Hard Listening: The Greatest Rock Band Ever (of Authors) Tells All

by Sam Barry, Stephen King, Amy Tan

Over 350M books sold. Forty New York Times #1 Bestsellers. One lousy band. Now go behind the scenes to hear their stories firsthand.

In 1992, a cadre of the world’s bestselling authors formed a rock band called the Rock Bottom Remainders. For two decades the band played proudly (and some would say, terribly) to sold out crowds across the country. Now they’re hanging up their guitar picks, drumsticks and leather whips, but not without a look back at twenty years of friendship, love, writing, and the redemptive power of rock ’n’ roll.

Hard Listening is a voyeuristic view into the private lives of your favorite authors, combining essays, fiction, musings, candid email exchanges and conversations, compromising photographs, audio and video clips, and interactive quizzes for a groundbreaking ebook experience. See Stephen King, Scott Turow, Amy Tan, Dave and Sam Barry, Roy Blount Jr., Mitch Albom, James McBride, Ridley Pearson, Matt Groening, Greg Iles, and rock legend Roger McGuinn at their most unguarded.

Genres: Nonfiction, Music, Memoir, Ebooks, Biography Memoir, Biography, Essays

308 pages, ebook

First published June 16, 2013

About the author

Sam Barry is the publisher, editor, and a contributor to Hard Listening: The Greatest Rock Band Ever (of Authors) Tells All (Coliloquy; June, 2013), by Dave Barry, Sam Barry, Amy Tan, Scott Turow, Roy Blount Jr., Greg Iles, Stephen King, James McBride, Mitch Albom, Ridley Pearson, Matt Groening, Ted Habte-Gabr, and rock legend Roger McGuinn.

He is the author of How to Play the Harmonica: and Other Life Lessons and coauthored Write That Book Already! The Tough Love You Need to Get Published Now with his late wife, the author and founder of the Rock Bottom Remainders, Kathi Kamen Goldmark. In 2014 Sam was instrumental in getting Kathi's novel "Her Wild Oats," posthumously published by Untreed Reads Publishing.

Sam is writing a book with musician and folk music matriarch Ellen Verdries (mother of Ben Harper and owner of the Folk Music Center in Claremont) that will be published in 2020.

Although he has played harmonica, piano, and sung with the world’s most famous mediocre rock band for many years, Sam really is a great musician. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and is the proud father of Daniel and Laura and stepfather of Tony Goldmark. You can also find Sam on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @sambarry.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a surprisingly fun and captivating book by some of the currently best known American authors. It's a collection of essays and oddments telling how got together in 1992 and occasionally performed together over the next twenty years as a rock'n'roll band, The Rock Bottom Remainders, to raise money for charities. Mostly it's a touching story of the friendships they formed outside of their normal daily lives and routines, with both some uproariously funny and poignantly touching anecdotes included. There's a neat section at the end with four stories by various of the authors trying to write like Stephen King (including one by King himself), and the reader gets to guess which one is him. (I was sure I would guess it with no trouble. I was wrong.) You see similar things all the time where actors play softball to raise money or some such, but since these celebrities are writers they could tell the inside stories. It's a warm and friendly GoodRead!

[Aimee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely LOVED this book. To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect because I was only familiar with a few of the band member/authors and I certainly had never even heard of the Rock Bottom Remainders. However, within the first few pages of this book I was hooked and I really started to like all of these people! This is a powerful story about Friendship, so even if you are not a "groupie" and follow these authors or this band, the underneath story is really wonderful. I won't add any spoilers, but I will say that I got a bit teary eyed in a few parts but for the most part... I laughed out loud, a lot!

HARD LISTENING: THE GREATEST ROCK BAND EVER (of Authors) Tells All will be released on JUNE 18th http://www.coliloquy.com/products/har...

[Emily Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was hilarious - really laugh-out-loud funny. One gets a true sense of the special kinship between these best-selling authors - I found myself wishing that I could hang out with them. In a way, the book allows you do just that.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

In June 2012, I wasn't at the top of my game. I was dealing with trauma brought about by some abuse in my history, and although I was in therapy and working on being emotionally functional again, I had a lot of work to do on my self-esteem and my ability to find joy in things.

