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Concrete, Bulletproof, Invisible and Fried: My Life as a Revolting Cock
When hardcore industrial rocker and Ministry supremo Al Jourgensen recruited Chris Connelly as a singer for the Revolting Cocks, the young Scottish lad could hardly have imagined the mayhem that was about to ensue.
As an integral part of Jourgensen's "Mad Max"-like mutant family of musicians, Connelly joined a drug-crazed travelling circus. Live shows were transformed into an ear-splitting redneck disco from hell, under the influence of a mind-boggling cocktail of every conceivable narcotic, with sleazy strippers and even reports of live cattle on stage.
As well as Jourgensen and all the Wax Trax crew, the book features cameo appearances by Ogre of Skinny Puppy, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, Killing Joke, Jah Wobble, and Cabaret Voltaire.
Despite the unrelenting chaos, both Ministry and the Revolting Cocks have been immensely successful; Connelly appeared on two US gold albums ("The Land of Rape and Honey" and "The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste") and worked as songwriter on the million-plus selling platinum album "Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs."
Connelly's superbly written, funny, irreverent, and sometimes downright scary memoir is one of the finest portrayals of a man trapped in the eye of a post-punk industrial storm this side of Armageddon.
Chris Connelly was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and now lives in Chicago where he has pursued a successful solo career.
As an integral part of Jourgensen's "Mad Max"-like mutant family of musicians, Connelly joined a drug-crazed travelling circus. Live shows were transformed into an ear-splitting redneck disco from hell, under the influence of a mind-boggling cocktail of every conceivable narcotic, with sleazy strippers and even reports of live cattle on stage.
As well as Jourgensen and all the Wax Trax crew, the book features cameo appearances by Ogre of Skinny Puppy, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, Killing Joke, Jah Wobble, and Cabaret Voltaire.
Despite the unrelenting chaos, both Ministry and the Revolting Cocks have been immensely successful; Connelly appeared on two US gold albums ("The Land of Rape and Honey" and "The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste") and worked as songwriter on the million-plus selling platinum album "Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs."
Connelly's superbly written, funny, irreverent, and sometimes downright scary memoir is one of the finest portrayals of a man trapped in the eye of a post-punk industrial storm this side of Armageddon.
Chris Connelly was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and now lives in Chicago where he has pursued a successful solo career.
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First published October 1, 2007
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About the author
Chris Connelly
12 books17 followersChris Connelly was born in Edinburgh in 1964 and has spent most of his life writing and playing music in various guises. He has had two books published previously: the first, "Confessions of the Highest Bidder", of poetry; the second, "Concrete, Bulletproof, Invisible and Fried: My Life as a Revolting Cock", a memoir. He lives in Chicago with his wife and two children. "Ed Royal" is his first novel."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
October 1, 2008
being a HUGE ministry/cocks/pigface fan in the 90s, i was pretty excited to read this book. there are some great tour adventure stories, and the stories of the bizarre and painful births of so many classic songs is a pure joy to read, but over all i was fairly let down with this book. disillusioned a bit, yes, but the author seems to be left rather bitter and a bit pompous. i also got the feeling that the further along in the writing process he got, the less enthused he was by the project, and just sort of rushed through everything for the sake of getting it done.
if you were/are a fan of this increasingly overlooked era of music, it is definitely worth a read, but it lacks any sort of insight, moral, or ultimately, a point.
(and if you read this mr. connelly, i loved your solo albums, and you should make another).
if you were/are a fan of this increasingly overlooked era of music, it is definitely worth a read, but it lacks any sort of insight, moral, or ultimately, a point.
(and if you read this mr. connelly, i loved your solo albums, and you should make another).
August 23, 2023
If you're holding a copy of Concrete in your hands, what you're holding is a self published 250 page memoir written for the explicit purpose of shit talking Al Jourganson. As such, you might not expect much. But Chris Connelly was always the most interesting person in the Wax Trax! industrial orbit (at least to me) and while he doesn't betray himself as being highly formally educated here, he certainly is intellectually engaged and curious, which was always clear in his musical contributions. He was always the guy talking about Tom Wilson and Jaques Brel and the Beach Boys while you suspected everyone around him was stuck on a steady diet of Kraftwork and only Kraftwork. (Suspiciously absent here is any mention of David Bowie, to whom Connelly clearly owes a ton, but then again, Bowie stole from everybody, too.) So... yes, on some level things here can seem a bit simplistic- Al Jourganson is an asshole, we all did lots of drugs, we never had much money, we played gigs on lots of drugs, some of them were okay but most of them were awful and over again. On the other hand, you can listen to the same story over and over again if it's told well, and I found this thing nearly impossible to put down.
As a self published memoir, inevitably the first criticism you'll hear is that he could have used a proofreader and an editor. While I agree a professional proofreader would have been helpful, anyone whose reading experience is "ruined" by a few typos (and yes, a duplicate half paragraph) probably doesn't deserve to have great reading experiences. The best and most compelling part of the book is the orality of the experience- the sense that you're sitting at a bar with Chris while he relays his greatest war stories using his best off the cuff metaphors. He's fun, he's loose, he's creative and he's hilarious and I don't know that I'd want anyone to mess around the edges here- if you polished it you might lose the magic entirely. In telling a story of being in a high speed chase through Texas after the driver of the car he was in pissed off a legion of rabid truckers, we get this sentence that exemplifies the best and the worst he has on offer: "Throughout all of this, of course, I would have been less scared if I was being thrown out of a helicopter into a yawning volcano--that sounded kind of peaceful in comparison." Certainly you could cut that down, kill the "of course" and simply end it at the dash, make him choose between "less scared" and "peaceful in comparison." But he was in some sort of drug fueled Texas death race and the real key here is the helicopter and yawning volcano, right? And the run-on here does keep the story going, you feel like this is just how he'd tell it around the campfire and it's probably how he has been telling it around the campfire for years.
I don't think this is essential reading for anyone who doesn't care about the early 1990s Chicago industrial scene, nor do I necessarily think that everyone ought to care about the early 1990s industrial Chicago scene. Connelly is pretty thoroughly self deprecating about a lot of the albums he was featured on from the time. As my favorite work of his all comes after the book ends and I've long since lost interest in much of the music he talks about here (as he seems to have as well), this feels like a very dishy buildungsroman to me- these were some of the steps (and drugs, copious amounts of drugs) it took to get me here. And yeah, Al Jourganson is an asshole. But, bless him, he's a fairly entertaining one. After all, many stories are only as good as their villains, and you know by the end of this one that if you were casting Al's character in a movie you'd go not with Gary Oldman so much as the character Gary Oldman played in The Professional.
