Cheetah Chrome - A Dead Boy's Tale: From the Front Lines of Punk Rock

Publisher: Voyageur Press; Year: 2010; Format: Book

Every fan of first generation punk rock will be familiar with Cleveland's Dead Boys and their guitarist Cheetah Chrome, no doubt. Even though throughout the years I have read many stories linked to the history of this notorious band, I was over the moon when I heard this book announced a few years back. As a matter of fact I had my then girlfriend turned wife go to one of his book readings here in New York City, and have her buy and sign the book for me while I was still lifting ales in good ole' London. But that's beside the point here, and I have just recently finally gotten around to read this tomb. And yes I do have a habit of buying a fair amount of books without reading them immediately, in case you wonder. Eventually I'll get through them all, or so I hope at least. Cheetah's book certainly didn't disappoint, and as one can only imagine it is filled with crazy, drunken and drugged up stories on life on road with the Dead Boys, as well as the numerous bands and projects Cheetah has been involved with over the years - before (Rocket From The Tombs) - and also after the demise of the Dead Boys. As with many rock autobiographies though I must say that I probably enjoyed the pages about Cheetah's childhood and his becoming an adult the most. Cheetah spent his early years in rough parts of the industrial wastelands of Cleveland where he wasn't able to find many friends until he discovered the magic of rock'n'roll. The fact that Cheetah's mother has always been generously supportive of her son shines throughout the entire book, and for that he adored and loved his mother up until she passed away which was towards the end of the book. One other person that Cheetah had unlimited love for was his good buddy and partner in crime Stiv Bators. Even though their friendship took many hits and had at times a very bumpy road ahead of them, Cheetah and Stiv had a mutual admiration for each other, and as we all know unfortunately Stiv has departed this world way too early. As for the author's alcoholism and drug abuse, you will find him openly talk about his problems, and how he eventually became a clean and sober man. I find it a great pity that Cheetah - like many other talented musicians - paid a high price by being an addict, and could quite likely have had a more fulfilling career had he not chosen that path. Still, he will always be remembered as one of the greats of punk rock, and so will the Dead Boys. The only minus of this book is the fact that the editor must have been either dead tired or dead drunk when editing this book as there is a fair amount of absolutely unnecessary grammatical mistakes. Never mind though as it won't take away from the quality and the honesty with which Cheetah has written this book, and I applaud him for that. Great read!