Rock On: An Office Power Ballad
Is working at a major record label like getting a backstage pass to the rock'n'roll dream? At the launch of his new book, Rock On: An Office Power Ballad (Thomas Allen Publishers), author and McSweeney’s contributing editor Dan Kennedy will be joined on stage by celebrated singer-songwriter and author Dave Bidini to discuss this hilarious and poignant account of Kennedy's time spent working for Atlantic Records. Jonny Dovercourt will host the evening, and The Bicycles will perform live tunes. — A This Is Not A Reading Series event presented by Pages Books & Magazines, Thomas Allen Publishers, and EYE WEEKLY.
Rock On: An Office Power Ballad: McSweeney's contributing editor Dan Kennedy recounts in Rock On: An Office Power Ballad how he landed a job at Atlantic Records just in time to witness the collapse of the traditional record industry. That demise will come as no surprise to readers after Kennedy’s account of endlessly inane meetings run by a series of company bigwigs desperate to figure out how to sell CDs to an audience that doesn't want them. Kennedy's run-ins with rock stars involve helping Jewel sell razors and mistaking Duran Duran's manager for a member of the band. When he's not inadvertently insulting aging rockers, Kennedy's style—hilarious, paranoid and vulnerable—captures the absurdity of the corporate music industry.
Dan Kennedy’s resume includes dressing as a member of Kiss every Halloween and fronting a lip-synch band in junior high. More recently, he has worked as a contributing editor at McSweeney's and hosted of the popular Moth StorySLAM in New York. Dan Kennedy is also the author of the widely acclaimed Loser Goes First.
Dave Bidini is an celebrated musician and author. He was a founding member of The Rheostatics. Bidini wrote and hosted the Gemini Award-winning small-screen adaptation of his book Tropic of Hockey, called Hockey Nomad. His most recent publication is the bestsellier Around The World in 57 1/2 Gigs.
Jonny Dovercourt was born Jonathan Bunce in Scarborough, Ontario. He is currently co-artistic director of The Music Gallery, in Toronto. Dovercourt co-founded the Wavelength music series and zine, and has written for EYE WEEKLY and MusicWorks. He has been a member of numerous Toronto independent rock bands, most recently, Republic of Safety.
The Bicycles formed in 2000, and consist of guitarists Matt Beckett and Drew Smith, multi-instrumentalist Andrew Scott, bassist Randy Lee, and drummer Dana Snell. All five sing, often in full-on sunshine pop harmonies. Their debut album, The Good, The Bad and the Cuddly, was released to wide acclaim in the summer of 2006.
