Never the Same Again: A Rock 'n' Roll Gothic [Hardcover]

Jesse Sublett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2004

NEVER THE SAME AGAIN details the often tragic, always extraordinary life of Jesse Sublett—punk musician, novelist, survivor. After an out-of-town gig in the summer of 1976, the 20-year-old singer-songwriter returned to his Austin, Texas, bungalow to discover his girlfriend’s gruesomely murdered body. The police focused on Jesse as the prime suspect—but he wound up solving the case for them. Recovering from the devastating loss of his girlfriend, he immersed himself in creative endeavors, founding the legendary punk band the Skunks, and later moving to Los Angeles to write screenplays and crime novels. After contracting a rare form of throat cancer, Jesse moved back to Austin to begin the hardest fight of his life. Here, Jesse candidly narrates his novel-worthy true story, a testament to art’s power to heal the deepest wounds. The autobiography of famed punk band member and crime novelist Jesse Sublett, covering his first love’s tragic murder, his music career, and his struggle with cancer.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Sublett's memoir is a harrowing, wrenching, spellbinding work of great candor and soul. Read it, think with it, dig it." -- James Ellroy, author of L.A. Confidential

Never the Same Again is a gripping memoir that never feels forced or emotionally manipulative. -- Austin Chronicle (May 2004)

Sublett culls wry anecdotes from his eclectic resume, while leavening the raw sadness with honesty and optimism. -- Texas Monthly Magazine (June 2004 issue)

Sublett’s humor is relatively pervasive; his voice conveys a resiliency known only to those who have stared down death. -- LA Weekly (June 2004)

From the Inside Flap

On a hot August night in Texas, 22-year-old Jesse Sublett was onstage experiencing what he thought was the realization of a long-held dream: his first big gig with a rock band. When he returned home, however, he found a nightmare: his longtime girlfriend Dianne Roberts, had been savagely murdered in their bed.

Jesse became the police's prime suspect, and while in custody, solved the crime. Though he couldn't undo the damage, he moved on. But death had entered Jesse's home, and he had let it in. It wasn't going away.

Jesse and pals Fazz Eddie Munoz, Jon Dee Graham, and Billy Blackmon created the Skunks--a new wave rock 'n' roll band that was instrumental in establishing Austin, Texas, as the live music capital of the world. In his star-studded memoir we find cameo appearances by Patti Smith, Debbie Harry, Elvis Costello, Carla Olson, Mick Taylor, Kathy Valentine, and more.

In the late 1990s Jesse was diagnosed with stage IV throat cancer, with a less than 9% chance of survival. He came to understand that the cancer was somehow connected with his past--with the hardscrabble life he endured growing up in the Texas Hill Country; with his girlfriend's murder, and the reality he never faced; and with the self-absorption of his years on tour with the band.

Never the Same Again is a road trip through a landscape of rock 'n' roll dreams, murder, and malignancy--a true story, mostly, about a tall Texan with "good-fallin' hair" facing long odds and running out of time.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 300 pages
• Publisher: New Harbinger Publications (April 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580085989
• ISBN-13: 978-1580085984
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #940,591 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jesse Sublett is an Austin, Texas based author, musician and all-around character in the Live Music Capital of the World. Jesse is recognized as being a seminal force in the Austin music scene since 1978, when he formed two of the region's first punk/new wave bands, The Skunks and the Violators, which helped changed the course of music history in Austin. He began writing short stories and novels in the mid-eighties while still playing full time. His first novels, Rock Critic Murders, Tough Baby and Boiled in Concrete, were published by Viking Penguin between 1989-1992. These books are set in the Austin music scene and feature protagonist Martin Fender, a blues bass player who moonlights as a skip tracer and detective. Jesse's memoir, Never the Same Again: A Rock n' Roll Gothic, published in 2004, tells the story of his experiences in the Austin music community from the mid seventies through the 1990s, and chronicles in detail his struggle to survive stage 4 throat cancer, a time when he decided to also revisit the murder of his girlfriend, Dianne Roberts, by a serial killer in 1976. The book is shot through with heartbreaking experiences and life-affirming ones as well, with generous doses of absurd humor in the musical passages, despite the many grim themes and story threads. Jesse is also recognized as an insightful essayist and satirical commentator; his writing has been published in New York Times, Texas Monthly, Texas Observer and the Austin Chronicle. He's also contributed to numerous nonfiction books, including We Were Not Orphans: Stories from the Waco State Home, by Sherry Matthews, published by UT Press in 2011, and he has also written and co-produced dozens of hours of documentary film and television. He regularly comments on film noir, crime fiction, music, politics and art on his blog at jessesublett.wordpress.com and plays in Austin clubs, performing original and traditional murder ballads, blues and rock n roll. He lives with his wife, Lois Richwine, and three cats in Austin, Texas.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Life Imprinted with Death, August 18, 2004

