| Title | : | Blow the Man Down: How I Navigated the Sailboats and Station Wagons of the Music Business |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 189 |
| Publication | : | Published December 10, 2019 |
As an even ganglier teenager, Johnson discovered music. Then, girls. These epiphanies would lead to an adventure even Johnson’s wild imagination couldn’t have predicted.
Follow along as Johnson navigates a heart-pounding and often hilarious odyssey through the 1980s and ‘90s music industry as a songwriter and club musician, both in fickle Nashville and the mysterious Caribbean island of ill repute, St. Croix. Johnson reveals both the seductions and the hard truths of life in the world of entertainment.
Blow the Man Down: How I Navigated the Sailboats and Station Wagons of the Music Business Reviews
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"Blow the Man Down," by Mark E. Johnson, is about a country boy who went through adolescence wanting to connect with girls in his high school. It's a story of what happens when this country boy learns to play the guitar and begins the rounds of playing in front of people back when groups like The Eagles, Dan Fogelberg, and Jimmy Buffett were churning out the hits. Mark left his family's Christmas tree farm in northwest North Carolina in the 1970s, looking for adventure and possibly fame.
The back story of his life on the road is one that most musicians seem to go through but in Mark's case, the road came to a stop after several years. Performing in mostly low-to-middle-class venues, playing the same cover songs over and over, while initially enjoying the alcohol and the women who suddenly were in "lust" with him became "old" and he saw that he should consider doing something else. Mark finally put his guitar down and moved on to another stage of his life. The lessons learned in his up-and-coming show biz career carried over into his future adventures, one adventure that generated another neat book.
This is a fun read with the insight of how playing to small crowds may not be all that it's cracked up to be and is a story within a story. It's a story that most all ages would enjoy but especially those of us who grew up in the 60's and 70's who always wanted to be a rock star! -
Very descriptive...made me feel like I was on this journey with him!
What a great read! I do not know the ins and outs of the musician's lifestyle but after reading this book, I feel for my friends who make a living doing this kind of work.
Mark writes in a way that makes you feel like you are part of the action with descriptions of places and events that flow like a pirate's rum bottle. (Or some other comparison that flows well). Great book!
