Song of the Fool: On the Road with Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers

by Hunter Sharpless

When nineteen-year-old Hunter Sharpless e-mails roots rock band Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers, he doesn't expect a response. He wants to write a book about them. When his inbox chimes two hours later, telling him he has a chance to tour with the band for three full months, he dreams of groupies and Almost Famous. It doesn't take long, though, for Hunter to discover that the road isn't the electric collection of glories it's often billed to be. He's mistaken for a homeless person in Sacramento, thrust onstage in Iowa, and cradled against a toilet in New York. The road is hard. No cocaine, no backstage blowjobs, no sleek tour bus. But the Sixers see it differently. Stephen introduces Hunter to a more authentic perspective: behind the lights of the stage, after the glow of the performance, away from the noise of the amps. This is the world Song of the Fool begins to unravel.

"When considering this kid's out-of-the-blue request to tour with his band, Stephen Kellogg asked Hunter Sharpless to explain 'why it would be a good idea to bring an underage person out on the road who wants to write a book and is unhappy.' Turns out it wasn't a good idea. It was a great idea—as readers will discover only a few pages into the achingly sweet, disarmingly honest, and beautifully written Song of the Fool."
—Brooks Landon, author of Building Great Sentences

Genres: Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published September 12, 2014

Reviews

[TL *Humaning the Best She Can* · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first time I saw 'Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers' was in 2008 when they opened for Hanson in Covington KY (furthest I'd traveled for a concert at that time, 6hr 12min roadtrip, sooo many semi trucks lol). They had me by the second song <3. I fell in love with their lyrics and their energy (Pedal Steel was my favorite of theirs at the time)... meeting them afterwards was a thrill as well, they were so nice/courteous to everyone after, taking pictures and signing autographs.

I remember giving Stephen my CD I'd bought for him to sign, him opening it up and asking, 'is this mine?' Kyle Riabko (their friend playing with them at that show), joking around "He asks you that after he opens it!' Talking to them on the one mile walk before the show was fun (Hanson did them before the shows to raise money for charity and encouraged us to go barefoot), I remember talking to Kit while I taped the walk with my dad's video camera and asking him if he'd minded (there wasn't a crowd around them like the people crowded by Taylor and Isaac), he said 'as long as you get my good side!' Funny thing: He and Stephen remembered me taping them a few years later, when I saw them at the Rex and talked about that tour.

Sixer groupie? Hmm, maybe? ;-) I just love them all to death.. their lyrics/personalities/sense of humor, never fails to make me smile. Stephen's song 'Ingrid's Song' helped after my pop-pop (grandpa's) passing, simple but so poignant.. they love their fans and you can tell they really love what they do on stage.

Stephen could have a career as a comedian as well if he wanted, his funny stories on stage ;-D... Wish I could record all of those and put them on a CD.

Personal ramblings but hey haha, can't help it... Stephen and the gang are in my top favorite musicians list and they have helped introduce me to other music I've fallen in love with as well. I will always be grateful to Hanson for introducing me to them.
----

Hunter Sharpless toured with the Sixers fora few months after emailing them about a proposal on writing a book about them all. His first contact is with Jessica, Stephen's cousin and the band's tour manager. It's not long after the band's album 'the bear' is out.

I really enjoyed these 'behind the scenes' tales of the guys and Jessica/Hunter. You get to see a little more of their personalities and history. There's a strong sense of family among them all :). Some of the stories made me laugh out loud and got me some funny looks at work haha.

Hunter's style is easygoing and welcomes you in, making you feel a part of things going on. I was never bored or frustrated with how he wrote things. His friendship with everyone made me smile, reminded me of how close I am with Jessie, Stephanie, and Holly.

Each part of the book is divided into sections, with everyone's nicknames as chapter heads... which I thought was pretty cool. The foreword by Stephen sets the stage nicely for what follows.

