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From the Graveyard of the Arousal Industry Paperback – May 25, 2010

by Justin Pearson (Author)

4.5 52 ratings

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As an adolescent, Justin Pearson moved with his mother from Shit Creek Phoenix, AZ” to sunny San Diego after his father was murdered on Halloween. There, he fell in with a subculture of young musicians playing some of the most original and brutal music in the world. Turns out the chaos of Pearson’s bands The Locust, Swing Kids, and Some Girls is nothing compared to the madness of his life.
An icon of the West Coast noise and punk scene, Pearson managed to arrive at adulthood by outsmarting skinheads and dodging equally threatening violence at home. Once there, the struggle continued, with Pearson getting beat up on Jerry Springer and, on more than one occasion, chased out of town by ferociously angry audiences.
From the Graveyard of the Arousal Industry is the outrageously candid story of Pearson’s life. In loving, meticulous detail, Pearson gives readers the dirt behind each rivalry, riff, and lineup change.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“After reading his book, I'm convinced that Justin Pearson offers one of the best reasons to not do drugs . . . the dude can remember every nuance of his twisted upbringing, which not only makes for interesting memories on behalf of the author, but an even more interesting read for we the people. A truly visceral account of the life of one of punk rock's more obscure excrements.” —Travis Ryan of Cattle Decapitation

“Christ, it’s four dudes with no faces squeezing into tight pants and feigning murder on the dancefloor. And you hear it in every note they play: The Locust simply love what they do.” —Brandon Stosuy, Pitchfork

“JP’s writings are as inspiring as they are brutally honest, filled with amazing tales of beating odds and getting beat. A true punk legend.” —Nick Zinner of the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs

“Justin Pearson is a phenomenal artist, songwriter and now author. Stories from his childhood, to touring in his bands, and running his label Three One G, this book is filled with experiences that we can all relate to at different times in our life.” —DJ Steve Aoki, “Kid Millionaire”

“You never really know someone and to be honest I don't think they know themselves until they evaluate their life and existence by writing it down. Justin Pearson has done that with an F-U attitude, never backing down and always pushing the boundaries. For a fan of his musical endeavors, this is a look inside the mind of a man who has made people cringe and writhe in glory at the same time.” —Tim Pyles, FM94/9

“Scraping the ground where the barrel of life used to be, Graveyard is an offensive, charming, funny and most importantly, a sincere look at a life you couldn’t make up.” —Rob Moran

“Most punk autobiographies are written late in a rocker's life. Justin Pearson has wisely chosen to write his way way way before the self-aggrandizing memory-loss tipping point—that's thirty-three years old for druggies, eighty-seven for straight-edgers. At the risk of being called a fag and getting beaten up by jocks, I would like to tell everyone to read this wonderful, trashy book. If you live in San Diego you might want to wait awhile. I'm pretty sure names and places have NOT been changed.” —Quintron

“With this book Justin Pearson restores our faith in two important values that the modern epoch is deleting: integrity and artistic credibility.” —Sir Bob Cornelius Rifo (Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 77)

“Reading From The Graveyard Of The Arousal Industry is like buying a ticket to the amusement park that is Justin Pearson's brain. Pay the admission and experience the life and inspiration of this unique and incredibly prolific artist.” —Eric Paul, author of I Offered Myself As The Sea, Love In The Monkey Cage, and Pussy Pow Wow

“Showbiz never looked so violent yet cheery, chaotic yet level-headed. Justin Pearson is a lovely lunatic who writes with kindness even if he’s describing being in the middle of an on-stage brawl. He may pick the wrong girl and never be able to escape the mayhem in his personal life but he still seems kind of perfect . . . in a twisted way.” —John Waters

About the Author

Justin Pearson is a musician and founder of the independent label Three One G, or 31G Records. The author of two books, From the Graveyard of the Arousal Industry and How to Lose Friends and Irritate People, Pearson lives in San Diego.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Soft Skull; Illustrated edition (May 25, 2010)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1593762623
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1593762629
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.48 x 0.58 x 8.26 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,797,850 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #296 in Punk Musician Biographies
- #592 in Punk Music (Books)
- #4,292 in Rock Band Biographies