My luck was about to change, though, because I am a librarian and hence I scored a ticket to the final Rock Bottom Reminders at the 2012 American Library Association conference in Anaheim. When you read Hard Listening and the authors tell you about what a perfect night that was ("especially the mistakes" -Dave Barry), believe them, because I was there too and I can confirm it from the audience perspective. It was only the month after Kathi Goldmark passed away but she was there at that concert. You didn't even have to believe in anything supernatural to know that Kathi was there, unless you consider love something supernatural.

I found joy again at that concert and I haven't lost it.

So now it's 2013 and this year the annual ALA conference was in Chicago. I had Hard Listening loaded on my Kindle for the flight and I couldn't put it down the whole time. Stephen King's essay "Just a Little Talent" about his mildly skilled guitar-playing is profound. Amy Tan's "50 Shades of Tan" is another gem. I love her exploration of the evolution of feminist tropes in pop music and the line about her dominatrix "These Books Are Made For Walkin'" act: that it was for all the early rock-era girls whose Princess phones never rang! It was interesting to learn that Matt Groening based the early Simpsons character country singer Lurleen Lumpkin on Kathi Goldmark.

Ridley Pearson's "Green Room" essay offers a loving profile of each member of the band - this is/was a really extraordinary collection of people. At the end, he describes that final concert in Anaheim and mentions a "sobbing girl in the front row." Well, that was me.

The drummer Josh Kelly was kind enough to give me his drumsticks and the set list from the concert at the end of the night. They are now among my most prized possessions. I hope they all know how much they healed me. Because I can't be the only one.

Being a librarian, now I'm just wondering how libraries could possibly purchase this e-book for their collections so patrons could borrow and enjoy it . . .

[ClubStephenKing · Rating 4 out of 5]

HARD LISTENING, by the Rock Bottom Remainders, is an unusual book. It's not an anthology as those that we can usually find, but is, in the contrary, a real entrance into the universe of the band, and is also an hommage to Kathi Goldmark, who initiated the creation of the band.

This book, written by all the members, is rich in informations & stories related to the Rock Bottom Remainders. Numerous & different stories, for instance regarding the rituals before going onstage, regarding the long rehearsals (or maybe not), about inflatable sheep doll, about Kathi & Amy's whip & leather outfit, or about the entrance of authors into the band. Because over time, the group develop itself, but always with authors... and never upon their request, especially if they were "really" talented for music. Being a 'private club', the RBR remained a closed circle, whose members became really good friends, and bestseller writers who managed to demonstrate their stage & music talent. Some of their musical talent being... unusual.

Enliven with numerous emails sent from the members of the band, as well as with pictures & videos (for the complete digital version), HARD LISTENING is not only an ebook, but an enriched & interactive ebook. For instance with this genius idea: four authors wrote a short story, imitating Stephen King's style, in order to take King's throne!
Following those short stories (and as it is also the case with numerous quizzes available in the book), each reader can vote (and read other readers' answers), before knowing which story was actually written by Stephen King.

HARD LISTENING is a real hommage from the members of the Rock Bottom Remainders to Kathi, founder of the band. It is also an entrance in the universe & the intimacy of the RBR, where we discover numerous secrets. We can (almost) feel like being part of the Rock Bottom Remainders.
Beyong being exceptional writers, the band is made of people such as you, me or even your colleagues : they send each other jokes by emails, and do not miss an opportunity for laughing.

HARD LISTENING is a book written by peerless authors, and musicians more or less good; an entrance in the intimacy of the band; a very good laugh with stories & pictures of the group; a really good hommage to Kathi who founded this out of the ordinary group, now more than 20 years ago. RIP Kathi.

As for me, it makes me want to take the recording from their 1992 concert out of the closet !