As a self published memoir, inevitably the first criticism you'll hear is that he could have used a proofreader and an editor. While I agree a professional proofreader would have been helpful, anyone whose reading experience is "ruined" by a few typos (and yes, a duplicate half paragraph) probably doesn't deserve to have great reading experiences. The best and most compelling part of the book is the orality of the experience- the sense that you're sitting at a bar with Chris while he relays his greatest war stories using his best off the cuff metaphors. He's fun, he's loose, he's creative and he's hilarious and I don't know that I'd want anyone to mess around the edges here- if you polished it you might lose the magic entirely. In telling a story of being in a high speed chase through Texas after the driver of the car he was in pissed off a legion of rabid truckers, we get this sentence that exemplifies the best and the worst he has on offer: "Throughout all of this, of course, I would have been less scared if I was being thrown out of a helicopter into a yawning volcano--that sounded kind of peaceful in comparison." Certainly you could cut that down, kill the "of course" and simply end it at the dash, make him choose between "less scared" and "peaceful in comparison." But he was in some sort of drug fueled Texas death race and the real key here is the helicopter and yawning volcano, right? And the run-on here does keep the story going, you feel like this is just how he'd tell it around the campfire and it's probably how he has been telling it around the campfire for years.
I don't think this is essential reading for anyone who doesn't care about the early 1990s Chicago industrial scene, nor do I necessarily think that everyone ought to care about the early 1990s industrial Chicago scene. Connelly is pretty thoroughly self deprecating about a lot of the albums he was featured on from the time. As my favorite work of his all comes after the book ends and I've long since lost interest in much of the music he talks about here (as he seems to have as well), this feels like a very dishy buildungsroman to me- these were some of the steps (and drugs, copious amounts of drugs) it took to get me here. And yeah, Al Jourganson is an asshole. But, bless him, he's a fairly entertaining one. After all, many stories are only as good as their villains, and you know by the end of this one that if you were casting Al's character in a movie you'd go not with Gary Oldman so much as the character Gary Oldman played in The Professional.
October 24, 2015
I’m not sure what I was expecting when I picked up this book. Some good Chicago alternative music history, I suppose, but certainly not any level of literary quality. Such are the legends of Chicago Wax Trax!: Revolting Cocks, Ministry and Pigface. The men involved in these projects are not known for their philosophical contemplation and literary skills.
Luckily, Connelly delivers over and over again in this book that is part tour/drug diary and part Al Jourgensen missile strike. Whether he kept detailed notes during his drug-fueled adventures with these bands is not mentioned, but I suspect Connelly had to rely heavily on notes to provide such exhaustive detail on even the smallest of band spats or the hundreds of drunk, acid-enhanced, coked-up nights he’d had in towns that would almost certainly blurred together. For those interested in the Wax Trax! scene in Chicago, this is your history book. Don’t expect another.
Readers familiar with Al Jourgensen’s hypocritcal antics, outrageous tantrums and general bizzaro behavior will not be disappointed to find him exposed and adequately reduced to ashes by Connelly’s many hilariously poignant observations.
The whole sideshow of drugs, groupies, band fights and lackluster shows is laid out like a long line of strong amphetamine. If you’re like me, you will inhale this very quickly, be jolted euphorically, but then experience a crash and creep of self-loathing making you want to shower off the slime.
Maybe some Steinbeck next.
Luckily, Connelly delivers over and over again in this book that is part tour/drug diary and part Al Jourgensen missile strike. Whether he kept detailed notes during his drug-fueled adventures with these bands is not mentioned, but I suspect Connelly had to rely heavily on notes to provide such exhaustive detail on even the smallest of band spats or the hundreds of drunk, acid-enhanced, coked-up nights he’d had in towns that would almost certainly blurred together. For those interested in the Wax Trax! scene in Chicago, this is your history book. Don’t expect another.
Readers familiar with Al Jourgensen’s hypocritcal antics, outrageous tantrums and general bizzaro behavior will not be disappointed to find him exposed and adequately reduced to ashes by Connelly’s many hilariously poignant observations.
The whole sideshow of drugs, groupies, band fights and lackluster shows is laid out like a long line of strong amphetamine. If you’re like me, you will inhale this very quickly, be jolted euphorically, but then experience a crash and creep of self-loathing making you want to shower off the slime.
Maybe some Steinbeck next.
Want to read
December 4, 2008Written by my former co-worker who is a super sweet person. I began to read this and thought "I never knew who I was really working with!" Very interesting.
December 19, 2024
Since I very recently read the oral history of hair metal, I’ll say this – Motley Crue and Ratt and WASP et al ain’t got nothing on Chris Connelly and Al Jourgensen. Man, it’s pretty amazing both Al and Chris are still alive after what sounds like years of insane debauchery. I’m listening to Connelly’s solo albums right now – I do see his point about how at the height of his “industrial” (or whatever – more on that in a bit) tenure, to release an album (Whiplash Boychild) that sounds like Bowie & Julian Cope with a Scott Walker cover would not go over well with the fanbase is an understatement. It just does not sound anything like RevCo or Ministry at all – even his singing sounds completely different. I’m not going to say that the invisible hand of the market is correct, but to think that this sound would do anything in terms of commercial sales – especially in 1991/92, when Bowie was somewhat relegated to the geezer status (before Nirvana’s Man Who Sold the World and opening for NIN – THOUGH I do think that most of NIN’s crowds would leave during Bowie – he really didn’t have the full renaissance excluding little bursts when Outside & Earthling came out until The Last Day and Blackstar). The album is strange and kinda great, but it’s both out of step with the trends of the time of its release and somewhat way ahead of its time. I kept thinking of Julian Cope’s Peggy Suicide – another album that no one really bought but is pretty wonderful.
Al Jourgensen is a slippery character. After reading Connelly’s take on those extremely productive years (ca. 1988-1992 – climaxing with Psalm 69), I went back and listened to well, all of it. When I first got into this 2nd wave industrial stuff (Ministry, RevCo, Pigface, My Life With the Thrill Kill Cult, KMFDM, NIN, Front Line Assembly, Skinny Puppy, Front 242, and then all the one hit wonders that came after NIN broke through. 1st Wave is really the experimental electronic music that became christened “industrial” primarily because of Throbbing Gristle – Chrome, Cabaret Voltaire, Current 93, Coil, Nurse With Wound, Einsturzende Neubaten, SPK, Controlled Bleeding, etc), finding all of Al’s offshoots was really tricky – the rare PTP and Acid Horse singles, Pailhead – all that stuff on indie labels could be pretty obscure. No worry these days. So I listened to all of it, starting with With Sympathy all the way through Filth Pig, including all the side projects and even Skinny Puppy’s Rabies. I didn’t do Pigface’s Gub – which I remember giving me a migraine in high school, but maybe some day.