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4.5 52 ratings

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Mike Sheehan

Spending a day with JP

Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2010

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When I first heard Justin Pearson was making a book I was immediately interested. I initially thought it'd be a fiction book, when I found out it was a memoir of sorts I surprisingly wasn't let down just from reading the little sample page. I read the first 116 pages in one sitting, only stopping to go to work. After work I finished the book, this was all in 12 hours. Needless to say this book ruled! It's not just about JP's life, like any good memoir, you can learn a lot from it too. For instance, I never thought about how poorly kids are treated for having a messed up family. Pearson gives insight into his constant rotation of childhood friends, many of whom apparently experienced a nasty fight between his parents that he slept through on a sleepover he was throwing. I don't think the book comes off as to pretentious or even overtly self-indulgent. At least not by memoir standards. The most interesting stuff, as a fan of JP's music, was reading about his experiences with Head Wound City, the few but entertaining experiences with Holy Molar, his feelings on what would become Some Girls and their transformation, and of course, with the Locust (great tour experiences included). There was also a hilarious chapter about his Jerry Springer experience and his attempt to get on Blind Date, which succeeded, but had to decline the date because he was going to be on tour the day it was going to be filmed. This guy's got a wicked sense of humor, I literally laughed out loud in this chapter and a few others. I seriously started crushing on JP reading through this book. I've been talking about this book to anyone willing to listen. I'm not quite sure this would be of much interest to those who aren't a fan of JP's music, but if you ever want to kill a few hours reading an interesting story and have a deep interest in music in general I think this music-tinged memoir would be ideal. I found this book to be inspiring, musically and intellectually, and I now I seriously want to meet this guy. Also, the book looks great. There's a cool font for chapter headings, and the first line is highlighted in black with white font and there's finger prints scattered on the bottom and sides every few pages. Highly recommended.

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John

"A band that I play in called The Locust."

Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2010

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The Locust has been one of my favorite bands for a while, mostly because of how consistently baffling they are. This book is a personal account of Justin Pearson's life, from childhood through Locusthood.

Pearson's writing is mostly a play-by-play of 'what happened that day.' Most of the chapters are 2-6 pages long, and the names of all the chapters are like leftover Locust track titles.

If you're familiar with The Locust's music (and enjoy it), you have probably asked yourself how in the world they do it. More happens in a single Locust song, many of which are no longer than a minute, than happens in the entire career of most musicians. There are no hooks, barely any repeated riffs, no choruses--just relentless, calculated storms of music unlike anything.

Unfortunately, this book didn't provide what I secretly wished it would: a tell-all of Pearson's thought process in constructing The Locust. In fact, he talks about it just like any average bassist would talk about being in any plain old rock band. I guess that's just what comes out of Pearson (and the other Locusts).

Pearson is an odd character to become acquainted with. Some of the parts of his stories seemed completely pointless to include in a book, such as how a foe on the street spit on the sidewalk and it landed right next to Pearson's shoe. He mentions a couple times that he's witty, and that he often outwitted his critics, but the only time he actually tells us about this wit, he had told someone that they have "hepatitis A, B, and C," which seemed sophomoric to me. He mentions not being a violent person, although he never seems to have avoided physically retaliating or vandalizing when he saw fit. He mentions his veganism, and especially his "ethics" a lot without ever expounding on his beliefs or their justification.

Pearson has had it tough. Nothing has ever been handed to him, and although he lets his ego slip a little ("People can think what they want, but I'd like to see them try to replicate what we do."), I think he's earned it.

The book is incredibly enjoyable, especially if you're into The Locust or have any interest in the lifestyle of a man who gives everything he's got for the sake of music that almost everybody hates.

4 people found this helpful

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orangejuice666

Extremely enjoyable

Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2019

Verified Purchase

Was originally just a huge fan of The Locust. After reading this and learning about Pearson’s various other projects I’ve quickly become obsessed with his other work.

The book was a fun and quick read. Touched base on some of the more obscure things I’ve heard about his life. Like the Jerry Springer incident.

May or may not be enjoyable for someone who isn’t already a fan. I usually don’t read nonfiction and throughly enjoyed this. I even bought his second book while I was still reading this one. Always nice to support smaller artists! My cat also agreed that this was a quality book.

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Amazon Customer

Justin Pearson is the punk icon of our time. In my opinion.

Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2016

Verified Purchase

I'll try not to be bias, but I have a big following for Justin Pearson. He has always been a great artist, and impact on the music I listen to, and how I see the world. Whether you know who Justin Pearson is or not, these true stories from his life cut deep. It's great to read about someone's life. How it can be tough, and how well he has done for himself.

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Nicholas

Must read for fans of J.P or the Locst

Reviewed in Canada on April 2, 2018

Verified Purchase

Excellent for fans of J.P. and The Locust. The book is a really quick read and hard to put down if your a fan of any of the bands Justin was involved with. It gives a interesting look into the life of a rock star on the road and the ups and downs. Again, if you a fan of any of the bands on three one G and are familiar with this artist, then this is a must read.

D.von und zu E.

musikalisch begnadet - als Autor allerdings ...

