Life on Planet Rock: From Guns N' Roses to Nirvana, a Backstage Journey through Rock's Most Debauched Decade (Paperback)

by Lonn Friend (Author)
Key Phrases: rock magazine, Bon Jovi, Pearl Jam, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In this nomadic, at times humbling memoir, former RIP magazine editor Friend recalls a quarter-century spent as a ringleader in the music industry circus. From the early 1980s to the late '90s, Friend enjoyed an insiders' perch for some of rock's greatest moments—he worked as a DJ, a rock journalist, editor of heavy metal's most popular magazine and had a segment on MTV. In energetic prose he invites readers along on bonding experiences like golf dates with Alice Cooper and riding in private jets with Kiss, as well as exposing moments of professional soul-searching at the hands of Metallica's Lars Ulrich and Pearl Jam. Remarkably, Friend's narrative maintains an even keel, whether he's being ignored by Kurt Cobain or wooed by Gene Simmons, and he candidly portrays the compromised, often confusing role of the rock journalist, constantly teetering between friend and patsy. The most enlightening part of the book is Friend's brief, failed stint as an A&R man, when the journalist who made a career on megabands staked his A&R career on the Bogmen, a quirky but brilliant New York outfit, and even made a run at Eels. Through success, excess and failure, music fans will enjoy Friend's anecdotes and his clear-eyed, hardly jaded view of the industry. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
“Lonn lives where the reckless heart of rock still thunders in your chest. No one else can throw a literary dinner party where Henry Miller sits side by side with Kurt Cobain and Jon Bon Jovi.  That's Lonn's planet, and that's his vivid personality.  Soulful and rowdy and always hilarious, Life on Planet Rock reminds you why you ever turned it up, all the way up.”
—Cameron Crowe

“Dark, brutally honest, and hilarious at the same time, Lonn's tales of rock-and-roll debauchery, excess, and bad business are a love letter to the rock gods.”
—Scott Ian Rosenfeld, founder/guitarist, Anthrax

“Lonn Friend. If anybody is entitled to write about rock in L.A. in the ’80s and ’90s, it’s him. This is a good book. Steal it!”
—Lemmy Kilmister, lead singer, Motörhead

“Its humor, insight, and behind-the-scenes honesty have captured me and whisked me away to a very special mind space. I am content. All is well on Planet Rock . . . I ought to know, I've lived here all my life.”
—Kevin Cronin, lead singer, REO Speedwagon --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Broadway (July 11, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767922085
• ISBN-13: 978-0767922081
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #183,317 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Into Lonn's "Secret World", September 17, 2006

By	Anthony Kuzminski (CHICAGO, IL. USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm a writer by accident and most of life's journey's and success are usually a result of "happy accidents". In 2001 I became acquainted with Lonn Friend, author of "Life on Planet Rock". Over the next few years we became closer and over time, he let me into his heart, his mind and his soul about as much as he would let anyone get that close. As I began to put my heart into soul into writing, Lonn took me under his wing and pushed me to go deeper than I otherwise would have. We rocked the mile having experiences with Don Dokken and Sammy Hagar, but the real education came when I began to help him with "Life on Planet Rock". When one reads this book it is not merely a memoir, but someone's heart and soul which he spent countless sleepless nights writing.

On November 12, 2002, "William Miller" finally met "Lester Bangs". Lonn arrived at O'Hare Airport for Peter Gabriel's first solo concert on American soil in almost a decade. That night, the "Angel Gabriel" crawled across the Chicago stage while two fans and friends watched from the front row, feeling connected to each other and to the Carpet Crawler we both held in such high esteem. Peter Gabriel was our mutual guardian angel. Afterwards, Lonn took me backstage to meet Peter. You see, I don't get awe struck by celebrity, but what makes me speechless is being near those who have inspired me profoundly. Before my very eyes were two artists whose prose means more to me than any words in the English language can express and they are sitting right next to me having a conversation, talk abut surreal. Peter Gabriel's music can be credited with saving my life while I was in college and since 9/11, Lonn's writing was as vital to me as any Bon Jovi b-side, unearthed Springsteen bootleg or even Gabriel's decade-in-the-making "Up". Truth be told, I needed Lonn's words to help me breathe. Somehow, they calmed me like the music we both loved and wrote about. In fact, the entire experience of meeting Gabriel and Lonn did not fully hit me until Lonn immortalized it on a "Breath of Fire" missive.

