Merch Table Blues: A Novel

by Peter Conners

The debut rock-n-roll novel from Peter Conners, bestselling author of Grateful Dead histories   

When Virgil Frey gets an unexpected phone call from his childhood buddy, guitarist Richard Payne Knight, urging him to join his band Laverna as a roadie running the merch table on a small club tour through New York state, he decides to go for it. Virgil’s current situation attending a graduate school creative writing program is falling flat, and he’s hoping this new adventure will spark some kind of creative inspiration. 

While on tour, Virgil discovers Laverna’s growing popularity involves a cult-like following that just might be a real cult, unexpected hook-ups and odd disappearances, and band members developing questionable habits. Can old friendships survive tour chaos? Will the band get signed? Does Virgil find the inspiring experiences he seeks? Merch Table Blues is an often humorous rock band tour mystery exploring vital ideas about loyalty and friendship that will keep readers on edge till the last encore is played.

262 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 3, 2022

About the author

In the mid-80s, Peter Conners submerged into a life of writing, music, and exploration, and he hasn’t looked back since. He has published nine books of nonfiction, fiction, and poetry, and edited dozens of volumes of poetry and prose. His nonfiction books – Cornell ‘77, Growing Up Dead, JAMerica, and White Hand Society — have garnered him a reputation as a leading chronicler of the Grateful Dead, jam band, and countercultural community.

Conners regularly gives readings and lectures at universities, conferences, bookstores, art galleries, and on panels related to music, counterculture, poetry, fiction, and editing. His books have received reviews in such places as Rolling Stone, Vice, Library Journal, Penthouse, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, The Onion, and the New York Post. The San Francisco Chronicle noted that “Conners writes like a poet and researches like a scholar,” and NPR Books likened his writing to “…the way music sounds when your surrender has no limit.”

Reviews

[Deena Lipomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Virgil is a struggling MFA student when his troubled childhood friend Richard asks him to be his band Laverna's roadie on their small concert tour. But as the sex and drugs become stranger than the rock-and-roll, they all still pale in comparison to the band's zombie-like followers and their leader until Virgil isn't sure who or what is involved. This literary 90s indie band tour story with shout-outs to western New York venues has a dark, creepy vibe that keeps the reader turning pages. The words are lyrical despite the demise of everyone surrounding Virgil and their uncertainty. The characters are what make the book and will either make readers want to join a band tour or say never in my life.