About this project
Michael T. Fournier's debut novel "Hidden Wheel" has just been released by Three Rooms Press. This Kickstarter project is to raise funds for a book tour in the spring/early summer.
The Novel
The novel focuses on the art and punk scenes of the Midwestern city Freedom Springs, where an opportunistic trustfunder named Ben Wilfork starts an all-ages art/show space names Hidden Wheel. Max Caughin, who tags under the name Faze, gets famous quick with a series of paintings on CD covers. His buddy Bernie Reese donates sperm to raise money for a new drum kit so his two-piece noiserock band Stonecipher can record. Bernie's romantic interest (and former chess prodigy) Rhonda Barrett does dominatrix work by day and paints her life, sixty words at a time, on giant canvases by night. Their fates intertwine in a story reconstructed by William Molyneux, a 24th Century scholar reconstructing the Hidden Wheel scene after a solar flare erases all digital data in his era.
The Band
Dead Trend started as a fictional band in Hidden Wheel, Freedom Springs' biggest musical export. As I wrote the book, I also wrote Dead Trend songs -- short blasts of punk focusing on 1986 topics like Reagan, the Berlin Wall and Chernobyl. Some friends and I put the band together this summer, with me playing drums and doing backing vocals. We have a 7" coming out soon on Baltimore's Save vs. Poison Records. In the meantime, our music is available via cassette tape -- demo versions of our songs recorded this summer, as well as a live set recorded in Orono, Maine.
The Tour
I'm hoping to do as many readings as possible this spring/summer. I love bookstores, of course, but I'm also hoping to read in less traditional venues: pizza parlors, living rooms, basements, with bands, at schools -- pretty much anything you can come up with. All moneys from this Kickstarter project, after costs, will be applied to touring throughout the spring and summer. If you can help set something up or have ideas for cool/odd venues, get in touch.
The Author
My first book was "Double Nickels On The Dime," the 45th installment of Continuum Press's '33 1/3' series, a rumination on the Minutemen's epic 1984 album of the same name.
My music writing has appeared in/on Vice, the Oxford American, Boston Magazine, the Boston Phoenix, Chunklet, HeartattaCk, Jersey Beat, the Noise, Perfect Sound Forever, Pitchfork, Punk Planet and Trouser Press. I do weekly reviews at 365 Albums A Year.
My fiction has appeared in/on Barrelhouse, Pennsylvania English, Place/Time, Stolen Island Review and Talking River.
I taught punk rock history at Tufts University in Medford, MA and Emerson College in Boston, MA.
FAQ
Have a question? If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.
120
Backers
$3,186
pledged of $2,500 goal
0
seconds to go
Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on December 16.
Pledge $5 or more Pledge $5 or more
A digital download of the audiobook, read by the author, plus a personal 'thank you' email.
Pledge $10 or more Pledge $10 or more
A Dead Trend t-shirt, as well as a digital download of the audiobook read by the author and a personal 'thank you' note. (Overseas, add $10 s/h.)
Pledge $15 or more Pledge $15 or more
A Dead Trend demo cassette, as well as a t-shirt and a digital download of the audiobook and a personal 'thank you' note. (Overseas, add $10 s/h.)
Pledge $20 or more Pledge $20 or more
A copy of "Hidden Wheel" mailed directly to your house, with a personal 'thank you' note enclosed. (Overseas, add $10 s/h.)
Pledge $25 or more Pledge $25 or more
A copy of 'Hidden Wheel' mailed to your house with a personal 'thank you' note, and a digital download of the audiobook. (Overseas, add $10 s/h.)
Pledge $35 or more Pledge $35 or more
A Dead Trend t-shirt, a copy of 'Hidden Wheel' mailed to your house with a personal 'thank you' note, and a digital download of the audiobook. (Overseas, add $10 s/h.)
Pledge $40 or more Pledge $40 or more
A Dead Trend demo tape, t-shirt, a copy of 'Hidden Wheel' mailed to your house with a personal 'thank you' note, and a digital download of the audiobook. (Overseas, add $10 s/h.)
Pledge $50 or more Pledge $50 or more
A copy of my book "Double Nickels On The Dime," A Dead Trend demo tape, t-shirt, a copy of 'Hidden Wheel' mailed to your house with a personal 'thank you' note, and a digital download of the audiobook. (Overseas, add $10 s/h.)
Pledge $90 or more Pledge $90 or more
Bookstore/book club special: 10 copies of 'Hidden Wheel' mailed to one location. (Overseas, add $15 s/h.)
Pledge $200 or more Pledge $200 or more
Local book club hoo-ha: Ten copies of 'Hidden Wheel' mailed to one location, and a one-hour book club meeting led by the author. This is valid anywhere within 100 miles of Western Massachusetts.
Pledge $500 or more Pledge $500 or more
National book club hoo-ha: Ten copies of 'Hidden Wheel' mailed to one location, and a one-hour book club meeting led by the author. This is valid anywhere within the continental United States, and requires some discussion re: lodging, etc.
Project By
Connected as Michael T. Fournier (1031 friends)
Author of Hidden Wheel (Three Rooms Press) and Double Nickels On The Dime (Continuum Press/33.3), Dead Trend drummer (back in '86), rabblerouser, etc.
