Mean Gene Kelton's Gigs From Hell

"I never really gave much thought to writing a book. Especially a book about my gigs from hell - because all musicians have gigs from hell. I just talk about mine more than most.As I would tell my stories, many people suggested I write a book about all the misadventures in my life as a professional musician.Reluctantly, I started making notes and giving each story a title. I never realized how many wild, crazy, hilarious, dangerous and sometimes life threatening experiences I had been involved in until I?had written over two hundred titles... and Gigs From Hell was born.What is a gig from hell, you ask?Do you remember that scene in the Blues Brothers where the band is set up on a stage, behind a chickenwire fence and forced to play country songs all night while drunk rednecks throw beer bottles at the band? That scene may be funny to you, but to us musicians who have actually experienced that sort of disrespect, that shit ain't funny That, my friends, was a gig from hell.Do you remember the movie Roadhouse that featured the Jeff Healey Band, performing behind a chickenwire fence while the joint was destroyed by barroom brawls? Those scenes are exciting on the silver screen, but in real life, they can be terrifying and sometimes tragic. For a band, they can become gigs from hell.Unlike fictional Hollywood depictions of bands and band life, my gigs from hell are all true."--Mean Gene Kelton, 1953-2010