TOXIC SHOCK Assassin of Mediocrity A Story of Love, Loss, and Loud Music Book

In homage to my late wife and partner, these are my memoirs, newly revised and expanded. Earth Island Books in the UK has printed a second edition of my first book, Toxic Shock Records-Assassin of Mediocrity- A Story of Love, Loss and Loud Music. This richly illustrated tome is now a 6 x 9 inch, 338-page, full-color work. Pictures that were originally postage stamp size now comprise half or full pages from brand new scans by graphic designer Welly Artcore. Includes 40 unpublished photos not seen in the first edition! Rare flyers, album covers, highlights from the 2024 Books n Broccoli Book tour, as well as complete photo sets from all sorts of early gigs I attended in the 80's, at places like the Whisky, Olympic, the PAL boxing studio, the Eastern Front Fest, the Desolation Center and several tour diaries from Raw Power US. New photo contributions from the likes of Edward Colver, Ben DeSoto, and Bob Durkee. Revised cover and artwork from Brian Walsby, Pushead, Vince Ransid, Jim Blanchard, and more.

Chronicles the history of the punk record store/mail order business and groundbreaking record label Toxic Shock from its early days in 1980 in the grimy suburbs of Pomona, California, and a brief sojourn to New Orleans to its demise after 23 years in Tucson in 2014. Through a combination of a very personal biography, oral history, and extensive visuals, the book covers the many twists and turns that made Toxic Shock an often misunderstood punk rock institution. It details how the death rock band Christian Death inspired the co-owners to start the record label and how it survived without selling releases to major labels. Graphic artists such as Pushead, Vince Rancid, and Jim Blanchard provided their artwork to document the record label's releases and mail order catalogs. It covers collaborations with the bands Decry, Zero Boys, Skinner Box, Corrosion of Conformity, Dayglo Abortions, The Hickoids, th'Inbred, Skin Yard, Sloppy Seconds, Treepeople, and more! Includes tour diaries with the Italian band Raw Power. It features cover artwork and several illustrations by graphic artist Brian Walsby as well as some previously unpublished photos by the legendary Ed Colver. The book details the ups and downs of operating a completely independent record store for three decades and provides extensive oral histories from former employees and musicians from the Toxic Shock roster, including Decry, Modern Industry, Manson Youth, Massacre Guys, Human Therapy, Raw Power, Peace Corpse, Pillsbury Hardcore, Hullabaloo, House of Large Sizes, and more!