From Cradle to Stage by Virginia Hanlon Grohl

$14.00 NZD

Category: Music | Reading Level: very good

Virginia Grohl, mother of Dave Grohl, had not seen any of it coming. Not the arenas of screaming fans, not Nirvana or the Foo Fighters, not the induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and certainly not her son, Dave, performing with Sir Paul McCartney at The White House. Theirs had always been a life full of music-the family sang together on long car trips, harmonising to Motown and David Bowie. But when Virginia saw Nirvana play for the first time to crazed applause, she knew nothing would ever be the same. She was the mother of a rock star. Since then, Virginia often wondered about the mystical force that urges some of us to listen, to play, to surround ourselves with music. She wanted to talk about it with the other mothers whose sons and daughters were sharing stages with Dave, and she decided to seek them out wherever they were. So began a two-year odyssey, where she had conversations with women from all over the world. Among the mothers she's spoken to are: Carolyn Williams, Pharell Williams' mother Verna Griffin, Dr. Dre's mother Marianne Stipe, Michael Stipe of REM's mother Janis Winehouse, Amy Winehouse's mother Patsy Noah, Adam Levine's mother Donna Haim, mother of the Haim sisters Hester Diamond, Mike D of The Beastie Boys' mother MY SON THE ROCK STAR will appeal to mothers everywhere, but particularly to those with children who march (or play) to the beat of their own drum; and it's for those children who have their mothers to thank for everything. For music lovers, it's the ultimate backstage pass-for anyone who has wondered what it's like to be on the inside...looking out at a packed arena. Featuring an exclusive introduction by Dave Grohl, interviews are interwoven with the Grohl family story and the resultant book is a very intimate portrait of what makes a rock star. ...Show more

King Kong. The superb African jazz opera by Harry Bloom and pat Williams

$6.00 NZD

Category: Music | Reading Level: good

Legend: The Best of Bob Marley and The Wailers

$15.00 NZD

Category: Music | Reading Level: very good

Taonga Puoro - Singing Treasures: The Musical Instruments of the Maori by Brian Flintoff

$25.00 NZD

Category: Maori | Reading Level: very good

And to further breathe life into this book, the technical information about each instrument is interwoven with the stories and myths that belong to each instrument. In addition, instructions are given for making and playing these singing treasures, and there is an explanation of the art forms used in Ma ori carving. ...Show more

Ways and By-Ways of a Singing Kiwi with the NZ Divisional Entertainers in France by Ernest McKinlay

$15.00 NZD

Category: New Zealand | Reading Level: good

Bourbon Street Black. The New Orleans Black Jazzman by Jack V. Buerkle and Danny Barker

$12.00 NZD

Category: Music | Reading Level: very good

Gone: A Girl, a Violin, a Life Unstrung by Min Kym

$10.00 NZD

Category: Biography | Reading Level: very good

The spellbinding memoir of a violin virtuoso who loses the instrument that had defined her both on stage and off -- and who discovers, beyond the violin, the music of her own voice Her first violin was tiny, harsh, factory-made; her first piece was "Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star." But from the very begi nning, Min Kym knew that music was the element in which she could swim and dive and soar. At seven years old, she was a prodigy, the youngest ever student at the famed Purcell School. At eleven, she won her first international prize; at eighteen, violinist great Ruggiero Ricci called her "the most talented violinist I've ever taught." And at twenty-one, she found "the one," the violin she would play as a soloist: a rare 1696 Stradivarius. Her career took off. She recorded the Brahms concerto and a world tour was planned. Then, in a London caf , her violin was stolen. She felt as though she had lost her soulmate, and with it her sense of who she was. Overnight she became unable to play or function, stunned into silence. In this lucid and transfixing memoir, Kym reckons with the space left by her violin's absence. She sees with new eyes her past as a child prodigy, with its isolation and crushing expectations; her combustible relationships with teachers and with a domineering boyfriend; and her navigation of two very different worlds, her traditional Korean family and her music. And in the stark yet clarifying light of her loss, she rediscovers her voice and herself. ...Show more

When the Pakeha Sings of Home - A Source Guide to the Folk and Popular Songs of New Zealand by Mike Harding

