Paperback Rocker: Where Words And Music Collide

My website is www.PaperbackRocker.com. You can find the podcast archives there. Find my books of rock and roll fiction on Amazon by searching my name, Matt Syverson. Follow me on Twitter @PaperbackRocker. Email me at PaperbackRocker@live.com. Thanks for listening! The show notes are as follows: On this show I talk about the 'Rockford Files' and James Garner. He is the son of a carpet layer from Oklahoma, just like me. He lived a very interesting life, including being the first American wounded in the Korean War and voted most popular at Hollywood High School. The Rockford theme song is one of the best ever, as is that of 'Taxi'. I talk about having two Amazon Kindle bestsellers of varying sales. I talk about how little I made as a chemist in Seattle and how bad the traffic was. Finally, I talk about Supertramp and their great album, 'Breakfast in America'. The principle songwriters didn't really like each other, but they made it work. I put a webcam recording of this on YouTube.

My website is www.PaperbackRocker.com. You can find the podcast archives there. Find my books of rock and roll fiction on Amazon by searching my name, Matt Syverson. Follow me on Twitter @PaperbackRocker. Email me at PaperbackRocker@live.com. Thanks for listening! The show notes are as follows: The show is almost out of the teen years and hopefully knows what it wants to be when it grows up. There has been a learning curve/evolution going on, and I have come to the conclusion that doing a minimally edited, shoot-from-the-hip show is best for me. Doing my early thirty minute shows took about five hours or so, which I outline for you. I can't keep doing that, so I'm just recording straight through without editing unless something major happens. I discuss the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and how stupid they do things. They want to put bands in, but not all the members. For example, Nirvana's drummer from the "Bleach" era, Chad Channing, is not going to be in. Only the lineup from "Nevermind" has been invited. That

My website is www.PaperbackRocker.com. You can find the podcast archives there. Find my books of rock and roll fiction on Amazon by searching my name, Matt Syverson. Follow me on Twitter @PaperbackRocker. Email me at bowiefan1970@live.com. Thanks for listening! The show notes are as follows: Thinking about internet trolls made me remember the Fremont Troll in Seattle. It is a huge sculpture under the Aurora Bridge, clutching a Volkswagen. It has a Wiki page if you want to see it. The car has a California license plate, and that's probably on purpose. My character in 'Blue Whiskey' encounters trolls, and I tell how he handled them. I talk about a click-bait article on the Huffington Post by a woman named Lynn Shepherd who says that JK Rowling should be satisfied with her success and stop writing, especially in the crime genre. This woman is committing career suicide if you know anything about the passion of Harry Potter fans. She says all other writers are envious of JK Rowling's success. I'm not. This woman s

My website is www.PaperbackRocker.com. You can find the podcast archives there. Find my books of rock and roll fiction on Amazon by searching my name, Matt Syverson. Follow me on Twitter @PaperbackRocker. Email me at bowiefan1970@live.com. Thanks for listening! The show notes are as follows: I have released the Kindle version of "Blue Whiskey". I thought it was going to take all of my three day weekend to format, but I did it in one hour, and it looks great. I can't believe I remembered how. It's weird that in person I always sell "Black Dog", but online "Band On The Run" sells much more. My last two episodes on Stitcher had some weird distortion thing in the intros, which I did not cause. That reminds me of how excruciating it was trying to make my CD sound the same across all playing platforms, and I talk about that a little. I talk about recording my album and all the four track recording I did over the years. I had some troubles with my album's producer, who may or may not have had a severe cocaine addict

My website is www.PaperbackRocker.com. You can find the podcast archives there. Find my books on Amazon by searching my name, Matt Syverson. Follow me on Twitter @PaperbackRocker. Email me at bowiefan1970@live.com. Thanks for listening! The show notes are as follows: We had Valentine's Day, and I spent it with Lucy, the girl I love. She's a terrier. As I often say, I'm single and drama-free after two co-dependent relationships. Those are not good for the creative arts. I also got divorced years ago due to my pursuit of a career in music. I read a short passage from Charles Bukowski's novel, 'Women', that made me have a flashback. I talk about the methodology I used for approving the proofs of my new book, 'Blue Whiskey'. I'm dreading the Kindle formatting, but I may just buy a template this time. That's the one part of the process I don't enjoy, because since I only do it about once a year I always forget how. I haven't told you much about 'Blue Whiskey', so I read the back cover copy, which was hard for me t

