've tried our hand at rock stardom ourselves.

After finding out the the Gary Benchley of themorningnews.org was really Paul Ford I realized how obvious it was; but I also realized that the reason I had bought the whole thing in the first place was because the story and the telling thereof were so damn good that plausibility was pushed well down the requirements list. So why did plausibility become an issue once I read it as a novel? Maybe because before it was pseudo-fiction--a typical Williamsburger adding some ham and cheese to a possibly semi-interesting life (the best blogger EVAR, you might say). Now as a novel, it's total-fiction trying to be a plausible coming of age story.

For the first two sections I felt like I was somewhat laboring through what I had before devoured online. I noticed strange continuity errors and wondered to myself (besides, "who was the editor?") if I had glossed over them when they were presented serialized on screen. And the "blogging party" scene (which I don't remember from the online installments), with its authorial self-reference, had me rolling my eyes while at the same time admitting that I might do the same thing, given the opportunity (although I might cringe at it, post-print).

However, as soon as the third--and previously unwebpublished--section started, I was once again sucked in. It was well conceived and executed story.

The ending was a touch disappointing. It had the feel of every PG-13 coming of age film I've ever seen. Cue end narration: "I may not have {insert dream/girl chased throughout film here}, but you know, life ain't so bad after all..." fade to black with catchy pop song.

Bottom line: I had very high expectations after enjoying the online serialization and having been a long time fan of ftrain.com and Paul's NPR bits. It IS a good book, but I do hope he follows it up with the Guinness to this High Life.

I had fun with this book, but more importanly, this book had fun with me. I think a book that cares enough about its readers to make sure they're having a laugh (out loud sometimes) is a book worthy of the highest praise, the best reviews and the most stars, even if the joke is a little on the satirical side... is this Paul Ford dude laughing at me for rockin' out? For being a college grad with nothing but a temp job, a dopey case of twenty-something fear, trembling and optimism, and an encyclopedic knowledge of indie rock bands? The best jokes are always the ones that make us laugh at ourselves most of all. My recommendation: be on the lookout for the next book by this author, but read this one first.

If you want to know whether to read this book or not, Google "The Age of Mechanical Reproduction." It is a short-story by Paul Ford, whose writing style I fell immediately in love with. If you love his style (filled with sarcastic, witty asides), then you'll love Gary Benchley, Rock Star.

There are two threads to this book. There is the main one, which is the story of the fumbling trials and tribulations of an unflappable young man. This thread is entertaining and hilarious due to Paul Ford's easy prose, engaging story-telling, and great wit. The other thread is the deeper treatment on modernity, New York, cool-hunting, and hipsterism. Ford has penetrated the subculture that the Creative Class has unwittingly promulgated. It's the same culture pilloried in Portlandia.

I identify with Gary Benchley's life so much. I'm a twenty-something who lives in Austin, TX, who works out of a co-working space with mostly young, liberal-types, surrounded by people obsessed with an awareness of either what's current and hip, or obsessed with something vintage that they're trying to redeem. I always wonder, What does this all mean? While we make fun of mainstream America for its materialistic treadmill, is it possible that me and my cohort are on our own treadmill of the hip?

Rock Star can't answer all these questions, but the book is an amazing slice of that world, at times reaching the levels of penetrating insight that Tom Wolfe would have made if he grew up today.

Ford's breezy first novel about an ambitious indie rocker trying to make it in the big apple is wiseguy funny, hip to the silly pretensions of post-adolescents longing desparately for idolization. If you don't see a lot of yourself in Gary Benchley, you're not really being honest! Some familiarity with the New York hipster music and blogging scene will enhance the appreciation.

I just plowed through this book in a few days. It's a great read, there's something on every page to make you laugh, and something on every couple pages to make you nod your head in agreement. I thought the lead character would be an obnoxious poser, but it turns out he has something of a heart of gold. He just wants to rock, that's all. Of course the book is about his trials and tribulations trying to do just that, but he handles all the misfires and disappointments with relatively good cheer and a fair amount of determination. Cool book, especially for a music lover, and not at all pretentious or skanky.

I really enjoyed reading about The Letters of Gary Benchley, Rock Star when it was in online form on TheMorningNews.org. The book is an extension of the online work with more details about our hero's trials and tribulations in his quest for stardom.

My biggest gripe about the novel is how many unnecessary references to name brands are mentioned here - how much did they pay the author to subsidize this work? I didn't really mind the name-dropping of other bands, at least that gives some pop culture reference to the music scene he's aspiring to join. Its just a bit much when he writes about the can of Coke or the Honda Element, etc. I don't remember getting a discount on the cover price of the book in exchange for product placement. There is a time and place for name dropping especially if it enhances the story, I don't feel like most of them accomplished that.

Sorry for the rant. This is a good read, don't get me wrong. I just felt a bit turned off by the commercialism.