Rock Is Lit

Inside ‘The Death of Rock and Roll’: A Reading with Author Ryan Hyatt

In this installment of the Rock is Lit Season 4 Reading Series, Ryan Hyatt reads the first chapter of his novel ‘The Death of Rock and Roll’ and gives some background on the creation of the story. ‘The Death of Rock and Roll’ follows talented guitarist Darrell Breedlove, who is caught in the crosshairs of jealous psychopath Jake McKenzie, forcing Darrell to reconcile his past in order to embrace a promising future. Ryan Hyatt tells stories about your future. He is a former news reporter, current educator, and author of the Terrafide sci-fi series. He edits the satirical sci-fi news site, The La-La Lander, as well as Not Your Father's Bedtime Stories, kids’ lit he creates with his daughter, author Sage Hyatt. Find him at the beach and his stories across the internet. MUSIC IN THE EPISODE IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE: Rock is Lit theme music [Guitar Instrumental Beat] Sad Rock [Free Use Music] Punch Deck—“I Can’t Stop” Swamp Blues Rock Tarantino Country Rock by Infraction [No Copyright Music]/Texas Swamp Blues Rock Tarantino Country Rock by Infraction [No Copyright Music]/Texas [Guitar Instrumental Beat] Sad Rock [Free Use Music] Punch Deck—“I Can’t Stop” Rock is Lit theme music LINKS: Leave a rating and comment for Rock is Lit on Goodpods: https://goodpods.com/podcasts/rock-is-lit-212451 Leave a rating and comment for Rock is Lit on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rock-is-lit/id1642987350 Ryan Hyatt on Facebook: @RyanHyatt Ryan Hyatt on Twitter/X and Instagram: @ucalthisreality Christy Alexander Hallberg’s website: https://www.christyalexanderhallberg.com/rockislit Christy Alexander Hallberg on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube: @ChristyHallberg Rock is Lit on Instagram: @rockislitpodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Broadcast on:: 08 Oct 2024
Audio Format:: other

‘The Death of Rock and Roll’ follows talented guitarist Darrell Breedlove, who is caught in the crosshairs of jealous psychopath Jake McKenzie, forcing Darrell to reconcile his past in order to embrace a promising future.

Ryan Hyatt tells stories about your future. He is a former news reporter, current educator, and author of the Terrafide sci-fi series. He edits the satirical sci-fi news site, The La-La Lander, as well as Not Your Father's Bedtime Stories, kids’ lit he creates with his daughter, author Sage Hyatt. Find him at the beach and his stories across the internet.

MUSIC IN THE EPISODE IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE:

Rock is Lit theme music
[Guitar Instrumental Beat] Sad Rock [Free Use Music] Punch Deck—“I Can’t Stop”
Swamp Blues Rock
Tarantino Country Rock by Infraction [No Copyright Music]/Texas
Swamp Blues Rock
Tarantino Country Rock by Infraction [No Copyright Music]/Texas
[Guitar Instrumental Beat] Sad Rock [Free Use Music] Punch Deck—“I Can’t Stop”
Rock is Lit theme music

LINKS:

Leave a rating and comment for Rock is Lit on Goodpods: https://goodpods.com/podcasts/rock-is-lit-212451

Leave a rating and comment for Rock is Lit on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rock-is-lit/id1642987350

Ryan Hyatt on Facebook: @RyanHyatt

Ryan Hyatt on Twitter/X and Instagram: @ucalthisreality

Christy Alexander Hallberg’s website: https://www.christyalexanderhallberg.com/rockislit

Christy Alexander Hallberg on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube: @ChristyHallberg

