My Damage: The Story of a Punk Rock Survivor

by Keith Morris, Jim Ruland Narrated by James Patrick Cronin

Overview

Keith Morris is a true punk icon. No one else embodies the sound of Southern Californian hardcore. Short and sporting waist-length dreadlocks, Morris is known the world over for his take-no-prisoners approach on the stage and his integrity off of it. Over the course of his forty-year career, he's battled diabetes, drug and alcohol addiction, and the record industry.



My Damage is more than a book about the highs and lows of a punk rock legend, however. It's also a look at rock 'n' roll through the lens of someone who has shared the stage with just about every major figure in the music industry and appeared in cult films like The Decline of Western Civilization and Repo Man. It's a Hollywood story from a native's perspective. My Damage is Morris's streets, his scene, his music-as only he can tell it.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

08/15/2016
As the lead singer and cofounder of the Circle Jerks and Black Flag, Morris was at the epicenter of the west coast punk movement from the beginning. Unfortunately, he was obliterated on booze and drugs for most of that time. Luckily, he's got a great memory, and he shares his recollections in this engaging autobiography. Following in the footsteps of his father ("a hard-living... take-no-shit-off-of-anybody kind of guy"), Morris was drinking and drugging from an early age and getting into mischief. Black Flag played anywhere and everywhere, including oil refineries, keg parties, and a prom, before things took off. Morris puts the reader in the passenger seat as he details the wild and woolly early days of punk rock with plenty of debauchery and hijinks accompanied by police brutality and rampant drug use. Morris takes full responsibility for his bad decisions as well as his eventual commitment to stay clean and live a healthier life following a diagnosis of diabetes. Fans of punk rock will get the most out of the book, and those interested in the music industry in general will also appreciate Morris' candor as he details the machinations and manipulations he's encountered over the years—up to the present day, as he's still recording and touring—in this roller coaster of a book. (Sept.)

From the Publisher

"A compelling, unexpectedly moving, and all-around badass memoir."—Esquire

"My Damage is characterized by sharp wit, abundant empathy, and the wisdom of a man who has outrun his many demons."—MOJO


"A winning memoir from a punk icon"—A.V. Club


"A portrait of a famed frontman that is complex but earnest"—PunkNews.org


"An insightful and expansive look at an unconventional life"—Men's Journal, 10/27/1

"A wild tell-all told in a no-holds-barred style, My Damage is an epic autobiography told with humor, honesty, and courage."
—The Good Men Project, 11/15/16

"Morris' book benefits from the same energetic, frenetically authentic style that makes his music so memorable. His description of the early punk scene and the inception of his two most famous bands is a fascinating read."—Under the Radar, 11/18/16

"[My Damage] delivers the behind-the-scenes kind of stuff we all love reading in rock autobiographies."
—No Echo

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170984350
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	08/30/2016
Edition description:	Unabridged

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