Everything Is Combustible: Television, CBGB's and Five Decades of Rock and Roll: The Memoirs of an Alchemical Guitarist

by Richard Lloyd

Legendary Rock and Roll guitarist. Founding member of Television. Masterful storyteller. Written in Lloyd's inimitable, frequently humorous style, Everything is Combustible chronicles, through vignettes, Lloyd's colorful early life, starting in Pittsburgh and soon moving to New York City, and then details his teenage travels and encounters with music legends including Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy and Keith Moon.  Lloyd recounts the founding of Television, the band's rise alongside other bands and personalities in the 1970’s New York Music scene, and the legend-making of the unparalleled music venue CBGB.  As the rock ‘n’ roll tales unfold, he accompanies them with insights into his approach to music and the electric guitar. Lloyd’s mid-career vignettes detail his solo years, including the backstory of critically praised records such as Alchemy and Field of Fire, his drug addiction and recovery, his 90s-era work, and touring adventures with artists such as Matthew Sweet, John Doe, and Robert Quine. Throughout the book is an undercurrent—Lloyd’s continually evolving spiritual-philosophical approach to life, emerging from the conscious digestion of the highs and the lows—both ends of the same stick. In Everything is Combustible, Richard Lloyd relates his life, both inner and outer, in the narrative style, digging beneath the events and revealing their meanings. Everything is Combustible is a must-have for any fan of Television and the heyday of the New York rock music scene. It fills a void in the written record as the first complete account of the band, including the making of their records and touring, from a founding member of the band. Considered a foundational band of alternative rock, Television’s debut record, Marquee Moon, is widely viewed by critics and musicians as one of the greatest albums ever recorded.   As one half of Television’s unique guitar sound, and a legendary solo artist in his own right, Richard Lloyd’s music has influenced a range of bands and artists from U2, Johnny Marr and Joy Division to R.E.M., Sonic Youth, Wilco and John Frusciante.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir

396 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 9, 2018

About the author

Richard Lloyd is a writer and researcher with a focus on Italian art and architecture.

Reviews

[Tosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

The band Television means a lot to me. Even before I heard a note of their music, they had great importance to me. I saw a photo of the band when Richard Hell was in it, and I was intrigued by their visuals. I liked the haircuts and their clothing. It was no frills and all attitude. I must have been around 18 or 19 when Television hit my consciousness. Not long after, but for sure after Hell left the band, I purchased their single on Ork Records, Little Johnny Jewel" at my local punk rock record store, Bomp Records in the Valley. I heard a sound that matched their vision. To this day, and we're talking 40 years later, Television is still a mystery to me.

I have read a lot of books regarding the New York music explosion of the 1970s, including "Please Kill Me" (an excellent book) and various memoirs by musicians of that period (all of them are pretty good). Still, what is Television? And on top of that, who is Tom Verlaine" Richard Lloyd who was one of the remarkable and fascinating characters that came out of the "Please Kill Me" book and even more important, a brilliant guitarist in Television. Verlaine and Lloyd were the bookends, and Billy Ficca (drums) and Fred Smith roamed between those two. Verlaine was and is the primary composer for Television (Hell, when he was in the band, shared songwriting duties, and is brilliant), but that group is constructed like a piece of architecture. Lloyd was part of the building blocks to build this magnificent sound that is Television.

"Everything Is Combustible" is a remarkable memoir, due that Lloyd is a good prose writer and a fascinating guy. Very straightforward, yet metaphysical in his approach to his life, and even with his addictions. He has a mind like a scientist, who wants to analyze the things and people in front of him or in his sights. One of my favorite parts of the book is when Lloyd tries to look at his drug addiction clearly and showed frustration when a medical doctor tries to get him to a 12 step program. At the time, Lloyd wasn't interested in quitting drugs; he just wanted to know in detail the nature of addiction and how it affects the brain/body. In such fashion, he reminds me of William S. Burroughs. To investigate the 'unknown' and somehow try to make it more 'known.'

