"Tell The Truth Until They Bleed"

Josh Alan Friedman has a new book out. I like reading him, same as I like reading Tosches and Meltzer. His 'Tales Of Times Square' is a fucking blast. If you want to know what NYC could taste like before it got so antiseptic, the chapter on one-legged stripper Long Jean Silver at the Melody Burlesque is worth the price of entry alone. And if you need to know what Plato's Retreat was like, it'll tell you in full, goo-ey detail. The new one, "Tell The Truth Until They Bleed" brings fresh perspective to Jerry Leiber, Doc Pomus, Joel Dorn, Dr. John, Mose Allison and other flames who burn(ed) so bright in the music world, some known, some not but all worth checking out. For those of us who've fantasized about being Ronnie Spector's boyfriend, now there's no real need to do that anymore and the chapter on Josh Alan's time spent as an 'assistant engineer' at Regent Sound Studios (New York version) only makes it clear to me what an average writer I am. Now I feel like I have to completely re-write my Trident Studios entry. Hey, look - I never claimed to be a writer, ok? I only do this to bring some attention to the station, capice? I play the stuff I write about, and I play stuff that other people - who I like - write about, dig?. Anyway, if you like music and the characters that made the business what it was, buy this book. You'll thank me later.