At Home in Hespeler

Former Coney Hatch guitarist/singer/songwriter Carl Dixon says of his autobiography, Strange Way to Live: A Story of Rock ‘n’ Roll Resurrection, in the Authors Note:

If you find it’s not up to your standards, I strongly urge you to just put it aside. Don’t waste time or thought or energy in condemning the writer. He has told his story as well as he could.

That’s alright, I suppose, but one wonders what’s the point of being a critic if not tocondemn the writers?

Fortunately, I quite enjoyed Strange Way to Live. It was fun reading a rock’n’roll-ography and I personally knew many of the small towns the performer trod as an up and comer. Dixon traipsed North Bay to Barry to Orangeville, all places within my realm: no Epson Downs or M1 to Newcastle here.

Dixon’s story is one of devotion to his craft, high success and struggling to keep his career going. After Coney Hatch he worked as a professional songwriter, did a stint in the past their prime Guess Who and another with April Wine. He tells his story with some humbleness and a sense of self-examination, without downplaying his accomplishments with over-modesty.

Strange Way to Live: A Story of Rock ‘n’ Roll Resurrection is a good, quick read, enjoyable even if you’re not specifically a Coney Hatch fan.

Book Review April Wine, Carl Dixon, Coney Hatch, Guess Who, Strange Way to Live