What’s interesting is that it feels like Al got a lot of shit for his faux accent on With Sympathy and Twitch – both of which I felt aged pretty well. I know – Al hated With Sympathy for decades, and it’s easy to see why. (The first single I’m Falling actually sounds a lot like Seventeen Seconds era Cure.) But it was pretty enjoyable and melodic – as good as most of the Brit new wavers who were also pretty thin. I think it hit Al pretty hard to make something that sounded so soft and phony (the accent) AND to get a major label deal out of it – especially in the indie integrity stronghold of Chicago. There’s no way Steve Albini is going to get behind With Sympathy, especially Al’s reliance on several major labels – but the major labels allowed him a carte blanche at Chicago Trax for those extremely productive years. Music critics are going to vomit on this one, but you can see the kinship between Charlie Parker and Al’s addiction fueling their creative compulsion – the pattern for Al (and Chris Connelly when he entered his orbit) seemed to be to get pretty out of his head on whatever powder was available and then bang out a few tracks. The RevCo albums Big Sexy Land and Beers Steers & Queers really sound like Al and Paul Barker finding a distorted groove then inviting Connelly to shout over it – his natural Scottish brogue allowing Al to have an accent if need be without coming off as faux. Though the Connelly with RevCo and Ministry sounds miles away from his baritone on Whiplash Boychild and his early masterpiece Shipwreck, which does still have the Bowie vibe but it’s like a great lost Bowie album – there’s a thematic consistency to it, and an obsession with the nautical. The last three tracks formed to me at least a mini suite that I thought was absolutely killer – beautiful, evocative, and tense – taking the abrasiveness of his Ministry tenure and using that to shade the songs.
Twitch is a weird one – Al really sounds like Stephen Mallinder from Cabaret Voltaire on it (Connelly sings the high praises of CV’s 2nd wave Micro-Phonies, which has a huge influence on all this Chicago stuff, though the Chicago tracks have more balls.) and he’s stepping towards the noise that would come to fruition on The Land of Rape and Honey. Both Land of Rape and Honey and Mind is a Terrible Thing are pretty uneven – Al (via Connelly and collaborators) finding his voice and falling in love with metal riffs. I would say that Godflesh kinda perfected the metal/industrial combo (though I’m sure Justin Broadrick would scoff at “industrial”) and Broadrick is another workaholic like Al, but doesn’t quite seem as motivated by blow or the need to annoy. Broadrick also has much much stronger cred coming from Napalm Death. Al somehow convinced Ian Mackaye to collaborate and the Pailhead tracks are pretty strong – his trying to appeal to the hardcore Al that had been seduced by the new wave hairdos and came up with With Sympathy – again, not as bad as Al thought, but definitely would be eaten alive by Scum era Napalm.
All this feels like steps towards the culmination of obliterating With Sympathy on Psalm 69 – it feels like Al writ large – abrasive, provocative, with a dark annoying humor to the proceedings. Then Filth Pig really sounds like hearing damage and drugs – what’s that Doobie Brothers album? “What were once vices are now habits.” That’s what Filth Pig sounds like, but made by someone with tinnitus. And Connelly was pretty much completely out of the picture by Psalm 69 – he’s on Linger Fickin Good which is primarily known for the Rod Stewart Cover but there’s a couple really strong songs on there, hidden away. I think after that Connelly was out of Al’s orbit – though it sounds from this like they were never really “friends” per se – I’m sure in the thick of it they were friendly, but when Al left Chicago for Texas the Ministry albums kinda drifted into a schtick, and I’m not sure if even he was still doing RevCo and all of Al’s side projects dissipated. Connelly was there for a unique phenomenon, remembered in the recordings.
Which is why an album like Shipwreck is so strong – it does feel like the aftermath of some massive party, and waking up on a beach (Lake Michigan?) and hearing the gulls and not quite knowing what had happened the night before – it’s melancholy (Bowie and Scott Walker are nothing if not melancholy baritones), woozy, reflective, still a bit trippy – but it’s really showing Connelly’s true voice which was not the shouting of RevCo or that Ministry tour he survived. He’s got like 20 albums, so going into the deep dive on his is intimidating, but after getting to know his experience through this somewhat remarkable memoir (“remarkable” in the sense that A) he lived to tell the tale and B) he remembered so much of it) I’m gonna get into it.
Al Jourgensen is a slippery character. After reading Connelly’s take on those extremely productive years (ca. 1988-1992 – climaxing with Psalm 69), I went back and listened to well, all of it. When I first got into this 2nd wave industrial stuff (Ministry, RevCo, Pigface, My Life With the Thrill Kill Cult, KMFDM, NIN, Front Line Assembly, Skinny Puppy, Front 242, and then all the one hit wonders that came after NIN broke through. 1st Wave is really the experimental electronic music that became christened “industrial” primarily because of Throbbing Gristle – Chrome, Cabaret Voltaire, Current 93, Coil, Nurse With Wound, Einsturzende Neubaten, SPK, Controlled Bleeding, etc), finding all of Al’s offshoots was really tricky – the rare PTP and Acid Horse singles, Pailhead – all that stuff on indie labels could be pretty obscure. No worry these days. So I listened to all of it, starting with With Sympathy all the way through Filth Pig, including all the side projects and even Skinny Puppy’s Rabies. I didn’t do Pigface’s Gub – which I remember giving me a migraine in high school, but maybe some day.