The book is pretty short but it doesn't feel that way.. if you know what I mean. There's no stories of orgies/drugs so if that's what your looking for, go somewhere else *waves* These are tales of four guys travelling around doing what they love, being themselves and never putting on airs.

The road isn't always glamorous and sometimes it can be frustrating but also rewarding. There was one story set in a hospital... I won't spoil it for ya but let's just say happy tears and a smile were on my face.

Thank you Mister Sharpless for writing this wonderful book and bringing these tales to life. *big hugs* I can highly recommend this book.. hopefully you enjoy it as much as I do and don't forget to check out the music!

Stephen is on a solo tour at the moment, so catch him live if you can :)

Some pics of me with the Sixers:






little blurry, girl didn't know how to use my camera





(Brooks Hubbard isn't a sixer, aspiring singer and really nice guy)

[Jacqueline Selecky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was written with honesty and made me feel like I was really there with them. Some of the shows and venues mentioned I have been too and it brought memories that I love. It made me miss them as a band a lot though. And it also shows the rough reality of touring bands that spend ten months a year on the road and make their money doing live shows. It's not all as glamorous as people make it out to be.

[J.L. Benson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers. I'm yet another person who saw them open for Hanson. Their music speaks to me in ways I cannot even begin to describe. Their notion of family is like an idolized dream for me. In fact, most times when I listen to their music I feel like without them I wouldn't know what an actual caring, supportive, loving family is supposed to be like.

I was beyond excited for this book.

But the author is repetitive, disjointed, and egotistical. He took an incredible experience and turned it into an exercise in self indulgence. Everything became about himself.

The author makes several references to Hemingway, as if he is trying desperately to emulate the author. The result is a mess of awkward references to sex, a disconnected storyline and a half-assed attempt at self realization.

The author inserted his own voice into the writing, which quickly grew to annoy me.

[Maggie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers, and I really wanted to like this book, but I didn't much care for it. I didn't care for his organization of the book (chapters named after each band member with smaller sections in each chapter). The content of each chapter only vaguely related to the chapter title character, and each subsection would jump to different points in time lacking any continuity. I had hoped to enjoy some entertaining anecdotes about the band, and there were a few, but overall I was left looking for more. I assume most of the readers of this book are SK fans, and it didn't feel like the author kept his audience in mind often over explaining things. The focus of the book is really more on the author than on the band, which could have been okay if there had actually been a transformation that he went through over the course of the book, but that didn't seem to happen, or any transformation that did happen was lost as a result of the structure of the book.

[Katie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this book up at the last Stephen Kellogg show I went to. I’m super interested in the topic, but the writing is just awful. There’s so much that makes me angry about Sharpless's writing. I don’t know what I was expecting from a punk college kid who was bored in class in Iowa one day and decided on a whim that he was better than everyone else in class who was also bored and should obviously tour with a band and write a book about it. He’s clearly using run on sentences, excessively, to try and be more like Hemingway and it's nauseating. His grammar is awful, and he is constantly interrupting every freaking sentence that is not a quote but should be in order to narrate it. It was, he thought, cold. OH MY GOD THAT’S JUST NOT RIGHT. I CAN THINK OF SEVERAL OTHER WAYS, SHE YELLED, TO MORE EFFECTIVELY COMMUNICATE THAT THOUGHT. How do you not know that you are destroying the flow of EVERY sentence by constantly interrupting it? I will also never understand how a person will start a sentence with a prepositional phrase and not put a comma after said phrase. When I write I try to be as clear as possible. BY USING COMMAS WHERE THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE. I feel like Amanda Bynes on Dear Ashley, and I’m about to say GOSH and throw a letter across the room.

