Geek to Guitar Hero

by Alex Skolnick

Alex is an awkward, introverted child growing up in 1970s Berkeley, California - a confusing vortex of shifting values, rampant drug use and social confusion. Misunderstood by his family and taunted mercilessly by classmates, he suffers from a paralyzing lack of confidence and low self-esteem. His existence is made tolerable when he discovers a superhero-like rock band, KISS, which inspires him to learn the guitar. While in high school, he auditions for Legacy - a group of hard partying, working class, twenty-something metalheads from the East Bay suburbs. After recording his first album with the group at age eighteen, he defies his Ivy League parents rigid academic expectations by forgoing college and hitting the road with metal bands including Slayer, Megadeth, White Zombie and Judas Priest. As his own band, now known as Testament, rises through the ranks of thrash metal, the world begins to take notice of the young guitar prodigy who, despite being fawned over by autograph-seeking metalheads, guitar fanatics and adoring female fans, still feels the pain, awkwardness and ghosts of his past. Soon, a blooming interest in jazz and literature reshapes his values and strengthens his musicianship, bringing further accolades from fans and media but causing resistance and tension from within his inner circle. These experiences cause a realization to unfold: that the scene in which he had first sought his freedom and self-identity is fraught with its own perilous limitations, while the education he'd so fiercely resisted from his family can be invaluable when sought on one's own terms.

Genres: Music

370 pages, Paperback

First published January 15, 2013

Reviews

[G. Branden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scribbles to self in lieu of a proper review, which I want to write when I get around to it:

* engaging, conversational style
* intelligently written
* lots of fun road stories
* thoughtful reflections on intra-band dynamics
* still could have used an editor
* weird binding
* almost no coverage of life after Testament--I wanted to hear about this
* I would have liked a full track-by-track breakdown of each album, rather than scattered notes about some tracks some of the time.
* I would have liked more musicological analysis. He has to know a lot of his audience has some music theory.
* Skolnick gets into psychology without (much) psychologizing. That's good. But he's still frank enough that I'm sure some people mentioned in their stories would get their feelings hurt. Some of them probably deserve it.
* He's hard on Alex Perialas, but I agree that Testament didn't enjoy truly great production quality until they hired Tony Platt for The Ritual.
* I would have liked even more thoughts on his dynamic with Eric Peterson. These guys made an incredible team; unfortunately, as with Andy, Stewart, and Sting, it may be that much of the musical brilliance they created arose from conflict.
* He knows which solos are his best. I listened to "Practice What You Preach" over and over and over again the day I bought its CD back in 1989. It seems I wasn't the only one. That solo still slays. No mention of his great work on "Return to Serenity" though.
* He dissed the guitar tone on The New Order. The man is nuts.

[gekko100 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won't pretend that Alex Skolnick is one of my all-time favourite guitar players, or even that he would make into a personal top 20 list if I were to compile one. The truth is that although I was aware of his metal band, Testament, from the late 80s/early 90s, I hadn't heard a note of his guitar playing until very recently. Prior to that, I knew him only from his regular columns in the magazines "Guitar World" and "Guitar For The Practicing Musician".

However, after stumbling on his blog a couple years back and learning of his metamorphosis from thrash guitar hero to the leader of a very credible jazz trio, I became interested in his story (particularly since my own musical horizons had recently been expanding in a similar direction -- albeit primarily as a listener!).

This book does a great job of telling that story and I found it to be a fascinating read. It's an inspirational story, in the sense that despite moderate early success with his band Testament, Skolnick continued to wrestle with who he really wanted to be as a musician and a person, starting from scratch and reinventing himself a jazz musician. He's an example of where following your passion *can* work out, even if it doesn't mean following a well-trodden path: today he manages to combine the various facets of his unique musical persona, reuniting with Testament while forging ahead with his jazz and world music endeavours.

Also noteworthy is the fact that, unlike the majority of self-aggrandizing musical "auto" biographies (Keith Richards' "Life" comes to mind here), Skolnick actually wrote every word of this himself. And it shows: while the prose isn't always scintillating, that's more than compensated for by the humility and raw sincerity of the writing. Particularly refreshing is the fact that he doesn't shy away from discussing some of the false starts on his journey of self-improvement (his brief flirtation with dianetics and Scientology is an amusing example).

Finally, I'm happy to say that, as a result of this book, I've gone back and checked out some of Testament's early albums --- they're actually pretty darn good!