What’s interesting is that it feels like Al got a lot of shit for his faux accent on With Sympathy and Twitch – both of which I felt aged pretty well. I know – Al hated With Sympathy for decades, and it’s easy to see why. (The first single I’m Falling actually sounds a lot like Seventeen Seconds era Cure.) But it was pretty enjoyable and melodic – as good as most of the Brit new wavers who were also pretty thin. I think it hit Al pretty hard to make something that sounded so soft and phony (the accent) AND to get a major label deal out of it – especially in the indie integrity stronghold of Chicago. There’s no way Steve Albini is going to get behind With Sympathy, especially Al’s reliance on several major labels – but the major labels allowed him a carte blanche at Chicago Trax for those extremely productive years. Music critics are going to vomit on this one, but you can see the kinship between Charlie Parker and Al’s addiction fueling their creative compulsion – the pattern for Al (and Chris Connelly when he entered his orbit) seemed to be to get pretty out of his head on whatever powder was available and then bang out a few tracks. The RevCo albums Big Sexy Land and Beers Steers & Queers really sound like Al and Paul Barker finding a distorted groove then inviting Connelly to shout over it – his natural Scottish brogue allowing Al to have an accent if need be without coming off as faux. Though the Connelly with RevCo and Ministry sounds miles away from his baritone on Whiplash Boychild and his early masterpiece Shipwreck, which does still have the Bowie vibe but it’s like a great lost Bowie album – there’s a thematic consistency to it, and an obsession with the nautical. The last three tracks formed to me at least a mini suite that I thought was absolutely killer – beautiful, evocative, and tense – taking the abrasiveness of his Ministry tenure and using that to shade the songs.
Twitch is a weird one – Al really sounds like Stephen Mallinder from Cabaret Voltaire on it (Connelly sings the high praises of CV’s 2nd wave Micro-Phonies, which has a huge influence on all this Chicago stuff, though the Chicago tracks have more balls.) and he’s stepping towards the noise that would come to fruition on The Land of Rape and Honey. Both Land of Rape and Honey and Mind is a Terrible Thing are pretty uneven – Al (via Connelly and collaborators) finding his voice and falling in love with metal riffs. I would say that Godflesh kinda perfected the metal/industrial combo (though I’m sure Justin Broadrick would scoff at “industrial”) and Broadrick is another workaholic like Al, but doesn’t quite seem as motivated by blow or the need to annoy. Broadrick also has much much stronger cred coming from Napalm Death. Al somehow convinced Ian Mackaye to collaborate and the Pailhead tracks are pretty strong – his trying to appeal to the hardcore Al that had been seduced by the new wave hairdos and came up with With Sympathy – again, not as bad as Al thought, but definitely would be eaten alive by Scum era Napalm.
All this feels like steps towards the culmination of obliterating With Sympathy on Psalm 69 – it feels like Al writ large – abrasive, provocative, with a dark annoying humor to the proceedings. Then Filth Pig really sounds like hearing damage and drugs – what’s that Doobie Brothers album? “What were once vices are now habits.” That’s what Filth Pig sounds like, but made by someone with tinnitus. And Connelly was pretty much completely out of the picture by Psalm 69 – he’s on Linger Fickin Good which is primarily known for the Rod Stewart Cover but there’s a couple really strong songs on there, hidden away. I think after that Connelly was out of Al’s orbit – though it sounds from this like they were never really “friends” per se – I’m sure in the thick of it they were friendly, but when Al left Chicago for Texas the Ministry albums kinda drifted into a schtick, and I’m not sure if even he was still doing RevCo and all of Al’s side projects dissipated. Connelly was there for a unique phenomenon, remembered in the recordings.
Which is why an album like Shipwreck is so strong – it does feel like the aftermath of some massive party, and waking up on a beach (Lake Michigan?) and hearing the gulls and not quite knowing what had happened the night before – it’s melancholy (Bowie and Scott Walker are nothing if not melancholy baritones), woozy, reflective, still a bit trippy – but it’s really showing Connelly’s true voice which was not the shouting of RevCo or that Ministry tour he survived. He’s got like 20 albums, so going into the deep dive on his is intimidating, but after getting to know his experience through this somewhat remarkable memoir (“remarkable” in the sense that A) he lived to tell the tale and B) he remembered so much of it) I’m gonna get into it.
May 10, 2024
Fun little romp into dark nihilistic muzik mainly towards end of 80's and early 90's.
As someone that was part of this subculture vividly remember watching Skinny Puppy "Ain't It Dead Yet" and RevCo's "You Goddamned Son of a Bitch" videocassettes over and over. Boozing up and riot.
Despite there being plenty of backstage tales from cities, shows and tour buses, words somehow have an almost dispassionate emptiness to them. Perhaps all the drugs contributed to the vague emptiness of stories. Saw Revolting Cocks back in 90s and actually screamed words to "No Devotion" into microphone with Chris during track and like to think saw that youthful fanatical muscled angst in my eyes. Somehow Anti-hero of this tome felt absent through beautiful ugly adventure.
As someone that was part of this subculture vividly remember watching Skinny Puppy "Ain't It Dead Yet" and RevCo's "You Goddamned Son of a Bitch" videocassettes over and over. Boozing up and riot.
Despite there being plenty of backstage tales from cities, shows and tour buses, words somehow have an almost dispassionate emptiness to them. Perhaps all the drugs contributed to the vague emptiness of stories. Saw Revolting Cocks back in 90s and actually screamed words to "No Devotion" into microphone with Chris during track and like to think saw that youthful fanatical muscled angst in my eyes. Somehow Anti-hero of this tome felt absent through beautiful ugly adventure.
August 22, 2012
I'm a big, big fan of the Ministry/RevCo/Pigface era and I wish I could say I liked this book. I really wanted to like it. But Connelly comes off more like a bitter, slightly arrogant, rejected and whiny "offspring" because he wasn't "accepted" by "Father Al" who took him into the circle and kicked him out again (repeatedly). And does he HAVE TO MENTION THE TWO FACTS THAT HE DID LOTS AND LOTS OF DRUGS AND GOT LOTS AND LOTS (maybe) OF GIRLS EVERY TWO PARAGRAPHS? AND IN BIG, BOLD CAPS AS WELL? Hell, we KNOW there were lots of drugs. He didn't have to beat that dead horse throughout the whole book.
What was interesting, and I wish he wrote more about, was collaborating with everyone involved. Maybe more on the processes of creating the music that we all like so much and the behind-the-workings of it all. Get to know more about Jourgenson, Barker, Ogre and the rest of the gang.
Like I said, I really wanted to like this book, but there's only so much LOTS AND LOTS OF DRUGS AND GOT LOTS AND LOTS (maybe) OF GIRLS that I need to read about before getting the fact that the life of a member of a moderately successful band can be fun and frustrating if you aren't given heaps of attention by everyone you're clinging to for drugs, pussy, cash and acceptance.
What was interesting, and I wish he wrote more about, was collaborating with everyone involved. Maybe more on the processes of creating the music that we all like so much and the behind-the-workings of it all. Get to know more about Jourgenson, Barker, Ogre and the rest of the gang.
