Synopses & Reviews
Ask a young girl what she wants to be when she grows up, and there's a good chance she'll say "a rock star." Ask a rock star what she wants to be when she grows up, and it gets a bit more complicated . . .
By the early nineties, singer-songwriter and former Blake Babies member Juliana Hatfield was in a position most aspiring alternative rockers only dream of: Her solo career was taking off. She was on the cover of Spin and Sassy. Ben Stiller directed the video for her song "Spin the Bottle" from the Reality Bites film soundtrack. She was a featured guest on My So-Called Life. Then, after canceling a European tour to treat severe depression and failing to produce another "hit," she spent a decade releasing well reviewed albums on indie labels and performing in ever-smaller clubs. A few years ago, then in her thirties, she found herself quietly reading the New Yorker on a filthy couch in the tiny dressing room of a punk club, and asked herself, "Why am I still doing this?"
By turns wryly funny and woundingly sincere, When I Grow Up takes readers behind the scenes of rock life as Hatfield recounts her best and worst days, the origins of her songs, the source of her woes, and her quest to find a new purpose in life.
No longer willing to play a kid's game by kid's rules, Hatfield resolved to take a year off and experiment with being a civilian. No performing or songwriting, and lots of everything else. When the year had gone by, rather than making her decide to pack it in and retire to a life of anonymous respectability, it reawakened her creative passion. She resolved to take charge of her career like a grown-up and write the great, untapped songs that she knew were still in her. This newfound determination led directly to her eagerly awaited new album, aptly named How to Walk Away, the most energetic, polished, and creative work of her music career.
When I Grow Up is more than a musician's memoir; it is a rich and revealing tour through an extraordinary mind. Sometimes hilarious, sometimes somber, and always insightful, it is rewarding reading not only for her fans, but for anyone who enjoys a truthful, beautifully written, real-life story of success, struggle, and rebirth.
Review
* From her humble beginnings as a Berklee College of Music piano student to her brief critical success in the 1990s alternative rock explosion to her latest side project, Some Girls, first-time author Hatfield chronicles more than three storied decades in professional music. Alternating between a present-day cross-country tour and recollections from earlier years, the result is a mixed, overstuffed bag. Hatfield, raised, trained and tested (first as pop trio Blake Babies) in Boston, charmingly recollects her experience as a serious female musician with no desire to appear sexualized before her audience; readers will cringe alongside her as she awkwardly rejects a hotel room photo-shoot suggestion: “Why did they always want me to jump up and down on the bed? Were photographers constantly nudging Kurt Cobain to jump up and down on beds?” Hatfield makes a compelling witness to the alternative rock boom ushered in by Nirvanas success, and is both lucid and thorough explaining the bureaucratic minutiae of the music industrys new world order, dominated by the massive influence of star-maker Clear Channel. As a writer, Hatfield is humble and personable, if at times tedious; a clunky, symbolic prologue—about being unable to buy a pre-show shot of Patron with her club-issued drink tickets—is an early indicator of the books need for further edit. Still, fans of Hatfields bratty, bedeviled pop stylings should enjoy these glimpses into her life.
(Sept.) (
Publishers Weekly, October 13th, 2008)
""...a tour dairy-cum-memoir"" (The Guardian, October 30th 2008)
Review
From her humble beginnings as a Berklee College of Music piano student to her brief critical success in the 1990s alternative rock explosion to her latest side project, Some Girls, first-time author Hatfield chronicles more than three storied decades in professional music. Alternating between a present-day cross-country tour and recollections from earlier years, the result is a mixed, overstuffed bag. Hatfield, raised, trained and tested (first as pop trio Blake Babies) in Boston, charmingly recollects her experience as a serious female musician with no desire to appear sexualized before her audience; readers will cringe alongside her as she awkwardly rejects a hotel room photo-shoot suggestion: “Why did they always want me to jump up and down on the bed? Were photographers constantly nudging Kurt Cobain to jump up and down on beds?” Hatfield makes a compelling witness to the alternative rock boom ushered in by Nirvana’s success, and is both lucid and thorough explaining the bureaucratic minutiae of the music industry’s new world order, dominated by the massive influence of star-maker Clear Channel. As a writer, Hatfield is humble and personable, if at times tedious; a clunky, symbolic prologue—about being unable to buy a pre-show shot of Patron with her club-issued drink tickets—is an early indicator of the book’s need for further edit. Still, fans of Hatfield’s bratty, bedeviled pop stylings should enjoy these glimpses into her life.
(Sept.) (
Publishers Weekly, October 13th, 2008)
"...a tour dairy-cum-memoir" (The Guardian, October 30th 2008)
Synopsis
As a young girl what she wants to be when she grows up, and there's a good chance she'll say rock star. Ask a rock star what she wants to be when she grows up, and it gets a bit more complicated.
In the early 1990s, Juliana Hatfield was arguably the most popular female singer in America. She was on the cover of SPIN and SASSY; Ben Stiller directed the video for her song from the Reality Bites soundtrack; she did a guest spot on the Christmas episode of My So Called Life. In the next few years she'd cancel her European tour to treat severe depression, fail to produce another hit, and get dropped by her major label. For the next decade she put out well-reviewed albums in indie labels and toured progressively smaller clubs.
