Off the Charts
What I Learned From My Almost Fabulous Life In Music
by Kat Goldman
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Pub Date 9 Feb 2021 | Archive Date 16 Feb 2021
Sutherland House | Sutherland House Books
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Description
Follow your dreams.
Always be yourself.
And, whatever you do, never date a rock star…
So you want to make it as a singer-songwriter? Kat Goldman has been there, almost to the very top, and now she’s back with sage advice and hilarious behind-the-scenes stories from a lifetime of toil in the dive bars and legendary venues of the contemporary music scene.
Learn what it's like to meet your first fan, date a rock star (never again!), perform in a grocery store, and rebuild your career after getting hit by a car in a bagel shop. Feel the sting of rejection and rampant sexism, and the thrill of writing a hit song and performing with your idols.
Off the Charts is a whimsical, uproarious tour through a fickle business that never seems to repay what performers put into it, and one woman’s highly intimate account of how she made the best of almost making it. Featuring a sparkling set of original illustrations by the award-winning Nina Berkson.
A Note From the Publisher
Kat Goldman is one of Canada’s most celebrated songwriters. She has made four critically acclaimed albums and her songs have been covered by Grammy-nominated band, The Duhks, and American folk hero Dar Williams, among many others. She lives in Toronto. This is her first book.
Advance Praise
“This book is a total delight to read, full of witticisms, bittersweet philosophical observations, and droll asides, about everything from sex with rock stars to busking, auditions, schmoozing, and instructions on how to write a song. Kat is a storyteller extraordinaire: she’s literate, insightful, at times woeful, at others hilarious and life affirming. Read this book with glee. It’s a revelation.”
–CHARLES PACHTER, Canadian contemporary artist
“Kat Goldman is so funny and talented that her book will make you laugh aloud and shed a tear at the same time. You’ll also marvel at her bravery. Read her book...and then go hear her sing.”
–ELLIE TESHER, author, journalist, syndicated relationship columnist
“Kat Goldman has written a realistic survival manual for the contemporary songwriter. Not a how-to guide for achieving fame and fortune, making viral videos, getting millions of streams or other increasingly unlikely goals; but a guide for how to continue the pursuit of your chosen craft in the face of false hopes, critics and naysayers, negligible to non-existent financial rewards and plain old bad luck. This book is by turns funny, poignant, tragic and heartwarming, but always honest and relatable.”
–GLENN MILCHEM, songwriter and drummer for Blue Rodeo
“This book should be made into a Broadway play!”
–CHRISTINE LAVIN, songwriter and humorist
Marketing Plan
- Advance Reader Copy push to trade and consumer media
- PR campaign for reviews, interviews, features/profiles, and excerpt placements with local and national media in North America (women's interest, arts & culture, music & performing arts, humor, books)
- Pre-release buzz campaign with author's network of musicians, performers, and industry influencers
- NetGalley promotions
- Targeted advertising campaigns on Facebook, Goodreads and BookBub for Featured New Release promotion
- Pre-order push and ongoing release promotion in Sutherland House Books newsletter and social media
- Book blogger and Bookstagrammer campaign for spotlights, giveaways, author Q&As, and excerpt placements
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781989555323 |
| PRICE | US$17.95 (USD) |
Links
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Paul L, Media/Journalist
This is a breezy memoir of a songwriter who's tried her best to make it, only to fall just short of the goal line. Kat Goldman, whom I never heard of before reading this book, has had songs covered by well known artists, has been the opening act for famous musicians and is a professional songwriter and performer. But, as she would be the first to tell you, she hasn't quite made it. And that's what this likeable memoir is all about.
The writing here started as a blog and you can feel that as you sort through her journey through the record business. It's almost a form of therapy for her and indeed, that's how it started. When she was at a low point in her career, someone suggested writing about her life in the biz and she's done that here. Along the way, we meet bandmates who treat her poorly, managers who don't help her nearly as much as she thinks they should and on and on. Despite all the complaining, though, Kat comes off as a good sort and I at least was rooting for all the way through.
The writing is lively but perhaps not as deep as it could be. Kat has a near death experience when, on the cusp of moving to NYC, she goes to a bagel shop for herself and her bandmates and a car crashes through the front of the store pinning her to the bagel display. Funny and heartbreaking but, somehow, Kat does not make enough of that episode. She almost laughs it off and the reader feels a bit cheated. Is that all there is when you have an experience that changes your life?
But on the whole, a fun read and informative about trying to be a singer-songwriter in the age of Spotify.
Suradha I, Reviewer
This book is so funny and delightful, really. Apart from giving me another artist to obsessively listen to (Kat's music is LOVELY), the book is a set of stories that sound like anecdotes your well traveled friends tell you over drinks on a weekend. It's always a specific joy to read things written by someone with highly specific, deep interests and life experiences. Kat's writing is also an ode to her music and it comes off loud and clear that she's a "lifer".
If this was a weekly newsletter, I'd want to subscribe and read all the back editions obsessively.
Thanks NetGalley for an advanced readers e-copy of this book.
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