Sonic Warrior: My Life as a Rock N Roll Reprobate: Tales of Sex, Drugs, and Vomiting at Inopportune Moments

by Lou Brutus

FEATURING A FOREWORD BY COREY TAYLOR OF SLIPKNOT

For lack of a better term, Lou Brutus is a “Professional Music Fan.” He lives the dream of millions by traveling the Earth attending concerts and interviewing rock stars. He’s spent his life blasting tunes on the radio, becoming the first to play all of your favorite bands, and gaining access to literally thousands of music events. There is no one in the media who has seen more shows or conducted more on-site interviews than Lou.

Sonic Warrior is a collection of insane-but-true stories from the career of Rock Radio legend Lou Brutus. Each chapter is a separate tale that careens around his 40+ years of covering concerts, interviewing music’s biggest stars, and influencing generations of radio listeners. Starting with the first show he attended (Black Sabbath at New York City’s Madison Square Garden in December 1976, where he threw up Boone’s Farm Strawberry Wine all over his older sister’s boyfriend) and continuing to the present day (where he doesn’t puke as much). Stops along the way include Live Aid in Philadelphia (where he threw up on the entire crowd from a helicopter), the Arctic (where he didn’t throw up on anyone but did get in a mosh pit with the native Inuit villagers as Metallica performed a song about sodomizing a goat), Live Earth in London (where he chugged ale with Spinal Tap’s “Stonehenge” dwarfs and almost threw up), and the New Jersey Turnpike (where the tour bus he was traveling in ran over a guy, which is much worse than throwing up). Whether having his life energy drained through the palm of his hand by Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones, watching cocaine get snorted off a stripper’s ass in Pantera’s dressing room, or drooling in his own lap after smoking some kind of mutant mind warp demon weed with Snoop Dogg, Brutus gives a hilariously unvarnished look at the realities of the music industry from his fly-on-the-wall, “I’m just the guy here to interview the band” vantage point. The book also features a Foreword by his friend Corey Taylor, Grammy Award winning singer for Slipknot and Stone Sour, as well as an original illustration for each chapter by artist Alan MacBain.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Memoir

1 pages, Audio CD

Published March 1, 2021

Reviews

[Natalie DiPietro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve know Lou since the mid 90’s when we worked together in Chicago. Hands down he is the best interviewer and story teller on the planet. Can’t believe it took him this long to get this thing printed. Even if you aren’t in the music biz, you’ll love the stories and won’t believe everyone he has met and be envious that he gets paid for doing what he does.
I can’t wait for the sequel because I know he has HUNDREDS of more stories.

[Joe L · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an awesome book of consistently fun and surprising stories from all the greats of rock music over the last few decades. I like the way Lou wrote this because he is a very well established DJ who you would think would get used to rubbing shoulders with famous musicians, but the language used to describe his feelings and the reactions always demonstrate that of a passionate fan. Most of the stories resonated with me because it felt like how I’d be if I met all these musicians. This is well worth a read for anyone who loves music, concerts and especially rockstars! As a side note, I got to see Lou Brutus introduce Stonesour so I was especially happy to see Corey Taylor write the forward to this book.

[Karen G booksandbicycles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I purchased a signed copy of this book so I could have it in my collection and see the artistic renderings at the beginning of each chapter. I listened to the audio book as it was narrated by Lou Brutus himself. He is a phenomenal storyteller! Each story was packed with small details that made you feel like you were right there in the moment. Such a fun book. I hope there are more books to follow!

[Thomas Kelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lou Brutus if you follow Hard Rock or Metal music scene who has been on the Radio side of music for many years and in his own words been the attendee of over 3000 concerts along with a great nationally syndicated program called HardDrive . This program should be like church for those that follow music while most is metal focus he has to talk to many performers in the industry. This book describes various concerts and performers like his hero Hunter S Thompson, Dave Groehl, Stevie Nicks, Rolling Stones and Robert Plant. There are bits of humor in this book. It is a bit sophomoric at times but it is a decent read and another book to give you a little incite to the music industry.

I would rate this book at 3 1/2 stars. I received a ARC from Edelweiss for a fair and honest review.

[Kim Duskey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been listening to Lou since I moved to Charles Town, WV a couple years ago. I’ve always respected him and loved listening to his stories. When I heard he was going to be releasing a book based on just that I preordered it as soon as I could. As time passed I almost forgot I ordered it until it came in the mail, during quarantine. Perfect timing. I devoured it in a couple days and it made me laugh hard and respect him even more. Corey Taylor was right to push him to write and publish and I am grateful for that. I even read it as his voice in my head. This man has truly lived an epic life and I hope he writes another, I will surely be reading it. Highlights for me were every time he spent with Hunter S Thompson, the tour bus and the New Jersey turnpike, and Live Aid. Not to mention I have questions about Keith Richards, Snoop Dogg, and Gene Simmons, just to name a few.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had been waiting months to read this, and Lou did not disappoint. As a die hard music fan, I read each chapter in awe as I wished I could have his job and his experiences. He is truly lucky to have had all of those experiences and we are lucky he shared them with the world. I just hope he writes another book filled with more unbelievable shenanigans because I want to hear more. I want to live vicariously through Lou.

[Luis Cuesta · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway. Broken down to it’s elemental component, "Sonic Warrior" is not even really an autobiography, just a string of stories and anecdotes, about 20 of them. Half of them are about Hard Rock and Metal people/bands/events witnessed by someone like Lou Brutus that has been a life-long, American, mainstream rock radio industry guy.
The book will appeal to music fans that want to know more about the niches populated by the talented musicians that have collectively and effectively made up the soundtracks of their lives.

[Mark Wilcox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lou is an amazing rock DJ and now certified rock historian in my eyes. This book is a collection of his memories that is written in a way that you feel like you're sitting with the man as he recollects his favorite interactions with a great number of artists and fans. If you are a rock music fan, this is a must read, if only for the chapter titles.

[Nick L · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would give it a thousand starts if I could. I have been a long time listener of Lou. To finally have in writing some of his great stories is awesome! I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes rock, Lou, or just a damn good book.

[Cindy Martin Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vignettes instead of a straightforward autobiography, Lou shares his hilarious memories/dreams? of rock and roll decadence and fandom. Poignant stories of his friendships with Frank Zappa and Hunter S. Thompson.

[Joe Orn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful and often funny (sometimes hysterical) behind the scenes look at rock and roll business.

[Sherrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very knowledgeable person on rock and a clever writer. Enjoyed it very much.

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really fun stories if you are a rock and roll fan. Laughed out loud many times. His skills as a wordsmith enhance the storytelling. I listened to audible and his voice added to the experience.

[Heather 'Norheim' Signalness · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend!!! Great read.

[Steve Sabo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting read but I wanted more. Maybe there's going to be a sequel?

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sonic Warrior by Lou Brutus was an enjoyable read that covered first hand experiences with rock bands and made me jealous of the over 3000 concerts he’s been to. I read the 200 and some pages in less than a week which is rare for me. It is a collection of exciting experiences that are sometimes hard to believe. I really liked the chapter where he dressed up as a lobster 🦞 to get beat up by the Aquabats, who I saw play in kc a few years back. The chapter about Keith Richards doing voodoo on him kinda freaked me out. He definitely has an interesting job. Been listening to the Harddrive radio program he does for a few years also.

[Leslie Carnahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful look into a true rock fans life. Fun and funny. If you like rock and metal music - this book is for you. And if you don't know who Lou Brutus is before reading this - shame on you haha