Neil Strauss – ‘The Truth’ [Book Review]
As the song from Team America tells us, freedom isn’t free.
Pause for a second, and think about what the word “freedom” means to you. Do you associate it with money? Power? Fame? Travel? Sex? Love?
On the surface, The Truth is about the latter two terms on that list, combined under the umbrella label “relationship”. After all, its subtitle is An Uncomfortable Book About Relationships – and its author, Neil Strauss, also infamously penned The Game, a testosterone- and male-insecurity-fuelled tome primarily concerned with…shall we say…relations.
Plenty of readers will pick this book up expecting balls-to-the-wall debauchery involving more body parts than just balls. They will also find more than enough to satisfy – a literary orgy of orgies, a smorgasbord of explicit experiences recounted in graphic detail. The S-word is a core theme, as is the L-word.
But so is the T-word.
Trauma.
When you first dive into The Truth, tumescent with anticipation, smut-radar set to Hypersensitive, I recommend you Read more…
Given his status as one of the world’s top drummers, it’s safe to say that Marco Minnemann is a bit of a legend. Whether drumming for Joe Satriani, recording and performing as one third of The Aristocrats alongside Guthrie Govan and Bryan Beller, or working with the likes of Jordan Rudess, Tony Levin, Alex Machacek, Mike Keneally, Terry Bozzio, Nina Hagen, Necrophagist, Kreator, Buddy Rich Big Band, and Steven Wilson, Marco never fails to bring his A-game to each and every project he throws himself into. While most players would be content to hit one of the above achievements and then rest on their laurels, Marco Minnemann is clearly not.
When you get to a small venue and see security standing outside, you know it’s going to be a busy night. It’s a neon-jacketed signal that tells you this show has already sold a significant number of tickets before it’s even opened its doors. Latecomers are likely to find themselves missing out. However, it’s also quite common for pre-booked punters to take their time preening and perfecting their looks before heading down to the venue – meaning that the opening acts may still end up playing to a fraction of the crowd drawn by the headliners.
When two of the bands on a three-band bill spell their names in full caps, you know – or, at least, hope – that it’s going to be a) LOUD, and b) EPIC.