'Me vs. Me: Confessions of a Bipolar Rock and Roller'

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Photo credit: Michael Dober

Rob McCuen is best known as the drummer for Milwaukee bands Plasticland and Liquid Pink

Rob McCuen still holds a grudge against his hometown of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa for banishing automobile racing in 1968.

For certain, Shut Up and Listen – Me vs. Me: Confessions of a Bipolar Rock and Roller is not your ordinary memoir. Typically, the About the Author section at the end of a book takes a paragraph. Here, McCuen is off and running and gives the impression he is ramping up for the first chapter of his next book. In fact, he already has a title for next year’s book, Tales From the Crypt of a Working Class Hero, and says he has enough material to release a book a year for 10 years.

Best known as drummer for Milwaukee bands Plasticland and Liquid Pink, as well as front man for all-star combo Animal Magnets and duo Rob McCuen and the Ruins, Shut Up and Listen serves up rabbit punch-concise tales of crashing into Billy Joel’s limousine, getting kicked out of Disneyland and knocking out his Grandma in a case of mistaken identity.

The unrepentant rocker writes in a voice somewhere between Eddie Haskel and Jean Shepherd’s narrator in the movie A Christmas Story. The anecdotal stories, some of which might be the product of a less than reliable narrator, position the Iowa/Missouri/central Illinois native as Mark Twain on amphetamine,

What was most challenging and most rewarding in writing the book?

Finding someone like Paul Hoffman (editor/publisher) to expedite. I mean, everyone seems to believe in my abilities, so I just went with it. My only regret is it took 31years for the follow up book to Square Dancing in a Round House. I'm a much funnier writer now. My prose is like a switchblade—totally focused. I edited while manic in 2014 so that was a dangerous gamble, but it seemed to work out. I don't ever write drunk or stoned.

Did you have any doubts or were there things you felt you could not write about?

I never doubt my: 1) skill 2) passion 3) discipline

What does a memoirist owe his/her audience?

I owe everything to my audience. without them I’m nothing. It’s already up to 58,000th on the best seller list out of 8 million titles. I’m humbled by that. I think this baby can go top 10 fiction.

What story do you feel shows readers the truest depiction of you?

Without a doubt, “Sorry That Wasn’t Me... Confessions of a Manic Depressive.” It’s the only story in the book that isn't even remotely embellished. The piece has been used as a teaching tool in Colorado by my ex-sister's psychiatrist. I felt I should have been paid. This book ranks right up there with playing on twenty-three records in twenty-three states and fifteen countries, and with driving race cars.