By 

Margaret Moser (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Never the Same Again: A Rock 'n' Roll Gothic (Hardcover)

It's gotta be a wild hopscotch between playing first wave punk in the late 70s and turning into a detective novelist for the next two decades. Yet, like his idol James Ellroy, Jesse Sublett's own life was imprinted with death. Sublett's talent lies not just in the vivid depiction of a nascent music scene in Austin, Texas but his deft juxtaposition of it as a man living with a dark memory and what might have been a bleak future. With wry humor and insight, Never The Same Again is in a category of its own in the rock book pantheon, an autiography turned up to 11.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A COURAGEOUS BOOK!!, July 26, 2004

By 

Malcolm B.Bell - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Never the Same Again: A Rock 'n' Roll Gothic (Hardcover)

Although marketed as "A Rock 'N' Roll Gothic," this remarkable book deserves a much wider readership. Jesse Sublett's very literate story should be required reading for everyone over the age of sixteen.

His autobiographical story is a cautionary tale in which he visits the darker sides of his life head-on with incredible courage--traveling back to the one tragic event that was to shape his entire life. How he deals (and doesn't deal) with this tragedy is what makes this book a compelling read. It is a survivor's story written in an honest and candid style.

This is not an easy book! Reader's may be confronted with their own demons along the way but Jesse's ultimately hopeful and positive message shines through--leading the way!

Family, friends, music, creativity, tears, laughter, and ultimately understanding meld together to form a powerful mix in this very human story of one man's journey.


Note:
I was first introduced to Jesse at an evening signing event in our bookshop in Glendale, CA. Both my wife and I were impressed with this tall thin man from Texas with such an easy manner. I might not have investigated this book had it not been for Jesse's reading that evening. Thank you, Jesse! Keep writing!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grab a pack of smokes and maybe a beer for this read, July 14, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Never the Same Again: A Rock 'n' Roll Gothic (Hardcover)

The best compliment I can give Mr. Sublett is that after the first third of the book, I had to put the book down, go smoke a cigarette and then didnt pick the book back up for about 3 weeks. The events of his life are gripping, entertaining, funny and sad. Jesse defianlty has a story to tell, but in the same way, his writing reminds us that we ALL have a story to tell. That good and bad things happen to everyone. I really liked his writing style. Certain phrases and ideas really stuck in my head - lines like "her eye's didnt see me" and the tape loop running over and over. These are both events that I could identitfy with in my own life. I too was involved in a murder trial in which I was there with body before the police came. I really dont talk much about it because I feel like no one I know has been in that position and Jesse's words summed it all up. It made me revisit my past.
Overall, I highly recommend this book - especially to those who actually live in Austin. Reading about all the clubs that are now long gone and reading the back stories on people who play everyweekend here in Austin was great. The idea of John Dee Graham at 17 is a trip. Also I think struggling austin musicains will also find this book to be inspiring and an eye opener to how success in the music biz goes; the reality of it.
I loved how this book ended but what I think would be even cooler is when Dashille is older, that he writes a book from his prospective starting off where this book ends. Now that would be cool. Congrats Mr. Sublett on a great book. Much love to Lois and the most handsome man. I now will pass it on...