Drinking with Strangers

Regular readers know that I am a big Butch Walker fan. So it did not take me long to ante up for his first book, Drinking With Strangers. It's insightful, occasionally touching, but mostly it's just damn funny. We learn how a hair metal band can sign a $400,000 contract yet still be essentially living off of Raman noodles. We get the inside scoop on said hair metal band's disastrous tour of China. Then he hits again with The Marvelous 3. Butch doesn't hold back, you'll know exactly what he thinks of a lot of what and who goes on in the recording business.

But most importantly, I finally understand why the Avril Lavagne song Girlfriend is such an ear worm for me. It's the only Avril song I have ever liked. Butch wrote it, although the story of how he gets screwed out of credit for it is instructive and I take it somewhat common in the music business. Butch never comes right out and names the song in the book. but I am sure that is it.

If you are a rock and roll fan, I can't imagine that you won't enjoy this book.