Sweet Demotion (Authorhouse)

Lonn Friend has forgotten more about rock and metal than you or I can ever know. His gift is knowing that he’d rather be a conduit for sharing that knowledge and experiences rather than reveling in it himself for personal gain. This is but one of the many themes of his second book Sweet Demotion: How an Almost Famous Rock Journalist Lost Everything and Found Himself (Almost). The book weaves tales of Lonn’s life as the self proclaimed “Fly On the Wall” with a view inside the life of musicians matched with a passion and a sense of history few others can boast. As the Editor and Chief of the highly influential RIP Magazine in the 1980s and 1990s he gave fans an intimate view into the lives of rock royalty as well as unveiled cutting edge bands to the masses. Peeling back the curtain he opened panels and saw how the machinery of the business worked and knows who is real and who is fake, but always had the class to respect the difference. He navigated the rough waters of music journalism in a sea of sharks with a mellow cool that made artists trust him and open up their arms and hearts. Few people can take credit (partial) for resurrecting AEROSMITH from the dead, making GUNS N’ ROSES a household name and (for better or worse) helping break METALLICA out of the underground to name just a few instances of his fingerprints all over the sacred DNA of modern rock music. He has dined with kings of  the world like JIMMY PAGE, recalled fallen heroes and hung out in the back alleys and furthest recesses of the minds of these artists. Many remember the venerable reporter from his “Friend At Large” segments on the original Headbangers Ball MTV show among his many rock doc appearances. In addition to his books and radio work (KNAC in LA), Lonn has also been the go-to scribe of band biographies, tomes by rock gods and box set liner notes many times over.

His first book, Life On Planet Rock, was more of the chronological history through his life’s work. Lonn experienced an emotional and professional nadir in the course of jumping into to the trench warfare of the music business. It almost killed his spirit and certainly hurt his soul. In Sweet Demotion Lonn has come through the valley on the other side and not only catches us up with the more recent times in his life, but flashes forward, backwards and sideways through time and space to tell his story and the story of rock. These stories are the signposts in the saga of his life, both musical and non-musical that dot the road map of his journey. His quest to for personal enlightenment is colored by all of his many experiences and through it all his ability to derive the context at every turn (or in hindsight) will surprise you. It is not always strictly about the music, but like another character it always comes back as some reference or a form of synchrony. He has been to the top of the mountaintop, but he is human enough to know he now that he couldn’t see forever. He has had lows as well, such as hocking most of his prized memorabilia collection just to survive at times. Lonn weaves all of these memories into the narrative like meeting ELTON JOHN in Las Vegas or sharing some private thoughts with PETER GABRIEL and other encounters. Lonn shows us that nothing is truly by chance and everything has a reason and a purpose for the most part. You can work in this business and have some incredible times, but you also need to maintain your humanity. Meditations on the JFK assassination, THE BEATLES, the counter-culture he grew up in, the Sunset Strip hair-metal times in LA in the 80s, the changing of the metal guard and 90s grunge, the struggles of modern times all blend with other topics near and dear to him like metaphysics, numerology and the chemtrails conspiracy. Although the book is not strictly based on metal, Lonn’s access to bands like METALLICA, MEGADETH, PANTERA, ANTHRAX, SLAYER, MÖTLEY CRÜE, OZZY as well as a host of other names in our sphere make this a compelling must read for those anecdotes alone. He waxes on the life and death of both DIMEBAG DARRELL and RONNIE JAMES DIO with the appropriate amount of contextual resonance. Yes, it is terrible that Ronnie and Dime were taken from us, but so crucial that they lived in the first place. Lonn actually gets “it” where many others just miss the point. Rock and metal is our living history and Lonn is the curator of the exhibition in the grand hall. Many luminaries sing his praises, but he is still not as famous as he should be or as well known as he’d like to be. Still, few carry the weight of music history and pay respect like he does. To be a fan and a lover of music is to be filled with eternal questions, sometimes questions that have no answer. I believe it is Mr. Friend’s hope that the reader seeking the answers will learn something about their own journey toward meaning by reading about his. You can buy the book directly from him at his website here.

GRADE: A

by Keith (Keefy) Chachkes