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- Brooklyn’s Last Secret
- Drawn & Quarterly (2023)
The rock-and-roll lifestyle isn’t all glamour, groupies, drugs and debauchery. Well, sometimes it is. But not for Major Threat. A band composed of working musicians (the members have a series of other jobs to cover the bills), the group isn’t exactly rocking stadiums. But the promise of a summer tour across the continental U.S. proves hard to resist. And the story begins.
This is award-winning New York City cartoonist Leslie Stein’s first full-length work of fiction. Brooklyn’s Last Secret from Montreal’s Drawn & Quarterly is a love song to the highs and lows of life on the road. With an eye for idiosyncratic detail and a deep well of affection for the oddballs that heed the siren call of the musician’s life, no matter the cost, Stein has fashioned a true ode to rock.
It’s all in there. Anyone who has been in a band knows the details of this life well. The endless hours driving from one gig to another. The terrible hummus and limp carrots supplied by venues. The necessary tour fashions like golden eagle pendants, raggedy T-shirts and sunglasses. Plus all the music, booze and sex that makes up the parade of days.
But first, an introduction is in order.
On drums, there’s Ed. Pushing 41 and increasingly out of touch, Ed anchors the band and grows an awesome tour beard in the process.
Paul is on bass. Although he doesn’t say much and is mostly prone to mumbling and sleeping between gigs, there is an air of mystery about the man. He seems to know almost everyone and possesses an air of implacable ease and comfort in his own skin.
Guitarist Lilith is the opposite. A major Paul McCartney fan, addicted to cannabis edibles and looking for love in all the wrong places, she is trying hard to get over a previous breakup, but not having much luck. Meanwhile, the band’s new singer Marco, the youngest member of the band, is ducking his past, specifically his famous father.
This disparate group heeds the siren call of the road and charts a course from one low-rent gig to another. After a hometown show in Brooklyn, the first next stop is Philly. As they slowly make their ways across the states, relationships change and develop. Through it all, Paul remains a profound mystery.
Some shows go better than others. Richmond, Virginia, not so great. The legendary Red Rocks, a bit better. Los Angeles, aces!
An ongoing source of joy in the book lives in the trivia contests that surface on the drives between gigs. Things like the best name for an uncool person. Nerd, goober, dork, square? Here’s a hint: the winning word starts with a “D” and ends with a “B.”
There’s a trivia category for things you can’t say in New York City. The winner? “I don’t like Prince.”
What about the category for top hunky tough guys? One word: Kristofferson.
Best rock riff: Black Sabbath, Hendrix, anything from AC/DC? Paul’s winning answer might just surprise you.
Each member of the band is given a dedicated time and space to undertake their own personal journey.
From random hook-ups to vintage fashion finds to accidental substance ingestion, anything that happens out on the road pretty much does.
Stein’s lovingly observed vignettes demonstrate a wealth of lived experience. In addition to her art, she played in an indie band called Prince Rupert’s Drops, ergo she knows her material intimately.
Brooklyn’s Last Secret is a warm, frequently hilarious tribute to the vagaries of the touring lifestyle, a true thing of joy. ![[Tyee]](/design-article.thetyee.ca/ui/img/yellowblob.png){kind=small}
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