$12.00 NZD

Category: Music | Reading Level: very good

Welcome to My Nightmare: The Alice Cooper Story by Dave Thompson

$16.00 NZD

Category: Music | Reading Level: near fine

Drawing from exclusive and unpublished interviews with a variety of names and faces from throughout Alice's career, the book follows Cooper's tale from his life growing up as a preacher's son in Arizona, through the early years of struggle in Phoenix and then Los Angeles, and then onto the rollercoaster ride that has been the years since then.Includes interviews with original bandmates Michael Bruce and the late Glenn Buxton, drummer Neal Smith, the late Frank Zappa, manager Shep Gordon and producer Bob Ezrin. Includes tributes and recollections from many of the artists who call Alice an influence - from the Damned and the Cramps, to White Zombie and Gwar. Session players and songwriters who have made their own contributions to the Alice story recall their days spent with this Prince of Hell-raisers. The result is a story that alternately thrills, shocks, surprises and delights. Includes full discography and bibliography. ...Show more

Kill 'Em and Leave - Searching for the Real James Brown by James McBride

$12.00 NZD

Category: Music | Reading Level: good

The definitive biography of the soul legend James Brown by National Book Award-winning novelist James McBride The music of James Brown was almost a genre in its own right, and he was one of the biggest and most influential cultural figures of the twentieth century. But the singer known as the 'Hardest Working Man in Show Business' was also an immensely troubled, misunderstood and complicated man. Award-winning writer James McBride, himself a professional musician, has undertaken a journey of discovery in search of the 'real' James Brown, delving into the heartbreaking saga of Brown's childhood and destroyed estate, and uncovering the hidden history of Brown's early years. But this book is more than the story of the larger-than-life soul genius. It is an acutely insightful account of the racism and Southern culture which both produced and destroyed James Brown, a portrait of the musicians who created the 'James Brown sound' yet were lost to history, a nuanced appreciation of what made Brown's music so special, and a series of conversations with the friends and protégés whose lives were changed by the 'Godfather of Soul'. Vividly written and thoroughly researched, James McBride has crafted a deeply personal story of a man and a legend. ...Show more

Eric Clapton: The Autobiography by Eric Clapton

$14.00 NZD

Category: Music | Reading Level: very good

Eric Clapton is far more than a rock star. Like Dylan and McCartney he is an icon and a living legend. He has sold tens of millions of records, played sell-out concerts all over the world and been central to every significant musical development of his era. His guitar playing has seen him hailed as 'God '. Tracks such as 'Layla', 'Sunshine of Your Love', 'Wonderful Tonight' and 'Tears in Heaven' have become anthems for generations of music fans. Now for the first time, Eric tells the story of his personal and professional journeys in this pungent, witty and painfully honest autobiography. But the rock star lifestyle has had a darker side too. In more than forty years at the forefront of his profession he has twice survived near fatal addictions to drugs and alcohol, the deaths of close friends such as Jimi Hendrix and John Lennon, the death of his own young son, the break-up of marriage and the disintegration of countless relationships with a succession of beautiful women. Eric was born an illegitimate child to a Canadian airman in 1945 and raised by his grandparents. Until the age of 9 he believed his absentee mother to be his sister. When the truth was revealed he felt a sense of abandonment and isolation which was eventually to drive him to despair and addiction. From his early teens his solace was the guitar. At the age of eighteen he joined the Yardbirds and from then on his legendary status was assured. In 1966 the world's first super group, Cream, was formed and at the age of 22 Eric was a world superstar. During his later solo career, his love for George Harrison's beautiful wife, Pattie Boyd drove him to the hell of drug addiction and by the 70s he had disappeared from public view. But Eric fought back and produced platinum albums such as 'Slowhand' and eventually married Pattie. But the love of his life didn't last. Alcohol took over. In the late 80s the marriage disintegrated, and Eric had a son, Connor, with an Italian supermodel. But Connor was tragically killed in a freak accident. Eric's elegy to his son, 'Tears in Heaven', became one of the biggest selling singles in history. These are the memoirs of a survivor, someone who has reached the pinnacle of success, who has had it all, but whose demons have never left him.At the age of 60 Eric is cured of alcoholism and is in a long term relationship with three young daughters. He is now ready to tell his story as it is, hiding nothing, with a directness and searing honesty that will make this book one of the most compelling memoirs of our time. First published 2007. ...Show more

Every Poster Tells a Story: 30 Years of the Frontier Touring Company by Eloise Glanville and Sarah Morgan (eds)

$45.00 NZD

Category: Music | Reading Level: very good

This book is a pictorial history based on the 30 plus years that The Frontier Touring Company has been promoting live music concerts - from pubs and clubs, to arenas and stadiums; performance intimate and unplugged, to dynamic and grandiose.