Lloyd writes his memoir as if it's an original science paper. When he attaches to something, he doesn't let go, until Lloyd masters whatever he desires. His guitar obsession is singular and it's his devotion to the instrument that made him such a remarkable musician. He's egotistical in a sense he knows what he can do, yet his appreciation of other artists are quite open and in its way, a strong focus on him as well. He casually knew Jimi Hendrix as a teenager. I gather he wanted to know what made him such an iconic and fantastic musician. He doesn't look at Hendrix as a fanboy but like a scientist studying in a laboratory. For the mystery part, that is still a mystery to me. The reader gets facts regarding the inner-workings of Television, but what made Tom Verlaine be such an odd fellow? Richard Hell in his memoir wrote about Verlaine, and they were great friends, yet, I didn't feel Hell could penetrate the mystery that's Tom Verlaine. Lloyd doesn't get any closer to Verlaine's character, but you do get great stories about him not using luggage, but laundry or store bags to keep his clothing. The fact is Verlaine is a very strange being and somewhat guarded. One gathers he is a control freak and wants to be in control of Television, but what was it in his background that turn him out that way? Lloyd doesn't answer that question, nor do other memoirists/music historians.

"Everything Is Combustible" is a must-read for those who are fascinated with the CBGB's New York rock world. For whatever reason, or what was breathed in that Manhattan air, concerning that generation of musicians, they left a lot of great literature for us to read (and music too) and for us fans to comment on. Lloyd's book is pretty wonderful in that sense. Superb read.

[Bob Schnell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the band Television but was never a huge fan. However, I'm a sucker for a musician autobiography that takes place mainly in NYC during the gritty years. Richard Lloyd experienced the grittiest parts of the city in the 1970s and 80s, feeding his addictions while still maintaining his cred as an excellent guitarist and cult rock-n-roll star. From the pre-CBGBs days to the reunion of his band Television, we get a good look in "Everything Is Combustible." Richard Lloyd has had more drugs than I've had hot dinners and been present for more iconic R&R moments than anyone deserves.

The rock-n-roll shenanigans are epic enough to recommend the book. Richard's spiritual quest and sexual braggadocio, however, may be a bit much for some readers. His claim of being "born old" resonated with me because I know other people who fit the bill, but many of his out-of-body experiences poked my skepticism. Like his sexual prowess, I felt that perhaps he is gilding the lily. His philosophy of "the WISH" is a bit too close to "The Secret." Many "wishes" will come true if you work hard enough to make them happen. That is just what he did to fulfill his wish to become a well-regarded rock guitarist. This whole aspect of the book left me cold. Others who are more interested in meditation and mysticism will be more forgiving.

[Marti · Rating 3 out of 5]

This might be one of the weirder rock bios out there because Lloyd seems to be a bipolar, manic depressive, with a photographic memory, and an unshakable belief that he is either some sort of extraterrestrial trapped in human form, or at least someone who remembers living a previous life (because he claims to remember his confusion over where he was on the day he was born). Therefore we get a lot of musings on his philosophy of life as sort of an "anthropologist" observing the lives of selfish, petty, humans.

Although he did not get hooked on heroin until much later, being bipolar and into drugs landed him briefly in Creedmore -- and later Greystone -- which he views as a badge of honor because he got to see what these institutions were like before the reforms that made such places less draconian.

Fans of Television will not find out too much about the band. After their first album, they failed to capitalize on that success. It seems they always ended up with the wrong producer, or the wrong management. It's clear that Lloyd himself was frustrated with the way Tom Verlaine would always say no to everything, which resulted in only three albums in 15 years.

All of this stuff was fairly interesting, but I am not what you would call a fanatic. On first listen, I found Television's music to be a little inaccessible (since I was I was 15 and collecting '60's music during the CBGBs heyday). It was only much later, after I heard "See No Evil" again, that I realized I needed to give them another listen.

[㋛ ㋡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

i'm not a prude, but, lord, i don't wanna read horny rockstar takes anymore (also looking at Remain in Love: Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Tina)

[Jason Das · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reminicenses from the arrogant and disorganized mind of a profoundly prickly and petty mystic. Lloyd thinks he’s got it all figured out but repeatedly reveals himself to be extraordinarily narrow-minded. I’m not sure if he’s a total asshole or a decent person with no filter. At least he knows what he likes; points for honesty, I guess.

Why did I bother? I am interested in 1960s urban public schools, Velvert Turner, Jimi Hendrix, Marquee Moon, Keith Richards, CBGBs, etc. A lot of the stories here are pretty good, and Lloyd's sense of self-importance and magical powers is ridiculous enough to be entertaining. (Up to a point; I gave up on the spiritualist “wish” appendix.)

