Musical Icons from Some of the Greats Through the Decades

Whatever you do or don't know about being a musician, this no-holds-barred tour through the hilarious and brutal realities of life inside the music industry is as informative as it is entertaining. Written for musicians and general public alike, Byron Fry's story imparts hard-learned, hard-hitting truths from his wild ride through life as a musical pinball. His journey is a dizzying study of how many hats one person can wear, and he places each of them on your head. Incredible stories and adventures range through dozens of strikingly different musical disciplines and worlds, delivering priceless tips and perspectives from every strata of the food chain.

From playing the seediest dives and living on potato buds to riding in motorcades and working with multi-grammy-winning artists alongside world-famous musicians, Byron's bumpy trajectory navigates musical training, poverty, alcoholism, life-changing injuries and relationships, a beautiful collision with fatherhood, and validation. The story is one of friendship, healing, adaptation, love, and the most important thing for any musician: An unflinching, sardonic sense of humor.

An editorial review by JD Shipton: "Most of us normies have little more insight into the music we listen to than that we stream it online, maybe add it to a playlist, and maybe go see the live show if we like it well enough. Sometimes the lyrics and the sound really speak to us, and we become a little more attached to the song or the artist, but rarely are we able to see beyond the surface of this auditory pond to witness the splendor and the carnage beneath. Fry’s book hands you a snorkel and some goggles."

Whether you’ve never even picked up a recorder, or you’re out there on the road with your own band of misfits, this book has a great deal to offer on the music industry and the battles of an artist through his storied career, all presented by a musician who should not have had time to become so clever a writer.