===========


Small reminder regarding the members of the RBR:
- Mitch Albom: Keyboards, Elvis
- Dave Barry: Lead Guitar
- Sam Barry: Harmonica
- Roy Blount Jr.: Emcee
- Matt Groening: Cowbell, Marge Simpson
- Ted Habte-Gabr: Manager
- Greg Iles: Lead Guitar
- Stephen King: Rhythm Guitar
- James McBride: Saxophone
- Roger McGuinn: Rock Legend
- Ridley Pearson: Bass Guitar
- Amy Tan: Rhythm Dominatrix, Remainderette
- Scott Turow: Wigs, Remainderette
- Bombo: Lead Bark

*Hard Listening : the title comes from the fact that one of the members described the style of the band as "Hard Listening" (contrary to "Easy Listening"), and used to say to the audience : The more you drink, the better the music."

Translation of the french review published on the Club Stephen King

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

What constitutes a family?

I loved this book. I have read most of the authors and some of them, including Iles, King, and Pearson, are some of my all-time favorites.

I never had the chance to see the Rock Bottom Remainders while they were performing and now am truly envious of those that did. What great fun and music and love this group shares.

The essays, the emails/faxes, the interactive quizzes, the pictures, the challenge to write a story in Stephen King's style - all were interesting and gave great insight into this varied group of writers/musicians.

I recommend this unusual book to fans of any of the members of the RBRs, music fans, or anyone liking humor in their reading.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's hard to know if other people will like this, because it's almost as though it had been written specifically for me. I've read and enjoyed books from almost every author in this band (I don't remember a time Dave Barry's writing wasn't part of my life). I've seen the Remainders perform. The music they play is just what I like to listen to. I've been in a couple of bands myself, so I know how fun it can be. I mean really, it's just the perfect book for me!

But I'd say that if any two of those things apply to you, too, then you should give this a read. Being an ebook, it's got very fun, interactive features and loads of pictures.

[Jay Clement · Rating 3 out of 5]

66-2019. Jumbled history of the Rock Bottom Remainders, the band built with authors famous enough to be in your bookshelves. They have broken up the band, so this was a memoir of sorts. I love that people so talented at writing would expose themselves as rock and roll performers just due to the love of music.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://theyearoftheking.tumblr.com/p...

[Topher · Rating 4 out of 5]

A weird and fun book about a weird and fun band.

I never saw them. I'm not sure I'd like them if I did see them. But I did enjoy their joint book about the experience.

[Scott Benowitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Hard Listening: The Greatest Rock Band Ever (of Authors) Tell All" is the sequel to "Mid Life Confidential: The Rock Bottom Remainders Tour America With Three Chords and an Attitude" (1994).
In 1992, the book publicist Kathi Kamen Goldmark (1948- 2012) decided to experiment and try a venture which as far as I'm aware, no one had previously attempted- Ms. Goldmark decided to form a band which would be comprised not of musicians, but rather all of the members of the band would be famous authors. Kathi Goldmark's intent was that this band would raise funds for various charities through their live performances.
Depending upon how one opts to view the project, the project was a success. Sort of.
The band that Kathi Goldmark formed was named "The Rock Bottom Remainders." Over the course of the 20 year period from 1992 and 2012, The Rock Bottom Remainders did perform at various concert venues throughout the U.S., and through the sales of tickets to their performances, they did succeed in raising funds which they donated to various charities.
In their live concerts, The Rock Bottom Remainders performed their cover versions of various popular rock songs which had been written and recorded by various rock musicians from the 1950's through the 1980's.
Was this band successful musically?
To be polite, their cover versions of the rock songs that they performed were .... .... ..... well, they were very interesting.
The members of The Rock Bottom Remainders are all extremely talented writers, and well, some people are just not particularly multi- talented.
In "Hard Listening," the authors who formed "The Rock Bottom Remainders" describe their experiences selecting the songs that they wanted to learn, and they recount their experiences rehearsing and subsequently performing these songs.
I found "Hard Listening" interesting for the same reason that I found the band "The Rock Bottom Remainders" interesting. These authors all write in very different genres and subgenres of modern fiction and nonfiction. It's very interesting to see what people who are all very skilled in such diverse genres do when they collaborate with each other.
And while it's interesting to read about their experiences with their collaboration, for those who are feeling particularly brave, The Rock Bottom Remainders did eventually release a CD in 1998, their studio album was entitled "Stranger than Fiction."
If you are intending to read both "Mid Life Confidential: The Rock Bottom Remainders Tour America With Three Chords and an Attitude" and "Hard Listening: The Greatest Rock Band Ever (of Authors) Tell All," I recommend that you read "Mid Life Confidential" first. "Hard Listening" will still make sense on its own, but the stories that we read in "Hard Listening" are partially a continuation of the stories that were included in "Mid Life Confidential: The Rock Bottom Remainders Tour America With Three Chords and an Attitude."