Surprisingly little content about music, sound, or guitar playing. I bet he's got stuff to say on that topic that I'd like to read.

The book doesn't seem to have been edited in any meaningful way. Jumbled chronology and the storytelling style/scope slips and slides all over the place. It says a lot that this was published by a Gurdjieff house rather than a music or literature publisher.

[patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sex, Drugs & Rock n Roll (with a side of pretentiousness.)

[Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Are you a fan of the elusive and legendary band Television? If so, get this because Richard played guitar in it and provides many anecdotes about the band, the early CBGB's scene and his interactions with Hendrix, Keith Richards, Led Zep. Like most rock band memoirs, somebody involved has to be a jerk (milder word choice for the reader in mind). In this case it's Tom Verlaine. Whenever I read these kind of books, I often wish I hadn't so that my memory and appreciation of the music is tempered w/ side mouse stories. Fortunately Richard's engaging and slightly loopy prose only adds to the groups mystery and makes me wonder what a Tom Verlaine memoir would read like. Certainly crazier than this…
There's a few interesting sections about dealing with his drug and alcohol addiction and how he overcame these through will power and it seems he was able to get out of his own body in order to change his life. Richard seems to be extremely intelligent, and I admit that I skimmed through the mystical stuff. I worked at Geffen Records when the "Meet John Doe" album was issued so the stories around touring in John's band are amusing. Conspicuous in its absence is mention of his "Connection" Get Off My Cloud" single which came out when a bunch of NYC bands were doing Stones covers. It isn't in his discography either. The most unusual anecdote in the book is personal-
we had a mutual female friend that I've long lost touch with. I think she is the woman that Keith Richards knocked down at his home when he caught her recording him in secret. Small world.

[Daniel Clifford · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting stories but they’re not told with any meaningful structure and he spends an awful lot of time telling us what a gentle sweet man he is, despite the abundance of his own tales that paint him as anything but (I’m referring to the way he speaks and relates to others rather than anything to do with addiction). The appendices and back-up material worked to undo any of the charms of the main text.

[David Streb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to this book I learned what a Catherine’s Wheel was. Also, I learned more about Anita Pallenburg. And what about Jim Kweskin being mobbed up? I was shocked I tells ya!

I was about the same age and had many of the same interests growing up. He stuck with the guitar. I didn’t. And he happened to grow up in Greenwich Village and talked his way into clubs. I lacked his chutzpah.

Fun book! I wonder what he’s like in person.

[Puma Perl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could have used a lot of editing. But the writer's view of himself is clearly that he is much more of a genius than anyone else in the world so doubt that he would accept many suggestions. He clearly is a genius but for good or evil is the question.

[James Horn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lloyd’s conversational memoir chugs right along in a rapid fire pace much like his spidery guitar lines in his most famous work Television’s Marquee Moon. Never bogged down by detail. This book reads like having a few with him at a bar. There are some excellent anecdotes worth reading this for as well as some interesting takes on his personal philosophy. If you’re a fan it’s enjoyable and certainly worth a read but may not be as necessary to those without even a passing interest.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Right from the get-go, it's obvious that Richard Lloyd is tuned to a completely different wavelength than the rest of us. He opens his memoirs with a short passage about how boring he finds memoirs, then plows straight through a nutty series of memories concerning his own birth, a conscious decision to act like an infant because that's just what everybody expected at the time and an out-of-body experience before his first birthday. Things somehow get loopier from there. It all sounds totally outrageous, of course, but he writes with such conviction and charismatic magnetism that it's tough to discern fact from fiction. Assuming, of course, it's not all just one or the other. The same goes for Lloyd's vast, colorful connections throughout the New York art rock scene during the transformative 60s, 70s and early 80s. Did he really take a punch from Jimi Hendrix in a club at 4am? Score backstage lessons from Jimmy Page's guitar tech? Introduce Bob Marley's bass player to marijuana? Personally approve lineups for the earliest shows at CBGBs? In Richard's perennially hazy, yet oddly sharp voice, anything seems possible. Even if they're all fables and half-truths, the stories are fascinating in their absurdity, the author irresistibly alien to the very fiber of his being. What an endearingly odd dude.

