Playing in a rock band is the stuff of dreams. What is the reality? Dave Bidini, rhythm guitarist with the Rheostatics and acclaimed author ofOn a Cold Road,knows firsthand. In this wise, witty, and often irreverent book, he tackles the questions that any kid with a penchant to be on stage has asked. How do you decide what to play? How do you deal with tensions among the musicians? What happens when one person becomes more popular than the others? How do you get to gigs, and what do you wear? Bidini handles his material with honesty and authority. From the serious considerations to the frivolous issues, Bidini takes young readers through forming a band, practices, performing, and the business of show business. Interspersed with advice and observations are hilarious anecdotes pulled from his own experience and the experiences of musicians he knows. This is a sure-fire winner for all young musicians, even if their instrument of choice is the air guitar and their only venue is their shower stall.

<b>Dave Bidini</b>’s first book, published in 1998, was the popular and critically acclaimed <i>On a Cold Road,</i> about what it’s like to tour Canada in a rock ’n’ roll band. He has since written two more books, <i>Tropic of Hockey</i> (2001), and <i>Baseballissimo</i> (March, 2004). When he is not writing or traveling the world, Bidini is rhythm guitarist for the Rheostatics. The band has released ten albums to date, including <i>Music Inspired by the Group of Seven,</i> the soundtrack to the film<i> Whale Music</i>, which yielded the hit song “Claire,” and<i> The Story of Harmelodia,</i> a children’s album. He also starred in the Gemini Award-winning film <i>The Hockey Nomad.</i> Dave Bidini lives with his wife and two children in Toronto.