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Sometimes, people are just so creative and full of thoughts that a single outlet for creativity is simply not enough. This does not apply to me. The only instrument I can wail on is the kind that limits you to five plastic buttons for your “notes.” These eight authors, however, like to put down their pens and pick up an axe when they’re feeling particularly saucy. OK, it’s not always an axe. Sometimes it’s a piano, and sometimes they just sing. But any way you slice it, they’re more talented than I.
1. Stephen King. He plays a mean rhythm guitar in an all-writer rock band called the Rock Bottom Remainders. He and some of the other people on this list get together approximately once a year and “tour” in support of various reading and writing charities (Get Caught Reading and the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression among them). They have raised more than $1.5 million for their charities since the motley crew first got together in 1992. It should be noted that King plays a custom black guitar with mother-of-pearl spiders crawling up the neck. Would you expect any less?
2. Dave Barry plays lead guitar and sings in the same band, but don’t let the band’s website fool you (the members of the band like to play up how awful they are) – Barry has some musical background. While attending school at Haverford College, Barry played in a band called Federal Duck.
3. Amy Tan apparently harbors not-so-secret aspirations to become a dominatrix. Or maybe she’s just really into her Rock Bottom singer alter ego, who wears lots of strappy leather, studded collars and carries a whip around on stage. Yes, we are talking about Amy Tan, the author who writes touching drama about Chinese-American mother-daughter duos discovering what makes each other tick. Her signature song is “These Boots Are Made For Walkin.” During the song, of course, she wears knee-high leather boots.
4. Daniel Handler. You might not know the name, but I bet you know his alter ego, Lemony Snicket. Handler is the man behind the morose A Series of Unfortunate Events, but he also provides his considerable talent on the accordion for The Magnetic Fields and The Gothic Archies (I love that name).
5. Mitch Albom. Some of you probably know about Mitch Albom the sportswriter and ESPN personality, and others might be fans of Mitch Albom the novelist, who wrote Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People You Meet in Heaven. But there’s also Mitch Albom the lyricist and musician. He wrote the lyrics for a 1992 made-for-T.V.-movie called Christmas In Connecticut, and he also wrote a song about a hockey player called “Hit Somebody (The Hockey Song)”. Warren Zevon recorded it before his death and both David Crosby and David Letterman contributed vocals to the song. Albom plays keyboards with the Rock Bottom Remainders and sometimes comes out dressed as Elvis during shows.
6. Ricky Gervais is an actor as well as a writer, I know, and I wasn’t including actors because it seems like the actor/singer crossover field is pretty huge and unimpressive. But this one is too good to ignore. In 1982, Ricky and his friend Bill Macrae formed a group called Seona (“Shawna”) Dancing. They released two singles in 1983 before disbanding, and, lucky for us, there’s a video:
7. Greg Iles. If you’re a fan of mysteries, you probably know Greg – he’s responsible for eight best-sellers and the screenplay for Trapped, a 2002 film starring Charlize Theron. But he was also in the band Frankly Scarlet, but quit the music biz when his first novel, Spandau Phoenix got picked up.
8. Barbara Kingsolver. Before The Poisonwood Bible author was typing out stories, she was tickling another kind of keys – the ivory kind. She studied classical piano and even went to DePauw University on a piano scholarship. She changed her mind somewhere along the line, though, and ended up majoring in biology. But she put her keyboard skills to good work for a couple of years when she played for the Rock Bottom Remainders. When she stepped out in 1994, Mitch Albom was there to take her place.
Know of anyone I missed? Share them in the comments!
Comments (28)
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Many science fiction and fantasy authors are also musicians. Michael P. Kube-McDowell, Mercedes Lackey, Spider Robinson, Charles de Lint, Robin Wayne Bailey…
posted by Steven on 8-24-2009 at 4:00 pm
Yep, Spider jammed with the best.
Check http://www.spiderrobinson.com and if you can make it to the area in time, attend the benefit concert. (See http://www.spiderrobinson.com for link and details.)
posted by Jens (the other one) on 8-24-2009 at 4:16 pm
I think if Ricky Gervais counts, then you have to include Steve Martin on the list. He’s written several plays and two novellas, including Shopgirl, which became a movie. He’s also an accomplished banjo player and recently released an album of original banjo tunes.
posted by Ben on 8-24-2009 at 4:19 pm
Joe Perniece: novel, ‘It Only Hurts When I Stop’
Bill Janovitz: essay/appreciation, ‘The Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main St.’
