IT STARTS WITH ANGER

A Black punk rocker’s rise to fame.

Spooner’s autobiographical scrapbook chronicles his exploits in the 1990s as a confused, mixed-race teenage rocker who became the innovative co-founder of the AFROPUNK Festival, the director of the documentary Afro-Punk, and is considered an underground, anti-corporate icon within the music industry. Filled with photos of keepsakes from concerts he attended—including ticket stubs and promotional flyers—and showcasing the author in a variety of counterculture hairdos, the memoir is primarily about the awkwardness he felt while on the outskirts of the outskirts. In sketches and comics panels, he writes about how proud he was of his punk status, now recognizing that he had autonomy over the “street harassment” he endured. He experienced “ridicule and violence“ as a light-skinned Black boy in his “desolate Southern California hometown,” and he faced intimidation while trying to embrace his identity. He writes, “Dressing in torn plaid and leather may have brought unwanted attention, but there was power in choosing what we were harassed over.” Spooner also explains how his once-discouraging journey led him to become a mature and successful businessman in an industry that adhered to stereotypes. The book is a who’s who of glossed-over punk bands that moshed their way around the U.S. to modest success in obscure clubs and cramped holes-in-the walls. He’s good at describing the claustrophobic, sweat-filled settings of the places he frequented, dancing to bands like Living Colour, Fishbone, and dozens more. With fondness, he looks back at a tumultuous and perplexing time in his life, seeing it as a stepping stone toward a place of positivity and joy.

A creative and contemplative memoir about how an alienated rocker achieved personal and professional success.