Step away from the typewriter Mr Hagar!

Songs have the ability to tell great great stories. The songwriters behind those great lyrics though should not always write books. Case in point, Sammy Hagar with his latest book "RED".  Now don't get me wrong I love me some Sammy; either in his solo effort, or with Van Halen, oh heck I will even say I like some Montrose songs. However in his attempt to tell his compelling story in "RED" he simply fails. The book is long winded and confusing and frankly in the begining flat out boring.

This is not to say that all musicians can not sit behind the typewriter. I have been doing a lot of reading lately; on what you may ask? Some of my favorite music men have been putting out books lately. Some are epic fails like Sammy's some are pure genius.

This all started about 2 months ago. I tend to dive into topics when it comes to books. Awhile back it was social drug culture, then I read like crazy on VooDoo, and then WWII. Now it is musicians and their stories, and it all started with Nikki Sixx's "Herion Diaries" (I was actually ashamed to say that it took me so long to read it). Now granted I read "The Dirt" as any good Motley Crue fan should, however I am diving deep recently. Here are some of the gems that I would say go out and read.

First and foremost a must read is Nikki Sixx's "This is Gonna Hurt". More than just a book, it highlights some of Nikki's great photography, and becomes a little heart wrenching when he talks about Kat Von D.  Second on the list is Scott Weiland;s "Not Dead and Not For Sale". Written almost in diary form, very honest, very very honest and an easy read. And the last must read, and I mean MUST read is Corey Taylor's "7 Deadly Sins". The man is brilliant, part story of his life, part commentary, part comedy classic (his rant on movie theater nachos is classic).

Others that get notable mention is Tommy Lee's "Tommyland", Steven Adler's "My Appetite for Destruction" (not finished that one yet), Vince Neil "Tattoo's and Tequila".

Everyone has a story to tell, you, me, Sammy; however not all of us should write a book about our lives. Throughout all these books mentioned there is no common thread. I think that the perception that all rockstars come from jaded messed up backgrounds is a grave misunderstanding.

I encourage you to check some of these books out of you are into the scene or want to learn more about these artists.