On My Radar (Tuesday Edition)

O.k., allow me to gush for a moment. Chicago is my favorite rock band of all time. I realize this dates me, but that's ok. And, just so you know, I don't care much for the stuff from the 80's. But their 60's and 70's stuff is amazing. For the first 20-plus years of their existence, Seraphine manned the drums for the jazz-rock pioneers but was suddenly fired in 1990.

New this week from Wiley Publishing is STREET PLAYER: My Chicago Story by Danny Seraphine. I have met Danny twice -- once backstage after a Chicago concert in Birmingham, Alabama and the most recent time at a drum clinic he put on in Nashville, where I won an autographed drum head.

From the publicity:

With their blending of soulful rock and horn-infused jazz, their trademark fusion sound, and their lyrical brilliance, Chicago has thrilled music fans for more than forty years. In his no-holds-barred memoir, STREET PLAYER: My Chicago Story (Wiley, ISBN: 978-0-470-41683-9; November 2010; $25.95 / Cloth) music legend Danny Seraphine shares his dramatic and sometimes shocking experiences.

STREET PLAYER includes behind-the-scenes anecdotes about Chicago’s beginnings as the house band at Los Angeles's legendary Whisky A Go Go, where they were discovered by music icons Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix, and personal insights about the group’s many comebacks and reinventions over the years.

STREET PLAYER includes riveting tales from Seraphine's time on the road touring with performers including Dennis and Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys, Joplin, Hendrix, and Bruce Springsteen. Seraphine tackles many rumors about the band and discusses for the first time the mysterious circumstances surrounding Seraphine's traumatic 1990 firing from the band. To complete the package, STREET PLAYER includes dozens of never-before-published candid photographs. Whether you're a diehard Chicago fan or just love a well-told rock-and-roll memoir, STREET PLAYER will entertain and surprise you.

I have requested a review copy and hope to post a review soon.

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Also, please comment on yesterday's post here to be entered for a chance to win the new book ON HALLOWED GROUND: The Story of Arlington National Cemetery by Robert M. Poole. Several copies are to be awarded -- just tell me in your comments what Veteran's Day means to you.

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