Like I said, I really wanted to like this book, but there's only so much LOTS AND LOTS OF DRUGS AND GOT LOTS AND LOTS (maybe) OF GIRLS that I need to read about before getting the fact that the life of a member of a moderately successful band can be fun and frustrating if you aren't given heaps of attention by everyone you're clinging to for drugs, pussy, cash and acceptance.
September 23, 2009
I enjoyed the behind-the-scenes look at the 1990's Chicago industrial music world, but ultimately this felt like reading a good first draft. It could use some fleshing out, reflection, and a better wrap-up with what his life is like now. A must-read for fans.
September 7, 2017
While I loved hearing about the industrial scene from the late 80s, this book is kind of one note.
We got to the gig at ________. The venue was ______. So _____, _____ and I took _____ and _____ and played a terrible show
We got to the gig at ________. The venue was ______. So _____, _____ and I took _____ and _____ and played a terrible show
May 6, 2016
3.25 stars.
Like an amiable party guest on mescaline, this book is a hoot but not always easy to follow. It offers a play-by-play of the many musical projects Connelly was involved between 1986(? 1987?) and 1994. These years were the length of his tenure with the Revolting Cocks, the time between Al Jourgensen “discovering” him and his decision to end collaborations with Jourgensen. There is some clever commentary, some anecdotes, but it truly is just a play-by-play (and drug-by-drug) of Connelly’s life during this time, not offering up any profound reflections or insights.
Though I enjoyed the book, I did feel lost at times due to a few contributing factors. Despite being an industrial music fan with what I would consider more than intermediate knowledge--something likely true of any reader arriving at this book--many of the references Connelly makes were lost on me. (Perhaps if I were older? Or if I had deeper knowledge of the artists that influenced industrial groups?) From time spent with friends from the UK, I can tell that some of the bits that went over my head were Britishisms, but the humor of them didn’t tickle my American funny bone. And speaking of Britishisms, throughout I struggled to unlock the tone of different sections, unsure of whether they were dry mockery or something bordering on genuine (though never delving into vulnerability…not that this rollicking memoir suffers from its absence). I felt a similar confusion in regards to which times the narration was (a) the author’s “looking back” reflections and self-deprecating jabs at his former self or (b) the author voicing his attitudes in the moments being described, as if he were putting himself in his past self’s shoes and writing the words back then. Put each of these factors into the blender with story-upon-story of drug-addled shenanigans and there’s a strange brew of a book that can whiz by without it totally making sense. TL;DR – The narration of this book is sometimes confusing, but in a way that is winningly appropriate and entertaining.
Transitions in this book sometimes amount to little more than, “ACID! ACCCIIIIDD!” and--voilà!--just like that, the reader is transported to somewhere new. Jumping around from project to project and tour to tour, with very little consistency to his life other than mountains of drugs that would appear, it would have been easy for this book to be a slog. But it isn’t! As a narrator, Connelly is both snickering and droll. He isn’t self-congratulatory or self-praising (with the exception of the last chapter and his modus operandi regarding solo albums), making him seem more matter-of-fact than out to prove something. At the same time, he doesn’t like much (or many people), but keeps his writing playful and light*…as opposed to Al Jourgensen’s grudge rants in his book Ministry: The Lost Gospels According to Al Jourgensen. Though Connelly never seems all that happy or even particularly proud of his own artistic contributions, he is always game to continue the roller coaster of substance abuse. (As someone who hasn’t gone down that road myself, it is a little confusing to flip through pages and pages of non-stop drug use only to read that Connelly distinguishes himself from those with a chemical dependency. He doesn’t elaborate on this, nor does he seem to be taking the piss.) Still, his lack of pride in most of his contributions did confirm for me that, despite his sometimes loathsome personality, Jourgensen was always the mastermind.
Industrial music: “It was hardcore punk played by machines.” (12, regarding what later became the Pailhead track “I Will Refuse”)
* For the most part, the people Connelly insults are (a) referred to by nicknames, (b) redeemed in his mind at another point in the book or (c) Al Jourgensen, who is this book’s idiot savant answer to Tommy Wiseau. Regarding Connelly’s treatment of the godfather of industrial music, he paints Uncle Al as an image-conscious, all-controlling drama queen with delusions of grandeur and an escalating drug addiction. This seems consistent with my already existing conclusions. The only time Connelly seems out of line are the times he passingly insults Jourgensen’s talent and vision, the very things that afforded Connelly his career and the luxury of having his book read.
---
Here’s a breakdown of the topics covered by page number (which is only a *spoiler* for folks unfamiliar with the general timeline):
p. 28-43: First Revolting Cocks gig (which became their live album, You Goddamned Son of a Bitch)
p. 53-67: Revolting Cocks tour
p. 69-76: Recording of various projects and side projects with the Jourgensen clan
p. 77-84: Recording Ministry’s The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste
p. 85-122: Ministry tour
p. 123-125: Recording Pigface’s Gub
p. 126-140: Release of the Revolting Cocks’ Beers, Steers and Queers and US tour for
p. 141-145, 149-155: Revolting Cocks European tour
p. 156-165: Pigface’s first tour, in support of Gub and including the recording of Welcome to Mexico, Asshole
p. 168-170: Recording Ministry’s Psalm 69
p. 172, 174-176: Killing Joke and Murder Inc.
p. 176-195: Pigface tour (in support of Welcome to Mexico, Asshole)
p. 196-198: Murder Inc. tour
p. 198-200: Chris Connelly’s first solo tour
p. 201-205: Ministry tour (after Ministry finished Lollapalooza…while Connell was doing his solo tour)
p. 206-216: Recording the Revolting Cocks’ Linger Fickin’ Good and promotion
Like an amiable party guest on mescaline, this book is a hoot but not always easy to follow. It offers a play-by-play of the many musical projects Connelly was involved between 1986(? 1987?) and 1994. These years were the length of his tenure with the Revolting Cocks, the time between Al Jourgensen “discovering” him and his decision to end collaborations with Jourgensen. There is some clever commentary, some anecdotes, but it truly is just a play-by-play (and drug-by-drug) of Connelly’s life during this time, not offering up any profound reflections or insights.
