News: John Mack releases meta-novel
When Birds Fly In Formation, new meta-novel from the drummer for Seattle Band LoudMotor
Longtime Pacific Northwest punk stalwart and drummer John Mack has alchemized a personal punk history book cloaked in mystery and confession.
“It’s not easy to tell which parts are my life and which are the parts of the fictional Jeremy Bender,” he admits. “I have worked in the mental health field for
over 30 years.
“The human condition includes the reality of suffering, and I think we can all relate to that. We all have something that is torturing us.”
This book is a jolt of personal revelation for fellow acolytes of writers like William S. Burroughs, enamored with the street reality of Lou Reed, Jim Carroll, and hard bop jazz of the 50’s.
“I must admit that Naked Lunch by Burroughs was hard to digest all at once, but I felt the cut-up technique was brilliant.”
In When Birds Fly In Formation, Mack also seamlessly taps into the near stream of consciousness of classic modern German and French philosophy, including urban decadence of Symbolist poets Baudelaire and Rimbaud, extrapolating the world between spiritual reality and the every day.
“It’s kind of like a recovery amusement ride for the soul,” Mack adds. “Jeremy is doing everything in his power to stay alive despite the tormenting in his soul. Similar to the notion of suicide being ‘troublesome’ to Camus, but in the punk bunkers of late 20th century America.”
As for Mack’s own specific background, “One of the first punks I met was Sam Henry of the Wipers back in the 70’s when I was living in Portland. I moved to Seattle in 1980 and joined my own bands. I was in a band called DSML and Circus of the Stars which was all pre-grunge.
“We played with the Melvins, Malfunkshun, March of Crimes, Green River, Deranged Diction, Bundle of Hiss, Soundgarden,” Mack says. “All the bands our guitarist Tony DSML promoted!”
The book covers the esoteric lineage of spiritual punk that had most in common with East Coast vibes. “There is a secret history of hundreds of bands in Seattle who all went to each other’s shows. No one cared about stardom, just having fun. The latter-day fame that many bands achieved had a precursor to them. It was in the zeitgeist. Seattle had a strong art scene back then that probably rivaled New York City.”
Mack and his band LoudMotor is releasing It’s A Wonderful Life, an acerbic, fun, and challenging collection of punk that rivals Detroit’s greatest 60s/70s garage groups. He is thankful to still be around to do so.
“Well, at my age it’s great to be alive, but I also am in the middle of grad school which blows me away,” he says. “I have an amazing family. I am also a teacher at a local college and have been for 16 years. I am immersed in academia, but it can be a love/hate relationship. It’s a balance. Academia can be progressive but also a little out of touch. The courses I teach share the reality of the street. There must be a marriage of the two.”
LoudMotor came together when Loud Fartz of the seminal Seattle hardcore band The Fartz and Cannibal started many years before Mack got there, “but the recovery community is what brought us together,” he says. Bobby Crash was a good friend and asked John to try out for LoudMotor.
“I think we all just sort of hit it off. In many ways we have a parallel experience,” hence the title of his book. “It’s not always easy finding sober musicians to play with, so we cherish it when we connect.”
As for the future, “When I finish grad school, I have a plan for three more books (novella’s). This may continue the journey of Jeremy Bender and will explore more Buddhist principles in the same technique.”
As for the inimitable LoudMotor, “Loud is turning 71 and we plan to play and record until he is 91!”
Please let me know if you need a copy of When Birds Fly in Formationand/or It’s A Wonderful Life. John is available for chatting about the original punk days, addiction, recovery, and of course French Symbolist poets! Among many other potential topics.
https://loudmotor.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/loudmotor
https://www.instagram.com/loudmotor/?hl=en
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