My website is www.PaperbackRocker.com. You can find the podcast archives there. Find my books on Amazon by searching my name, Matt Syverson. Follow me on Twitter @PaperbackRocker. Email me at bowiefan1970@live.com. Thanks for listening! The show notes are as follows: I received the proof copy of my new book, "Blue Whiskey", and it looks beautiful. It's a hardback printed by Lightning Source. I start off with a tip about working with your cover designer. Long story short, the tip is that you should ask your designer what stock photo source he or she prefers. Then YOU can go there and find any images you would like used for the cover. Since the designer probably hasn't read your book, they probably can't summon the same mental images that you can. I did this and it worked wonderfully. I've been on a writing hiatus after writing every night for four years. I needed a breather to recharge the batteries and relax a little bit. I'm basking in the glow of completion. I got to watch the Super Bowl at home, even thoug

In this episode, I start out with an invaluable writing tip for long works. While writing the first draft, you don't want to stop for research and such. You can use Find and Replace to locate bookmarked spots where work is needed. You can put the word BOOKMARK or something of your own choosing. You can also do RESEARCH, TIMELINE, and others as needed. It's crazy what authors Google search when writing a book. "Erase my search history if I die" is a meme. If you have any questions about this, drop me a line. Next, I talk about how people who text you in error don't believe you when you say they have the wrong number. I give a couple anecdotes of this happening to me. It's very frustrating. I live in cocaine country, and I thought someone was trying to get hold of their dealer, but they really wanted the Avon lady! I watched the Grammy's for the first time in decades. There was no Gaga or Kanye, thank God. There was Katy Perry and T-Swift, though. Katy Perry had 226 cliches on her last album. Wow. No wonder she

In episode 12, I start out with a discussion of a writer's creation of the first draft of a novel. I compare it to mowing your yard or cutting your own hair with your eyes closed. There will be lots of 'holidays' you missed, and the whole job needs to be cleaned up, but the first step of the process is complete. At the end, you'll wonder what the hell you just wrote, but you gotta start somewhere. Next, I talk about books people say they've read when they really haven't. Surprisingly, one of my favorite novels appears at the top of three such lists. I go through some top tens of these books and discuss my familiarity or lack of with these titles. My final segment is a movie review of "Behind the Candelabra", the story of Liberace and his young boyfriend. It was an entertaining movie, and Matt Damon and Michael Douglas were fearless in their performance. The budget wasn't large, but they limited their locations so that wasn't noticeable. I talk about Liberace's kidneys shutting down from exposure to Carbon Tet

In this episode, I return after a bout with the flu to talk about 'The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas', including the true story of the Chicken Ranch outside La Grange. I discuss ZZ Top's Worldwide Texas Tour, which lasted from 1975 until 1978 and featured an impressive list of opening acts, including Elvin Bishop, Marshall Tucker Band, Aerosmith, BOC, Ted Nugent, the Outlaws, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, J Geils Band, Johnny and Edgar Winter, REO Speedwagon, Styx, Rory Gallagher, Blackfoot, Foreigner, Muddy Waters, and Starz. I watched 'All That Jazz', too, about Bob Fosse, and I give my impressions of that movie, including how many cigarettes and Dexedrine pills I believe he took each day. Hope you enjoy the episode! My website is www.PaperbackRocker.com. Find my books of rock and roll themed fiction on Amazon by searching my name, Matt Syverson. Follow me on Twitter @PaperbackRocker. Email me at bowiefan1970@live.com.