[Tobin Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an utter blast.

Reading about the world's most terrible band, made up mostly of all those authors you've heard of, and their various adventures both on the stage and off, was a lot of fun.

There's very little rhyme or reason to this book (much like the band themselves), but we do get to hear from most of the significant players and each one has a great story to tell, or an add-on to someone else's story.

Is it a well-written book? A good book? Who knows? But does it tell an interesting story of musicians that really shouldn't quit their day jobs? Yes, yes it does.

[Caitlin Ball · Rating 5 out of 5]

I guessed completely wrong on the story. Robert Johnson's Flat-Top. Because anyone can change the language they use, but length and descriptions of those caliber are hard to come by. I guess I'll have to find some Greg Iles books next year. That's some quality writing.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was FUN!

[Cal Desmond-Pearson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read! Mix of two of my favourite things, music and authors!
Playing music for the love of it, not for fame! The same reason I played in bands.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had read the previous account of the Rock Bottom Remainders, a band of authors who played together for fun and various causes, MID-LIFE CONFIDENTIAL. It is now out of print, and I've been kicking myself for not buying a copy. So when I heard about this interactive book, I snapped it up promptly.

It's almost as much fun as the first book, perhaps more so in that it's an interactive book. Brief videos of the band are included, several quizzes, and a contest between four band members as to who can write the best Stephen King story. (King is one of them.) After reading the stories, you get to vote on which one is the real Stephen King. I lost. But Greg Iles wrote a better story, anyway. I was able to finger Dave Barry's, because it was so funny.

Emails between band members are also included, and individual essays. All of them are highly entertaining and touching. These people had FUN. I wish I could have seen them live since they've now retired. On the other hand, judging from the clips, they weren't all that good. But they enjoyed themselves.

Kathi Goldmark was the band's founding member. She passed away of breast cancer in 2012. The proceeds from this book go to pay her outstanding medical bills. So it's a worthy cause.

The only downside is that so far it's only available for the iPad. For the sake of readers out there, I hope an Android and/or Kindle version comes along soon.

UPDATE: My mistake! There is a Kindle basic edition for $9.99, and an Android version (which includes the videos) for $16.99, the same price as the iPad edition.

[Francine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A number of years ago I found a book called the Rock Bottom Remainders at the library. The book described how a bunch of authors came together to form a rock band. They had fun, came to know and love each other, and played mediocre music (at least that's what they keep saying)at fund raising events for librarians and other book events.

This more recent book is a tribute to the woman who brought them together, Kathi Goldmark. She died in 2012, the last year they performed. They played for 20 years with some members leaving and others joining and some staying for the whole time. What a treat to read essays by Steven King, Dave Barry, Mitch Albom, Mat Groening, Amy Tan and others.Imagine Amy Tan as a dominatrix performing These Boots were Made for Walking. What fun to read that one of the founding members of the Byrds and other actual musicians joined the group off and on. In addition to essays by each of the remaining remainders, the book includes emails, faxes, notes they sent to each other over the years. I read the book in small doses for a few reasons-I didn't want it to end, and I started to feel like I was reading someone's in basket, so I set it aside and read other things.
This is one of the few books I've purchased lately. When I want a lift, I can open my Kindle and read almost any section and find a reason to smile.

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sigh. Another book I didn't review the first time around.

Hard Listening: The Greatest Rock Band of All Time (of Authors) Tells All,
by Sam Barry, is the second book about the Rock Bottom Remainders, a "supergroup" made up of a number of best-selling authors (and some family members and friends, and a ringer or two).

The book is clearly a group effort, although this time the curator is Sam Barry, Dave Barry's brother, who was the harmonica player for the band. The book is part tribute to the Remainders that were no longer alive by the time it was written, most notably Kathy Kamen Goldmark, who founded the group back when she was an author escort.

