Raleigh music critic and writer David Menconi’s latest book,
Losering: A Story of Whiskeytown, details the frenetic existence of
musician and song-writer Ryan Adams. Starting with his humble beginnings in
Jacksonville, NC as a teenage runaway, the book traverses through his trials
and tribulations in Raleigh and on the road to become a local musical hero - and
his inevitable landing upon the unsteady ledges at the pinnacle of rock
legend.
Menconi, a first class passenger on that wild ride, recounts anecdotes
from those closest to the Ryan Adams saga. His personal relationship
with the myriad of characters, friends and band mates - who played with
or were offended and scared off - accurately re-creates the early
Adams era: the days on Daisy Street, and performances at The Brewery,
Sadlack’s and other legendary Raleigh rock joints, solidify his status as
Raleigh legend before the international success and pop stardom he achieved
later in his career catapulted him into the blinding lights of celebrity.
Appearances on Saturday Night Live and MTV changed him. And
his on- stage antics became front page stories. Hard drinking, substance
abuse, egomania and narcissism are demons still haunting Adams, but his stubborn
persistence and uncanny ability to write, play and sing powerful songs
keeps him going.
As Menconi understands, cutting his musical teeth in Raleigh
gave Ryan Adams the access to take his raw bravado as a young punk into the
majesty of real country music.
Whatever powers were working in 1994 matched Adams up with violinist Caitlin
Cary, drummer Eric “Skillet” Gilmore, bassist Steve Grothman and guitarist Phil
Wandscher. At the same time, the alternative country genre’s fast-growing
No Depression Magazine chronicled and disseminated the Ryan Adams aura .This
was a magic time for music, and Ryan Adams was a key reason why..
-----Daniel MacQuarrie Reeves
