The High Desert by James Spooner
368 pages, Hardcover
Harper Collins, May 2022
As a middle-aged punk rocker who remembers the era before Nirvana, I often have to remind the younger generation how dangerous it was to be a weirdo. While the 80s are glorified by a generation who didn’t experience it. I wrote a whole novel on the theme (Punk Rock Ghost Story) and that is much of the feeling of this memoir. James Spooner is a bit younger but where he grew up in Apple Valley was a little behind the times. Something the author learned during a visit to New York City. That trip was something I related to as a small-town punk that visited Chicago in my case.
The author of this book is someone I have seen interviews with. As the founder of the Afro-punk movement. Writing and drawing an entire memoir is no small task. The storytelling is honest and willing to paint an honest picture even if doesn’t give Spooner the coolest image. An absent father, a mother who meant well but didn’t understand his lifestyle. A crappy band, a scene where Nazis and black punk rockers hang out because they are all they have. Spooner's story is about being an outcast, Black in a small town, black punk rocker in a small town, absent father, and plenty more that made him feel different.
It was an interesting ground-level look at a local scene in a town as a Midwesterner I had little context for. That said I read this right after a research trip to Riverside in the area so that helped a little bit. It was seeing the scene in this part of the world that most interested me. Being a rare person of color and connecting to punk rock gave Spooner a unique point of view.
I loved the way he incorporated song lyrics into the art. I knew most of the songs, but this would be a good introduction to punk and hardcore. The fact that he ended up vegan and activist is super cool to me. It is not my typical reading. Most graphic novels I read are science fiction but I could relate the small-town punk thing. Really cool book.
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