Reviewed in Germany on January 13, 2011

Verified Purchase

... gibt Mr Justin Pearson nicht all zu viel her. Dabei böte gerade sein Leben, die Anekdoten, welche sich um The Locust und seine -zig anderen Bands ranken, oder das von ihm nahezu in Alleinarbeit erschaffene Label three.one.G genug Stoff, um eine spannende Geschichte zu erzählen. Ich bitte darum, diese Rezension nicht falsch zu verstehen: ich bin ein großer Fan von Pearsons künstlerischen Schaffen ... aber dieses Büchlein war meiner Meinung nach etwas enttäuschend.

Ich habe in meinem Leben schon die ein oder andere Biographie gelesen. Einige wurden von den Leuten mit Hilfe von Ghostwritern erarbeitet (Mansons 'The Long Hard Road out of Hell' zum Beipiel ... geschrieben von Neill Strauss), andere waren von Natur aus treffend, ergreifend und auf den Punkt unterhaltsam geschrieben (Mark Oliver Everetts 'Things the Grandchildren Should Know'), wieder andere waren in ihrer Ausführung schlicht, aber dafür um so glaubwürdiger ('Polanski über Polanski'). Pearsons kleine Autobiographie hingegen wäre gern mehr als sie ist. Und wa sie ist, ist eine Aneinanderreihung von kleine Geschichtchen aus Pearsons Leben. Mehr nicht. Und das ist mein Problem mit dem ganzen:

leider findet man darin wirlich nicht mehr als kleine, teilweise wahllos herausgegriffen wirkende Anekdoten rund um Pearsons Kindheit und Jugend, seine ersten musikalischen Gehversuche und schlussendlich das Leben als Szeneikone. Das bringt dem geneigten Leser zwar den ein oder anderen Einblick in die Geschichte von und um The Locust, über Pearsons Motivationen oder den Ursprung seiner Antihaltung (zB. sein Veganismus, sein Einsatz für die Schwulen- und Lesbenszene, seine Punkattitüde) erfährt man so gut wie nichts. Diese Details verbergen sich zum einen nur am Rande des episodenhaft zusammengestückelten Werkes, zum anderen aber unter eine dicken Schicht Distanzlosigkeit: Pearson lässt nicht gerade dezent verlauten, dass er sich nicht nur für cleverer, sondern auch echter, alternativer und begabter hält als den Rest der Welt. Das mag sicherlich in Anbetracht der tumben Hardcoreprolls am Rande seiner Karriere nicht ganz unwahr sein, wirkt aber spätestens nach der dritten unverhohlenen Aussprache dieser "Erkenntnis" ermüdent prätentiös.

Das zweite, große Problem ist aber vielmehr die mangelnde Qualität des Geschriebenen: gerade sprachlich hätte ich mehr erwartet ... der Witz und Esprit von Pearsons Locust-Texten versprach ein wesentlich höheres Niveau - aber hier werden Phrasen solange gedroschen, bis sie tot sind ... und dann weiter. Das kann daran liegen, dass ich eigentlich zu verkopfterer Literatur neige, oder dass die Manuskripte angeblich gestohlen wurden und (offenbar recht planlos und innerhalb einer Nacht) erneut geschrieben werden mussten, dass kann auch einfach daran liegen, dass Pearson nun mal kein Autor ist. Sei's drum ... hier hätte wirklich ein distanzierter Blick, eine Kontrolle von außen, etwas Nachhilfe in Sachen "Prosatexte verfassen" bitter Not getan. So leid mir das als Locust-fan im mittlerweile 12ten Jahr tut: das ganze wirkt wirklich etwas lustlos dahingestümpert und macht nicht unbedingt Lust auf's Lesen. Sicher sind Autobiographien nicht zwingend als prosaische Meisterwerke gedacht, aber etwas Qualitätskontrolle wäre hier und da vermutlich nicht schlecht.

Von diesen beiden Kritikpunkten abgesehen (je ein Stern Abzug), gewährt 'From the Graveyard of the Arousal Industry' einen Blick in das Leben eines Stars der alternativen Musikszene, der sich bisher weder seinen aggressiv-kreativen Geist noch seine anarchischen Sinn für Humor und Unfug hat nehmen lassen. Es gibt Ecken zum Schmunzeln, man erfährt auch was, wie und wann ... und man lernt ein wenig über JPs familiären Hintergrund. Für Fans von The Locust oder anderen JP-verbandelten Projekten sicherlich die Anschaffung wert, und sei es nur zur Komplettierung der Sammlung ... für alle anderen Leute verzichtbar.
Meine Meinung: das hätte man besser machen können ... Basser, bleib bei deinen Saiten

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