A few years ago, now in her late thirties, she found herself quietly reading THE NEW YORKER on a filthy couch in a tiny dressing room of a punk club, and asked herself, Should I really keep doing this?
Wryly funny, woundingly sincere, and always readable, WHEN I GROW UP takes you behind the scenes of rock life as recounts her best days and her worst days, the origins of her songs and the source of her woes, working towards the moment when, at last, the meaning of it all became clear to her.
Synopsis
By the early nineties, singer-songwriter and former Blake Babies member Juliana Hatfields solo career was taking off: She was on the cover of Spin and Sassy. Ben Stiller directed the video for her song ""Spin the Bottle"" from the Reality Bites film soundtrack. Then, after canceling a European tour to treat severe depression and failing to produce another ""hit,"" she spent a decade releasing well reviewed albums on indie labels and performing in ever-smaller clubs. A few years ago, she found herself reading the New Yorker on a filthy couch in the tiny dressing room of a punk club and asked, ""Why am I still doing this?"" By turns wryly funny and woundingly sincere, When I Grow Up takes you behind the scenes of rock life as Hatfield recounts her best and worst days, the origins of her songs, the source of her woes, and her quest to find a new purpose in life.
Synopsis
By the early nineties, singer-songwriter and former Blake Babies member Juliana Hatfield’s solo career was taking off: She was on the cover of Spinand Sassy. Ben Stiller directed the video for her song "Spin the Bottle" from the Reality Bitesfilm soundtrack. Then, after canceling a European tour to treat severe depression and failing to produce another "hit," she spent a decade releasing well reviewed albums on indie labels and performing in ever-smaller clubs. A few years ago, she found herself reading the New Yorkeron a filthy couch in the tiny dressing room of a punk club and asked, "Why am I still doing this?" By turns wryly funny and woundingly sincere, When I Grow Uptakes you behind the scenes of rock life as Hatfield recounts her best and worst days, the origins of her songs, the source of her woes, and her quest to find a new purpose in life.
Synopsis
Advance Praise for When I Grow Up
"An unusually candid and revealing portrait of an artist and unlikely rock star. In this thoughtful, highly readable, and sometimes painful memoir, Juliana Hatfield evokes both the everyday trials of the touring musician and the occasional moments of transcendence and connection that make it all worthwhile. Anyone interested in pop music, or curious about the pressures placed on women rockers, should read this book ."—Tom Perrotta, author of Little Children and The Abstinence Teacher
"Well written and heartfelt, When I Grow Up is a real pleasure. I have always loved Juliana Hatfield's music, and I've been intellectually curious about the woman behind the songs. I was thrilled to read more about her in her own words."—Janeane Garofalo
"There has never been a book like this. Juliana Hatfield reveals, with a unique emotional honesty and precision, the inner world of a rock artist. She writes like a dream and has a remarkable ability to convey details of the road, the muse, and the heart."—Danny Goldberg, author of Bumping Into Geniuses
"A candid and mordantly funny peek backstage at the true life of a passionate artist."—Janice Erlbaum, author of Girlbomb and Have You Found Her: A Memoir
About the Author
Juliana Hatfield is a singer-songwriter who came to prominence in the 1980s as a member of the band Blake Babies. Her vocals have been praised as "bewitching" by the New York Times. Her latest album, How to Walk Away, was released in August 2008.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: August 1: Hoboken.
Chapter 2: Vision.
Chapter 3: August 2: Philadelphia.
Chapter 4: In the Woodshed.
Chapter 5: August 3: New York City.
Chapter 6: Angel Girl.
Chapter 7: August 4: North Bergen to Boston.
Chapter 8: The Interview Interview.
Chapter 9: August 5: Cambridge.
Chapter 10: Sassy.
Chapter 11: August 7: Cleveland.
Chapter 12: Big Money.
Chapter 13: August 8: Columbus.
Chapter 14: The Story of "My Sister".
Chapter 15: August 9: Indianapolis.
Chapter 16: Cool Rock Boys.
Chapter 17: August 10: Chicago.
Chapter 18: Guns and Roses and Me.
Chapter 19: August 11: Iowa City.
Chapter 20: My Idol.
Chapter 21: August 12: Minneapolis.
Chapter 22: The Harpsichord.
Chapter 23: August 13: Minneapolis to Kearney.
Chapter 24: Hair and Makeup.
Chapter 25. August 14: Denver.
Chapter 26. August 15: Denver to Wendover.
Chapter 27. Jeff Buckley.
Chapter 28. August 16: Wendover to San Francisco.
Chapter 29. August 17: San Francisco.
Chapter 30. The Telecommunications Act of 1996.
Chapter 31. August 18: San Francisco to Los Angeles.
Chapter 32. August 19: L.A.
Chapter 33. Demons.
Chapter 34. August 20: San Diego.
Chapter 35. Windows.
Chapter 36. August 21: Tucson.
Chapter 37. Begging to Be Dropped.
Chapter 38. August 22: Albuquerque.
Chapter 39. August 23: Albuquerque to Oklahoma City.
Chapter 40. August 24: Lawrence.
Chapter 41. Hunger.
Chapter 42. August 25: St. Louis.
Chapter 43. The Last Leg.
Chapter 44. The Year of No Music.
Chapter 45. How to Walk Away.
Epilogue.