[Tanja Braun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alex Skolnick’s openness and honesty in his book were really surprising to me. He begins by describing his childhood and how his parents treated him. He sounds so angry in those pages – you might think, „hey, he's a metal head – of course he is angry!“. But then you obviously don't know anything about Alex Skolnick, because that's simply not who he is. He always comes across as a very relaxed, calm guy and not the typical metal musician. After all, he's a Jazz musician too – and he constantly has to defend himself for this: „So what did I do to become such a target of wrath for these guys in the first place? I did the unthinkable. First I left my metal band. Then I started playing...(gasp)...jazz.“ (p. 358)
But back to his parents: I would have thought that parents with an academic background have – at least some – sense of empathy, but they seem (or seemed) to be really cold and ignored the personality of his son and his needs. He puts this later in the book into perspective because they have a much better relationship now; but today their son is a Jazz musician – I guess this genre is much more acceptable to academics than metal. He talks a lot about not fitting in and stereotypes about metal musicians – I guess, or at least it sounds like, Jazz music is where he feels at home most, but he still feels awkward sometimes because he is also that metal musician. That metal musician that started a band called Testament when he was a teenager and toured the world with them. Also astonishing to me is how he describes his experiences with women – his bluntness is really refreshing. He also writes about the relationships in the band Testament, what they went through with their record company, lawyers, managers and how he decided to leave the band on his search for more “musical wisdom” and different directions. The book inspires readers instantly and gets them to sit down and work on something of importance for themselves. And that is exactly how Alex Skolnick became such an exceptional artist: through hard work, a lot of thinking and questioning things.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of, if not the best musician autobiographies I have read. Poignant, intelligent, and honest, Alex Skolnick is the real deal. An incredible musician with a great story to tell. There was so much in this book I could relate to on a personal level and as a musician. I love both Testament and The Alex Skolnick Trio and reading this book made me look at things a bit differently, and have made me question certain ways I've done things musically in my life. A very entertaining read, but my favorite part about this book is that it is very well written, unlike your typical rock and roll biographies/autobiographies where it's "I did this and that. I did all these drugs and still alive, blah blah blah. Nope! This was about being a musician and the dedication it took to be the best he could be. It was about his upbringing and how those feelings and experiences had a direct reflection on how he would take what he loved most in life, music, and pour everything he had into it. For myself, its inspiring, relatable, and fresh. I love being able to read about what makes guitar players tick and how they go about becoming the best at their craft. I highly recommend this book along with his new podcast, "Moods and Modes".

[Sylvia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like Testament. I'm not a huge fan but I do appreciate the band as an integral part of the thrash metal scene.
I thought I liked Skolnick as well. Reading his memoir, however, made me realize what a pompous, arrogant sob he is. I now have a little laugh at his arrogance whenever I play a Testament album - even after all those years, his solos are recognizably-Skolnick, yet quite predictable.
For a detailed book review go to my website, http://hypertextuality.net/alex-skoln...
Thank you.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alex was one of my guitar heroes growing up (and still is). I am a few years younger than him - so when he was in his early 20s in Testament, I was in high school learning guitar. I always had this feeling that he was way more intellectual than most 'metalheads' but could never have known to what extent. I almost never read autobiographies either, but heard of his a long while after it came out. I am certain this book is not everyone's 'cup of tea', but it is for me. I actually read this while on vacation in Hawaii (so there's that...)

Alex, if you read this....thanks for putting it all out there - I am sure it was tough to name names and relive some of the rough times, but I found that in a lot of ways, our lives were similar. Your book really means a lot to me.

[Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this one! In addition to being a behind the scenes tour of the burgeoning 1980s Bay Area metal scene, it's a pretty inspiring story of a person who transcends every obstacle in his path (and there are many) to better himself through the pursuit of music. I found the story of his childhood familiar and heartbreaking. And by the end I was rooting for him and cheering him on as if he were an actual friend. The writing is a bit clumsy at times but I have to give Skolnick credit for writing this himself and not using a ghost writer. If you're interested in guitar, metal, or stories of transformation, check it out.

[Christopher Woods · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alex's stories are fascinating and present a very entertaining and enlightening picture of the Bay Area thrash metal scene from the 80's through the 2000's. However, sometimes the cadence and pace of the storytelling is chaotic and aimless. The quality of the writing itself is mediocre at best, with a LOT of outright errors in grammar and sentence structure and attempts at florid and descriptive writing that does not suit the storytelling.

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

This certainly wasn’t the easiest book to read, it doesn’t particularly flow. However, I’ve given it five stars because of the amount of information contained within these pages. It gives a real in depth account on Alex’s life and carer, and shows just how great the guy is. Not only as a player, but also seems like the kind of guy that you’d like to meet.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rock autobiographies are a dime a dozen nowadays - it seems that everyone has written one. There have been good ones; there have been bad ones.

This is one of the good ones. Make that - this is one of the GREAT ones.

I knew Alex Skolnick from his days playing lead guitar with the band Testament. When he left the band, I stopped paying attention to them (when I did stumble upon them later, their sound changed and it most definitely wasn't for me.)

Skolnick then surfaced playing guitar for one of my favorite (they should have been bigger) bands - Savatage, and then later Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

Eventually returning to Testament - and becoming a renowned jazz guitarist, it seems that Skolnick's career is going strong.

While there aren't any OMG moments (like a lot of the rock biographies have to have,) GtGH reads like an every day kid who had the same problems the rest of did, and his inner struggles trying to become what he wanted to, not what those around him wanted him to.

Not just rock or metal - a human growth story. Recommended.

[Jamie Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the fact that a great guitarist can write a great book and not be full of BS. If you have any questions about what it's like being the "geek", being the outcast, or even being a guitar hero- this book is the best. I hope any child(teenager) living that life like I did will find out about Alex and find hope and peace.

[Jeffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Skolnick's familial academic background is clear: his writing is top notch. This honest and very insightful memoir tells the tale of a young Berkley Jewish boy growing up metal, and documents his successes... And failures.