The Royal We
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3.7 • 3 Ratings
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
A founder of the iconic band Faith No More shares his coming-of-age and out-of-the-closet story in pre–tech boom San Francisco
THE ROYAL WE is a poetic survey of a time set in a magical city that once was and is no more. It is a memoir written by Roddy Bottum, a musician and artist, that documents his coming of age and out of the closet in 1980s San Francisco, a charged era of bicycle messengers, punk rock, street witches, wheatgrass, and rebellion. The book follows his travels from Los Angeles, growing up gay with no role models, to San Francisco, where he formed Faith No More and went on to tour the world relentlessly, surviving heroin addiction and the plight of AIDS, to become a queer icon.
The book is an elevated wallop of tongue and insight, much more than a tell-all. There are personal encounters with public figures like Kurt and Courtney and Guns N’ Roses, and recaps of gold records and arena rock—but it’s the testimonies of tragedy and addiction and preposterous life-spins that make this work so unique and intriguing. Bottum writes about his dark and harrowing past in a clear-eyed voice that is utterly devoid of self-pity, and his emboldened and confident pronouncements of achievement and unorthodox heroism flow in an unstoppable train that’s both captivating and inspirational.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Faith No More keyboardist Bottum recalls coming-of-age as a gay punk rocker in San Francisco in his punchy debut. Finding his hometown of Los Angeles "lifeless as a raisin," a 19-year-old Bottum relocated to San Francisco in 1982. There, he nurtured his passion for punk music with like-minded artists and formed the '80s alternative metal group Faith No More. Bottum's account toggles between wild-eyed memories of his adolescent antics, including drinking, smoking, and stealing the family car for joyrides, and graver adult dalliances with hard drugs alongside prefame Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain. (The three nearly attended rehab together before Love and Cobain bowed out at the last minute.) Meanwhile, Bottum reflects on his formative sexual experiences with older men (a therapist categorizes them as molestation, but Bottum insists "it was real and consensual"), provides gossipy backstage anecdotes about touring with Metallica and Guns N' Roses, and sweetly lionizes his sisters, whose support he credits with lifting him from rock bottom on multiple occasions. Far from a milquetoast music bio—one of the most memorable scenes features Bottum and his friends vomiting pea soup—this lively self-portrait has spirit to spare. It's a riot.
