I received a random email from the author in which I was invited to review this book in the hopes of producing some positive press.
Here's what I came up with:
Loose Gravel by Ginny Fanthome – A Punk Band’s Blood, Sweat and Tears
Few fictional stories are written about the nightmare of being a musician in a band doing one nighters touring across the continent in a van. If you have been there and done that my guess is that it’s a memory you try to blot out of your mind. Also you are probably in your fifties by now.
Breaking news: the music business changed. Now there is no cash for anybody. Small and mid-sized town bars are poor. No money is left to pay bands doing one-nighters. Even back in The Day, ie. the era in which Loose Gravel takes place, there was barely enough money to cover the band’s gas, meals, and a poor performance fee. Accommodation was out of the question, hence sleeping in the van. And yet, bands could make a go of it if they didn’t self-destruct or kill each other.
We paid our dues, but very few actually made a career out of music. Hardly anyone even made a living wage.
To add to the suffering, the pandemic has kicked the music biz while it was already down. Beginning bands, one nighters, touring … the dream is dead.
We of the “older generation” have forgotten how bad life on the road was, and what we were willing to put up with to play. A fucking grind, it was.
But I wouldn’t change a thing, because in the midst of all the idiocy there were life lessons. Loose Gravel has brought it all back. Therefore it is a worthwhile read.
Loose Gravel by Ginny Fanthome is a brutally honest, realistic yet fictional look at touring and playing in a punk band doing one night stands. The band’s name is Spooge. The four members are Steve: super-talented gay guy of Asian race who happens to sing and put on a good show; Marcus: A super smart, witty, closet writer/asshole and womanizer who happens to play guitar; Lion: A tall, tough dude from a poor and shitty childhood who thinks he’s Sam’s boyfriend who happens to play bass; and Sam: The chick drummer who has a heart of gold and a clear mind despite wrestling with her own demons.
The story is told from Sam’s perspective.
Loose Gravel thoroughly explores the personalities and relationships of the four bandmates. To sum it up: There is always much brokenness, but hope springs eternal.
Spooge is on an odyssey, an entry-level opportunity where the musicians will travel and sleep in the van to save money. They will sleep with their gear unless they can scrounge some sort of better sleeping arrangement. As they drive to the next gig they pray that the driver will stay awake and that the van will keep on running. They will try to give each other space. Of course, people will be inconsiderate; tempers will flare. Mix in some booze and fists will fly.
There is never a dull moment in Loose Gravel. It is a fun read, but it is much more than just the craziness of life on the road. Fantholme in telling the story through Sam’s eyes has carefully woven a thread of hope into the story. It’s all about relationships.
I enjoyed how Sam’s hopeful and reflective nature, particularly her compassion, developed as the tour’s chaos churned on, and I was happy to see how she did not stay down when knocked over emotionally. And believe me, there were some hard knocks!
Loose Gravel is a reminder that every person has their own struggles and backstory, and how being on the road makes it possible to meet and even try to help all kinds of needy people.
Each of Sam’s bandmates show some growth, providing a few more glimmers of hope as the story developed. Loose Gravel didn’t have a perfect happily-ever-after ending, but I was left feeling satisfied.
Kudos to Ginny Fanthome. Loose Gravel is a gem of a story and would be a welcome addition to the musician lore section of any book collection.
