Customer Reviews

Mom, Have You Seen My Leather Pants?: The Tale of a Teen Rock Wannabe Who Almost Was

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

 

 

I found this book because of the neon cover. You can't miss it on a table or shelf of other books. The story inside is a true-to-life portrait of a fantasy almost-realized. A tale for all those who dreamed of being a real life rock star and enjoying the spoils that come with that particular lifestyle, Williams' tale is not only amusing but cautionary. A good read for anyone who wanted to be on stage like their idols who rocked the Sunset Strip during the late 1980s/early 1990s and debauch endlesss gaggles of groupies but never got to.

Craig Williams' reflection on his high school days in a glam metal rock band is at turns funny, touching and nostalgic. Anyone who remembers the days when Poison, Warrant, Motley Crue and GunsNRoses were at the top of the charts and dominating MTV will enjoy this story of an Orange County teenager (almost) destined for rock-n-roll fame. I also think the teenagers of today will relate to the desires for freedom, sex and an identity which are universals of the adolescent years, as well be fascinated by the days when hair metal dinosaurs roamed the earth.

(Full disclosure: Craig is a friend of mine)

"Mom, Have You Seen my Leather Pants" is probably the most amusing autography I've read. I was interested in this tale because my 11-year-old son recently started playing the bass guitar and already has delusions of rock n' roll grandeur. However, based on the picture that Craig Williams paints (in his witty and egotistical way), I won't be buying my son leather pants or hair extensions any time soon. The book chronicals the fantasy (and semi-realization) of a group of "hair metal" teens seeking rock n' roll stardom in the early 1990's. Their's is the all-American dream unrealized of every kid who ever strummed an electric guitar. Williams skillfully pokes fun at himself throughout, yet is so obviously enamored with his own tale that one knows for certain he'll read every comment on Amazon with extreme interest. "Mom, Have You Seen My Leather Pants" is pure entertainment.

A great book that captures the true spirit of rock n' roll. Consider me a loyal foot soldier in the Onyxxx army! Rock on!

"Mom, Have You Seen My Leather Pants?" is a hysterical read. I never realized living the life in an early 90's high-school glam band could be so parallel to living the life in an early 90's high-school thrash metal band. We lived in entirely different worlds, but apparently dealt with the very same issues. A loyal fan base? Check. A ridiculous expectation we would land a record deal? Check. Obliviousness to our own musical mediocrity? Check. An obsession with living a rock star life while the harsh realities of daily life at high-school awaited us the next morning? Check. Band in-fighting and spiraling drug use? Check. A head-in-the-sand attitude toward the impending Seattle sound that would help seal our ultimate destruction? Check.

Sure, according to the book, Craig A Williams' band had groupie chicks and a penchant for signing breasts while we had a legion of hardcore dude fans that were emboldened by their Slayer and Megadeth shirts and their proclivity to mosh. But were we really all that different? His band packed a crowd during a headlining show at The Whiskey. I have pictures to prove we achieved the same. The book tells of their Loni Anderson look-alike manager. Ours could have doubled as an impersonator for Peter Grant of Led Zeppelin fame, especially with that pistol he carried in his brief case. Then there was the issue when 60% of the band slept with his then wife, but that's another story.

I know I still feel like a rock star and I tell my stories with great authority that we, on some small level, touched greatness very few will ever truly understand. This book, with its wry humor and horrifying stories of teenage debauchery, will entertain and delight anybody that was even remotely connected to the Southern California music scene in the late eighties and early nineties. I blazed through "Mom, Have You Seen My Leather Pants?" in just a couple of hours and it was worth every penny for admission . . . I only wish I had a neon green ticket stub with "Onyxx" stamped on it as a souvenir to prove I was at the show.

You'll be quoting it to all your friends this summer - cool to find such a silly topic covered by such a great writer! Write one about your days in Hollywood, Mr. Williams!

"Mom Have You Seen My Leather Pants" is true life rock & roll tale in the spirit of Frank Portman's fictional "King Dork". It's well written, funny, and insightful. More than just a good read though, Mr. Williams may have created a very important historical artifact in the annals of rock and roll history. VH1's "Behind The Music" and the movie "Decline Of Western Civilization 2: The Metal Years" have attempted to place a kind of artificial importance on "hair metal" that never really existed. "Pants" cuts through all of that and portrays the "pay to play", "hair extensions" era of the Hollywood Blvd. club scene as it truly deserves to be portrayed: as the purely ridiculous. What's more, Williams knows it. The author at once paints a picture of the hair metal era that is far from innocent (sex & drugs abound) but is still sincerely naive about the workings of the real world. By doing that, he elevates his text, far surpassing the mere tale he is trying to tell. "Hair Metal" and world Williams and his underage pals inhabit become an analogy for the end of the greedy, junk bond, trickle-down 80's. Everyone is feeling too good, and having too good of a time, to see the disasters (wars, recession) and upheaval (L.A. riots, mainstream punk via NirvanaJam) just around the corner. This is an inspiring work from a great new author, covering an era that has been left criminally uncovered in the past.

I think this book deserves between 2 and 3 stars. I appreciate its honesty but quite frankly it is not a very interesting book. If you compare it to books about bands or performers who became very successful (such as Slash, Scar Tissue, or The Dirt), you will see that the real rock stars lead exciting lives while those who did not make it (like the band in this book) did not lead very interesting lives.