Like much of what I'm reading, this is a book built of stories -- in this case the memories of gigs and other moments on a rock tour. It's much more of a look through a kaleidoscope than a coherent, chronological tale, and that alone helps to capture the insanity of being "on the road."

I recommend Hard Listening: The Greatest Rock Band of All Time (of Authors) Tells All to anyone who ever wanted to be in a band. Moreover, I recommend t to anyone who wants to spend a little time remembering what it was like back when "the music" was the thing that made you tick. The trip is definitely worth the price of admission.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to get used to the zany format of the book with pictures, interactive quizzes, and different authors posting their perspectives along with email correspondence following the trajectory of this hodgepodge band.
"The more you drink, the better the music" is their overall perspective for their audience and NO musical talent was preferred over someone who said they knew an instrument or had great vocal sound.
FUN was the key ingredient and the emails were hilarious and I loved reading about Amy Tan's choice of stage costumes and how she vamped it up and got the crowd and the guys in the band involved. The pictures were fun to see in every chapter and this book was a quick read as the stories flew by and you got to glimpse the road life as they traveled to each gig and new green room and the antics that happened onstage both planned and hilariously UNPLANNED. I will never be able to read another book by any of the authors without thinking of this book and the band that entertained masses and brought joy to their readers and listeners!
I received an advanced review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Tammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Hard Listening tells the story of the Rock Bottom Remainders, a group of authors who formed a rock band. Rock band = soap opera. This book is told through emails, pictures and personal recollections. The soap opera part being apart of a band where some can/can't sing or play/not play an instrument. There are tells of marriage, affair, death, and forever bonded friendships. I think this is a book that should be a hardback coffee table book to give a glance at and read a story here and there. This book was not ideal to be read on the kindle. The formatting was weird and it came across very choppy. If you're a fan of the band this is a must read because it gives you a lot of insight to specific shows the band played and how the authors/band members continued their main job of writing books while playing gigs.

[Elizabeth Wetzel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read. I had heard that several best selling authors, including 2 of my favorites, Stephen King and Dave Barry,had formed a band called the Rock Bottom Remainders. This book is the story of the fun the "musicians" had for the twenty years of gigs that followed what was supposed to be a one time only performance. Their music is described as "hard listening," and their self deprecating descriptions of their lack of talent is one of the books many charms. (Dave Barry described the sound of his guitar through the amps as a "250 watt fart" at one point.) band members Amy Tan, Mitch Albom, and Ridley Pearson, among many others contribute their memories of the band.
A great read about a band that Bruce Springsteen advised not to get any better, or they'd just become another lousy garage band.

[Greg Van Vorhis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was okay. Here was my major beef: three of them have died over the years, but the two male members who have passed on got only cursory mention. The lone female member who died (Kathi Kamen Goldmark) is gushed over page after page after page. I get it.....she was great. I get it...all of the male band members (and maybe some female band members) secretly wanted to marry her. Isn't she lucky?

In the meantime, if I read between the lines, the other two deceased members apparently weren't that fantastic.

The thing this book had going for it was its multimedia content. Until this week, the concept was unknown to me. Now I have two books with multimedia content. I am anxious to see what the future holds next.

[Barry Simiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Rock Bottom Remainders, a band of ever changing players who were all best selling authirs. Some still are, Not a complete list: Amy Tan, Mitch Albom, Stephen King (yes that Stephen King) got together over twenty years and played music. This book is a collection of notes, emails and essays by various members of the band after it was decided they disband. Great little stories from the road, from the writers, their roadies and soundman, and the various "real" musicians that joined them on stage to rock out a little. Show me any artist and I'll show you a hidden side bursting to get out.It's a GoodRead.

[Wilbur · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not great reading, but enjoyable. The last few pages, which are concerned with four members of the band trying to write like Steven King, seems to me to be filler. Like they were padding the book so readers wouldn't be disappointed by the book's length. Still a lot a fun, and maybe just a little self indulgent.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and interesting, but I sometimes felt like an intruder into a secret world.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome!

[Jay Gabler]

I don't know that anything could have properly prepared me for my wild weekend with the Rock Bottom Remainders, but this book was invaluable...and also completely charming.