BUFFALO, NY, UNITED STATES, May 13, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ — From the late 1970s to around 2000, Dean Brownrout had an uncanny habit of finding himself at the forefront of cultural shifts—from the emergence of new wave and thrash metal music to the dawn of the commercial internet. His memoir, “No Big Deal: Chasing the Indie Music Dream in the last days of the Record Business” (Guernica Editions), is a humorous and nostalgic journey through this seminal time in the music industry.
Leaving Buffalo, NY in 1983 for New York City, 21-year-old Brownrout was determined to continue the music-business career he had begun as an enterprising teenage concert promoter. Over the next two decades, he progressed from road manager and agent to forming (and losing) his record labels.
Brownrout’s anticipated memoir has already been praised by former music industry associates. Francis Macdonald, a member of BMX Bandits and Teenage Fanclub says, “It made me nostalgic for the pre-internet record industry.” John Lay, former co-manager of Squeeze and Jools Holland calls “No Big Deal,” “an honest, unvarnished portrayal of the independent record business at the end of the 20th century, and a well-told personal tale that manages to steer away from showbiz cliches.” And Robert Singerman, the former manager of The Smithereens, and former agent to R.E.M. and the Violent Femmes succinctly summarized his reaction to the book: “It’s a Big Deal, for sure.”
Ira Robbins, the highly regarded author, founder of “Trouser Press” magazine, and editor of the essential “Trouser Press Record Guides” adds to the chorus praising Brownrout’s unique story by providing the foreword to the book.
If you haven’t heard of Brownout, you’re not alone. Through the ups and downs, and others’ successes, he made (and lost) several lifetime’s worth of earnings. With a cinematic flair, Brownrout sets the record straight on several topics—recounting the facts as he lived them. As a talent agent, he booked a pre-major-label Metallica into New York’s Roseland Ballroom for a seminal 1984 show; it led to their signing to Elektra Records. He signed the now multi-platinum Goo Goo Dolls to their first recording agreement and released their debut album.
These are just two enlightening details we learn in this tragicomic recollection of his 25 years in the music industry, as LPs were morphing into CDs, and the internet loomed. But Brownrout is quick to point out, “It’s not about ‘sour grapes’ or settling scores. I’ve tried to write the book in a funny, unfiltered, and demystifying style. The book may appeal especially to two audiences: Gen Xers and Baby Boomers who are into music, music history, popular culture, and nostalgia. And those of any age interested in colorful entrepreneurial and business stories.”
His bird’s-eye view into this transformational era includes glimpses of America’s technological influence and culture. And, of course, no show business memoir is complete without appearances by the Rolling Stones, Beastie Boys, Bob Dylan, Grace Jones, models, actors, and countless fringe characters and luminaries.
“No Big Deal: Chasing the Indie Music Dream in the last days of the Record Business,” will be released on October 1, 2024, on Guernica Editions, and is available for pre-order through Amazon and other traditional book outlets.
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Author site: nobigdeal.info
info@deanbrownrout.com
Guernica Editions: guernicaeditions.com
Publicity & marketing: Anna van Valkenburg
annavanvalkenburg@guernicaeditions.com
PUB. DATE: October 1, 2024
SIZE: 6 x 9
PAGES: 178
PRICE: $18.95 us/$22.95 cad
ISBN: 978-1-77183-909-9
No Big Deal by Dean Brownrout
Guernica Editions
info@deanbrownrout.com
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