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So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star: How I Machine-Gunned a Roomful Of Record Executives and Other True Tales from a Drummer's Life Paperback – May 10, 2005

4.6 out of 5 stars 213

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After years of working day jobs and making music in his basement, Jacob Slichter wondered if his dreams of rock stardom were a vain illusion. Then he was recruited by two of his successful musician friends to form a band that became Semisonic. Who could forget the smash single “Closing Time,” a runaway hit in 1998 that thrust Jake and his bandmates into the international spotlight and helped them sell over two million albums worldwide? But along the road to fame and success came bewilderment and personal chaos: How will we ever get a record deal? Which record company is the best? The worst? Do I really have to wear these ridiculous boots? Why isn’t radio playing our song? What if I have a panic attack right here on stage? What should I write on this fan’s CD? Am I famous? Why isn’t the video director getting more shots of me? Did I say the wrong thing during that interview? Help!

So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star is a telling and witty look at what happens just before and during one's time in the spotlight. Jake takes readers on a step-by-step journey of his evolution from fledgling drummer to globetrotting performer and proves to be the perfect guide—feisty and humbled—to the inner workings of the music industry and instant celebrity. So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star speaks to all of us who dream again and again of rock superstardom and shows how one kid can go from picking up a pair of drumsticks to picking up a platinum record.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“If I was nineteen again and lusted after the game of music, this book would be my guide and charm.”
—Andrew Loog Oldham, former manager of the Rolling Stones

“Still wondering what your college band coulda been? This giddy, can-you-believe-my-luck book is for you.” —
Time Out New York

“Slichter’s most impressive attribute is his unfailing enthusiasm for his craft and for music in general.” —James McMurtry,
The New York Times Book Review

“[Jacob Slichter] is a self-effacing, good-humored, and intelligent guide through the musical maze…. Few first-person memoirs of the rock biz are as smart, honest, and entertaining as this tart, incisive work.” —
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

From the Inside Flap

A hilarious inside look at the real business of popular music by the drummer of Semisonic that does for rock and roll what Jim Bouton's Ball Four did for baseball.

After years of working day jobs and making music in his basement, Jacob Slichter wondered if his dreams of rock stardom were a vain illusion. Then he was recruited by two of his successful musician friends to form a band that became Semisonic. Who could forget the smash single Closing Time, a runaway hit in 1998 that thrust Jake and his bandmates into the international spotlight and helped them sell over two million albums worldwide? But along the road to fame and success came bewilderment and personal chaos:
How will we ever get a record deal? Which record company is the best? The worst? Do I really have to wear these ridiculous boots? Why isn t radio playing our song? What if I have a panic attack right here on stage? What should I write on this fan s CD? Am I famous? Why isn t the video director getting more shots of me? Did I say the wrong thing during that interview? Help!

So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star is a telling and witty look at what happens just before and during one's time in the spotlight. Jake takes readers on a step-by-step journey of his evolution from fledgling drummer to globetrotting performer and proves to be the perfect guide feisty and humbled to the inner workings of the music industry and instant celebrity. So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star speaks to all of us who dream again and again of rock superstardom and shows how one kid can go from picking up a pair of drumsticks to picking up a platinum record.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Crown; Reprint edition (May 10, 2005)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0767914716
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0767914710
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.2 x 0.65 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 213

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Jacob Slichter
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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
213 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2021
I just finished reading this for the 2nd time, and it’s an absolute page turner. I am also a drummer and played in some semi-successful local bands in the early 2000’s in Nashville, and a band we opened for (our good friends too) got signed to Geffen, played the warp tour and had a video on MTV. They were opening for Weezer. Successful, right? Wrong. The album received little promotion from Geffen and the band was forced to water down their edgy sound that made them so successful in Nashville, and the resulting video was sugary pop blah! The wrong single was promoted, their van caught fire and all their possessions burned up and it was just one disaster after another. Geffen quickly dropped them after hugely disappointing debut album sales and they faded into obscurity. Their singer refused to share their publishing with the band, creating a divide the band never recovered from (thankfully didn’t happen with Jake). I often wondered what their life looked like going through this hellish process, and this book provided (what I’d assume) are some striking insights/similarities between Semisonic’s experience and the aforementioned band. While this band had nowhere near as much success as Semisonic, they were courted by multiple labels, had a video (which actually aired) and were signed to the most powerful label in the world. So I can only imagine how hard it would be to go through what Semisonic went through after having a smash song and a platinum album and being so close to massive success. Anyone interested in the realities of “rock stardom”, how the music business really works and/or what it’s like walking the fine like between popularity and mega-stardom, please buy this book! Not to mention Jake is subtly hilarious; I laughed out loud so many times reading this! Great job Jake. And thank you for sharing your unique experience with such grace, humor and honesty!
2 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2016
I should state at the outset I am a great Semisonic fan and was listening to them before they hit big and still miss them. Thankfully Dan Wilson still remains active though I am reliant on Amazon US shipments to the UK to get his releases.

