No Bass No Party by Gary Shea
Publisher: BWL Publishing
Genre: Non-Fiction, Auto-Biography
Rated: 4 stars
Review by PoppyAn outstanding account of the music business, A riveting story of determination and focus, Musical teenage dream come true, Against all odds musical ups and downs, Defying logic following your heart, Climbing the musical ladder of success, Fearless journey on the road to stardom, (You won’t read about the heads of chickens being bitten off or mounds of drugs being snorted from the naked bodies of sweaty groupies. No, what you will read about on these pages is the deep and intense journey into the very heart of rock and roll and what it takes to come out the other side. Gary Shea took that ride and has survived to tell his thrilling tale and there is no need for embellishment nor hyperbole—the truth is more unbelievable than fiction.
Gary is the bassist and co-founder of New England and Alcatrazz, two bands that burned very brightly during the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Along the way, Shea walked amongst giants including Steve Vai, Paul Stanley, Todd Rundgren, Yngwie Malmsteen and a slew of others. He guides us through the machinations, madness and magic of the music world, beginning with his early fascination for bass players and rock and running all the way through to standing on big stages in big arenas in front of big crowds. For every step forward, the industry took two bites of his soul but owing to perseverance, passion and no little amount of pigheadedness, he endured and now reveals all his secrets. No Bass, No Party: Sketches of My Life in Music are masterfully told stories of what lies in the corners and ‘neath the bright lights of the music business. A rock and roll memoir you must read.
Steven Rosen, Music Journalist for Guitar Player Magazine and author of eight biographies including Tonechaser- Understanding Edward: My 26-Year Journey with Edward Van Halen.)
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started this book. Honestly, I’ve never heard of Gary Shea or the bands he was part of (I’ve since remedied that and looked them up on YouTube and listed to some really amazingly good music). But even though I’d not heard of him, or his bands, I was sucked right into this book.
The author shares his musical journey from the very beginning. He was exceptionally driven and determined and, boy, did he have to believe in himself to get through. His road was bumpy and unsure much of the time, but he persevered through it all and seems to have retained his joy in playing music despite the numerous setbacks.
This book was so easy to read and get involved in. The tone is quite conversational, as if he and I were just sitting down and having a chat. I really enjoyed that about the book. Only two things kept this from being a solid five-star book. First, there were quite a few grammatical and editing errors that I noticed. To be fair, I do editing as a second job, so am primed to find them. Many readers may not even notice them. And second, the book is ONLY about Mr. Shea’s music journey. I truly wish there had been just a little more personal details included. I was truly interested in him and just wished for a little more so I could get to know him a little better.
Still, this was a book I didn’t ever want to put down due to annoyance or boredom or any of the other things that make a reader stop reading. I’m glad I had a chance to read and review this book (and add some new music to my Spotify lists).