Though I enjoyed the book, I did feel lost at times due to a few contributing factors. Despite being an industrial music fan with what I would consider more than intermediate knowledge--something likely true of any reader arriving at this book--many of the references Connelly makes were lost on me. (Perhaps if I were older? Or if I had deeper knowledge of the artists that influenced industrial groups?) From time spent with friends from the UK, I can tell that some of the bits that went over my head were Britishisms, but the humor of them didn’t tickle my American funny bone. And speaking of Britishisms, throughout I struggled to unlock the tone of different sections, unsure of whether they were dry mockery or something bordering on genuine (though never delving into vulnerability…not that this rollicking memoir suffers from its absence). I felt a similar confusion in regards to which times the narration was (a) the author’s “looking back” reflections and self-deprecating jabs at his former self or (b) the author voicing his attitudes in the moments being described, as if he were putting himself in his past self’s shoes and writing the words back then. Put each of these factors into the blender with story-upon-story of drug-addled shenanigans and there’s a strange brew of a book that can whiz by without it totally making sense. TL;DR – The narration of this book is sometimes confusing, but in a way that is winningly appropriate and entertaining.
Transitions in this book sometimes amount to little more than, “ACID! ACCCIIIIDD!” and--voilà!--just like that, the reader is transported to somewhere new. Jumping around from project to project and tour to tour, with very little consistency to his life other than mountains of drugs that would appear, it would have been easy for this book to be a slog. But it isn’t! As a narrator, Connelly is both snickering and droll. He isn’t self-congratulatory or self-praising (with the exception of the last chapter and his modus operandi regarding solo albums), making him seem more matter-of-fact than out to prove something. At the same time, he doesn’t like much (or many people), but keeps his writing playful and light*…as opposed to Al Jourgensen’s grudge rants in his book Ministry: The Lost Gospels According to Al Jourgensen. Though Connelly never seems all that happy or even particularly proud of his own artistic contributions, he is always game to continue the roller coaster of substance abuse. (As someone who hasn’t gone down that road myself, it is a little confusing to flip through pages and pages of non-stop drug use only to read that Connelly distinguishes himself from those with a chemical dependency. He doesn’t elaborate on this, nor does he seem to be taking the piss.) Still, his lack of pride in most of his contributions did confirm for me that, despite his sometimes loathsome personality, Jourgensen was always the mastermind.
Industrial music: “It was hardcore punk played by machines.” (12, regarding what later became the Pailhead track “I Will Refuse”)
* For the most part, the people Connelly insults are (a) referred to by nicknames, (b) redeemed in his mind at another point in the book or (c) Al Jourgensen, who is this book’s idiot savant answer to Tommy Wiseau. Regarding Connelly’s treatment of the godfather of industrial music, he paints Uncle Al as an image-conscious, all-controlling drama queen with delusions of grandeur and an escalating drug addiction. This seems consistent with my already existing conclusions. The only time Connelly seems out of line are the times he passingly insults Jourgensen’s talent and vision, the very things that afforded Connelly his career and the luxury of having his book read.
---
Here’s a breakdown of the topics covered by page number (which is only a *spoiler* for folks unfamiliar with the general timeline):
p. 28-43: First Revolting Cocks gig (which became their live album, You Goddamned Son of a Bitch)
p. 53-67: Revolting Cocks tour
p. 69-76: Recording of various projects and side projects with the Jourgensen clan
p. 77-84: Recording Ministry’s The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste
p. 85-122: Ministry tour
p. 123-125: Recording Pigface’s Gub
p. 126-140: Release of the Revolting Cocks’ Beers, Steers and Queers and US tour for
p. 141-145, 149-155: Revolting Cocks European tour
p. 156-165: Pigface’s first tour, in support of Gub and including the recording of Welcome to Mexico, Asshole
p. 168-170: Recording Ministry’s Psalm 69
p. 172, 174-176: Killing Joke and Murder Inc.
p. 176-195: Pigface tour (in support of Welcome to Mexico, Asshole)
p. 196-198: Murder Inc. tour
p. 198-200: Chris Connelly’s first solo tour
p. 201-205: Ministry tour (after Ministry finished Lollapalooza…while Connell was doing his solo tour)
p. 206-216: Recording the Revolting Cocks’ Linger Fickin’ Good and promotion
June 20, 2017
Rounding up from 2.5. Certainly entertaining, but it got rather incoherent as it progressed. I suppose you could say that's a reflection of what he lived through, but the drugging/drinking/fucking shenanigans got a bit wearing after a while, as again, I suppose they did for him. I laughed a lot, but I did also get confused a lot. Still worth a look for Ministry/Cocks fans.
January 5, 2024
Got the audio book version since I thought it would be interesting to hear Connelly tell his story but.. the many hours of debauchery and drug taking just got tedious. I guess it's unsurprising but I was hoping to hear more about the production of the music.. or some more personal reflections.
March 12, 2019
Brilliant and highly entertaining. Connelly is a terrific writer and writes unapologetically about his time with Ministry and the Revolting Cocks.
October 5, 2020
Listened to the audiobook read by Chris Connelly.
June 8, 2023
It's no Just Kids, but I'm a revco pussy girl >_< chris connelly :3
July 14, 2023
Better than Al’s, for sure.
November 10, 2024
A wild and wonderful memoir of life on the Wax Trax / Ministry train and beyond. If you enjoy music industry memoirs, this is a great one. Bonus points for the audiobook narrated by the author.
August 12, 2025
A mixed bag. The self-deprecating tone felt a bit tired by the end. Some interesting stories and I came away with a few albums to check out from the side projects.
March 9, 2014
This memoir hooked me so strongly that I finished it in a few sittings over maybe 24 hours. Chris Connelly's tale of his time in the Revolting Cocks (and Ministry etc) is honest and wry and paints a very unflattering picture of everyone involved, including himself. It starts just as he's about to join the band for the first time in Chicago where he's (willingly) initiated into Al Jourgensen's chaotic world of drugs, debauchery and music. He gives us an inside view of the legendary Wax Trax! records and what it was like at the time (drugs), what it was like touring and hanging out with everyone (more drugs), and some of the creative process that went into the many bands/projects the Ministry crowd was involved with (lots of drugs). The whole story is unapologetically riddled with drugs and, like a true decadent, he often seems bored with it all.
A typical tour date would be described by the town the bus pulled into, what his hangover was like, what drugs he found before the show, what the show was like and what went wrong, the people he met and partied with who gave him more drugs, and how he made it back to the tour bus. He's pretty thorough - chances are if you were at a bad show and wondered what the fuck went wrong then you'd find an anecdote of that show here. He's also pretty critical and has nothing but contempt for fools, boors and assholes, all relayed with his charming humour.