Rock is Lit on Instagram: @rockislitpodcast

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

rock is lit rock is lit rock is lit rock is lit you're listening to rock is lit with Kristi Halberg rock on Kristi rock is lit hey there let listeners welcome to season four of rock is lit the first podcast devoted to rock novels and also the 2024 American Writing Awards podcast of the year in the categories of music and arts rock is lit is a proud member of the Pantheon podcast network hey I'm John Stewart and you're listening to the Pantheon network rock is lit is hosted executive produced and edited by me Kristi Alexander Halberg author of my own rock novel searching for Jimmy Page big shout out to this season's incredible team social media intern Keeley Platz and our three production interns major Lagulin Tyler Elcock and Theo Lair this season we're shaking things up with a fresh new format instead of our usual author interviews we'll be rolling out a weekly reading series giving you a deeper dive into the world of rock novels through curated readings and literary explorations to keep up with all things rock is lit follow me on Twitter Instagram and YouTube at Kristi Halberg for more info head to Kristi Alexander Halberg dot com got a rock novel you'd love to see featured drop me a line at Kristi Alexander Halberg at gmail dot com I'd love to hear from you and don't forget if you're enjoying the show please subscribe leave a comment and give us a five-star rating on your favorite podcast platform Wyatt the rock is lit mascot and I thank you for your support this is Ryan Hyatt and you're listening to rock is lit [Music] thank you everyone for joining me today I'm gonna be sharing with you shortly the first chapter from my first novel the death of rock and roll first published in 2006 as the death of rock and roll a biography at Darryl Brie Love republished again in 2016 simply as the death of rock and roll before I begin though I want to give you a little context about this novel what it's about and sort of where it's coming from since it is near and dear to me I wrote the death of rock and roll basically coming out of a whirlwind adventure in my 20s after graduating from college I worked some odd jobs finally landed a gig as a liability investigator and worked for about a year saving up money before I left my apartment sold my truck and moved to Barcelona Spain with a couple of friends of mine from college well that foreign conquest did not last on the surface it appeared to be somewhat of a disaster after having a wonderful crazy adventure in Spain I was basically forced out by poverty and a group of thugs at which time I returned to United States determined to wrap up that first novel I'd written out there called Friends of the Night and start a second that I envisioned called the Death of Rock and Roll I worked some odd jobs waiting tables finally landed a gig working as a news reporter for the Apache Junction East Mesa Independent in which I was responsible for writing cover news stories during the week but on the weekends I would dedicate myself almost entirely to drinking a pot or two a coffee and knocking out the first draft of that book the Death of Rock and Roll so that book was really written as a result of a lot of striving longing sentimentality and nostalgia all kind of wrapped together at the same time coming out of college having the rough stumbles that I did trying to gain traction as a writer and becoming very aware of the fact that I was very much on a lone crusade without an audience and without too many prospects I still sort of aspired to this dream of freedom and artistic creativity that I so much assumed was going to be such a big part of my adult life but was quickly finding around me people sort of fading away people kind of finding their own path getting started in their own lives that didn't necessarily look like what I imagined my life in the community of my friends would be moving forward into our 20s so this novel in many respects it's kind of a photograph of a moment in time in terms of where I was as an individual where others were too in my life and so in that sense although it's technically fiction there were certainly a large portions of the book that are not you could definitely say that the character Jack Hilton is a altered ego version of myself many of the antics included in his trials and travails pretty true to life. Darryl Brie Love of course and Genica Allison are figments of my imagination but not too far in the sense that I was very much involved in the rock and roll scene of my 20s all of my friends for the most part except for me were musicians and so a big part of my life was cheering them on and reporting and sort of doing my best to navigate their own egotistical sort of conflicts and so forth as they tried to produce their albums and their music so this novel is what I consider to be a modern Western and it was really written then through the lens of my experience and kind of my conservative background as well as my more liberal outlook on things and really it was in the throes of this love-hate relationship with conservatism and liberalism with the United States and Europe with Arizona and California music and monotony my friends and myself that I ended up writing what became my debut novel and so without further ado I'd like to go ahead and read the first chapter now from the "Death of Rock'n'Roll" it was during the gunfight in the coldest and darkest hour of the new year when it occurred to Darryl Breedlove that maybe it was time to move on as in skip town start over permanently get away the idea seized him in a flash as bullets passed and shards of glass rain on his head and the howling desert wind thrashed against his stiff curled body Chicago New York San Francisco Los Angeles Darryl said rattling out the names of those great American cities where he still had family and friends right now anywhere sounds better than Tucson Mo Burger laughed soon they might be dead but when the shooting started he decided he died laughing let's talk about changing venues and the rest of your music career once we're out of this fucking mess the two