It’s so easy to forget how sold out we all are. I don’t say it to be an asshole or self-righteous dude, but the flow of plastic American success society is so strong that it’s easy to get swept up. One day you’re stoked because you did a good reading and made some good art, but then that sucks because everybody is selling film rights but you. The competition thing gets so tired. There really is beauty in making your own culture, doing your own thing, living your own life - free of the slave brain.

I sorta feel like an early 80’s indie rock band that toured some towns, spread the seed. I may not have commercial success, but I look out at the landscape and feel like I’ve influenced some people that I respect. I can see it in the readings, in the words, attitude. For me, it’s a matter of endurance.

Book Expo was originally sponsored by the American Booksellers Association, but it’s been co-opted by Reed Exhibitions. It’s all about coin, and the ABA hasn’t exactly been the visionary for their members (ref: Amazon.com and online bookselling). Reed runs it now, and though this year will be smaller, they’re making money. What it’s really all about is the trading of international rights.

This year, however, it’s about a new Indie e-publisher called Nobody Rocks Press, and on May 28, 2009, we’re inviting the city of New York to Think Coffee at 1 Bleecker for a seriously out-of-hand literary event. Punch up your Thursday with the world premiere reading of Theodore Hamm’s novel, Hank Thompson’s Blues. Follow that up with John Buffalo Mailer’s account of post-Katrina New Orleans, and then slam back that shot of tequila in the form of Jason Flores-Williams’ The Last Stand of Mr America.

Typically, you need to look long and hard for the hip event. Yes, PGW’s party on Saturday night is always welcomed, but it’s no secret. The Firecracker awards are done, and the other good stuff is either undercover or very high-end. We at Nobody Rocks relish transparency. It’s not a party ’til it’s standing-room-only. So let’s do it. Bring it on! Nobody Rocks Press’ Book Expo Literary Extravaganza

And check out our new Fan page: NOBODY ROCKS’ FANS!

It’s available on the Kindle at this time, and as soon as the agreement is in place, Sony will carry it. For those without device, head over to Google Books and read excerpts. It should be there shortly. Of course, it’s also available on the iPhone and other smart phones.

Ted’s book is a biographical account of the third negro league baseball player to cross the color line in professional baseball. Incredibly intimate, it’s told in a first-person narrative and explores a forgotten figure’s life and his struggles with alcohol. We’ve all heard of Jackie Robinson and Satchel Paige, and now Hamm exposes the tragic tale of their troubled contemporary.

Nobody Rocks has ticketed your ride through an existential journey of sex clubs in Jason Flores-Williams’ The Last Stand of Mr America, and the ride continues in the underbelly of Americana, and the lost truth in an individual’s history in Hamm’s Hank Thompson’s Blues.

It ripped into the emptiness of our fame culture. We don’t strive and sacrifice for individualized meaning. We don’t strive and sacrifice for something beautiful or higher. But we’ll kill each other to be on TV. We’ll piss on the heart of life to hear our name on something as stupid as Fox News. The lust for that 15 minutes has become the driving force in American existence.

Hello Herman needs to be seen in high schools, colleges, community theaters, and on street corners across this country. It needs to be held up as a mirror so that we see what we’ve become - a society that possesses so much potential, but like the wasted youth in the play, is sentencing itself to death before it ever even started to live.

Opening with the local vibe was Gordy Grundy, Los Angeles Writer and Artist. Sharp, concise, and witty, he set the tone. Following was New York performance artist, Missy Galore. A Shamanatrix of the “n”th degree, she’s been stirring up the tree nymphs in Marin County. She blessed us with an Earth Day Incantation.

Finally, Nobody Rocks author, Jason Flores-Williams, ripped through 3 sections of The Last Stand of Mr America while interspersing more recent inspiration as a change of speed.

A great crew celebrated including the Sony e-Reader team and revolutionary publisher, PM Press. The ultra-ultra art journalists of Flavorpill were also in attendance. Obviously, it didn’t end at Stories. Closing occurred at Echo Park’s Gold Room. Highly recommended.

See you at the next reading in NYC on May 28. Drop us a line if you want to get on our mailing list.

Here’s the press release. If you’re ready to participate in something cool, or you’re tired of reading about stimulus packages that drag down the rich, drop by the our party and see if anything pisses you off or causes you to get pissed. Cheers.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NOBODY ROCKS PRESS THROWS LAUNCH PARTY FOR CULT CLASSIC AT STORIES BOOKS

TIME: 7:30 PM

DATE: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22

PLACE: STORIES BOOKS, 1716 SUNSET, LA, CA 90026.