In this episode, I reminisce about what life used to be like and what it's like now. Happy New Year! My website is www.PaperbackRocker.com. You can find the podcast archives there. Find my books on Amazon by searching my name, Matt Syverson. Follow me on Twitter @PaperbackRocker. Email me at bowiefan1970@live.com. Thanks for listening!

My website is www.PaperbackRocker.com. You can find the podcast archives there. Find my books on Amazon by searching my name, Matt Syverson. Follow me on Twitter @PaperbackRocker. Email me at bowiefan1970@live.com. Thanks for listening! The show notes are as follows: It's 10:15 in the evening, and I should be writing, but I'm not. Why is that? Because I finished "Blue Whiskey" for the fifth or sixth time. I'm waiting on the cover and writing the back cover copy, which has been difficult since it's not a plot-driven novel like "Black Dog". It's a fictional autobiography of fictional folk musician, Stanton Wheelhouse III. He's a serious musician, but he ends up writing a one-hit wonder. The first draft was 400 pages and 130K words, but I cut off the front part, which was the story of the character's father. It was supposed to be more of an historical novel, but the book got a lot better when I got to the main character being born, so I excised the first 70 pages like a skin cancer. The good thing about that is

My website is www.PaperbackRocker.com. You can find the podcast archives there. Find my books on Amazon by searching my name, Matt Syverson. Follow me on Twitter @PaperbackRocker. Email me at bowiefan1970@live.com. Thanks for listening! The show notes are as follows: I've been busy lately. I sold books in Goliad TX on Saturday. I didn't sell many books, but the weather got bad throughout the day. On the way home, something disgusting happened to me. Listen for details. That reminded me of a story from high school when my friends and I acted like our car broke down so we wouldn't have to go back to school after attending some college classes in another town. I tell how we pulled off that ruse. I give thanks to a couple supporters of the podcast. One of them used to live across the street from my grandparents. My grandaddy was called the 'Candyman', because he gave out candy every day like it was Halloween. It became a burden after a while, so the neighborhood children had to be restricted to once a day. The to

My website is www.PaperbackRocker.com. You can find the podcast archives there. Find my books on Amazon by searching my name, Matt Syverson. Follow me on Twitter @PaperbackRocker. Email me at bowiefan1970@live.com. Thanks for listening! The show notes are as follows: This episode begins with Howard Cosell's Monday Night Football announcement of the assassination of John Lennon. You know John Lennon's story and his music. I'm going to tell you about Mark David Chapman. MDC was abused as a boy growing up, as was his mother. As a teenager, he fantasized about some imaginary little people living in the walls of his bedroom. In 1971, he became a religious zealot. He worked as a YMCA counselor and was well liked. A friend recommended "The Catcher In The Rye" to him. Chapman went to an evangelical college with his girlfriend, but he cheated on her. He flunked out, and she broke up with him. He became a security guard. He attempted suicide in '77, but failed. He was admitted to a hospital for depression and later got

This is the first annual Paperback Rocker Christmas Episode. Pour yourself some nog and have a seat by the fire. It's 45 degrees in my shack, and I'm wearing my Santa outfit. Lucy has her reindeer suit on, although she doesn't like it.  I've got lots of wonderful presents in my sack and one especially special one at the end. I hope you have a great Christmas. Lucy and I love you.  My website is www.PaperbackRocker.com. You can find the podcast archives there. Find my books on Amazon by searching my name, Matt Syverson. Follow me on Twitter @PaperbackRocker. Email me at bowiefan1970@live.com. Thanks for listening!It's a rock and roll Christmas Episode with the Paperback Rocker, and he's got a bag full of goodies for you to enjoy through the holidays.