I was a little too young at the time this scene happened to be aware of it, and by the time I did discover it, it was pretty much over. I loved Al's vocals on Ministry songs, but who was that hi-pitched maniac on some of the other songs? Al's songs were great angry anthems, but Chris Connelly seemed to be on the Ministry songs that were truly manic and weird. Then I found out he was the guy crooning that wickedly funny cover of Do Ya Think I'm Sexy? Then I heard some of his other stuff which was more mellow and introspective. It still fascinates me that it's the same guy.
Because the book is about his life and not his creative process the rest of the book doesn't fully solve that puzzle. What it does is continue the narrative of drugs-music-tour-people in an ever more claustrophobic and weary fashion until the end. By now, reading this tale of excess has become exhausting. Connelly is done with being in the band, just as we are tired of reading it, and I suspect that was intentional.
I really enjoyed this book. He's got a strong voice and perspective. He really brings the time alive and packed the story with tons of interesting people. It's got lots of detail but moves quickly to keep from getting bogged down.
I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys or is interested in the Wax Trax! music and of course Ministry/Revolting Cocks/Pigface etc. I'd especially recommend this to anyone about to read Al's autobiography 'The Lost Gospels' (which I haven't read yet) because, as Connelly describes, you should take anything Al says with a grain of salt.
A typical tour date would be described by the town the bus pulled into, what his hangover was like, what drugs he found before the show, what the show was like and what went wrong, the people he met and partied with who gave him more drugs, and how he made it back to the tour bus. He's pretty thorough - chances are if you were at a bad show and wondered what the fuck went wrong then you'd find an anecdote of that show here. He's also pretty critical and has nothing but contempt for fools, boors and assholes, all relayed with his charming humour.
I was a little too young at the time this scene happened to be aware of it, and by the time I did discover it, it was pretty much over. I loved Al's vocals on Ministry songs, but who was that hi-pitched maniac on some of the other songs? Al's songs were great angry anthems, but Chris Connelly seemed to be on the Ministry songs that were truly manic and weird. Then I found out he was the guy crooning that wickedly funny cover of Do Ya Think I'm Sexy? Then I heard some of his other stuff which was more mellow and introspective. It still fascinates me that it's the same guy.
Because the book is about his life and not his creative process the rest of the book doesn't fully solve that puzzle. What it does is continue the narrative of drugs-music-tour-people in an ever more claustrophobic and weary fashion until the end. By now, reading this tale of excess has become exhausting. Connelly is done with being in the band, just as we are tired of reading it, and I suspect that was intentional.
I really enjoyed this book. He's got a strong voice and perspective. He really brings the time alive and packed the story with tons of interesting people. It's got lots of detail but moves quickly to keep from getting bogged down.
I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys or is interested in the Wax Trax! music and of course Ministry/Revolting Cocks/Pigface etc. I'd especially recommend this to anyone about to read Al's autobiography 'The Lost Gospels' (which I haven't read yet) because, as Connelly describes, you should take anything Al says with a grain of salt.
March 9, 2011
I finally obtained a copy of this on a recent trip to Chicago (I guess that was the week before last.) This book had been nearly impossible to get for a while, but it seems to be more available again. The clerk at the store told me the publisher was a bit "sporadic". This account of Connelly's Ministry/Revolting Cocks days didn't disappoint in the expected tales of debauchery and massive egos department (although I was a bit disappointed as someone told me they heard there was a tale about Connelly walking into a room to find En Esch having a bottle inserted in his rectum, which I must have missed), but this alone would not have necessarily set it apart from many books about life in a successful band. What sets this apart is Chris's absurdist humor...which I think is simply part of his general outlook on life. How could it not be when you really look at the circumstances starting from his time in Fini Tribe up to stepping off the Industrial merry-go-round? The first couple of chapters had me laughing incessantly...and maybe Connelly realized the necessity of maximizing the humorous aspect of the early chapters to counter-balance some of the later ones which, while he maintains a much the same outlook, detail some fairly intense situations and periods in his life. Either that or he was just very successful in connecting with a slightly more innocent time in his life (slightly being the operant word.) All in all, I feel it gave me a slightly clearer picture of someone who to myself and I think, to many of those familiar with Connelly and his music, always feels simultaneously like an old friend and yet someone you could know your whole life and not really "know" (as compared to some people who if you know them at all, you know them completely.)
I see someone else mentioned Connelly's portrayal of "Alain" Jourgenson and that fans of the latter might not see him the same way after reading this book. I would simply add that it is hard to see Al as really being a human being...more like a cartoon character. I still like Al about as much as I ever did (as much as I might appreciate his work, I've always thought he was more important as a sort of catalyst...or the vortex at the eye of the storm) but, even if only half of Chris' portrayal of him were true, it is probably Al's own fault for trying to be such a cartoon character. Maybe it comes with the territory...that is, it is hard to get to that level in the music industry and with the music-buying public (at least in the music industry at that time) without being able to somehow turn off a certain part of your human-ness.
On to his latest book, then (a novel, "Ed Royal")...
I see someone else mentioned Connelly's portrayal of "Alain" Jourgenson and that fans of the latter might not see him the same way after reading this book. I would simply add that it is hard to see Al as really being a human being...more like a cartoon character. I still like Al about as much as I ever did (as much as I might appreciate his work, I've always thought he was more important as a sort of catalyst...or the vortex at the eye of the storm) but, even if only half of Chris' portrayal of him were true, it is probably Al's own fault for trying to be such a cartoon character. Maybe it comes with the territory...that is, it is hard to get to that level in the music industry and with the music-buying public (at least in the music industry at that time) without being able to somehow turn off a certain part of your human-ness.
On to his latest book, then (a novel, "Ed Royal")...
December 5, 2009
Not much new here, per the maximum drugs per 24 period between gigs rock touring formula. It's seems to reworked from journals he kept while being member of the Ministry / Revolting Cocks family. Though Connelly is a published poet, it felt he was keeping any literary intentions to a minimum opting for a "just the facts ma'am" recount of five years of debauch-rock-choas.
Though it hardly reinvents the wheel, I can't help but to be enthralled as it details the creation of some of my favorite teenage albums. For more academic pop-cultural anthropologists its a first hand account of the minor phenomenon that was Wax Trax records. At points Connelly seems unduly harsh on personalities that made it all possible for him in the first place. The fateful events that lead him to be lead singer of the Revolting Cocks are one step up from Ripper Owens territory. To his credit he doesn't use the book as an advertisement for his subsequent solo work which is very different from his Wax Trax period but not as commercially successful.
Were the Revolting Cocks ever commercially or artistically successful?
