cover image Rock Bottom

Rock Bottom

Michael Shilling, . . Back Bay, $14.99 (373pp) ISBN 978-0-316-03192-9

A veteran of Seattle's rock scene chronicles the darkly comic ups and downs of L.A. foursome Blood Orphans, who've stumbled into Amsterdam to play the last dates of a tour that has gone disastrously wrong. Led by mohawked female manager Joey and male lead singer Darlo, the group had been primed to become the next big thing, but after a rock journalist pegs the band's lyrics as racist, things crumble—a night in jail, a riot, dismal record sales and the band gets dropped as the opener on an Aerosmith tour. Told in retrospective with alternating chapters from Joey's, Darlo's and many other points of view—including eczema-ridden bass player Bobby, drummer and sex addict Shane and nice guy guitar player Adam, who tries to keep the band mates from tearing each other apart—the sometimes predictable Behind the Music retrospective framework is enlivened by characterizations as deep as would seem allowable for such a narcissistic gang and industry, brisk observations about the pitfalls of fame, and often funny banter among the dueling inhabitants of a sinking musical ship. (Jan.)