Life on Planet Rock: From Guns N' Roses to Nirvana, a Backstage Journey through Rock's Most Debauched Decade

What can a book reviewer say about a memoir written by the editor of RIP magazine and endorsed by Cameron Crowe, Scott Ian, Paul Stanley, Alice Cooper, Lemmy Kilmister, and one of the founders of MTV? Lonn Friend was in the inner circle of Larry and Althea Flynt when he was offered the editorial helm of Flynt Publishing's fledgling rock magazine. For seven years, RIP magazine chronicled the American heavy metal scene as it transformed from the heyday of hair metal to the era of grunge rock. Friend's memoir marks a critical contribution to the history of heavy metal. It reads like an impeccably verified collection of bar-room tales from a top notch storyteller. The opening chapter alone is worth the paperback cover price - it represents some of the first new material published about Guns N' Roses in the last decade. Lonn Friend greenlighted Guns N Roses' cover shot in 1988, months before Appetite for Destruction went platinum. He cavorted with the band as well (as members of Metallica and Skid Row) well into the Use Your Illusion era. In Life on Planet Rock, Friend reveals for the first time how well he knew of Slash's heroin addiction during their 1990 interview. (Slash himself has now gone on record about the addiction, so Friend was comfortable revealing the whole story.) Other chapters focus on the legendary antics of Alice Cooper, The Who, KISS, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Bon Jovi, and Motley Crue. This book is a Who's Who highlight guide to the brief reign RIP magazine -- only with the wisdom of hindsight and the freedom to tell all! Friend turns highly introspective in the closing chapter, examining his own turbulent relationship with the music industry and rock journalism.

"Life On Planet Rock" by Lonn Friend is a tremendous book written by a man who is not only an outstanding literay legend but also a passionate fan of the music he covered. As the editor of RIP Magazine from 1987 - 1994, Lonn Friend and his staff took the readers, backstage and behind the scenes of some of the most monumental moments in the history of rock. Because of Lonn's credibility with the artists, RIP was given unprecedented access to the making of many of the era's monsterous albums such as Metallica's "Black Album" and Guns N' Roses' "Use Your Illusion". Each month the reader was allowed to slip into the shadows and find out what really happened on the road as Lonn was given exclusive access of some of the biggest tours in history including Guns N' Roses, Def Leppard, and Bon Jovi. As a reader I lived vicariously through the words in RIP and I often found myself wondering what it was like to be that "fly on the wall". In "Life On Planet Rock", Lonn Friend shares that "fly on the wall" view in a very personal way. Not only does he give further insight into the personal lives of the likes of Alice Cooper, Metallica and Aerosmith, but Lonn also conveys how many of the artists and events he covered affected his life and values. For years I devoured the monthly articles that graced the pages of RIP and now more than a decade later I have found myself more enthrawled than ever with each chapter of "Life On Planet Rock".

This is the most entertaining and literary-styled work I've read in a long time. As author Lonn Friend writes about his adventures as a rock journalist covering artists from Pearl Jam to Metallica to even Bon Jovi, his writing takes on the character of each musical style. More subtle is each chapter has a different angle on what can define "friendship." This reader, who wrote for RIP's rival publication HIT PARADER finished the book, and realized, "Hey, Lonn Friend ain't that bad of a guy, just a bit punky, bratty, and--like most rock writers--insecure about the whole biz, including whether he was a rock star's 'friend'."

RIP Magazine was the heavy metal bible of its day. No one else covered all the hijinks of hair metal better than RIP and Lonn Friend. This book relives some of the best behind the scenes moments of that time. I devoured it the same way I devoured "The Devil Wears Prada" or my beloved US Magazine. Lonn was the fly on the wall and we all get to have a peek. Having spent 15 years paying my rent by working backstage at rock concerts around the world, I have to say this is the best tell-all memoir I have ever read. The only bummer is, that I wanted MORE! Keep writing Lonn, the world needs your sense of humour and the rockers of today need to know how it was really done back when Metal Ruled the World! Whether you are in the business or just interested in someone else's business this book is for you.

As a child of the days of hair metal, I was an avid reader of RIP Magazine, Lonn Friend's brainchild. Lonn was my hero. RIP was a fan's magazine for the intelligent hard rocker. It covered bands that I loved, with meaty features and fantastic photographs. I lived for the day each month that the new issue hit my mailbox. In his memoir "Life on Planet Rock", Lonn describes the birth of the magazine and many of the adventures he's had since then. The book is divided into chapters about Lonn's encounters with the bands, his take on their music and personalities, and his own growth as a human walking on Planet Rock. It's an incredibly interesting read. Because RIP was a substantial magazine with integrity, many artists trusted Lonn and granted him access to their inner lives, and he writes about them now with the eye of a rock sage. But he also analyzes their personalities with the kindness and compassion of a fan. Axl, Slash, Steven Tyler, Ian Astbury, Kurt Cobain, and countless others are all mentioned and understood as humans, not just as artists. "Life on Planet Rock" isn't just a book of stories about rock stars; it's also the deeply personal journey of a man. On that journey, he becomes a rock fan, a writer, a husband, a father, a traveler, an A & R man, a success, and a failure. And then he comes back again. The best chapter, by far, is the longest and the most personal - "Live and Let Clive." In this chapter, Lonn goes into detail about his departure from journalism and into the music industry as an A & R man for Arista records. Lonn lets you into his life, and the time at which he most needs to be understood as a human. His stint at Arista didn't go well, but he never lost his faith in the music. The underlying current in the book is Lonn's love of music and love of the people who make it. If you are a fan of rock music at all, you will love this book. If you care about the human condition, you will love this book. It's a good chunk of both.