Rock and Roll Archaeologist: How I Chased Down Kurt's Stratocaster, the Layla Guitar, and Janis's Boa

Overview

Dubbed the "Indiana Jones of Rock 'n' Roll" by Seattle’s The Rocket, Peter Blecha’s life reads like a dream come true. From an adolescence spent hoarding 45s, he turned an obsession with music memorabilia into an amazing career, amassing an astonishing collection of rock-and-roll artifacts while hobnobbing with music industry bigwigs and helping to establish a world-famous museum. Here Blecha recounts his favorite adventures in the field, from porchside interviews with Jimi Hendrix’s father to haggling with ...

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Overview

Dubbed the "Indiana Jones of Rock 'n' Roll" by Seattle’s The Rocket, Peter Blecha’s life reads like a dream come true. From an adolescence spent hoarding 45s, he turned an obsession with music memorabilia into an amazing career, amassing an astonishing collection of rock-and-roll artifacts while hobnobbing with music industry bigwigs and helping to establish a world-famous museum. Here Blecha recounts his favorite adventures in the field, from porchside interviews with Jimi Hendrix’s father to haggling with Courtney Love for Kurt Cobain mementos to a tense auction battle for Eric Clapton’s “Layla” guitar. The book also relates his involvement with Microsoft mogul Paul Allen’s quest to build a gallery devoted to Jimi Hendrix, which, with Blecha’s help, eventually became the renowned Experience Music Project. Blecha’s story is a unique celebration of fandom taken to obsessive lengths, culminating in a lifetime of incredible experiences — and a basement overflowing with the stuff rock-and-roll dreams are made of.

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Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly
A Seattle native, Blecha tells of how his love of music led to collecting records from local bands. He became so intent on collecting, he dropped out of college to feed his music memorabilia addiction. Imparting what he learned by collecting, Blecha gives an informative discourse on the Pacific Northwest's unique and vibrant musical past, covering the seminal hit "Louie, Louie" (recorded by the Tacoma band the Wailers in 1960), Seattle-born Jimi Hendrix's early days and the grunge explosion of the 1990s. The author eventually became involved with the Experience Music Project, Seattle's interactive museum/tribute to Jimi Hendrix and the area's music scene. Although he sold his precious collection to the museum and, as the museum's archivist, collected someone else's stash, Blecha continued to thirst for knowledge, and his writing conveys the excitement that accompanies each new acquisition. In addition to sharing his recollections of tracking down Hendrix's personal record collection and some of the world's most famous and obscure guitars, Blecha expresses unoriginal thoughts on the collecting phenomenon. But Blecha isn't trying to make history, he's trying to save it, and diehard music fans will applaud his efforts. Photos. (Nov.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
This is the true story of how fanatical music memorabilia and record collector Blecha (Taboo Tunes) parlayed his passion into a dream job at the Experience Music Project (EMP) in Seattle. Part 1 of the book is dedicated to his years searching for any and all materials relating to Pacific Northwest music, while the rest describes his ascension to the post of senior curator at EMP. With millions of dollars at his discretion, he gleefully acquires countless historic pieces of rock'n'roll memorabilia, including Bob Dylan's first guitar, Elvis Presley's motorcycle jacket, and Jimi Hendrix's personal record collection. Though the book can be tedious-especially where Blecha goes into obsessive detail about his finds-overall it makes for an interesting read. Recommended for libraries collecting extensively in rock'n'roll history or museum history, as well as most public libraries and interested academic libraries in the Pacific Northwest.-Todd Spires, Bradley Univ. Lib., Peoria, IL Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781570614439
  • Publisher: Sasquatch Books
  • Publication date: 11/9/2005
  • Pages: 207
  • Product dimensions: 10.94 (w) x 3.58 (h) x 0.56 (d)

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