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Book Review: Tommyland by Tommy Lee with Anthony Bozza
All right, it's time to start the ride now, so please take your seats. I advise you to keep your arms and legs inside the car at all times. If you have a pacemaker, a heart condition, or if you are pregmant or too damn short to reach the safety bar, I ask that you turn back immediately. Same goes for those with weak stomachs, strict morals or chronic indigestion. In fact, you people might want to just put this book down now and slowly back away or return it to your local bookstore.
So warns Tommy Lee (best known as a founding member and drummer for Mötley Crüe) in the first chapter of his autobiography Tommyland. I have an admonishment of my own to add. Don't read this in places where bursts of loud laughter are inappropriate. Not in a board meeting, hidden behind the pages of an annual report; or in class, with a textbook propped up on your desk for camouflage; nor a public library. There are times in my life when I would have wished for a copy, either as a way to get a seat on a crowded train or ward off a weirdo or two, as people tend to move back from anyone sitting alone in a communal area har-de-har-har-ing for all to hear. Consider yourself warned.
Written by Tommy Lee and Anthony Bozza, Tommyland is a solid portrait of the man - his life and state of mind. It's the name of his studio, home, and hard drive. It is how he lives and breathes. A quote from the back cover of the book puts it this way:
But this book isn't your typical journey in a straight line from day one to day now. My real mission here is to paint you a picture of my life, and show you how it smells. Because if there's one thing I've learned over the years-from the Crüe, from my ex-wives, from my dad, in court, in fights, in sex, in sex videos, in the tabloids, from Dick (who you'll meet on page one)-it is this: there isn't one truth, there are many. This book is my truth.
He certainly doesn't pull any punches in these pages. He talks about all the above-mentioned parts of his life and more. You meet some interesting people along the way, friends, associates and wannabes alike, several of whom were part of his process of putting his life down on paper. For example, after warning us to hold onto our hats as Tommyland starts, he and co-writer Bozza introduce us to the British editor assigned to oversee the book. His contributions to the writing, or at least his attempts at editing, are sometimes placed on the pages, as if they are sticky-notes. Poor guy - he really didn't stand a chance at having control over the situation. But the resulting comments are very amusing.
Mr. Bozza makes his presence known with footnotes scattered throughout the book. While he considers himself a fact checker in Tommyland, a task he does cheerfully and with accuracy, his previous works show him to be a writer than understands music and musicians with the ability to get to the nut of each subject. Such is the case in this book as well. He and Tommy clearly became comrades-in-arms during the five months that it took for them to write the book and it's his freewheeling style that helps make this both informational and entertaining to read.
Now, what kind of autobiography would this be without illustrations in it? In Tommyland, along the edges of the pages are drawings. Remember those little flipbooks you would get as a kid? Thumb through the book, watch the figures and voila! There you have a nifty pictorial. It's very cool and something to do when you just have a few minutes to spare.
There aren't as many pictures of Tommy in the book as some may wish for. But the ones that are there are choice and unlike other bios I've read, these aren't the standard publicity pix. Instead they are the type you would find in a personal photo album, which is a lovely touch. By the way, I would like to go on record right now about something. I have an idea about one of the snapshots and I know that if it were possible to follow through on this, it would be a very effective public service project for the greater good of all womankind. I think that one specific picture should be blown up to poster size and copies sent out to every OB/GYN clinic in the world, enough so that each examination room could have one to put up on the ceiling over the table with the stirrups. It would make those yearly pap smears an easier exam for all parties involved and I'll bet my bottom dollar that more women would go for these very necessary visits when they should, instead of putting them off as many of us do. Just thinking about how many lives this could save is mind-boggling and I hope that the powers-that-be are paying attention.
I don't want to give away too much more of the book itself. But really, there doesn't seem to be any part of his life that Tommy leaves out. Just the extent of his creativity, both aural and visual, would make an interesting read on its own. So would his affairs of the heart and body. Both of those areas get plenty of coverage within, but it does not stop there. The reader is privy to T-Bone's philosophies on life, parenthood, religion, and even his fans.
I love reading books like this, the type that after you've gone through it once, you want to go back and dip into again and again. It's a book that you want to buy multiple copies of to give to your pals so you can share the journey with them. Messrs. Lee and Bozza leave you with the feeling that you have gotten to know their subject so well that you could just pick up the phone and give him a call. "Hey Tommy! We're having a 'que. Grab the kids and c'mon over."
Oh! One other thing you learn about Tommy Lee in his book - he's a man on the go! Catch him live with Mötley Crüe, on tour with Aerosmith through mid-December.
tink, blogcritics.org
2006 blogcritics.org