{"product_id":"waiting-to-derail-ryan-adams-and-whiskeytown-alt-countrys-brilliant-wreck-9781510786417","title":"Waiting to Derail: Ryan Adams and Whiskeytown, Alt-Country's Brilliant Wreck","description":"\u003cb\u003ePacked with behind-the-scenes road stories, and, yes, tales of rock star debauchery, \u003ci\u003eWaiting to Derail\u003c\/i\u003e provides a firsthand glimpse into Ryan Adams at the most meaningful and mythical stage of his career.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eLong before the Grammy nominations, sold-out performances at Carnegie Hall, and Hollywood friends and lovers, Ryan Adams fronted a Raleigh, North Carolina, outfit called Whiskeytown. Lumped into the burgeoning alt-country movement, the band soon landed a major label deal and recorded an instant classic: \u003ci\u003eStrangers Almanac\u003c\/i\u003e. That's when tour manager Thomas O'Keefe met the young musician. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFor the next three years, Thomas was at Ryan's side: on the tour bus, in the hotels, backstage at the venues. Whiskeytown built a reputation for being, as the \u003ci\u003eDetroit Free Press\u003c\/i\u003e put it, \"half band, half soap opera,\" and Thomas discovered that young Ryan was equal parts songwriting prodigy and drunken buffoon. Ninety percent of the time, Thomas could talk Ryan into doing the right thing. Five percent of the time, he could cover up whatever idiotic thing Ryan had done. But the final five percent? Whiskeytown was screwed. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTwenty-plus years later, accounts of Ryan's legendary antics are still passed around in music circles. But only three people on the planet witnessed every Whiskeytown show from the release of \u003ci\u003eStrangers Almanac\u003c\/i\u003e to the band's eventual breakup: Ryan, fiddle player Caitlin Cary, and Thomas O'Keefe.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThomas O'Keefe\u003c\/b\u003e was the tour manager for Ryan Adams and Whiskeytown from 1997 until their breakup in 2000; he is currently the tour manager for Weezer. His twenty-plus year career in the music business includes twelve years with Grammy winners Train and shorter stints with acts as diverse as D Generation, Sia, Third Eye Blind, and Mandy Moore. He was also the bass player for North Carolina punk band ANTiSEEN, recording thirty-eight releases and playing concerts across the United States and Europe. O'Keefe lives in Nashville, Tennessee.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJoe Oestreich\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of three books of creative nonfiction: \u003ci\u003ePartisans\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eLines of Scrimmage\u003c\/i\u003e (cowritten with Scott Pleasant), and \u003ci\u003eHitless Wonder\u003c\/i\u003e. His work has appeared in \u003ci\u003eEsquire\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eCreative Nonfiction\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eRiver Teeth\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eFourth Genre\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Normal School\u003c\/i\u003e, and many other magazines and journals. Four of his pieces have been cited as notable essays in the \u003ci\u003eBest American\u003c\/i\u003e series, and he's received special mention twice in the \u003ci\u003ePushcart Prize\u003c\/i\u003e anthology. He teaches creative writing at Coastal Carolina University. Oestreich lives in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Skyhorse Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51764004782354,"sku":"9781510786417","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_d1a984ae-c4d7-4d8f-9bcb-f4b400eac4cf.jpg?v=1764749505","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/waiting-to-derail-ryan-adams-and-whiskeytown-alt-countrys-brilliant-wreck-9781510786417","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}