Len Vlahos's Blog, page 9

The Scar Boys

The Scar Boys, my first novel, is a rock and roll coming of age story set in the 1980s.

Harbinger Jones, horribly disfigured as a boy, just can’t seem to fit in. The only solace he finds are in the twice weekly sessions with his psychiatrist. But the moment he meets Johnny McKenna, Harry’s life takes a turn for the better. He goes from the bottom rung of the social ladder, to playing guitar in a touring rock and roll band; his life is finally what he always knew it could be. Until it all comes crashing down.

The backdrop of the book is culled from my own experience playing guitar in a touring punk/pop band in the 80s called Woofing Cookies. (More on that to come in the Sounds section of the website.) I wasn’t, at least as far I was concerned, disfigured in any way, but I figure all of us are, in some way disfigured on the inside.

The book is being edited now and will publish in January 2014. Watch this space for tour information and more…

Modest Beginnings

My first memory of music is Terry Jacks’ “Seasons in the Sun.” If you don’t remember this song, it was an early 70s AM radio hit with what most people will recognize as the most annoying hook in the history of annoying hooks. You know, one of those songs that people sing out loud that make you say, “Oh man, why did you have to go and put THAT in my head?”

Click here to view the embedded video.

But I was only nine years old and didn’t really get that. Heck, I was even too young to understand just how ridiculous this dude’s helmet head was. People actually wore their hair like that in the 70s. Go figure. Terry Jacks is emblematic of a lot of bad pop tunes that were enmeshed in the back drop of my formative years. I won’t torture you with the rest. It wasn’t until I hit 12 or 13 that I found better music. Or really, it found me.