[Cherie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The good news is that this book did NOT have a ghost writer. The bad news is that it didn't appear to have an editor either. The chapters are between 2 and 8 pages. The stories all had the potential to be interesting and NONE of them were. Everything was cut off before anything interesting was said or incoherent. If you want to know about Television or Richard Lloyd's solo work, this is probably not the book to read. If you want to know about his drug use in the style of someone who did way too many drugs, well, this is totally the book for you, with some new age spiritual blathering mixed in for "good" measure. At least it was a fast read.

[Nick Spacek · Rating 3 out of 5]

all over the place, but definitely running the gamut from dry to detailed, charming to caddish, and everything in between. it's certainly a wonderful read, but lloyd's tone gets a little wearisome after a time. best consumed in small chunks, it's an entertaining bedside tome that i most enjoyed here and there, rather than when tackled as a lengthy narrative.

given the book's tendency to skip around in time -- although mostly linear -- there's areally no need to approach in one fell swoop. pairing it with something a little less out-there tempers lloyd's sense of himself.

[Raymond Rusinak · Rating 2 out of 5]

An enjoyable enough book. Richard definitely has a pleasant and entertaining writing style. My issue with this book was its credibility, especially stories about his younger years. His having detailed memories of things that happened to him when he was 2 years old left me with a disbelieving attitude for the rest of the book.

[Cheleboy · Rating 3 out of 5]

No es la gran novela americana, de hecho, ni siquiera es una novela, pero vale lo suyo como colección de anécdotas locas, muchas delirantes y otras tristemente lacerantes.
Hace años leí “Punk rock blitzkrieg”, las memorias de Marky Ramone, así que para completar la “trilogía del CBGB” solo me falta que alguna editorial se digne a publicar “Face it” (Debbie Harry, 2019).

[Ray Smillie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not your average rock autobiography but, then again, Richard Lloyd is not your standard guitarist and Television were far from ordinary. Tom Verlaine does not come across well in his memoirs. I believe that Lloyd has got a memory which provides vivid and instant recall of events in his life, including from a very young age. I also have strong preschool memories.

[Mark Mellon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Richard Lloyd’s most notable accomplishment was being one of the dual guitars in Television, arguably the first band to break big from the Noo Yawk Punk Rock scene in the mid ’70’s. I still think the two Television albums are really excellent guitar rock. Lloyd was indeed pivotal enough to help build the stage at CBGB where Television and many other, now storied acts like the Ramones and the Dead Boys headlined.

This is also the primary justification for his autobiography, a rather overlong and rambling work that reads like other Boomer accounts of youth misspent through interludes of substance abuse and mental illness. Speed, by William Burroughs, Jr., old Bill Lee’s tragic son, is a notable early example of the subgenre, the Boomer junkie confessional. Lloyd had mental incidents from an early age and details a number of stints in one bin or another. Add to that his predilection for getting mind numbingly screwed up by any means necessary and you can see that he was a parents and teachers’ delight. Like many Boomers (raising my hand while I write this), Lloyd was excessively devoted to music and spent much time going (or trying to go) to shows in New York during the late ’60’s and early ’70’s and also learning the guitar. This was the most interesting part of the book for me, particularly when Lloyd discusses his experiences with Valvert, an oddball black kid from Harlem who actually did turn out to be super tight with Jimi Hendrix just like he claimed.

Most of the book is devoted to Lloyd’s history with Television. This ground was already covered to some extent in Richard Hell’s autobio that I’ve previously reviewed. Lloyd really didn’t add much, other than to corroborate that he doesn’t like Tom Verlaine either and for the same reason, namely Verlaine’s tendency to draw completely into himself. He also isn’t a big of fan of Hell, for reasons that I can understand. Like Hell’s autobio, Lloyd focuses on the protracted rounds of heavy drinking, hard drug abuse, and polyamorous sex he enjoyed back in the day, even getting so far into the weeds as to dispute Hell’s particular account about who did it to whom. For Pete’s sakes, guys! Will any of this really matter when we’re all dead in our graves?

This is probably my main problem with the book. Just as repeated experiences with hard drugs steadily wear off the edge and excitement, leaving only a dull, stupefied blur where individual events become difficult if not impossible to recall, Lloyd’s account of endless drinking and drug abuse is similar to a lot of other wastrel Boomer musician/celebrities’ bios to the point where much of the book wasn’t very memorable or interesting, particularly when Lloyd gets to his post-Television years. Lloyd’s distinct heavier-than-thou tone doesn’t help either. A self described “old soul,” Lloyd frequently takes a dismissive tone toward common human behaviors like mourning, pretty much saying “What fools these mortals be.” Coming from an admitted (recovering) drug addict and ex-mental patient, this is more than a little rich.