Slichter's book is a great read because he is a very honest writer recording his personal feelings and emotions well from the early rehearsal days in Minnesota to the demise of the band at their own behest after the failure of their third album "Chemistry". As the drummer, you begin to understand why they are the butt of endless jokes or maltreatment in so many bands, yet as the least road hardened of the three band members he is also the most open minded in observing and covering what a roller coaster and insecure existence the rock and roll lifestyle is.

From feelings of insecurity as to whether his drumming will cut it through his incisive views on how other performers behave; why most record companies do not succeed; and, the group are not in control of their destiny (musical or financial), the book is certainly recommended as a primer as to how it can all go wrong however much favourable reaction you garner from audiences and critics. His comments on the US radio and TV industry and its politics and interaction with music are worth the price of the book and go a long way to explaining to a Brit why the US rock industry (followed by the UK) has collapsed since the 60s & 70s so spectacularly (too much consolidation and corruption!).

The only bummer for me was a throw away comment about their final London concert having been flat - as someone who was there and certainly saw the audience rocking and still count it as one of the best shows I have ever seen, it simply showed there can be different perspectives to every story!
3 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2007
This was a good read. I came across this through Neil Peart's reading list. The constant shifting of record company exec's and promoters didn't seem to phase me after awhile. It was more or less a constant theme. What bothered me most about the book is that the drummer of the band didn't go deeper into his criticism of the music labels, so I felt he was still holding onto his feelings about it. I sensed this holdback may have been due to perhaps the possibility that their career to the stage could happen in the future.

The music industry has changed tremendously. The CD is on it's way out by 25% less sales each year, and although music downloads appear to be popular, the internet is making free music available through swapping. It's difficult for labels to make money any longer. Companies like Rhino have bought out vast amounts of libraries with the hope they can market them into something else. These record companies are fading out and being merged into other conglomerates. Less and less care is given to find bands with talent because there is less and less money to be made. Why do you see so many older bands touring these days? Because royalies are drying up exponentially and the only real money to be made is in touring and perhaps a concert DVD. This book is a good historical account of the 90's as some of these things began to happen.

It was a good read....
2 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2023
This insider look at the secret workings of the music business from the point of view of member of an up-and-coming band is both fascinating and thoroughly entertaining. Author’s first hand description of “making it big” in the industry is told with both consistent humor and humility one would not expect from a “rock star”. Any fan of the band Semisonic, the Minneapolis music scene, or the music business in general will find this a fun read!

Top reviews from other countries

London Gal
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent writer, great humour
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 2, 2020
Enjoyed this book tremendously, in no small measure because Jacob Slichter is a wonderful writer and has been able to find the comedy in the adventures that he and his bandmates went through. It's also an excellent insight into the music business in the US, if you're interested in seeing how that works from a band member's, or at least a drummer's, perspective. Two thumbs up.
colleen m. subasic
5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read for any band in the making
Reviewed in Canada on April 23, 2014
A fascinating, gritty and quite literary behind the scenes portrait of what it's like to be a band. From the first formation, through the quirks and challenges of working with various record companies and the ironies of the market. On top of it, the writing is thoroughly luscious, at turns funny, deep, and always compelling.
Aakash Basi
5.0 out of 5 stars Genuinely useful
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 31, 2018
A lot of good insight, both technical and emotional, into the journey of a quasi-famous band. It’s written well enough that you don’t get bored reading it either.

This book is the real deal.