THE GOSPEL OF THE HOLD STEADY

A colorful montage of stories about and photographs of American rock band The Hold Steady, by both members of the group as well as dedicated fans.

“The Hold Steady didn’t change my life, it is my life,” writes the band’s frontman, Craig Finn, in the introduction. “And if you’ve read this far, it’s likely yours too.” The band formed in 2003, when Finn moved from Minnesota to New York City following the breakup of his and guitarist Tad Kubler’s previous band, Lifter Puller. This book’s publication coincides with The Hold Steady’s 20th anniversary. “We’re all about to hit fifty or well into our fifties,” says guitarist Steve Selvidge, “so there’s not a lot of room for bullshit or drama at this point.” Much of the “the gospel” features new interviews—compiled by Hann, a former music editor at the Guardian, to read as conversational dialogue—with band members, notably Finn, Kubler, and bassist Galen Polivka: “It was never a chore to practice,” says Finn, “because we were gonna get a bunch of beer and have a party with the instruments on”; “If you put that much booze into people who are having fun,” Polivka says, “it’s going to invariably get weird”; “We’re terrible communicators,” notes Kubler, “and I think part of it is just being a bunch of guys from the Midwest who are not comfortable talking about how they feel.” The text covers the band’s history, loyal following, and plenty of alcohol. Chapters of dialogue are interspersed with a handful of reverential essays by music journalists, including Rob Sheffield and Hann, who writes, “The Hold Steady no longer spend shows drinking like they’re at a Hold Steady show.” The book closes with dozens of testimonials from devotees—e.g., “Their shows were the closest I’d come to a religious experience.”

A must-have for admirers of the band and a good choice to fans of bar rock.