Laurie Lindeen, former singer and guitarist for an all female punk-garage-esque rock band named Zuzu's Petals in the 1990's, has written a wonderful memoir entitled Petal Pusher. As a former female rocker wannabe, I found Laurie Lindeen's journey through rock music sobering and enlightening, and completely compelling to read.
Since I played a wee-bit of electric guitar as a teenager, I had lots of silly fantasies about being the lead singer/guitarist in an "oh my god can't you see how amazingly talented I am" famous rock band of my own. Since I had the musical aptitude of a large sea slug, that wasn't going to happen. But after going along for a ride through Laurie's exploits, I'm glad I chose a different career path. Life for a struggling female rock band is anything but glamorous. Hilarious at moments, yes, but the dark, gritty side of playing night after night in sleazy clubs is anything but alluring. Laurie’s band had moments that seemed to indicate they were on the verge of hitting it big, but despite an intense level of commitment and hard work for many years, their dream was never realized.
I’m glad to vicariously live the rock lifestyle through Ms. Lindeen’s words. You can tell she’s a musician, for her writing has a wonderful rhythm. Her openness and honesty about herself made many of her personal successes and failures extremely universal. I could totally relate to her lack of self-confidence, and self-deprecating humor, and encourage anyone who loved rock music during the 80's and 90's to get her book. Her cultural references for that time period will make you laugh so hard your sides will ache, your heart will go pitter-pat. (Any Felix the Cat fans out there?)
She ultimately married rock musician Paul Westerberg, formerly of the Replacements. There was one paragraph in the book where Laurie mentions that when she saw Paul up-close and made eye contact with him, she had "that make-you-want-to-puke jolt of recognition, that rare unexplained sense of familiarity with a stranger, that "don't I know you from another life? freakout." "
When I read that sentence, I said to myself, "Yes Laurie, you probably were remembering Paul from another lifetime." It reminded me of how in my book I mention that Sundante, a fan of the band I followed, had an unbelievably strong reaction the first time she saw the photo of another fan of the band. The recognition struck her like a bolt of lightning, and nearly launched her off her chair onto the floor. In spiritual or metaphysical terms, this is referred to as a "soul recognition." I felt that deep recognition with one of the guys in the band when I first laid my eyes on him at age 15 as well. When we experience these deep memory recalls of another person, they generally are part of our soul group. Often, there is something we karmically need to work through with one another, and ultimately heal so that energetic balance can be restored. Sometimes, they'll be a key influence to steer us towards our life's path, and embark on a journey of self-discovery.
Sundante, myself, and Laurie Lindeen all seem to have a soul recognition with someone involved in rock music. If you've had a powerful moment of connection with a musician, or anyone else, feel free to share your experience in the comments section. I'd love to hear about it!
Since I played a wee-bit of electric guitar as a teenager, I had lots of silly fantasies about being the lead singer/guitarist in an "oh my god can't you see how amazingly talented I am" famous rock band of my own. Since I had the musical aptitude of a large sea slug, that wasn't going to happen. But after going along for a ride through Laurie's exploits, I'm glad I chose a different career path. Life for a struggling female rock band is anything but glamorous. Hilarious at moments, yes, but the dark, gritty side of playing night after night in sleazy clubs is anything but alluring. Laurie’s band had moments that seemed to indicate they were on the verge of hitting it big, but despite an intense level of commitment and hard work for many years, their dream was never realized.
I’m glad to vicariously live the rock lifestyle through Ms. Lindeen’s words. You can tell she’s a musician, for her writing has a wonderful rhythm. Her openness and honesty about herself made many of her personal successes and failures extremely universal. I could totally relate to her lack of self-confidence, and self-deprecating humor, and encourage anyone who loved rock music during the 80's and 90's to get her book. Her cultural references for that time period will make you laugh so hard your sides will ache, your heart will go pitter-pat. (Any Felix the Cat fans out there?)
She ultimately married rock musician Paul Westerberg, formerly of the Replacements. There was one paragraph in the book where Laurie mentions that when she saw Paul up-close and made eye contact with him, she had "that make-you-want-to-puke jolt of recognition, that rare unexplained sense of familiarity with a stranger, that "don't I know you from another life? freakout." "
When I read that sentence, I said to myself, "Yes Laurie, you probably were remembering Paul from another lifetime." It reminded me of how in my book I mention that Sundante, a fan of the band I followed, had an unbelievably strong reaction the first time she saw the photo of another fan of the band. The recognition struck her like a bolt of lightning, and nearly launched her off her chair onto the floor. In spiritual or metaphysical terms, this is referred to as a "soul recognition." I felt that deep recognition with one of the guys in the band when I first laid my eyes on him at age 15 as well. When we experience these deep memory recalls of another person, they generally are part of our soul group. Often, there is something we karmically need to work through with one another, and ultimately heal so that energetic balance can be restored. Sometimes, they'll be a key influence to steer us towards our life's path, and embark on a journey of self-discovery.
Sundante, myself, and Laurie Lindeen all seem to have a soul recognition with someone involved in rock music. If you've had a powerful moment of connection with a musician, or anyone else, feel free to share your experience in the comments section. I'd love to hear about it!