Shortly thereafter, where I began to work with Lonn, trying to organize his writings, offer suggestions and assist in any way I could so the rest of the world could share his prose, which you now hold in your hands. These three years wound up becoming the wildest ride of my life. I saw my mentor and friend push himself in ways I never imagined possible. Creating art is no easy task and I'm sure we both lost some hair in the process. I read close to 2,000 pages (most of it single spaced) in this time frame about his adventure, insights and revelations into rock `n roll and life. Just like the Stones, Who, Beatles, Zeppelin, U2, Kiss, Aerosmith, Metallica, Guns `N Roses, Gabriel, Pearl Jam...the spirit of not just rock n' roll, but the human spirit, lives in Lonn's writings which you now hold in your hands. This is not just an exercise in commerce, but the shedding of skin deep searching inward of the soul.

Great artists work their whole lives in order to hopefully inspire another to actually carry the torch. Richie Sambora had Jimmy Page, Cameron Crowe had Lester Bangs, Metallica had Lemmy, Kiss had The Beatles, The Stones had Chuck Berry, U2 had The Ramones, Springsteen had Dylan...and I...I have Lonn Friend. Lonn is directly responsible for me picking up a pen to become a storyteller and a journalist (not a critic). If not for him, I probably would have given up this pipe dream years ago, however with guidance and some paternal direction; I am Lonn's living proof that his writing is a potent, inspiring and driving force and one that will hopefully continue on for decades to come.

In the liner notes to Bon Jovi's 1995 album "These Days", Jon Bon Jovi wrote the following in the "thank you" section of the album; "If a man can be judged by the friends he keeps, I am the luckiest man in town". Saying I'm lucky to have Lonn as a friend is an understatement. I have been, and will continue to be blessed to share further adventures on planet rock with one Lonn M. Friend...my mentor, my hero, my Lester Bangs, my Cameron Crowe, my spiritual and relationship advisor, my Gandalf, my Yoda, my eccentric philosopher, my yogi and most importantly...my FRIEND.

"Who's to say where the winds will take you?"
-U2, "Kite"

Anthony Kuzminski
Unrated Magazine

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Below Average, November 18, 2007

By	Deryk E. English "Just a guy" (Florida) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Life on Planet Rock is a book about Lonn Friend wrapped in the packaging of a book about Rock in the 80's and 90's. What I wanted to see in this book was a true backstage look at the bands that changed my life. What I read here is a story of a journalist Star F'er that was chosen by these bands as a friend and story teller because he did not have the balls to write the truth.
Nirvana's Kurt Cobain touched on it when he said playing the game involved going to dinner with Lonn and acting like a friend. When you run a popular magazine like RIP then the bands have to suck up to you so you can help them sell the music.
What we learn in Life on Planet Rock is that Lonn was the perfect rug for the bands to walk on. His self esteem was so lacking that they just needed to give him a hug and tell him he was a "Friend" and he would do what he did best. Lonn is a true writer though, he spins the yarn and tells the tales beutifully. The problem is there is little substance about the bands and music and too much of Lonns over driven ego.

Lonn stated in the book he covered Bon Jovi more than any other band and yet I learned more from a 20 minute interview Jon Bon Jovi did with Howard Stern in 2007 than I learned in the entire book. Infact, I learned more about Slash and GnR in his interview last month with Howard than I did in this book.

If Lonn ever decided to write a real book about those days it would be the greatest book and the biggest seller of any rock book ever. That I am sure will never happen though because Lonn Friend like his faux friends way too much to tell the whole story.

Well done Lonn, you kept your friends and sold me a bland book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars ROCK LIVES!!!, August 6, 2006

By	Voice of Reason "~Bec~" (Southern California) - See all my reviews

Like the Phoenix that rises from the ashes to re-invent itself, so is the writer of this insiders look into the inner sanctum of rock n' roll. Lonn Friend journeys from the porn industry to the rock scene thru a journalistic gateway called RIP Magazine, an 80's metal magazine that ultimately issued him a VIP pass with many of rocks notorious acts from Alice Cooper to KISS to Guns N' Roses, Skid Row and Nirvana and many others. A fast-paced jaunt that takes you from the inner bowels and decadence of the music scene to the emotional and intellectual awakenings of its writer, then back again. For those who love music...and we ALL do...this is a MUST READ! Now, where is YOUR copy?