Loudmouth: A Novel

(Paperback)

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Description

In 1970s New York City, Thomas Ransom dreams that rock 'n' roll will be his ticket out of the life his conservative family planned for him, and he takes it to the extreme: burning bridges and houses on the way to discovering his true destiny.

Thomas Ransom, born to a severely dysfunctional southern family transplanted to New York City, is left to his own devices by neglectful parents, and spends his childhood shadowing his criminally-inclined half-brother and roaming the city with hard-drinking teenage pals. He eventually finds an outlet as the flamboyant singer of a downtown rock band, and later as the young editor of the Detroit-based magazine that invented punk, only to return to New York, at the height of the 1970s bacchanal, and crash. But it isn't music that saves him. It's a soft-spoken painter, who turns out to be the most outrageous character of all. With echoes ofAlmost FamousandJust Kids,Loudmouthtracks an impassioned musician and writer out among the punks, hippies, and wild geniuses of rock when music was the center of the world.

'Read this book immediately if you like truth, drugs, generation gaps, guitars, and lifelong quests for freedom and kicks.' Craig Finn, The Hold Steady.

Reviews

Loudmouth follows Thomas Ransom, whose Southern familys relocation to Manhattan results in strange, street-centric childhood. As a teenager Ransoman almost-exact avatar of his creator Duncandiscovers rock and punk, and becomes a very young editor of a music magazine. (Duncan became managing editor of Creem at age 22.) Examines an era that saved him from the torpor of his parents dysfunction and gave him an appreciation for different paths. Lit Hub

Holy hell, the 1970s...If youre too young to have experienced that decade but find yourself curious about its bombed-out cities, the rise of punk rock and the national malaise, you could do much worse than to start with Robert Duncans debut novel, Loudmouth.... If the book reads like hyperrealism (and we do mean hyper), thats because it hews pretty close to the truths of the era, from the freewheeling boorishness to the stop-sign face-plants of so many drug casualties. San Francisco Chronicle

A fictionalized version of [Duncan's] own tumultuous life story that both pulls on the heart strings and provides a belly full of laughs. Rocklife

A sonic wail of a tale about the youthful beginnings of one of the Mount Rushmore heads of rock n roll journalism. I loved it. Joel Gion, musician, Brian Jonestown Massacre

LOUDMOUTH is, as advertised, a loud and brash trip that takes you through the hellish halls of childhood and adolescence before delivering you to the sweet salvation of rock and roll music and all that rides alongside it. The story is majorly compelling--funny, tender, and very very honest. Read this book immediately if you like truth, drugs, generation gaps, guitars, and lifelong quests for freedom and kicks. Craig Finn, singer/songwriter, The Hold Steady

Wow. What a great time for me. I could listen to Robert Duncans stories all day. Dennis Miller, Dennis Miller Option podcast, ex-Saturday Night Live

Very engaging, fantastic stories and perspectives. Ron Keel, rock musician

This picaresque, coming-of-age novel, about a boy who looks for answers in rock n roll, but finds them in the love of an extraordinary woman, is sad, serious, funny and, in the end, ridiculously moving. Sylvie Simmons, New York Times bestselling author of Face It: Debbie Harry; Too Weird For Ziggy; and Serge Gainsbourg: A Fistful of Gitanes

Duncans prose is amazing, the story entertaining and addictive. If youre a fan of stories with the Almost Famous vibe, be sure to check this one out! All Dragons Read

A fantastic novel! This book explores the true essence and excitement of '70s rock and 'roll with some outlandish yet lovable characters. A truly memorable work of art! Bob Nalbandian, Director, Inside Metal Documentaries

Great storiesyou will be hooked. Charles Shute, The Chuck Shute Podcast

Intelligence and grace . . . entertainingly larger-than-life. Publishers Weekly

In prose thats beautiful, when its not hilarious, this noisy, nostalgic novel tells how an excitable boy from a darkly conservative family survived childhood and then rock n roll. Its a wild ride with some amazing charactersincluding a few you might recognizeand Im in awe. Jaan Uhelszki, former Creem editor; writer, producer of Creem: Americas Only Rock n Roll Magazine

Author Bio

At 22, Robert Duncan was managing editor of the legendary Creem magazine, working in Detroit alongside his friend Lester Bangs. He has contributed to Rolling Stone, Circus, Life, and dozens of other popular publications. He was lead singer, songwriter, and producer for several rock bands, including 3DayBig&Tall. He is author of The Noise: Notes from a Rock n Roll Era; Kiss, a tongue-in-cheek biography; and Only the Good Die Young, a collection of profiles of dead rock stars. He was story consultant and interview subject for the documentary, Creem: Americas Only Rock & Roll Magazine, which premiered at SXSW in 2019. He is anthologized in Springsteen on Springsteen and Patti Smith gave him a shout-out in her memoir, Year of the Monkey. His poetry has been published in several issues of Maintenant: A Journal of Contemporary Dada Writing and Art (Three Rooms Press). He is founder of the advertising and design firm Duncan Channon and its Tip Records subsidiary. He was raised in a Southern family displaced to New York City and now lives with his wife, the artist and rock photographer Roni Hoffman, near San Francisco. LOUDMOUTH is his first novel.