It's a good week to be a Bob Mould fan. The legendary pioneer of punk rock is coming through San Diego and will peform Thursday and Friday at the Casbah.
Thursday night will illuminate "Bob Mould the author," with See a Little Light: An Evening of Reading and Music, which will feature readings and solo acoustic performances. The second night will feature Mould as one half of Blow Off, a pop-rock DJ duo that includes Mould and Richard Morel, combining Mould's sonically assaulting rock with Morel's electronica and house-music chops.
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Mould, best known as the frontman for the highly influential '90s rock bands Husker Du and Sugar, is now a celebrated author as well (a memoir entitled See a Little Light: The Trail of Rage and Melody). He divulges past experiences on the road with a natural earnestness, everything from drug abuse to his homosexuality, and eloquently describes the unique experience of being in the aggressive rock climate of the '80s and '90s while learning how to embrace his own identity. He then found solace in electronic music and being open with himself.
The memoir has been called "painful" and "frank," which seems appropriate for a revered icon in American rock musicm, someone who performed with such angst, a kind of violent energy that could have only been charged by emotional weight. The process of writing the book took two and a half years and proved to be a cathartic experience for Mould, who explains in the preface, "I was sometimes appalled by my faults. Be it my uncanny ability to cut off friendships and relationships without explanation, my inability to properly process criticism or my love/hate relationship with blind rage -- in writing this book, my flaws became all to clear.
Check out See a Little Light at the Casbah for what will likely be one of the most intimate glimpse into Mould's personal life and career yet. Then come back for more the next evening to see him in his new element, as electronic DJ extraordinaire in Blow Off. The evolution of artists like Mould never cease to amaze me.
Nada Alic runs the San Diego-based music blog Friends With Both Arms.Follow her updates on Twitter or contact her directly.