Though it hardly reinvents the wheel, I can't help but to be enthralled as it details the creation of some of my favorite teenage albums. For more academic pop-cultural anthropologists its a first hand account of the minor phenomenon that was Wax Trax records. At points Connelly seems unduly harsh on personalities that made it all possible for him in the first place. The fateful events that lead him to be lead singer of the Revolting Cocks are one step up from Ripper Owens territory. To his credit he doesn't use the book as an advertisement for his subsequent solo work which is very different from his Wax Trax period but not as commercially successful.
Were the Revolting Cocks ever commercially or artistically successful?
August 19, 2011
This book is AWESOME. If you're a fan of late 80's-era Ministry, Revolting Cocks, Skinny Puppy (Ogre), PTP, Acid Horse, Pigface (they don't actually have fans do they?),etc. or WaxTrax! Records in general--READ THIS BOOK. It's hilllllarious and probably one of the rarest of it's kind considering the genre of music it's covering. There is mention of KMFDM (including En Esch's jumping from a 3-story burning building incident) however no mention of later recordings with them on XTORT and quite a bit about Ogre of Skinny Puppy.
As far as Ministry goes it's mostly about Al Jourgensen--very little about Paul Barker but what's here is entertaining, if not shocking as hell. As a huge fan of his work with these bands it was probably the best thing I've read all year since it gave so much insight into how a lot of the songs were recorded.
note: The one thing that bothered me was the spelling of Sascha's and Günter Schulz's name (of KMFDM.) In this book it's spelled "Sasha" and "Gunther" (or something to that effect). WTF?
"Was I turning into Phildo?"
"Ouuuuuutstanding!"
As far as Ministry goes it's mostly about Al Jourgensen--very little about Paul Barker but what's here is entertaining, if not shocking as hell. As a huge fan of his work with these bands it was probably the best thing I've read all year since it gave so much insight into how a lot of the songs were recorded.
note: The one thing that bothered me was the spelling of Sascha's and Günter Schulz's name (of KMFDM.) In this book it's spelled "Sasha" and "Gunther" (or something to that effect). WTF?
"Was I turning into Phildo?"
"Ouuuuuutstanding!"
August 25, 2008
This is a book my husband found. It tells the story of the band the Revolting Cocks, and the crazed, creative Industrial music scene that grew up around Ministry in Chicago. To say that Connelly's writing style is engaging does the man a disservice. I enjoyed this book so much, that I read it in three short days during commutes and before bed. Connelly's prose is entertaining in the extreme and his UK education shows through with polished yet original phrasing.
I finished it, and lent it to a friend for a while. Now that I have it back, I am reading it again. It is by turns funny, touching and outrageous.
If you or someone you know cared a whit about the US Industrial /goth music scene, this is an absolute must-read. If you are a fan of the road-diary, their are few better than "Concrete, Bulletproof, Invisible and Fried".
I finished it, and lent it to a friend for a while. Now that I have it back, I am reading it again. It is by turns funny, touching and outrageous.
If you or someone you know cared a whit about the US Industrial /goth music scene, this is an absolute must-read. If you are a fan of the road-diary, their are few better than "Concrete, Bulletproof, Invisible and Fried".
February 9, 2014
This book details the entertaining, though not terribly surprising story over the handful of years during which Chris Connelly performed and recorded with various combinations of the Wax Trax!/Ministry/Revolting Cocks/etc. circle (this included what I would consider his better works, such as Murder, Inc. and, later, The Damage Manual). The story is at times hilarious, sometimes horrifying (well, not really, but your grandmother might be horrified), and always just a bit debauched. If you ever enjoyed that era of Chicago-based music and wondered what really went on, this book is worth a read. Don't expect to walk away feeling better for having read it, but it's at least possible you might laugh out loud once or twice.
July 24, 2008
OH MY LORD. Well not only have I been in love with Mr. Connelly for, like, evah, (And yes I do love the solo stuff) his book just blew me away. You may have to pick this up at Quimby's (Chicago people) or through another independent bookstore but run don't walk, as they say. It's a marvelous read about Connelly's time in the Revolting Cocks and Ministry. It gives you everything you want in a Rock Bio; drugs, sex, drugs, and music. Plus, Connelly's style is so engaging and colloquial, you'll feel like he's sitting across from you telling you his stories like some crazy, leathered, 90-year-old. He's great. And so is his book.
September 13, 2010
This is an excellent document of the burgeoning American industrial scene centered mostly on the Chicago Wax Trax! scene as only someone as jaded and sarcastic as Chris Connelly can bring. Stories abound of various drug ingestions, late night studio sessions and inspirational moments (his singing of Rod Stewart's Do You Think I'm Sexy came from the Buffalo Bill character in the Silence of the Lambs film). The writing is as frenetic and vivid as the stories within and his personal journal writing style was a nice break from the dry form that some rock star bios become. Any fans of Ministry, Revolting Cocks, or Pigface should pick this up.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 27, 2010
This book chronicles Life on the road in the 90s with assorted musical drug fiends - nothing is disallowed. Could be the 90s 'Fear and Loathing' but some great music still exists instead of cartoons.
How these people a) functioned, b) survived and c) actually made some music that stands the test of time is beyond me. These guys were so out of it that the sex element is nada.
All In all. It's a great short read
How these people a) functioned, b) survived and c) actually made some music that stands the test of time is beyond me. These guys were so out of it that the sex element is nada.
All In all. It's a great short read
January 26, 2013
I thought this book was overwhelmingly boring. It's not all bad, and I giggled at parts, but it is almost entirely filled with content about getting effed up and effing things up. I might have enjoyed this more in high school and middle school, back when I was actually "into" all of these bands.
And Chris Connelly is a bit of a snob. He spends the first couple chapters basically ripping on every band I like. Boo hoo.
And Chris Connelly is a bit of a snob. He spends the first couple chapters basically ripping on every band I like. Boo hoo.
January 23, 2016
Im not entirely sure what to say about this book. Im a big fan of virtually everything that Chris Connelly has done in his musical career, the parts of which he talks about are the books saving grace. I would have liked to hear more about that and his process as a musican. The tour stories are interesting to, though I could have done without every page in the book going into how many drugs they were doing.
January 12, 2009
If you're a fan of Ministry, Revolting Cocks, or Pigface, you will enjoy this book quite a bit. Chris gives a pretty graphic review of the fun and debauchery that went on with the bands from the Wax Trax label. Be warned though, if you are a big Al Jourgensen fan, you may not look at him the same way again after reading this.
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