stared at each other as they lay prostrated behind the wheels of a white 78-board Bronco it was a monster of a machine with a thick steel frame and camper shell that could easily double for a bomb shelter official property of Darryl's brother Kurt the Bronco was being shot up by a pockmarked provocateur 30 yards up the street he was a tall gangly bespectacled freak a Mormon and son of a judge your little faggots the judges unshouted my pa says you're kind of pig shit hear me pig shit five more round shattered the Broncos windows Darryl and Mo watch below the trucks frame as their peculiar adversary spun in circles cursing and dancing the judges son may or may not have been drunk but he was definitely riled up Don was an eternity away and all that stood between Darryl and Mo and a good night's rest was this crazy Jake McKenzie and his Winchester listen up gentlemen Jake shouted I'm about to announce where you'll find the finest pussy in the world Jake was continuing a monologue that began as Darryl and Mo exited the bar seven black cats interrupted only by his sporadic gunfire he was discussing out loud the finer points of a spiritual mission he took to Polynesia where he was sent to drum up support for the religion of Utah unlike that bitch in the bar that refused to dance with me you can fuck those oriental sluts for only a dollar Jake shouted you hear me fellas one dollar and guess what those oriental sluts have the biggest perkiest purple snips a man's ever seen an outcry of laughter came from a black Chevy Tahoe further up the street inside where Jake's non-pious pals reveling in amusement Darryl could take no more he stood and seemed taller than his six feet in stature he was wearing blue jeans jacket and a pair of worn converse sneakers his black t-shirt red save the sapiens in bold white letters he tossed his dark mangy hair behind his head and adjusted the yellow sweat bands on his wrist and old habit he never quit since his first days on stage then he opened the passenger side door of the bronco reached into the glove box and pulled out a magnum the high caliber revolver had a long silver barrel and an ivory handle it glimmered in the darkness it's a 357 Darryl said to Mo Kurtz Mo wasn't sure if he felt relieved or a hell of a lot worse but he noticed the gleam in Darryl's eyes as he spun the barrel and checked for ammo loaded Mo felt nauseous peering into the dark guys of his old friend who suddenly seemed like a stranger well beyond his years and fixed on that peculiar task Mo doubted a skilled photographer could stomach much less render the situation was well beyond Mo's control a cruel joke the psilocybin in his head wouldn't calm only shift in his mind between tragic and absurd still Mo knew this was it ready or not he was about to witness death be careful Mo said his voice was a far distant cry lost in a cement sage brush dream Darryl winked and like a ghost drifted around the Bronco magnum dangling from his hand hardly believing his eyes Mo followed seeking cover behind a telephone pole as he reached into his satchel for a camera Darryl approached Jake when he stopped he was less than an arms throw away the two men were clear to open fire on each other Jake was hardly able to hold his sanity he adjusted his square room to glasses give up Darryl said Jake's face flushed red huffing puffing ferocious and furious he was murderously incensed apparently he had never anticipated the confrontation becoming deadly he thought he just mosey into seven black cats on New Year's Eve with his crew of thugs harassed the hottest Damon site pick a fight with the band and bust a few bottles and heads on the way out but it wouldn't be a Mackenzie's undoing if the undoing weren't complete so Jake set up a friendly ambush outside seven black cats and waited until the bar closed to deal in lead with the Knights hero who had set him up to begin with it was a breed love go figure from that race of swine so Jake proceeded to fire it well upon Darryl and Mo as they exited the bar reminding all those with an earshot of the dazzling glory of his dead grandfathers Winchester it was a rifle Jake kept conveniently in the back seat of a Chevy Tahoe and used on special occasions like this except for one problem Darryl breed love was no man's target practice he'd been raised to be a lover and a fighter so standing before Jake Darryl nonchalantly placed the Magnum between his legs and blew warm air into his hands rubbing them together it was a relaxed gesture which you might expect from a man about to tell a story over a campfire then Darryl calmly grabbed the Magnum from his legs and told the heavy caliber around his fingers finally resting the gun at his side not a creature stirred any stray animals close by were either cooped up for warmth or hiding in fear of the middle some Mormon if there are any revelers still trapped inside the bar or perched high in the surrounding lofts they too remain silent even the frigid desert winds seem to relent in anticipation under such hair-raising circumstances there came no frightened chorus of meows barks or shouts just a still deadly quiet as Mo's nimble fingers began working the lens of his like a Darryl's began working the 357 thus one of the last great gunfights of the Old West was recorded for all posterity and black and white high-speed film it was only after Jake swung his rifle into position that Dale delivered his first and final shot like the grace with which he played the electric guitar Darryl kneeled eyes and sights and hands firmly fixed on the handle before crazy Jake finished aiming or knew what hit him boom the ghostly thunderclap rang through the Tucson night as deafening as it was terrifying the street echoed eerily from the great vast blast caused by gun powder and steel no photograph the gunfight with commendable skill tracing the revelations of shock whore and discussed on Jake's face as his psyche was instantly deconstructed by a musician he had figured to be easy prey a known college dropout who wasn't known to have a violent bone in his body he was a lover not a fighter yeah right those best photographs would confirm that the shock which penetrated