Customer Reviews

Pistonhead

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

 

 

A friend who is also in the music industry recommended Pistonhead to me and it was a revelation! I spent many years in the trenches of rock and roll and this book hits a bulls-eye. The audiences, the flaky manager who makes a fortune from a dead client, the smarmy concert promoter, the wacky road crew, the sleazy girlfriends, the violence and sex and drugs, the Dust Twins (I knew those guys!), the stuff that goes through Charlie's mind while he is performing on stage--it's all here.

What makes Pistonhead different is that it gives you the complete picture and devotes attention to the "real world" of Charlie's mind-numbing day job on the assembly line with the Mass Rehab clients. I remember being jolted out of bed at 7 am after playing a gig until 3 am, and dragging my tired carcass to work and falling asleep in the break room with my ears still ringing. And at every workplace there's a Lisa... the sweet and beautiful woman who seems to come from some different and better world. And we all know guys like Charlie's brother-in-law, who leeringly wants to hear all about Charlie's supposed sexual exploits. There's so much more--I definitely recommend this book to anyone who has ever had a dream worth working for.

Grab hold of your armchair for a funny, trashy, multi-layered and finely nuanced study of a headbanging guitar player who happens to be a real human being. Charlie Sinclair is not a superstar; during the day he works on an assembly line (when they had such things in America) and he's smart enough to appreciate the parallels between a factory and a rock band: they both depend upon a steady output of product. Surrounding him at Evergreen Software are a motley crew (no pun intended) of temporary workers who are worse off than he is--they are psychotic or have Down Syndrome or are bipolar. The portraits are unflinching but sympathetic, and the characters have real depth.

There are many terrific scenes--when Charlie has (unsatisfying) sex with the artsy Tamaya; the disastrous concert when Pistonhead opens for L.A. has-been rocker Lizzie Bordan, a thinly-disguised Alice Cooper; Roger, a psychotic on the assembly line, announces that one of his co-workers has been possessed by Satan; the Saturday morning attempted booty call by Charlie's old girlfriend Ariana.

Charlie lives in a world where nothing goes right and success is hard to define. Ultimately he has to pick himself up and plunge into the unknown, and yes, there is a happy ending of sorts: Charlie has nowhere to go but up--literally. This book is a bittersweet portrait of a guy who won't quit even when he's not sure what direction he's running in. Five stars!

I bought Pistonhead on a whim and was amazed. This is not one of those mindless tales of rock debauchery; if that's what you want, look elsewhere. Pistonhead is an incisive portrait of a guy who is trying to find his way in the world as an artist. Charlie Sinclair battles a host of adversaries: drug addiction (not his--the band's singer); a bizarre factory day job that is something out of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest; groupies and family members who see in him what they want; pigheaded kids from his old neighborhood; but above all, his own narrow definition of himself. Yes, it is a "coming of age" novel, but one that speaks to a gritty urban sensibility informed by the artistic aspirations of the protagonist.

Oh yes, there is a romantic interest, and one that has a twist at the end (after all, this is an entertaining novel). The rock concert scenes put you onstage with the band, but you also experience the grind of the assembly line and the cold brutality of the company when the meager jobs are sent overseas. There is a hot sex scene, but the hero, Charlie, is left exhausted and feeling quite used by his oversexed companion. All in all, Pistonhead is a remarkable novel that goes to the heart of the American experience.

"Pistonhead", by Thomas A. Hauck, is a well-written and interesting short novel. Charlie Sinclair, age 24, has a communications degree from Emerson College. He has a temp job at a software company as a line supervisor putting together boxes of software for twice minimum wage. At night, he is lead guitarist for Pistonhead, a local Boston indie rock group with a couple CDs released and a small fan base. They play at clubs and as warm-ups for bigger bands. The lead singer, Jack "Rip" Taylor, was a long lost childhood friend and they met up again in college. They started the band after graduation.

