From the Graveyard of the Arousal Industry

by Justin Pearson

As an adolescent, Justin Pearson moved with his mother from “Shit Creek Phoenix, AZ” to sunny San Diego after his father was murdered on Halloween. There, he fell in with a subculture of young musicians playing some of the most original and brutal music in the world. Turns out the chaos of Pearson’s bands — The Locust, Swing Kids, and Some Girls — is nothing compared to the madness of his life.
An icon of the West Coast noise and punk scene, Pearson managed to arrive at adulthood by outsmarting skinheads and dodging equally threatening violence at home. Once there, the struggle continued, with Pearson getting beat up on Jerry Springer and, on more than one occasion, chased out of town by ferociously angry audiences.
From the Graveyard of the Arousal Industry is the outrageously candid story of Pearson’s life. In loving, meticulous detail, Pearson gives readers the dirt behind each rivalry, riff, and lineup change.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Memoir, Collections, School

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Justin Pearson is a vocalist and bassist known for his prolific music career, playing in a number of bands, as well as his record label Three One G Records.

Reviews

[Rodney · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engrossing read that I really enjoyed. The main thing I gathered from this was that while he may have taken a lot of shit for what he believed in, Pearson remained focused, with determination and heart. The reward was not financial success but the satisfaction of doing what you love and having those who matter around you to share it with.

[Ophélie Petit · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was a quick entertaining piece, read like an extended wikipedia page with personal involvement. for the most part not particularly riveting, but good to read if you're a fan of the locust and the work pearson has done.

[Joshua Finnell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Library Journal Review:

This is ostensibly Pearson’s autobiography, but in recalling the story of his life, he provides a firsthand account of the San Diego punk scene. In scattered vignettes, he portrays with brutal honesty moments from his rough childhood and the dissolutions of his marriage and his bands. Pearson doesn’t censor the scandalous details of his life. Violence is a pervasive theme that cuts across his professional and personal experiences. Although the narrative is dark, humorous moments do emerge in the form of partying with Jaleel White (best known for playing Urkel on Family Matters) at the Eiffel Tower and appearing on the Jerry Springer Show. Amid wandering digressions, the evolution of Pearson’s current band, The Locust, unfolds. This is a candid, entertaining read, though only for hard-core punk fans. Those unfamiliar with the exploits of Pearson and the myriad bands he mentions will lose interest.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected essays that recalled Pearson's long standing history in DIY music, what I got was a liner timeline of his life. Point by point. The best parts came off as slices of bigger discussions on punk rock and its varied ethos. The worst parts were merely unfiltered notes for what could be an amazing essay.

[Atlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A scattered and abrasive collection of tangents that are full of life and character and I can’t believe are real.

[Max Sanchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read of a local San Diego legend. It felt like hanging out at a bar hearing the wild tales of a musician from alternative scenes. Easy enough, lot of drama, and fun tidbits about different bands from the time.

[Vincent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gee Gee rules!

[Gwen DG · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cool to fill in some of the gaps of a story I knew some of already having been a fan of JP's music for so many years now. Quick and witty read.

[Eric Jennings · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid, though probably not super interesting to a non-fan or people outside of SD

[Justin Burdick · Rating 5 out of 5]

backstory and personal stuff from one of the most forward thinking and interesting dudes in music today, or ever

really everything you could ask for as a fan of his musical output

[clancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

what a cool guy

[Jeff Bettger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Punk AF

Great read. If you like the music it’s worth the read for sure. JP has had an interesting life. Nice to hear stories from other outsider artists.

[Jimmy Bramlett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really want to have sex with Justin Pearson.

Sure he might not be the best lay since he tells us throughout the book that he is a rather boring person. Despite being in bands, despite the notoriety of his "Jerry Springer Show" appearance, he assures us he just scrapes by day to day just trying to make it to the next day like the rest of us.

But I'm willing to take my chances.

He named his record label after a Joy Division lyric: Three One G. He fronted one of my favorite bands of all time: The Locust. He fronts one of my favorite bands currently: Retox. He's done more for queer kids than GLAAD, HRC and all of those other white-washed organizations have combined to have done.

And after reading his memoir and getting a peek behind the curtain, I still really want to have sex with Justin Pearson.

Pearson recounts his childhood in Phoenix to his move to San Diego as a teenager after his father was murdered on Halloween. He recounts getting beat up and harassed in high school, being kicked out of his house at 16 and using music as a means to survive and deal with life.

There were talks of touring, how different music projects came together, getting shit stolen, getting the shit beat out of him, being antagonistic to the audience. There was love and breakups and quickie marriages.

Of course he recounts the "Jerry Springer Show" experience and said that backstage during the break he was roughed up by the show's security for blowing a snotwad out of his nose and onto the carpet.