WWW.NOBODYROCKS.COM

THE FIRST ALTERNATIVE EBOOK PRESS LAUNCHES CULT CLASSIC

WWW.NOBODYROCKS.COM

Seattle, WA –Nobody Rocks, the first American indie press to publish novels focused on digital formats such as the Kindle and Sony Reader, will launch with The Last Stand of Mr. America on April 15. Jason Flores-Williams’ cult classic was published in the UK in 2002, but never officially released in the United States.

“The emergence of Ebooks means new opportunities for less commercial novels that deal with controversial issues,” says Nobody Rocks Founder, Greg Aden. “We need books to match the intensity of our times.”

Last Stand is about a lost corporate soul trying to find meaning in plastic America. His life a prison of work, apathy and television, save for his sex club explorations and gallows sense of humor. “Jason Flores-Williams is an all-American outlaw and edgewalker in the tradition of Jack Kerouac, Charles Bukowski and Biggie Smalls. The Last Stand of Mr. America cuts into our heart of darkness with no bullshit bedside manner and no anesthesia.” David Gates, Preston Falls, Jernigan.

Flores-Williams, who has been featured on CNN, NPR and Air America, is also known for his political activism. He wrote the High Times “Call To Resistance” and shut down Rockefeller Center in protest against the war. He is a frequent contributor to the Brooklyn Rail, Artillery magazine and does socio-cultural commentary for WBAI radio in NYC. Recently, feature film righs to Last Stand have been acquired by Melting Pictures, an independent film production company in Los Angeles.

“Disturb the powerful, empower the disturbed,” says Flores-Williams. “They’ve already got TV – so why else be a writer?”

For a REVIEW COPY of The Last Stand of Mr. America and/or to interview Jason Flores-Williams or Greg Aden:

1)Respond to this email with name, address and phone.

2)Call:
Moreno Media
451 S Main St. Loft 1112
Los Angeles, CA 90013
Phone: 415-826-9211

Amazon doesn’t require a Bowker-issued ISBN to publish and list an electronic title. I think this is a step forward, but when you consider that Bowker sells this data to etailers, libraries, and other organizations, it’s hard to stage a revolt when that revolt is potentially against Discoverability.

With this, I realized that I’d failed the first test of Nobody Rocks. A path had cleared for an opening volley, and I had withdrawn. The struggle raged, “Should I have dis’ed the Man and created my own identifier, or just pay the Man to ensure that my message reaches as many minds as possible. Sure, Amazon is doing well, but how many people really own Kindles today? …and are Kindle-owners the revolutionaries of tomorrow? We must hope.

So yes, I caved and bought my ISBNs. While ISBN-10s are supposedly running out, Bowker still assigns one when selling the ISBN-13. I assigned one today to the forthcoming title, Hank Thompson’s Blues by Theodore Hamm. Bowker assigned me an ISBN-13 of 9780981964713, and an ISBN-10 of 09819647111. Unfortunately, this ISBN-10 has ELEVEN digits.

Remember that the Man is weary, and ready for retirement.

NOBODY ROCKS IS FIRST UNDERGROUND EBOOK PRESS IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE!!!

Fine, it’s the way the gig works. But can we cut the bull and admit that the only difference between a publicist making NRP look like “big time hot-shit” and us looking like cheesy-ass self promoters – is 10 or 15 grand?

Don’t believe the hype. It’s ALL self-promotion. There is an Agent-Publicist Industrial Complex that you have to go through to sell your product and buy a chunk of fame. Writers with money kick down a few grand a month to their publicist, and their names keep mysteriously showing up in every article having to do with contemporary writing and culture. Rich get richer, poor get poorer –nothing you don’t already know.

Alright, we’ve got to go call the publicist. See if we can get him down to four or five grand – or at least find a way to steal his “hot list” from him.

In short, he loves the Kindle, but he fears device domination. He assumes that Amazon will rule the space because of DRM, i.e. can’t transfer content between devices, and the Kindle’s direct wi-fi connection to their store.

Bringing down the Man is always a worthwhile argument. If ebooks take off, Amazon has a head start. However, the market is nascent. In fact, it’s not profitable, and Amazon is assuming the cost of R&D, marketing, and content acquisition. If they aren’t creating the market, they’re at least driving it with dollars and innovation.

Somebody has to take this hit, and Amazon is the most well-positioned (due to their dominant etailing position) to accept it. Let them run with it. Eventually, industry and consumer pressure will force them to sell non-DRM content, and superior technology might allow a competitor to catch them.

Nobody Rocks is rolling out their books on the Kindle as well as other devices. Tell us what you need. We’ll get it to you.