Most of all, though. To go on Tour with Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers at any time in their career, let alone in their prime of Glassjaw Boxer success and promotion of The Bear, is a rare and fortunate life experience. It’s one that should really not have been wasted on a kid who has barely heard their music or knows of their history and career. Some of the things this kid says absolutely boggles my mind. Ugh. Also. Complaining about living on the road is one thing when you do it for ten months out of the year every year for ten years. This kid couldn’t hack it for 90 days. He couldn’t find a way to just appreciate the incredible gift he was given of a rare and unique life experience, and even scoffed when people expressed envy of his situation. Yeah dude, it can be lonely on the road. How would you not anticipate that? But SERIOUSLY, you’re only at it for a semester, and then it’s back to your holly jolly life as a college student in Iowa. Bands who do this for a living aren’t on a vacation, it’s their job, it’s their livelihood, and it requires them to be away from their loved ones for the vast majority of their time. But yeah, you were tired and lonely and it was hard.

Really, though, maybe I’m mostly disappointed that this story is all about Hunter Sharpless and his naiveté and not really actually about SK6ers. But maybe it’s a good thing that the life of the Sixers was never as dramatic as some tour writings lead you to believe, so there wasn’t much chaos to describe. But every time he goes off in extreme detail (and run-on sentences) about the color of the pavement and the way that stranger who has no role in the story at all looks, you hope and pray that it's going to lead somewhere with some kind of meaning. Maybe the bus driver did show up at the show and bought the band a round. Maybe he found out this kid isn't in a band and threw a drink in his face. Maybe the incredible relationships he built with the band members taught him something. But no. He starts out a nervous 19 year old and ends up a self-absorbed nervous teenager.

Honestly, I love SK and the Sixers so much, but I really did not like this book.

[Dorothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing was good and interesting. I felt more than a bit defensive of the band coming from a SK fan POV, but in the end it was a series of truths from time on the road from the POV of someone ‘with’ the band. Taken as a coming of age memoir, about the author himself (and not as a bio of the band) there is something for everyone in these pages. And he’s a fan of A Fine Frenzy who make a bonus appearance!

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting look into touring with Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers. The stories were great and I do feel like I got to know the band better. I did not like how the book was organized and thought it was a little disjointed. There really is no straight timeline. I did enjoy the book anyway.

[Susan]

I love the Sixers together and apart -- but together more. This book, eh. It's required reading for a Rockboater, so I'm glad I read it. And it's a quick read. And there are definite moments where I was glad to be reading it. But then there were a few other moments where I wouldn't quite go that far. And now I'm done.

[Charles Isom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having known the band a decade ago when I lived on the East Coast, I was very intrigued by the idea of someone following them on tour. The strongest parts of this short book are when the author delves into the routine of the band. The absolute best part of the book are the short segments where the author talks about the influence and impact the band members had on him. Unfortunately, too much of this work centers on the author and his thoughts and less on the band itself. The chapters are built upon each individual in the band, which was unique and a great idea. Had Hunter focused more on the people and less on his own musings, I think he could have taken this book to another level.

That said this is a near must read for anyone who appreciates good music and the independent spirit that makes up many touring bands. I'm a proud owner of every CD Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers put out, and have seen them live more than any other band (I think). Buy (or check-out) this book and read while listening to Glassjaw Boxer or one of their other albums. You'll thank me.

[Rebekah Bryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was totally on board with this book until the last chapter, for some reason. Maybe because I felt some of the essays didn't really need to be there in the end. I loved the stories from the road, especially the ones in Milwaukee (where I'm from) although they weren't exactly complimentary. Even though Sharpless repeats that this story is definitely not Almost Famous, I still saw the similarities, which is what really drew me in.

The book is divided up into chapters about each member of the band, including tour manager Jessica, and they are not chronological, which I was fine with since it's a memoir. I'm only a casual Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers fan, but it was fun getting insights into their personalities and background. I will definitely recommend this to my other friends who are Stephen Kellogg fans.

[Laura Putz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great insight into on of my favorite bands that I accidentally stumbled into listening to while in grad school. It reminded me of how I was in college and how much the music I listened to then helped me grow, something that we loss in the day-to-day.

[Sarah Harmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

real depiction of life on the road

Would recommend this book for those wandering souls looking for life in music and on the road. Picks up the nuances of each of the Sixers