In Memoirs of a semi-pro musician Jim Thackeray recounts tales from over forty years of playing and enjoying his guitar. It is a light-hearted look at the world of the amateur or semi-professional guitarist, through the eyes of one who’s been there, done it and certainly got the T shirt. “Whether you’re a complete beginner as a guitarist, or a seasoned old campaigner, I hope you will enjoy reading this book, as much as I have enjoyed writing it, and that perhaps some of my experiences will strike a chord (no pun intended).” “I hold you in high esteem as a muso mate. I remember us starting together years ago and you genuinely helped me see that music was not just 12 bar stuff, you really knew some chords. Great times mate and no one can take those away. Take care and sincere good luck with the new outfit and the book.” Terry Fisk “A fine read and an entertaining account of your life. I’m sure many people will enjoy this, I have. It sparked off my own memories of people and places long forgotten.” John D’Costa

Includes discography (page 203-225) and index.

A rock 'n roll classic back in print updated and revised. One of the funniest rock memoirs ever Al Kooper's legendary Backstage Passes is available again] Al's quirkly life from would'be teenage rocker to crashing Bob Dylan's recording session an

Ghosts and Ballyhoo: Memoirs of a Failed L.A. Music Journalist chronicles Thomas Wictor's ten years in the Los Angeles music industry and his quest to free himself from the past. Ostensibly a memoir, Ghosts also asks – and possibly answers – provocative questions about fate, destiny, and life after death. The book is structured as a collection of anthologies rather than a continuous narrative; the seven anthologies detailing Wictor's failed career are separated by six interludes with the Collateral Ghost, one of the most brilliant, yet unsuccessful, musicians who ever played – former Frank Zappa bassist Scott Thunes. Thomas Wictor's experiences include multiple failures across multiple spectra and an endless series of coincidences that always returned him to the notion that there is a Plan. Losing nearly everything he loved gave the author clarity, enabling him to see patterns of guidance and sustenance visible everywhere once he was no longer blinded by rage and negativity. This clarity exorcised Thomas Wictor and brought him peace of mind, which allowed him to transform the anger over what he lost into gratitude for what he once had. Written with profane humor and no self-pity, Ghosts and Ballyhoo includes previously unpublished articles, excerpts from interview transcripts personal correspondence, and photos.

New York Times Bestseller An NPR Best Book of the Year Winner of the Chicago Tribune Literary Award Finalist for the Marfield Prize, National Award for Arts Writing "Reads the way Mr. Glass's compositions sound at their best: propulsive, with a surreptitious emotional undertow." —Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim, New York Times Philip Glass has, almost single-handedly, crafted the dominant sound of late-twentieth-century classical music. Yet in Words Without Music, his critically acclaimed memoir, he creates an entirely new and unexpected voice, that of a born storyteller and an acutely insightful chronicler, whose behind-the-scenes recollections allow readers to experience those moments of creative fusion when life so magically merged with art. From his childhood in Baltimore to his student days in Chicago and at Juilliard, to his first journey to Paris and a life-changing trip to India, Glass movingly recalls his early mentors, while reconstructing the places that helped shape his creative consciousness. Whether describing working as an unlicensed plumber in gritty 1970s New York or composing Satyagraha, Glass breaks across genres and re-creates, here in words, the thrill that results from artistic creation. Words Without Music ultimately affirms the power of music to change the world.