The Brian Jonestown Massacre are one of the great contemporary cult American rock and roll bands. At the peak of their anarchic reign in the San Francisco underground of the mid ’90s their psychedelic output was almost as prodigious and impressive as their narcotic intake.
Immortalised in one of the most unforgettable rock and roll documentaries of all time, DIG! alongside their friends/rivals/nemeses, The Dandy Warhol’s, in their early years when the US were obsessed with grunge, the BJM felt like a ’60s anachronism. But with albums like Their Satanic Majesties Second Request and Thank God for Mental Illness, and incendiary, often chaotic, live shows, they burnished their legend as true believers and custodians of the original west coast flame; a privilege and responsibility which continues to this day when the band have a bigger and more dedicated audience than ever.
Joel Gion’s memoir tells the story of the first ten years of the band from the Duke Seat. A righteous account of the hazards and pleasures of life on and off the road, In the Jingle Jangle Jungle takes use behind the scenes of the supposed behind the scenes film that cemented the band’s legend. Funny as hell, shot through with the innocence and wonder of a ‘percussionist’ whose true role is that of the band’s ‘spirit animal’, In the Jingle Jangle Jungle is destined to take its place alongside cult classics in the pantheon of rock and roll literature like Playing the Bass with Three Left Hands, Head On, and 45 by Bill Drummond. It will also feature a foreword by Anton Newcombe, fellow member and founder of The Brian Jonestown Massacre.
Immortalised in one of the most unforgettable rock and roll documentaries of all time, DIG! alongside their friends/rivals/nemeses, The Dandy Warhol’s, in their early years when the US were obsessed with grunge, the BJM felt like a ’60s anachronism. But with albums like Their Satanic Majesties Second Request and Thank God for Mental Illness, and incendiary, often chaotic, live shows, they burnished their legend as true believers and custodians of the original west coast flame; a privilege and responsibility which continues to this day when the band have a bigger and more dedicated audience than ever.
Joel Gion’s memoir tells the story of the first ten years of the band from the Duke Seat. A righteous account of the hazards and pleasures of life on and off the road, In the Jingle Jangle Jungle takes use behind the scenes of the supposed behind the scenes film that cemented the band’s legend. Funny as hell, shot through with the innocence and wonder of a ‘percussionist’ whose true role is that of the band’s ‘spirit animal’, In the Jingle Jangle Jungle is destined to take its place alongside cult classics in the pantheon of rock and roll literature like Playing the Bass with Three Left Hands, Head On, and 45 by Bill Drummond. It will also feature a foreword by Anton Newcombe, fellow member and founder of The Brian Jonestown Massacre.
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Reviews
'[while] peppered with breezy humour, it pulls a few punches in exposing the uglier side to life in a struggling rock band'
Tales told through the prism of San Franciscian subterranean psychescenster Joel Gion. Casted into the fray via the vanguard of an embryonic yet already near mythical BJM brethren, bubbling up from faded Victorian grandeur bedsit land streets, as a new youth guitar scene thus unravels into existence. Surely genuine psychedelia's last stand
A new postmodern Beat sensation. Gion steers us through the hedonism and headaches of the BJM's alternative America with spontaneous-prose sincerity, ecstatic warmth and a Brautiganesque eye for the absurd. Love it.
Provides a fresh perspective to the fabled events witnessed in Dig! plus a panoply of debauched tales from Gion's personal life... Gion is a fount of vibrant storytelling
I shot the perfect bootleg video of Joel with the BJM once: he's menacing but perfectly in the pocket with his tambourine and I just couldn't turn away. Damnit, now he's got me glued to these pages in a similar way... I think my brother knows how to feel.
A riotous, yet strangely graceful walk through a life of deep bohemian adventure
Candid, insightful, and by turns both hilarious and regretful... Engaging, unique and endlessly quotable, In the Jingle Jangle Jungle is a must-read for fans of turn-of-the-millennium psychedelic rock 'n' roll.
The memoir draws to a close as the band tours their 1998 album, Strung Out in Heaven, and such are the insightful, acerbic details presented here, one can only hope that Gion is prepping memoir number two