Dedication To Doctor Sleep

Do you pay much attention to book dedications?  Sometimes I do.  But King often dedicates to people  that I have no idea who they are.  His dedication unfortunately does not stir any need on my part to rush out and discover who these people are.  I liked the dedication to Tabby at the beginning of The Stand.  And he once dedicated a story to his brother David, and I liked that.  But I am usually in such a hurry to get into the book that the dedication is just something to skim by.

Steve Newton at Vancouver'sstraight.com was pretty excited about the dedication to Warren Zevon in Doctor Sleep.

Newton wrote,

 I got a kick out of the horror master’s dedication of the book. He sent it out to singer-songwriter Warren Zevon, who I’ve always felt was one of the most underrated rockers of all time. 

How cool is that?

When I was playing my primitive brand of rhythm guitar with a group called the Rock Bottom Remainders, Warren Zevon used to gig with us. Warren loved gray t-shirts and movies like Kingdom of the Spiders. He insisted I sing lead on his signature tune, “Werewolves of London”, during the encore portion of our shows. I said I was not worthy. He insisted that I was. “Key of G,” Warren told me, “and howl like you mean it. Most important of all, play like Keith.” I’ll never be able to play like Keith Richards, but I always did my best, and with Warren beside me, matching me note for note and laughing his fool head off, I always had a blast. 

Warren, this howl is for you, wherever you are. I miss you, buddy.

Hopefully those goofs at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will take a tip from the King and induct Zevon soon.

The DNA Of A Stephen King Book

Check out digitalbookworld.com's BookDNA.  Aaron Stanton writes this intro to the projet:

Over the last two months, my company (BookLamp) has had the honor of working with the publisher Coliloquy on a project with Stephen King and the other authors of The Rock Bottom Remainders. We’ve been analyzing their writing, and asking the question, “What does Stephen King’s writing look like compared to theirs?” 

I don’t mean that metaphorically — I mean, if you visualize the various themes in his books, what would that look like? 

Whenever the Book Genome Project analyzes a title, the computer creates a graphic that we refer to as its Thematic Currents. This includes a number of King’s well known books, most of which I grew up reading late into the night (likely later than my parents would have approved of at 13 years old).

So, in honor of good ol’ times from my childhood, I thought it might be interesting to share some of the thematic flows of a few of King’s titles. Let’s take a look… though, fair warning: These graphs do contain some spoilers.

The ful article is at: digitalbookworld.com

Remainders Last Show On THE LATE SHOW

CBS has posted the August 6 episode of The Late Show with Craig Ferguson.  The Rock Bottom Remainders played their last gig on the show, and Ferguson interviewed King.

Ferguson expressed confusion about the cover of the Wind Through the Keyhole.  He also noted that on the jacket cover, King seems like an "angry lookin' man."  They also discussed writing.  Ferguson said King is a "genre of his own."  I like that!  King says he read a lot of Poe and Lovecraft, but was impacted most by California writers like Richard Matheson and Ray Bradbury.

King emphasizes he is a regular guy -- his wife is not scared of him.  His job is to drag the trash. . . write a book.  Funny -- you sorta gotta see it.

King says that print interviews like to ask when he was like as a kid, with the real question being what happened to him as a kid that messed him up so bad.

Funny, King notes that he does not know how popular he'll be after he dies, but then says, "I'm not sure I'll care!  I don't think I'll be hanging around libraries as a ghost 'reeeeed my booook'."

They also discuss things that scare us all. . . like clowns!  "That clown figure is the same in a lot of cultures, societies.  Children have the same reaction to them everywhere."

The show is great.  CBS  online is a little. . . commercial intensive.  I can't complain, I am watching their show for free!  Check it out.

The episode is at  www.cbs.com

Remainders On Late Show

My favorite King website -- Lilja's Library -- has the following bit of news:

The Rock Bottom Remainders will be on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on Aug 6. There will be interviews with King & Barry that was taped on June 22 in LA.

AWESOME! Also check out Lilja's contests.

