Book Musik: Conversation with author/musician ADELE BERTEI

 Listen to the show here: Adele Bertei on BOOK MUSIK

Tosh and Kimley discuss PETER AND THE WOLVES and WHY LABELLE MATTERS with author Adele Bertei. Adele started singing and playing music in the nascent punk scene in Cleveland with her dear friend Peter Laughner. Her memoir about that time is a stunningly poignant reminder of what an important role a single person can play in one’s life. It’s a vivid portrait of Peter as well as the music scene in both Cleveland and New York in the 1970s which were heady times to say the least. At the same time, Adele has had a longtime love of everything Labelle and she lets us know that they do indeed matter! Starting out as a more traditional “girl group” in the 60s, Labelle broke free of those constraints and then nothing could hold them back. Labelle shattered boundaries creatively and pushed for women’s rights with an all-female team behind them and supported the LGBTQ community long before anyone else.

Get Adele’s book tour schedule and further info about her on her website: www.adelebertei.com

Spotify playlist: 
open.spotify.com/playlist/2ShDGga…297d8b25b4974637

Apple playlist:
music.apple.com/us/playlist/book-…/pl.u-MRm9sq1yyaz

"Peter and the Wolves" by Adele Bertei (Smog Viel)

 

ISBN: 9780578639437

This small gem of a book is superb.  Adele Bertei's memoir of her brief life with (now) legendary Cleveland musician Peter Laughner is a very heartfelt look at their friendship. Bertei, after this time, became a member of the original No Wave band The Contortions and worked with Tears for Fears as well as Whitney Houston.  Laughner was in the classic band Pere Ubu and a key figure in the music scene out of Cleveland, Ohio.  One of those present that is felt through the music and the intensity of those times.  Bertei, in this brief but powerful writing, captures the essence of discovering music, narcotics, and social drinking.  At the time, she was a fellow musician and a member of Peter's band, 'Peter and the Wolves.' There are no cliches, only the strong characterizations of Laughter and the introduction to the world of CBGB's - all captured by Bertei's stark but descriptive prose.  Ninety-three pages long and not a wasted word. Along with Patti Smith's "Just Kids," Richard Hell's "I Dreamed I Was A Very Clean Tramp," Chris Stamey's "A Spy in the House of Loud," Richard Lloyd's "Everything is Combustible." Duncan Hannah's "Twentieth-Century Boy, you can add "Peter and the Wolves" as another classic literature regarding the punk years.