” Equal parts insightful, funny, romantic and poetic, this is a book that’s not just about Gaga but about the magic of the city. Brendan’s writing makes you feel like a fly on the wall while history is being made all around you.” — "Captain" Kirk Douglas, guitarist for The Roots
“A fascinating and vivid insight into the cauldron that formed a great musician. It’s a slice of New York history, go and buy it!” — Andy Rourke, bass guitarist for The Smiths
“Brendan Jay Sullivan is a writer’s writer. Yes, he’s that good.” — Gary Shteyngart, author of Super Sad True Love Story
“Through charm and wit and sheer force of will, Brendan Jay Sullivan has insinuated himself into New York night life, and through his talent with words, he has brought you along as his plus one.” — Joe Garden, writer for The Onion
“Sullivan delivers a delectable romp through Stefani Germanotta’s early days - and offers a unique window into the process by which she became Lady Gaga.” — Zack O'Malley Greenburg, author of Empire State of Mind: How Jay-Z Went from Street Corner to Corner Office
“Richly detailed, funny and poignant. Who knew Lady Gaga’s lower-Manhattan dance-club scene of the late 2000s needed a ‘Bright Lights, Big City’?” — Steve Knopper, author of Appetite for Self-Destruction: The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age
“Brendan Jay Sullivan is the voice of our generation.” — Leila Sales, author of This Song Will Save Your Life
“Brendan Jay Sullivan is the Lena Dunham of the Lower East Side - if Lena Dunham were a male aficionado of rock and roll music.” — Lauren Oliver, author of Delirium
“Brendan Jay Sullivan is one of the most engaging, authentic, and all-around interesting people I know. What his story lacks in pretentious B.S. it makes up for in affability, comedy, and charm. ” — Justin Taylor, author of Everything Here is the Best Thing Ever
“The nicest guy in nightlife.” — Time Out New York
A touching memoir. — New York Post
The nicest guy in nightlife.
” Equal parts insightful, funny, romantic and poetic, this is a book that’s not just about Gaga but about the magic of the city. Brendan’s writing makes you feel like a fly on the wall while history is being made all around you.
Richly detailed, funny and poignant. Who knew Lady Gaga’s lower-Manhattan dance-club scene of the late 2000s needed a ‘Bright Lights, Big City’?
Brendan Jay Sullivan is a writer’s writer. Yes, he’s that good.
Brendan Jay Sullivan is the Lena Dunham of the Lower East Side - if Lena Dunham were a male aficionado of rock and roll music.
Sullivan delivers a delectable romp through Stefani Germanotta’s early days - and offers a unique window into the process by which she became Lady Gaga.
Through charm and wit and sheer force of will, Brendan Jay Sullivan has insinuated himself into New York night life, and through his talent with words, he has brought you along as his plus one.
Brendan Jay Sullivan is the voice of our generation.
A fascinating and vivid insight into the cauldron that formed a great musician. It’s a slice of New York history, go and buy it!
A touching memoir.
Brendan Jay Sullivan is one of the most engaging, authentic, and all-around interesting people I know. What his story lacks in pretentious B.S. it makes up for in affability, comedy, and charm.
A touching memoir.
Lady Gaga's former DJ reveals the highs and lows of his musical career in the mid-2000s, also unveiling an intimate portrait of the pop singer's rise to fame. From Piano's to Welcome to the Johnsons to Motor City, New Yorkers will instantly recognize the Lower East Side bar scene in Sullivan's gossipy tell-all. However, it seems as if the author couldn't decide on whether this is a memoir about his bartending, dating and DJing experiences, or a name-dropping unauthorized biography of Stefani Germanotta as she evolved from backup go-go dancer to her stage persona, Lady Gaga. Sullivan's relationship with his friend-turned-boss wavers between respect and adoration ("Above all else she knew that she would tread a thin line between artistic greatness and cheesy pop. It all depended on the people around her"). While he does manage to create a visceral setting of the New York scene where Misshapes and Don Hill parties were all the rage, his use of character nicknames ("The Devil" as a drug dealer; "Angel" for a new girlfriend) seems both unnecessary and confusing. Sullivan's constant switching between past and present tense may seem like he is trying to convey a conversational tone within an inner monologue, but it reads as sloppy, distracting writing. The last two sections of the book (based in Miami and Los Angeles) are the most interesting: Sullivan goes behind the scenes at Gaga's Winter Music Conference appearance and the making of her "Just Dance" video. The author claims that he was well-aware that Gaga would ultimately replace him, but readers can't help but wonder if, beneath the idolatry, there isn't a little bit of resentment on his end. This love letter to the Lower East Side will make a great stocking stuffer for hard-core Lady Gaga fans and tourists who idolize the Big Apple. Note: not for the bridge-and-tunnel crowd.