I recommend this book specifically to Television fans and generally to anyone interested in the ’70’s Noo Yawk Punk Rock scene on the Lower East Side.

[Catriel Fierro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy, muy bueno. Como dice Tweedy en la contraportada (o como se llame), el género de memorias parece hecho a medida de Lloyd. Con un estilo muy fluido, tomando viñetas pequeñas concatenadas, yendo y viniendo en el tiempo, Lloyd describe en partes iguales sus vivencias y su cosmovisión del mundo. Coherente con su idea de que nació como un alma vieja que acumuló sufrimiento, Lloyd describe su paso por manicomios, internados, desintoxicaciones, hospitales, así como por shows, teatros y ciudades. El exceso de drogas y sexo, si le creemos al narrador, lo ubican allá arriba con Keith Richards y Jimi Hendrix. Pero detrás del relato (o más bien frente a él) vemos a una persona muy sensible, incluso aniñada, hambrienta de todo tipo de experiencias sensibles.

Alabo la franqueza y la transparencia del relato. Nunca podemos tomar estas obras al pie de la letra pero Lloyd se muestra coherente al momento de desinflar su fama, ser franco con sus aspiraciones, y confesar actos y situaciones que otro artista ni siquiera bajaría a papel. Especialmente ilustrativas son sus experiencias en Nueva York pre-Television, su apreciación de Tom Verlaine, y su estilo trotamundos en los '70 y '80. Y especialmente tristes son sus luchas contra una enfermedad mental que en ocasiones es minimizada y en otras es lisa y llanamente calificada por Lloyd como psicosis y bipolaridad.

Un gran libro para entender mejor el ambiente cultural frenético de la música estadounidense en los 60 y 70 a través de un prisma sencillo y realista pero no por eso menos subjetivo y humano.

[greggo · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is worth reading for the impossible procession of unlikely scenarios that the guy recounts finding himself in. i’ve always been a little wary of richard lloyd, by virtue of the fact that he’s not tom verlaine. he always seemed like the discount television guitar player, to be caustically reductive about it. he didn’t improvise, he wasn’t invited to the most recent reunions, he’s got a long and sordid history of besotted fabulism. all of these things make reading the book a FASCINATING experience, an endless parade of ‘holy shit if this happened this guy is the most interesting person who ever lived.’ i won’t go into specifics but the sheer amount of backstages and crucial events he claims to have been is worth picking up the book alone. he’s an interesting, sense bound author in a way that i find a lot of memoirists are not. he chooses good words and metaphors and he is clearly an extremely smart guy with a lot of interesting knowledge and experience. however, he is also probably a shade or two closer to insane than most. reading this book made me feel like a part of my brain had a fever, like i was drinking from some pool of silvery madness that i had to be careful of. also, i know that a majority of the people who read memoirs by guitar players are there for the stories, but i still read these things hoping for one that talks about method, tools, and mentality. maybe i need to write that. i don’t know. i didn’t think i’d like this book, and i don’t really know why i bought it, but i liked it and i’m glad i did.

[John Spiller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Richard Lloyd tells his life story through a series of vignettes, including encounters with Hendrix, Keith Moon,Buddy Guy, and Keith Richards. He also shares stories about his shared past with other interesting folks like Velvert Turner and Al Anderson (Bob Marley & The Wailers). The stories are entertaining -- and very odd. If you believe one of the vignettes of his pre-school days, Lloyd could meditate and feel his consciousness leaving his body. Even as a pre-schooler, he sensed a danger to this because his body might "slam shut" leaving his consciousness on the outside. Whatever.

For the most part, Lloyd sticks with the stories that will be of interest to the target audience -- brushes with musical giants, the rise of CBGB's, making of Marquee Moon, etc. He has lived an interesting and consequential life, and it is somewhat amazing he is still alive. His command of detail in some of these stories is impressive. If there is a drawback, it would be the section of "outtakes" that were much more esoteric and hard to follow and should have been excluded altogther.