The book is about a pivotal week in his life. Without going into details, Charlie loses everything and finds out what matters most to him and what he is willing to do for it. It is a little gritty, a little depressing, but has an uplifting ending, though his issues are still unresolved. Hauck's description of what small time rock bands have to put up with to play and the struggles in their daily life provides an unusual back story.

Pistonhead starts with a performance and ends with one, and in between we see the events and characters Charlie interacts with daily and his approach to life. Hauck provides lots of description so it is easy to visualize the scenes. This is adult themed, as in a couple of `groupie' interactions, but tasteful and humorously done. I didn't start liking the book but grew to like Charlie and his outlook. The ending was a bit of a surprise. All in all, it was a good, thoughtful read.

Charlie Sinclair is a 24-year-old temp at Evergreen Software by day and a guitarist for a metal band called Pistonhead, by night. Living in a crappy, mice infested, studio apartment, recently losing his girlfriend, to a rival band's guitar player, dealing with rumors that Evergreen is moving production to Puerto Rico, secretly pining away for Lisa, a co-worker and watching the drug-induced downward spiral of his childhood friend and Pivothead's lead singer, Jack "Rip" Taylor, Charlie is having a tough time and things are about to get tougher. Welcome to the worst week of Charlie Sinclair's life.


Thursday night at the Big Ditch Club. It's after midnight and Pistonhead is ready to go on stage; yet, as usual, Rip is missing and they can't play the gig without their front man. Rip's drug usage is starting to take its toll, not only on him, but on the entire band. With two CD's out and some air play, the band is teetering on the brink of a breakthrough; if Rip would just get himself together. When the rumors about the warehouse closing are confirmed, Charlie wonders how he's going to pay the rent. Then the phone call came and Charlie's life would never be the same.

Pistonhead reads more like a memoir than fiction. Thomas Hauk does an excellent job of taking his own life experiences and making them current. The story was wasn't precious or nostalgic, nor was it trying to be hard-hitting and gritty. It was simply the story of Charlie Sinclair, living his life like every other working stiff, while trying to hang onto his sanity by doing something he loved. Hauk writes in a straight forward, accessible style. From the first page it drew you in and kept you there.

I didn't give Pistonhead 4.5 stars (my highest rating to date) because it was a literary masterpiece that blew me away; it isn't and it didn't. I gave it that rating because it managed to pack more information, emotion, feeling, power and just plain real life into 174 pages, than anything I've read in quite some time. It gave a glimpse into the life of the guy next door, revealing the same issues, problems and worries everybody else has. Although I have to say, the end was a bit precious for me.

Rejected by agents and publishers alike, I'm thankful that Hauk had the confidence and the means to publish the book himself. Although it may not win any major awards, just having it out there helps to keep the scales balanced against all the useless, mainstream drivel.

When Mr. Hauck contacted me, asking if I would be interested in reviewing his book, I was hesitant. A rock n' roll book, with a male main character, just did not appeal to me. I offered to hold a giveaway of his book and asked if he would like to write a guest post for the Literary Road Trip, Massachusetts. He graciously agreed to both and by the time I read the guest post, I knew I had read the book.

Charlie is in a rock band. They have had some semblance of local success. But this book is so much more than playing gigs, doing drugs and banging groupies. It is about life, humanity and how one measures success. Do you really need the six figure paycheck to be successful?

Charlie is a down to earth character with a good head on his shoulders. This book tells the story of one dramatic, life altering week in his life. He has to face his best friend's drug addiction, the possibility of being laid off from his factory job, his mother's new boyfriend and anti-fans who like to throw things at the band.

My favorite part of this book was when while Charlie was working at the factory. I liked how he dealt with all the character's there. His patience may just be uncharacteristic of a rock star. Overall this book was enjoyable, although some of the musical references sailed directly over my head.

This was very well written, with a nice, easy to follow story. I especially enjoyed that this was a very real story, with real characters. Everyone was, while not entirely likable, someone you could really meet in real life. It made for a very comfortable feeling story that left you smiling at the end. This is definitely recommended for music lovers and everyone else who just loves a good story.