Jake's hand ricocheted off the rifle resembling a bolt of lightning Jake was suddenly lying flat on the ground sobbing like a child the Winchester was flown far from his side still in lifeless his hand a bloody ruin after the ringing in his ear subsided the first thoughts that must have come to Jake's mind were hopes for salvation and lucky for him his was approaching Jake's friends were out from the Chevy Tahoe door slamming boot heels clinking against the asphalt on the way to the rescue were Tom Bradley Huck Smith and Joe Quincy these Tucson good old boys were no longer laughing but they also weren't fleeing in disgrace they were coming to write Jake's wrong or in the very least help him strike his mistake from the record the next time you come across me or anyone I know you'll pay eternally Darryl said towering over Jake are we clear crystal Jake said then came the cock from a 45 pointed Darryl or maybe his sidekick the short bushy hair Jew with a camera Jake stood and melodramatically waved his arms at his friends don't shoot he shouted them no more okay not tonight Huck said to Joe holding the 45 then to Darryl we'll let it go for now but we won't forget nor will I Darryl said remember my promise Mackenzie if there's a next time I'll be shooting to kill you Jake smiled and that's when Darryl knew there would be a next time in Jake's eyes the gunfight would be going down officially as unfinished business violence instigates further violence and this truth made Darryl's heart sink then Jake and his band of cowboy yuppies retreated into the warm bosom of their SUV there were sirens as the Chevy Tahoe sped away Darryl wondered what he would do next time he met the gays at Jake Mackenzie would it be possible to stop the bloodshed did he possess the restraint or wisdom to choose a path other than the murder and mayhem runaway yes Darryl could certainly run away back to Detroit Chicago New York's San Francisco wherever he had close ties in all those places and there were enough people in the big cities who thought his arrival was overdue but Darryl was already thinking Los Angeles in fulfillment of his father's dying wishes Darryl suspected the city of angels might be the last bastion where the imagined life was still possible and there was so much left to imagine so much left to live and love only of course as long as the sanctity of escape lasts because the day would come wouldn't it no matter how far he fled or how much success may or may not come his way escape would always be an illusion for the likes of Darryl breed love this was true just as ignorance cruelty and destruction were a way of life for Jake Mackenzie it was because of this truth of their lives Darryl knew that when he saw Mackenzie again he would react no differently than he already had that is he would be cool calm collected and brutally even handed perhaps rightly and perhaps wrongly so Darryl felt he alone was culpable for this new chapter emerging into his life but what could be typically written off as a civil business based firmly on the right to self-defense was already too marred by prejudiced circumstances to leave in the hands of the secular justice Darryl shot the judge's son in fact was Judge Thomas Mackenzie once sent Darryl's brother Kurt to prison on a controversial drug case Darryl knew the only hands he could trust in this recent caper were zoned even as they were already tainted smeared in doubt people like Jake Mackenzie and his lot are takers all the way Darryl said to Mel they are born takers and they will die takers incapable of seeing past their wooden box I'm just sorry this all had to happen over a chick mo said they laughed thanks reminding me Darryl said rolling his eyes I miss her already let's go mo said the guitar and amp were loaded into the 78 port Bronco and miraculously none of its tires were shot the night had been a dramatic detour from the civilization Darryl once knew the sirens were getting closer the world soon to be falling by the wayside and the lights were starting to shine from a few of the loss to think the gun fight all started over a woman neither Jake nor Darryl would likely see again the woman in white as they ran to the truck hopped in and sped down Congress Street mo heard clapping shouts cheers by then Darryl was too lost in his thoughts to realize that for some of the night's revelers he was already a folk hero a rock and roll gunslinger to whom no psychotic party pooper was unworthy of a bullet they drove in silence mo didn't yet bother prying Darryl with his litany of questions the darkness would soon be vanquished by dawn's magnificence and in Arizona especially such a radiant sky had a weird way of creeping into the heaviest of hearts and that's it for the first chapter from the death of rock and roll I hope you enjoyed the story so far if you'd like to purchase a coffee it's available out there in the ether and if you'd ever like to follow up with me for any questions or thoughts I'm always interested in talking shot or anything else you can reach me at Ryan Hyatt at gmail.com thank you [Music] thanks for tuning in lit listeners if you enjoyed the show please subscribe and leave a rating and comment on good pods and Apple podcast links in the show notes Wyatt the rock is lit mascot and I really appreciate your support until next time keep rocking and reading and getting lit rock is lit the kimmy kato show featured on pande on pod guests the kimmy kato show is a weekly exploration of Japanese pop culture in all its facets Kimmy and Jeremiah as hosts delve into various aspects of Japanese culture including music food fashion and film offering listeners a comprehensive and entertaining look at what makes Japanese pop culture unique and intriguing it is your invitation to Japan everybody I'm Dan I'm Doug I'm aware of the band who mistake hi I'm Takato Miyake walking force onto the girl bus bits hello I'm sincere from do you think hey oh guys this is Masa Takomi this is Chris Hart hi I am a sugizo you are listening to Kimmy kato show thank you Kimmy kato show is brought to you by evolve entertainment network pantheon podcast and Radio Candy Media you (upbeat music)