Review: 33 Days by Bill See

Title: 33 Days: Touring In A Van. Sleeping On Floors. Chasing A Dream
Author:  Bill See
Publisher: Lulu
Publish Date: April 7, 2011
Source: I received a copy from the author. This did not affect my review.

Why You're Reading This Book:

• You're a memoir fan.
• You're a music fan.
• You like a road trip story.

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "For 33 days in the summer of 1987, Divine Weeks toured in a beat up old Ford Econoline van, sleeping on strangers’ floors, never sure they’d make enough gas money to get them to the next town. This deeply personal, coming of age, on the road memoir follows critically acclaimed 80s indie alt rock band Divine Weeks’ first tour. Liberated from alcoholic upbringings and rigid cultural constraints, all they have is their music and each other’s friendship. The road is filled with yuppies, brothels, riots, sleeping on floors, spiked drinks, DJs with no pants, and battles with racism. They set out on the road to discovery to drink in all they could and maybe sell a few records. They grew up instead."
 
My Two Cents:
 
It's the late 80s. MTV still played music videos. Bill See and his band are on the road for the first time. Traveling on a shoestring budget (and a ton of good luck and good will by others), Bill and the band are living the dream or what they think is their dream. Their tour will take them from LA to Canada and back again. The book reads like sort of a journal, a very no-holds barred journal. This style of writing may not work for everyone but it worked for me in this context. I really thought that the journal style added to the feeling of being right with the band as they experience their tour.


I really enjoyed this book. It was fun living vicariously through the band and their successes and failures. I'm not musical myself but I've always been fascinated with people who are and people who are able to turn their love of music into something really amazing like joining a band. All of the band members in the book are younger than I am now and for them to have the guts to step out there and do something like a tour.


I think that music lovers and memoir lovers alike will really enjoy this book!