SOURCE: Lilja's Library

Here are the Rock Bottom Remainders on a previous appearance of The Late Show:

LA Times Remainders Article

I enjoyed Steve Hochman's article in the LA times about the Rock Bottom Remainders last show.

The article notes that it's been a good seven years since King has played with the Remainders, and "he's been practicing."  I'll bet!

King tells the story of Amy Tan getting kicked out of an L.A. hotel because the manager thought she was a working girl.  She was wearing a skintight cat suit,which she wears  when doing "These  Boots Are Made For Walking."

The article also includes a story about Stephen King giving Amy Tan's husband, Louis DeMattei, a kick.  (I'm not reposting it here, so you have to read the article.)

And then there's the weirdo's!

Barry also recalls King singing "Teen Angel" at a show in Nashville when a woman approached the stage, hands raised and flames rising from all 10 fingernails.

"I thought, 'Wow, Stephen's fans can be scary,'" he says. "Ridley came over and whispered in my ear, 'I don't ever want to be that famous.'"

King notes, "She probably was not strictly 100% sober. And Dave is careful to tell the audiences, 'The drunker you get, the better we sound.'"

The full article is HERE.

Details About The Remainders Last Concert

HERE are some details and ticket information about the Rock Bottom Remainders last concert.

There is also a listing of things you can buy.  Of  particular interest is a book (books?) signed by all the authors for $300.

photo credit: Jane Kortright

Stephen King is quoted:

"A few years ago, Bruce Springsteen told us we weren't bad, but not to try to get any better otherwise we'd just be another lousy band. After 20 years, we still meet his stringent requirements. For instance, while we all know what 'stringent' means, none of us have yet mastered an F chord." King adds, "I'm looking forward to reuniting with all my bandmates. We're older but not dead. Some of us can remember all of the words; all of us can remember some of the words; but NONE of us can remember all of the music. That's why they call it rock and roll."

 $40 -- Concert Only (doors open at 7:30 pm)
$200 -- Concert + Pre-reception with the band (6:30-7:30 pm)
$295 -- Concert + Reception + signed lithograph by the all in the band (illustration by David Horsey)
$150 -- Signed lithograph (includes shipping in the US)
$300 -- Signed books by all participating band members (includes shipping in the US)

HERE is the Remainders page for Stephen King.

Anything Special For The Remainders?

When Dave Barry was asked if the Rock Bottom Remainders would be playing anything special  for its final two gigs, he responded:

"Well, I don't know if I can tell you this, it's pretty hush-hush," Barry said. "But there's a big rumor going around that we might attempt to have Stephen King sing the Trashmen's garage-rock classic, `Surfin' Bird.' How many chances will you have to hear that?" 

Scott Turrow on The Rock Bottom Remainders

KCRW has an interview with author Scott Turrow (part of their guest DJ project).  Turrow discussed a little bit about the Rock Bottom Remainders.

Below is the part about the Remainders.

EJL: Now, talk about the Rock Bottom Remainders and some of the other people and how it all kinda came about and how you all sort of fit together. 

ST: Well the band was brought together by; the late and greatly beloved, Kathi Goldmark, who was an author’s escort in San Francisco. Kathy, who is one of the most fun loving people that’s ever walked this planet, realized that she had a lot of authors she was squaring around who loved rock music and she put together a sort of cover band of writers and it all came together when Stephen King agreed that he would do it. But, uh, the band is: Mitch Albom, Dave Barry, Stephen, Greg Iles, Amy Tan, Ridley Pearson, James McBride, Roy Blunt. Some of those people are real musicians and they have me on stage just to prove that they don’t take themselves seriously.

The full transcript is HERE.

ALA:Rock Bottom Remainders last performance.

American Library Association has confirmed in a press release that the June 23rd "Past Our Bedtime" tour will be the Rock Bottom Remainders last concert.

HERE is the Rock Bottom Remainders website.

Here is the ALA press release:

The Rock Bottom Remainders band has announced that the concert at American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference, part of the “Past Our Bedtime” tour, will be its last ever. This news was released with the sad news that their founder Kathi Kamen Goldmark (who was to have performed with them at ALA) passed away in late May. It is a special honor for ALA to host this landmark event.