Chris Campion: memoir, ‘Escape from Bellevue, a Dive Bar Odyssey’
Eric Burdon: memoir, ‘Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood’
Lemmy Kilmeister: autobiography, ‘White Line Fever’
posted by Boston Dave on 8-24-2009 at 4:22 pm
How about 8 musician-authors? Joe Pernice, Willy Vlautin, Nick Cave, Warren Zanes, Bill Janovitz, Rhett Miller, Dean Wareham, Juliana Hatfield?
posted by Snarky on 8-24-2009 at 4:25 pm
I misspelled Pernice. Another great memoir of the most literary kind is ‘I, Shithead’ by Joey Shithead of D.O.A..
posted by Boston Dave on 8-24-2009 at 4:28 pm
I just finished reading The Umbrella Academy by Gerard Way of the band My Chemical Romance. It’s a fantastic comic book series! I know the list is for writers who are also musicians but I think a musician who’s also a writer should count too.
posted by Kristy on 8-24-2009 at 4:29 pm
and I got Joe’s title wrong.
‘It Feels So Good When I Stop’ is the title of the new novel by Joe Pernice of The Pernice Brothers.
posted by Boston Dave on 8-24-2009 at 4:31 pm
Chip Kidd, book cover designer, author of _The Cheesemonkeys_ and _The Learners_ has a band called “Artbreak.”
posted by Seattle Christina on 8-24-2009 at 4:48 pm
Wesley Stace, aka John Wesley Harding
posted by vcinbc on 8-24-2009 at 4:53 pm
If I’m not mistaken, Ken Follett plays – maybe bass – in a band with his son.
posted by Jim on 8-24-2009 at 4:57 pm
Al Burian, if you count him.
Writer of the well known zines “Burn Collector” and “Things Are Meaningless”. He also wrote as a columnist at Punk Planet magazine before the Independent Press Association collapsed and sealed its fate. He’s written for other places as well. His zines are available through Microcosm Publishing and AK Press. For a while he was active with a sort of alternative newspaper of sorts called MediaReader.
Musically best known for his bands Milemarker (Lovitt Records and Jade Tree Records) and Challenger (Jade Tree Records). He has been associated with some other acts. The guy is kind of an underground music/writing icon for many.
However, if you count count Al, you might have to count the several hundred punk rockers that through the years have also produce self-pressed zines.
Al is a bit transient and elusive. I think he currently lives in Chapel Hill, NC, but it is hard to say.
posted by Patrick Western on 8-24-2009 at 5:10 pm
Greg Iles also plays with Stephen King in the Rock Bottom Remainders.
posted by David on 8-24-2009 at 5:13 pm
wow. this is a really short list. so many you left out. one is, Brandon Boyd.
posted by Charles on 8-24-2009 at 6:04 pm
Jimmy Buffett
posted by Morgan Day on 8-24-2009 at 6:37 pm
Graham Parker has written a couple of works of fiction, including _Carp_Fishing_On_Valium_.
posted by Jon. on 8-24-2009 at 6:49 pm
shel silverstein, come on you just did a thing about him like two weeks ago.
posted by Charles on 8-24-2009 at 7:28 pm
Neil Peart, esteemed drummer/lyricist of Rush, has four published works. One (”The Masked Rider”) is a tale of bicycling through West Africa, one (”Ghost Rider”) is about healing after the deaths of his wife and daughter, one (”Traveling Music”) is about music, and one (”Roadshow”) is about touring…all are excellent, especially “Ghost Rider.”
posted by Patti on 8-24-2009 at 7:35 pm
Moorcock! He played with Hawkwind and has written plenty of scifi.
posted by Rev. Foley on 8-24-2009 at 9:35 pm
Gary Larson (cartoonist – “The Far Side”) is also a jazz guitarist.
posted by Chris on 8-24-2009 at 9:58 pm
Art Garfunkel wrote a lot of poetry, and even quoted it when he did a concert with the Indianapolis Symphony.
posted by Kylie on 8-24-2009 at 10:30 pm
I believe John Lennon was as well. A Spaniard in the works is still one of my favorites.
posted by Jill...NOT Jillian on 8-25-2009 at 1:14 am
Can’t BELIEVE you didn’t include Kinky Friedman, noted for his series of novels featuring a fictionalized version of himself as a New York City private detective, his 4th place finish in the 2006 Texas gubernatorial race (slogans included “Kinky for Governor. Why the hell not?” and “Kinky for Governor. How hard can it be?”), and most delightfully, his stellar performances as lead singer of Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys, which is, yes, a country/western band. Both the books and the albums are well worth checking out. And I don’t even like country music *or* detective novels.
posted by ac on 8-25-2009 at 3:55 am
Stephen King is great!!! I don’t like rock music but he is really cool! :)
posted by andrew405 on 8-25-2009 at 5:30 am
Don’t leave out Henry Rollins, who’s written quite a few books.
posted by Jason M on 8-25-2009 at 9:13 am
Mitch Albom wasn’t the only person out of his element on “Christmas In Connecticut.” It was the directorial debut of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
posted by Jim on 8-25-2009 at 9:38 am
Greg Kihn (of the Greg Kihn Band, famous for their song “Jeopardy”) has written books, too, so if you’re going the musician-actor direction, there’s one for the list.
posted by Krie on 8-25-2009 at 1:52 pm
Oops, I meant musician-author, not actor!
posted by Krie on 8-25-2009 at 1:53 pm