Chronicles an anarcho-rock'n'roll cabaret band touring the hard way--in a crowded van.

When the internationally acclaimed rock'n'roll cabaret band Rhythm Activism toured Europe in order to promote their newest CD, it was through a Europe in transition that they traveled--a Europe marked by political and racial tension. Being equally at home in hard core clubs, poetry festivals, soup kitchens, the netherworld of squats, or urine drenched dives and youthfully, defiant haunts where cultural resistance rules, they drew immediate followers. The Anarchist and The Devil Do Cabaret is an amazing portrayal of that tour, told with a sense of humor, a down-to-earth perception, and in the tradition of Jack Kerouac's On the Road or Henry Rollins' Get In the Van.

Inspired by encounters with Europe's new multi-racial underclass-- the working poor, street people, immigrants, refugees, marginalized youth, the aged--this book is not merely an insider's look into the state of rock'n'roll, it is, as well, a commentary on the state of Europe in the late 20th century. In a wonderful reversal of tradition, every so often Nawrocki slips from his chronicles of life on the road into short fiction pieces. These stories, real and exaggerated, are filled with a cast of friends, lovers, and fellow travelers--panhandlers and anarchists, the unemployed and underemployed dreaming of better times, neo-Nazis and skinheads trapped in hateful lives, prostitutes risking everything, gypsy ghetto boys fighting racism, and even the sometimes riotous band members themselves.

Here is what some critics are saying about Nawrocki's work:

The Brecht/Weil combo for the 21st century. - Brave New Waves, CBC Radio

Delicious...astonishing....audacious. - Le Devoir, Montreal

Highly recommended for the politically astute. - Broken Pencil, Toronto

A one-man tour de force. - Sunday Morning, CBC Radio

A stunning mix of violin, grating guitars & humour. - New Internationalist, London

Caustic wit & cunning musical talent. - HOUR, Montreal

Maddeningly eclectic & exhilaratingly challenging. - Eye, Toronto

Mordantly funny, wickedly smart & musically fascinating. - The Winnipeg Sun

Humanist, incisive & committed. - La Presse, Montreal

This book is fabulous. - CTV News, Montreal

Never a doubt about the clarity of Nawrocki's voice....it kicks the heads of authoritarian society. - Montreal Mirror

Should be mandatory listening for members of Congress. - Puncture, Portland

One of the most refreshing souls you'll ever encounter.- The Montreal Gazette

Engaging, empowering. - Exclaim!, Toronto

Your Black Flag piece blew me away. - Lawrence Ferlinghetti, San Francisco

Brilliant mixture of sound and words. - Magnet, Philadelphia

Subversively powerful, smart, welcome stuff. - The Globe & Mail

Table of contents

Introduction

I Holland & Belgium

An Anarchist Rock'n'Roll Story
On This Corner
Welcome To Our Road Show
Raising Hell
Street Cleaners
What's Ailing The Music Business
I Bought the Devil...
Squat The City
Get A Life, Canadian
Whiskey Love
Night Birds Talking
Showtime

II FRANCE

Loverboy Of St-Malo
The Artist, The Vulture, The Beggar
The Indie Hospitality Queen
Rapture In Dijon

III SWITZERLAND

Snoring In Zurich
Duck Soup
'Politicos' vs 'Culture Vultures'

IV AUSTRIA

Apple Strudel
Spin Cycle
I Bought the Devil...
Tour Van Cranky Head
The Man, The Crow, The Dachshund

V GERMANY

Play, Sell, Count
Mother, This is the Truth
The Clown, The Fiddler, The Father
I Bought the Devil...
The Pippy Longstockings House
One Night in Berlin
I Bought the Devil...
Cat Woman, Dog Boy and Snake Man
German Border Payback

VI HUNGARY

Welcome To Capitalism
Hank Williams In The 'Hotel Lucky'
Madame Pompomalour
Sanitarium
Learning To Insult
Red Pepper Bureaucrat
Roma Country
The Hypocritic Oath
The Musical Vortex

VII CZECH REPUBLIC

Pilsen, The Beer Town
Piss It Away
The Right Time Please
I Bought the Devil...
God's Creation: Valdimir
Those Chocolates
Dragon Women Warriors
Cirkus Berousak
Elizabetha
'God Damn Gypsies'
On The Road To Dubi

VIII GERMANY

Tom Waits Goes Zapatista
Amp On Fire
Mayday Anarchist
No Present, No Future
On The Road To Gotthard
Gnomes For Sale
The Pump, The Puppet, The Piano

IX ITALY, HOLLAND, FRANCE

Bakunin's Birthday
I Bought the Devil
Beside A Child's Coffin
The Masks Are Off
Dancing In LeHavre

X CZECH REPUBLIC

Frank Zappa's Kiss

Discography

NORMAN NAWROCKI is a Montreal-based author, actor, musician, and activist who has toured the world since 1986 with his music, his poetry, and his solo, educational, anti-sexist, 'sex' comedy cabarets. He is the author of four books of poetry, has over 45 releases with his bands, and has produced two documentary videos. He gives workshops about 'creative resistance' and how to use theater, music and comedy for radical social change.

2002: 192 pages, photographs, illustrations