Gary Floyd is an iconic underground rock'n'roll figure who has resided in San Francisco for three decades. He epitomizes the links between the outsider ethos of the Beats (both their queerness and spirituality) and the vexing and volatile punk era. If one band other than the Dead Kennedys and MDC defined the political turmoil of the 1980s, it was the Dicks, one of the anchors of the infamous Rock Against Reagan tour. Plus, as one of very few openly gay punk rockers in a scene saturated with righteous politics, Floyd became a queer icon. In an earthy, engaging, and honest voice, the memoir covers much of his life, including his early East Texas dog days, his queer-punk radicalism and ornery hell-raising in Reagan's homophobic America, his rootsy and blues-leaning Sister Double Happiness alternative rock, and his discovery of Eastern spirituality (he almost became a monk), plus the Gary Floyd Band and Black Kali Ma. The book, stylized with rare flyers and photos, is breezy, sharp-tongued, detailed and insightful, poetic but not overly ponderous, raw and refined in the right places, and candid about a scene still mired in controversy.
Gary Floyd is an iconic underground rock'n'roll figure who has resided in San Francisco for three decades. He epitomizes the links between the outsider ethos of the Beats (both their queerness and spirituality) and the vexing and volatile punk era. If one band other than the Dead Kennedys and MDC defined the political turmoil of the 1980s, it was the Dicks, one of the anchors of the infamous Rock Against Reagan tour. Plus, as one of very few openly gay punk rockers in a scene saturated with righteous politics, Floyd became a queer icon. In an earthy, engaging, and honest voice, the memoir covers much of his life, including his early East Texas dog days, his queer-punk radicalism and ornery hell-raising in Reagan's homophobic America, his rootsy and blues-leaning Sister Double Happiness alternative rock, and his discovery of Eastern spirituality (he almost became a monk), plus the Gary Floyd Band and Black Kali Ma. The book, stylized with rare flyers and photos, is breezy, sharp-tongued, detailed and insightful, poetic but not overly ponderous, raw and refined in the right places, and candid about a scene still mired in controversy.
