Shopping Tip #1 and A Tale

Yes. It's inevitable. Ready or not the holidays are coming and sometimes that involves hiding assorted items in colored papers and passing them off to other people. (You know what I mean.) For some of us it's a time of joy and for others a time of dread, but make it easy on yourself. For all the rock 'n' roll fans on your list-Mark Opsasnick's book "Capitol Rock" can't be beat. It's an amazing collection of local rock lore and information. Mark is scrupulous about detail, and has scoured libraries and old haunts for information. I asked him how he got started:

My interest in rock and roll goes back to my childhood when my older siblings (brother and sister) would play Beatles and Monkees albums on the family phonograph. I was hooked, and I remember how, at age ten in 1972, my mother brought me Alice Cooper’s “Killer” album from the Greenbelt Library. The music was incredible, though now, some 36 years later, I’m horrified by the lyrics of “Dead Babies.” Good thing I couldn’t understand anything those maniacs were saying back then. Anyway, after watching this shock-rock band on “In-Concert” I went out and, using my saved-up allowance, bought all their albums at the Beltway Plaza Waxie Maxie’s for $3.33 a pop (I also have a recollection of scooping up albums by Santana, Deep Purple, the Doors and Mountain on one piggy bank-depleting afternoon at that particular outlet.) I remember staring for what seemed like hours at the incredible Mothers of Invention album covers, trying to figure out what kind of music could possibly be contained on the vinyl within – I later heard the entire “We’re Only In It For the Money” album on WGTB and was completely mesmerized by the surreal waves of sound that poured out of that cheap radio. And all of this occurred before I turned eleven.

(Two of the greatest rock and roll mysteries of all time still haunt me – where did the Beatles plug in that mess of guitar wires on the cover of their “Something New” album; and what was that crap on the Coop’s face??)

I maintained my love of rock and roll music into my adult years, but it wasn’t until I started venturing into the bars and nightclubs of Prince George’s County in the 1980s that my interest took a unique turn. In places like the Paragon and the Riverdale Pizza Pub I began hearing tales of forgotten killer rock bands that had ruled Washington, D.C.-area stages (the British Walkers, the Cherry People, the Hangmen, Lawrence and the Arabians, etc.) and spellbinding guitarists who had actually resided right in my home county (Danny Gatton, Roy Clark, Link Wray, Roy Buchanan), but I was dismayed to discover on my trips to local libraries that no books existed that documented the lives and times of these remarkable musical heroes.

I decided to try to fill that void.

The rest is history; the future is a Work-in Progress!

All seven of Mark's books including “Capitol Rock” and “The Lizard King Was Here” are available at Xlibris.

Or take a break from the frenzy and read about Mark's trip down F Street, Christmas morning 1999-a Washington DC My Hometown exclusive.