Blue Guitar Highway

(Paperback)

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Description

This is a musicians tale: the story of a boy growing up on the Iron Range, playing his guitar at family gatherings, coming of age in the psychedelic seventies, and honing his craft as a pro in Minneapolis, ground zero of American popular music in the mid-eighties. There is a drop of blood behind every note I play and every word I write, Paul Metsa says. And its easy to believe, as he conducts us on a musical journey across time and country, navigating switchbacks, detours, dead ends, and providing us the occasional glimpse of the promised land on the blue guitar highway.

His account captures the thrill of the Twin Cities when acts like the Replacements, Husker D, and Prince were remaking pop music. It takes us right onto the stages he shared with stars like Billy Bragg, Pete Seeger, and Bruce Springsteen. And it gives us a close-up, dizzying view of the roller-coaster ride that is the professional musicians life, played out against the polarizing politics and intimate history of the past few decades of American culture. Written with a songwriters sense of detail and ear for poetry, Paul Metsas book conveys all the sweet absurdity, dry humor, and passion for the language of music that has made his story sing.

Reviews

"Paul Metsa is a natural-born writer. He can write anything. Lyrics, letters, articles all flow out of him like an exotic, ferocious waterfall splashing down on all the senses. If he writes it, I read it."Nora Guthrie
"Metsa is a mountain in Minnesota music."Bobby Vee
"Paul Metsa is a great artist. I always look forward to playing with him."Lyle Lovett

Author Bio

Paul Metsa is a legendary musician and songwriter from Minnesota. Born on the Iron Range, he has been based in Minneapolis since 1978. He is coauthor of Blood in the Tracks: The Minnesota Musicians behind Dylan's Masterpiece, and he has received seven Minnesota Music Awards and played more than five thousand gigs. He lives in Duluth, Minnesota.

David Carr grew up in Hopkins, Minnesota. He currently lives in New Jersey and writes for the New York Times. He is the author of The Night of the Gun.