This is a band memoir from the drummer (Clap - real name Brian) of a fictional indies rock group that taste all the highs and most of the lows that the music business has to offer. It's told in vignette form and jumps around in place and time quite a bit which may cause some confusion but as I read this in one sitting (ah! the joys of working the nightshift!) it worked out just fine for me. The rest of the band, Syph (Charismatic (read "gets all the girls") vocalist), Crab (Guitar, alcoholic) and Mono (Bassist) are brought to visual life as the narrator spills the beans on the sex, drugs and rock 'n roll lifestyle that spans more than 20 years. There's a nice touch at the end of the book with a where are they now and discography section which could help with the chronology.

Often hilariously funny it can also become quite poignant at times. Not only do you get to hear of some of the excesses of life in the music business but also some light-hearted moments that are really sweet such as the groupie who gets left at a hotel as the band are whisked away on promotional events only to return 10 days later to find she's still there but hasn't run up a room service bill or even touched the mini-bar. Stylistically, I'd put this book somewhere in between Nick Hornby and Douglas Coupland adding in a little Martin Millar along the way but the author has a voice all his own and one which I want to hear more of. ( )

Brilliant, pitch perfect mocku-memoir

Every wanted to be in a famous rock band? Clap did and he made it too as drummer in Okay, a Mid-level Canadian indie rock band. Touring in far flung places, littered with groupies and drugs. Anyone’s dream right? Hedonism 101.This is his memoir, his middle aged self-spewing his life forth.

It’s very funny and tragic. It's a glimmer into the moments between the rock n roll after parties and shows. It can be immature and shallow and very human. Its pitch is perfect. It never falls into stereotypes it manages to mix wonderful over the top moments we expect with quiet thoughts. The small moment when he stands outside his rock idols house? (famous himself) but is too self conscious and shy to say hello. The hilariously scary part when lead singer Syph calls everyone to his house to declare the aliens are coming and has wrapped it in tin foil. It's the clichés of fame at its most corrosive and then the bits that never get said.

The tale is cut up, the fits and starts of life in vignette form. A narrative structure that manages to flow beautifully whilst still unsettling the reader, the choppy emptiness of a life spent touring. Part of the intrigue is what story will emerges, what is the picture of the life led. As is the slow unfurling of the supporting cast as his band members (Syph, Mono, and Crab. Yes its that kind of band) become (slid?). Of course most of the charm is Clap himself, his character just exudes off the page. Litt knows how to capture someone’s soul and pour it out on a page.

It has obvious comparisons with Spinal Tap mockumentary or that wonderful, painfully truthful, Metallica documentary Monster (which I hugely recommend fan or not). I could spend most of the review listing out my favourite bits, spoilers at how the book joyfully blocks expectations.

Look did I mention it's very funny?

Litt fans, this is yet again very good and yet again entirely different from anything else I had read. It is dark and humorous, it’s less crazy than some and you have no excuse not to read it.

Highly recommended. ( )

It's a great title, isn't it? How can you not want to read a book with a title like that?

Toby Litt's novel tells the story of Clap, the eponymous drummer from world famous Canadian indie rock band okay (no capitals, always italics), and his three bandmates Mono, Crab and egotistical sexgod frontman Syph. It's an episodic story that favours individual scenes rather than an overall story arch (notably many of the individual chapters appear to have been published as self-contained short stories) tracking the band's journey from bedroom rehearsal beginnings to stadium conquering sell-outs through sex, drugs and plenty of rock 'n' roll insanity. At times the fractured nature of the storytelling distances us from the actual story - this is hardly what I'd call a page turner - but the characters are well drawn and there are some amusing and even touching anecdotes. Most powerful is the chapter about a young boy who keeps following the band around on tour, turning up backstage, at clubs, parties, wherever they go, even though he's only 6 years old. The revelation of his true identity is a real choker.

I Play The Drums In A Band Called Okay doesn't quite live up to its title then... but damn it, what would? ( )

Toby Litt's okay are a moderately successful Canadian indie band and this is their story from school-days formation up to and beyond the death of guitarist crab twenty years later. The story is narrated by the drummer – clap (the other members are singer syph and bassist mono) – who is, handily for Litt, the most sober and self-aware of the group.

Although the book manages to stay entertaining through all the overdoses, break-ups and excesses, what really makes it a great read are the two or three key moments related which bring a depth and humanity to the story. Plenty is borrowed and modified from well-known rock myths – the fishing obsessed band member and the giving away of a suitcase of money to name two I noticed – and half the fun is spotting the ones you know, but it only really works because of the skilful way he has created a bunch of people that seem real, not like rock stars.

Also smart is the way Litt neatly side-steps the key point of what they actually sound like, letting you hear your own soundtrack. For what its worth, I thought they would sound a bit like a cross between Coldplay and Snow Patrol. (Coldpatrol or Snow Play maybe?) Horrific I know, but don't let that put you off reading the book. ( )

A wonderful depiction of life in a semi-famous rock band. A little bit long and maybe a little repetetive, but I believe that to be reflective of the life a band member leads. Great character details - there could easily be a book about any of the characters mentioned, including the fringe ones - and not as many chichés as one would expect in a book of this nature. ( )