“By day, they’re authors. Really famous authors. But once a year they shed their pen- and-pencil clutching personas and become rock stars, complete with roadies, groupies and a wicked cool tour bus.” The ALA/ProQuest Scholarship Bash proudly welcomes the Rock Bottom Remainders for this special last-ever performance at 2012 ALA Annual Conference at 8 p.m. on Saturday, June 23 in the Anaheim (Calif.) Convention Center Arena.


The Rock Bottom Remainders has included some of today's most shining literary lights. Among them, they've published more than 150 titles, sold more than 150 million books and been translated into more than 25 languages. Scheduled to appear now at the ALA/ProQuest Scholarship Bash are Stephen King, Amy Tan, Mitch Albom, Dave Barry, Matt Groening, Scott Turow, Ridley Pearson, Greg Iles, James McBride, Roy Blount, Jr. and Sam Barry. Roger McGuinn of The Byrds joins the band as special musical guest.


Of the upcoming ALA concert, Dave Barry, co-lead guitarist says, “We love the ALA, and we love librarians. We love them so much that, for this performance, we're going to try to actually learn the songs before we play them.”


The group, founded by Goldmark, first appeared at the 1992 American Booksellers Association convention in Anaheim. Hailed by critics as having “one of the world’s highest ratios of noise to talent,” the Remainders have no music videos and no record contracts, but do have around 160,000 hits on Google. They have one original song, “Proofreading Woman,” and have generally performed covers of favorite songs—you can find videos on YouTube.


The money raised from this year's Bash will provide scholarships for graduate students in library and information studies, including Spectrum. Tickets are $25 (nonrefundable) and are going fast. You must register for the conference (or log in if you have already registered) in order to purchase tickets.

Rock Bottom Remainders Simpsons

photo credit HERE

Thanks to the person who shared this link with me.  You know you've hot stuff culturally when the Simpsons make fun of you.

Last Gig For Rock Bottom Remainders

Rock Bottom Remainders

Photo credit: Horsey      

Kristen Lowman at examiner.com has an article titled, "Rock Bottom Remainders to play final gig at the El Rey June 22nd."

Stephen King plays rhythm guitar for the Rock Bottom Remainders.  The Remainders are coming together for  one last, two city "Past Our Bedtime Tour."

Lowman writes:

"Of the upcoming concert, King says, "I'm looking forward to reuniting with all my bandmates. We're older but not dead. Some of us can remember all of the words; all of us can remember some of the words; but NONE of us can remember all of the music. That's why they call it rock and roll." 

The historic El Rey Theatre is located in the preserved art deco Miracle Mile district at 5515 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036 (323-936-6400). Valet, lot and street parking are available. Doors open at 7:30pm. Tickets are $40-$200 and go on sale today, Thursday, May 24, 2012 via TheElRey.com and Ticketmaster. $200 VIP ticket includes pre-show reception and “meet & greet” from 6:30pm to 7:30pm.

Rock Bottom Remainders in Philadelphia

I didn't know Stephen King was on the dockit to be playing with The Rock Bottom Remainders. However, this article from KYW News Radio seems to assume he is. Anyway, this is an interesting write up:
.
The Philadelphia Free Library gets some fundraising help, this week, from a band of best-selling authors. A rock band, that is. The Rock Bottom Remainders features Stephen King, Mitch Albom, Scott Turow and Dave Barry, among others.The Rock Bottom Remainders are famous and famously bad, as front man Dave Barry concedes: “The original idea was that we would get together some authors with musical talent to raise money for good causes and the flaw in that reasoning was it turned out none of the authors had any musical talent.”
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Nonetheless, Library spokesperson Sandy Horrocks says the library is happy to be the beneficiary of Thursday's concert at the Electric Factory: “What an incredible opportunity to have best-selling authors come and make bad music. What could be better?”The Library gets all proceeds from the concert and the Pearson Foundation will give Philadelphia public schools five books for every ticket sold.
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http://www.kyw1060.com/Celebrity-Concert-to-Benefit-Phila--Free-Library/6830574