The Exploding Memoir

by Johnny Strike

Johnny Strike's memoir explodes into the world of the fantastic, underground rock 'n roll and borrows from all the genres that have sprouted from crime fiction.

Other titles by Johnny
PORTS OF HELL
'These are real maps of real places. That's what marks the artist, he's been there and has brought it back.' (William Burroughs
A LOUD HUMMING SOUND CAME FROM ABOVE
'Anyone who enjoys the work of William Vollman, Steve Erickson, Paul Bowles or Steve Aylett will find much to admire in Strike's guided tour of infernal hotspots' (Paul Difillippo)

Front Johnny Strike, Penny Arcade, Santa Cruz Boardwalk 1975
Francisco de Oliviera Mattos

edited by Scott Owen
Johnny Strike c/o Artellus Limited (Leslie Gardner)

158 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 16, 2015

About the author

Gary John Bassett known as Johnny Strike, was an American writer, mostly known as songwriter, guitarist and singer of the proto-punk band Crime based in San Francisco.[

Reviews

[AL · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read from a punk rock pioneer, but ultimately a bit rote and pedestrian in execution. Television show metaphors and glam Rock references can’t save the shoddy story telling, leaping from one ‘cool’ film noir episode to another hippy counterculture scene, pasted together in an idealized world of a bygone era. Conspiracy theories and occultist aspirations try to weasel into the plot, but it all breezes by with the ease of a writer impatient to finish a book. Stick with reading Pynchon and Burroughs for depth. Mr. Strike’s talent is best suited for a turntable.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect harmony of street rhythm and noir shadow as Strike's anti-hero careens through end of the sixties with cynical style.
Colliding somewhere between Camus and Jim Carroll, Strike's memoir shows us the real back alleys of San Francisco during its zeitgeist.