In this episode, I talk about my podcast being available on the Stitcher app, so you can have the show on the go. Please give a thumbs up to increase my ranking and visibility. Thanks for doing that.  It's another 45 year anniversary. This time it's "Beggar's Banquet". One time I was driving in Seattle in my old red pickup and a song came on the radio. I'd heard the Stones all my life, but just the singles. The Chevy started steering itself until I ended up at a CD store. The song was "You Can't Always Get What You Want", and I'd never listened to it closely. It made a big impression on me and started me on a journey.  I used to like a lot of thrash bands, then grunge. I like melodic music, but the Stones were off my radar. The journey was expensive, because I had to buy thirty albums. Same with Bowie. I was buying a CD almost every day and got obsessed with them and Bowie. "Beggar's Banquet" was probably the second album of theirs I got. It is very acoustic. The record cover is simple, white with script writ

In this episode, I talk about being bitten by a weenie dog on Thanksgiving. I ordered a new microphone, a Heil PR 40, which I'm looking forward to. I start out with a book review of "The Gunslinger", the first book of "The Dark Tower" series by Stephen King. Stylistically, it was different, because it was concisely written compared to some of his longer novels. The protagonist is modeled after Clint Eastwood, and knowing that I pictured Clint in my mind during the audiobook. The dialogue was similar to his spaghetti westerns. It was like fan fiction, which is when a writer uses character from another work. "Fifty Shades of Grey" was fan fiction of "Twilight". The beginning was the best writing of Stephen King's I've read. It was comparable to Hemingway, and I think the fan fiction angle allowed the author to lose himself. Just like a songwriter writing a ballad, the entire work should have a cohesive feel from start to finish. The hero is named Roland, and he is not described much. His motivations become clea

In this episode, I thank you for putting up with my podcasting learning curve. I'm used to singing into a microphone, but not talking into one. I observe the 22nd anniversary of the death of Freddie Mercury, one of my favorite musicians of all time. He was born Farrokh Bulsara, but chose the best stage name ever. Just like when JFK was assassinated, people remember where they were when they found out Freddie died. I was in Weatherford, Oklahoma, finishing up my degree with classes like bowling and tennis. I was dating a grunge girl. Freddie was one of the first celebrities to die of AIDS. I went over to my best friend, Phil's, apartment, and we listened to Queen and tried to come to terms with the bad news. Queen's Greatest Hits from about 1981 was the first Queen record I bought. It had "Bicycle Race" and "Fat Bottomed Girls" on it, and I was only ten or eleven years old, but I liked that. "Flash" was a huge hit, and I love it. I even try to sing it for you. "The Game" was the first rock record I ever bought

In this episode, I try to say ''um" less. I start out with some Beatles news. First was the tenth anniversary of the "Let It Be...Naked" album, which was Paul McCartney's attempt to strip Phil Spector off the record. Phil Spector is in jail for murder. The Beatles weren't getting along, even though George looks ecstatic on the cover of "Let It Be". I grew up hearing the strings on "The Long and Winding Road", but Paul hated it. I don't know why, but it was probably because Macca is a control freak. The second anniversary was that of the last George Harrison album, "Brainwashed", which was released after his death. It's a great album. Jeff Lynne of ELO and the Traveling Wilburys and George's son, Dhani, finished the album. I talk about the movie "Easy Rider", the classic motorcycles and hippies saga. I saw this movie as a freshman in college. I wrote a paper about the music in the movie, but I bet it was tripe, since I didn't have the internet and was pretty naive musically. The movie starts out with a drug de

In this inaugural episode, I awkwardly introduce myself and what I'm trying to do. Podcasts should be specialized, but I want to talk about a variety of subjects, including but not limited to self-publishing. I grew up in a one stoplight town in Oklahoma. My friends and I got into Metallica in 1986 and willed ourselves into a band. I decided I wanted to be a professional musician, but my mom said I needed a degree. I got one in Chemistry, then moved to Seattle to play grunge. I had a band called Saturn Lander. I moved to Texas and became a teacher, but now I'm a writer. My books are music themed, and the titles are "Black Dog", "Band On The Run", and "Running On Empty". They are on Amazon. I talk about my 6'x9' cinder block shack in the desert of Northern Mexico/Southern Texas. I have a Scottie dog named Lucy, a deep freeze full of popsicles, and an espresso machine. I review the "Runaways" movie. Joan Jett said most of the movie didn't really happen, but the movie makers used 'creative license'. Joan never w