He talks about hanging out with Jaleel White and going to the Playboy Mansion.

With all of this in the foreground, there is the San Diego scene in the 90's unfurling in the background. There, as much as he or anyone else wants to deny, is a bit of nostalgia in talking about the scene. It doesn't wallow in it, however. There is no the-good-ole-days or these-kids-nowadays-just-make-noise moments. It's just looking at the warts of the old days and rethinking the events and how they shape him now.

One thing that struck me about Pearson is that despite making no money, he kept on going because he loved what he was doing. He recounted an ex-girlfriend who went to L.A. for fashion school and got stuck in that machine.

She eventually moved away to work for a company in the fashion industry and seemed unhappy anytime I heard from her. She had so much soul and integrity. I would love to know what would have happened had she dropped the bullshit aspects of her career decision and tried to do something that was her own. I did that with my endeavors, and it has not paid off financially, but she could have never done something that uncertain. Maybe it's because she comes from money. I fear being flat broke and deal with the uncertainty of my career decision, but I think in the long run it made me happier. (77-78)

Despite a life where violence frequently peeks its head, there is contentment in Pearson's life. Sure he doesn't get the luxuries that other bands like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have, but he seems happy to be able to exert control on his life. Or, more accurately, to exert control on things he can control.

So seeing as much of the background as Pearson wanted to expose, I still want to have sex with Pearson. But I guess that won't help the whole being called a fag thing that he has going for him. Sorry.

[Mike Sheehan · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first heard Justin Pearson was making a book I was immediately interested. I initially thought it'd be a fiction book, when I found out it was a memoir of sorts I surprisingly wasn't let down just from reading the little sample page. I read the first 116 pages in one sitting, only stopping to go to work. After work I finished the book, this was all in 12 hours. Needless to say this book ruled! It's not just about JP's life, like any good memoir, you can learn a lot from it too. For instance, I never thought about how poorly kids are treated for having a messed up family. Pearson gives insight into his constant rotation of childhood friends, many of whom apparently experienced a nasty fight between his parents that he slept through on a sleepover he was throwing. I don't think the book comes off as to pretentious or even overtly self-indulgent. At least not by memoir standards. The most interesting stuff, as a fan of JP's music, was reading about his experiences with Head Wound City, the few but entertaining experiences with Holy Molar, his feelings on what would become Some Girls and their transformation, and of course, with the Locust (great tour experiences included). There was also a hilarious chapter about his Jerry Springer experience and his attempt to get on Blind Date, which succeeded, but had to decline the date because he was going to be on tour the day it was going to be filmed. This guy's got a wicked sense of humor, I literally laughed out loud in this chapter and a few others. I seriously started crushing on JP reading through this book. I've been talking about this book to anyone willing to listen. I'm not quite sure this would be of much interest to those who aren't a fan of JP's music, but if you ever want to kill a few hours reading an interesting story and have a deep interest in music in general I think this music-tinged memoir would be ideal. I found this book to be inspiring, musically and intellectually, and I now I seriously want to meet this guy. Also, the book looks great. There's a cool font for chapter headings, and the first line is highlighted in black with white font and there's finger prints scattered on the bottom and sides every few pages. Highly recommended.

[Rainer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Justin Pearson let us stay at his place in San Diego during our West Coast Trip at the end of the 90ies and he also took us to a Rocket From the Crypt show and a The Locust Show in LA during that stay. So I have a personal connection to the book.

The San Diego scene of the 90ies has been a major influence in my life (musically and fashion-wise).

Unfortunatly, this book does not do justice to my strong memories, as it is pretty poorly written and is focusing on his relationship with his mother and various girlfriends (and a wife). I have to say, that I already knew most of the better stories (like the Jerry Springer Show) so it didn't provide me with new stories of his musical career.

Having stayed at the infamous house in San Diego, I have to rate it with 4 stars, even though I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone without a personal connection to JP.

[Valerie West · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. You get an in depth, behind the scenes look into the life of a very talented but enigmatic musician. Surprisingly candid from an artist who seems very unapproachable. It reminded me that we all have such similar back grounds and its all about every day decisions and sticking to your core beliefs. That's what makes someone successful.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

A scattershot memoir of life as a musician, penned in the same short, frenzied style as his music.

[Breann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked this one more than the other I had to read for english class. A quick, fun, strange read. Don't think I could ever get into the death metal music scene but Justin seems like a cool guy.

[Pat Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read


Great read, getting ready to start Justin's first book.too! Good to get a little insight on an inspirational person such as Justin.

[Lexie]

3 stars for the Jerry Springer scene.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

J.P. tells a story the way he owns the stage during a Retox performance.