[Anders · Rating 4 out of 5]

That Richard Lloyd is a fantastic storyteller with a great sense of humor comes as no surprise. Neither that he has a lot of hilarious story’s to tell. But that he actually also manages the craft of also telling them in writing so well was good news to me. It was inspiring to read his passionate writing about guitar playing, music, musicians, the era and more. The book also gave insights to painful pieces of his life that I had not really understood the extent and depth of. There was a surprising low level self aggrandizement - at least in relation to what I had feared, since auto biographies in most cases are burdened by that. I could have done without the introductory chapters from the childhood that where not as thoroughly worked through as the others. Personally I could also have done without the reports from world championships of fucking. But all in all I really recommend this book to all people with a general interest in rock history and especially to those with a particular interest in the punk and new wave era where this gives you unique stories from the inside better than most (all?) other pieces I have read on the subject.

[Luiz Spíndola]

I really enjoyed this. It's not an autobiography, it's a memoir. If you're not interested in Television and the 70's NYC music scene, this might not be for you.

Because I'm a fan of both Richard and Television, this one was very cool to read. It was nice to get a glimpse of what goes on inside Richard's crazy mind. He's a pretty good storyteller as well, when he's not telling you something just to contradict himself a few pages later.

An example? More than once he writes about how money is not everything, and how it shouldn't have any meaning etc... Then he goes on rambling about how Tom Verlaine tried to take control of everything, passing on opportunities that could make them rich and famous.

Like I said, you gotta be a fan to fully enjoy this one!

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read. Great artist. Reads like the TV series the Deuce. Lloyd could have been a great New York porn star, but became one of America's greatest ever rock guitarists, taught guitar indirectly by Jimi Hendrix, but that's another story!

Interesting life he had, had quite a few mental illnesses, but lived a real 'rock star' life in New York city. He doesn't really give much thrift to his drug addiction, and seems to have dodged a bullet when most of his contemporaries have died from drug-related cancers ie Hep C.

But all-in-all he really captures that brief, magical period of New York punk rock and freewheeling lifestyle quite well, if you are into that sort of stuff, like I am, it's a great read!

[Gerry LaFemina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like many (most?) rock n roll memoirs, Lloyd's book has some moments of "oh, please" self-agrandizement, but there's a real mind at work here, one with a quirky world view, a spiritual self, and a story to tell. I wish, sometimes, there were more details about the music, about the how and why of his guitar sound, etc, and sometimes I wish the timeline were clearer (we jump back from time to time, and sometimes there seem to be inconsistencies). That said, the writing is quite fine, something I can't say about many such memoirs.

[indah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Experience. No matter how disoriented your path seemed to be, or at least in the eye of the observer, keep going for you have carried a lodestone with you, that is a true wish. That's all that Richard wanted to say. There is nothing new to say, but this is such a fun reading and I am a big fan of Television.

Personally, this is one among the books that inspired to go out more, stay curious, humble, and live the life to the fullest. Probably strange to say, but I got the similar feeling whenever I read Feynman's.

[Pranger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let's get this out of the way: Richard Lloyd is weird af. Which makes this a fine memoir. Definitely not yr run of the mill, though it still follows a (infuriating) chronological course. Choice nugget #1: Richard Hell wanted him to change his name as you can't have two Richards in one band. Response: eff off. Choice nugget #2: Jimi Hendrix hit him in the face and then, weeping, apologized. I don't even care if that's an apocryphal tale--it entertaining. Plenty more for fans of Television. Pretty durn good.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This memoir delves into the the life of Richard Lloyd from birth, through his time with Television, and his solo career. Like most music memoirs one is impressed with his singular devotion to playing the guitar. What separates this from others is his photographic memory and his search for the meaning of everyday life. His relationship with Tom Verlaine is explained in detail and gives us insight into this brilliant but short lived band.

[Philk81 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had to really just skim this after a while. How did he get from growing up in Pittsburg to being a teen in Manhattan? Might have missed that.
Although I appreciated Lloyd's recorded work and esteemed place in rock history - especially for the rightfully acclaimed Television albums, this was kind of underwhelming.
Admittedly conversational in style - just not that interesting to me after all.
He takes credit for the 3 level stage design of CBGB though.

[Floss · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Audiobook review)

Let's see:

- read by the author himself
- tons of information about the major eras of his career
- lots of sex and drugs
- massive insight into being a human being and an artist
- he might be insane

Super enjoyable hearing him tell the tale of his sometimes wild & crazy life. He's far out, but certainly one of the best living and under-appreciated guitar players.