Kid Centrifuge is a rock band with dreams no bigger than other rock bands: ho-hum, tour and get signed and be famous and change the universe. Alas, unlike their rock-music forebears, our heroes live in a world that has largely moved on to techno, dance and pop. Sure, the music industry is still littered with double-crossers and backbiters, but now they're looking for DJs, and maybe guitar champions need no longer apply. So the Kids tilt against the same old windmills musicians have battled forever, but with a suspicion that the same old animating dream -- all you need is a guitar and a great song and you'll make a million bucks-- is dead. That gives their grass-roots aspirations more than a little desperation, and bad decisions ensue. War On Sound gets inside its four featured musicians -- Amanda, the singer; Sebastian, the guitarist; Kate, the drummer; and Scott, the bass player and angsty piloting force -- the way Don DeLillo did in Great Jones Street and Roddy Doyle did in The Commitments. These talented kids wage war, blinkers in place, faith challenged...they have big success and big failure, and they keep playing. War On Sound is by turns hilarious and profound, and illimunates the contemporary music scene better than any recent novel.
Available in paperback, eBook and audiobook
praise for war on sound
“War On Sound reminds me of ambition, and the craziness of applying ambition to the mixed-up world of rock and roll specifically, and music more generally.”
— John Munson, Semisonic and The Twilight Hours
“War On Sound depicts an accurate and very evocative representation of life in the music business. An entertaining and thought-provoking novel.”
— Mark Reznicek, Toadies
“War On Sound beautifully and vividly captures the crazy, heartbreaking, thrilling, monomaniacal dream of being in a rock band.”
— Marty Beller, drummer for They Might Be Giants
“War on Sound is a Homeric undertaking, a transcontinental story about four musicians trying to navigate a ruthless industry. Harris knows his subject and the novel crackles with realism. It’s filled with sex, drugs and rock and roll, of course, but also dwells in youthful ideals, heartbreak and the uncommon joy of small victories. It will resonate with anyone who’s ever tried to make a living doing something they love.”
— Chris Collingwood, Fountains of Wayne and Look Park
“We’ve been through the various rungs of the indie rock scene, and Harris gets it right on so many levels. His book is flashback-inducing and accurately portrays what it’s like to be a struggling band in the indie scene.”
— Tommy Blank, Quiet Company
“Having spent most of my twenties in a touring rock band, I know a thing or two about the perils and pleasures of the rock and roll lifestyle. Harris lovingly captures the pathos and exhilaration of life on the road, allowing you to ride shotgun in a Ford Econoline.”
— Ross Flournoy, The Broken West and Apex Manor
