Pipes - Introduction

 

Written in 2003, Pipes is a non-fiction narrative of how I met and befriended a down-on-his-luck, middle-aged rock star named Michael Matijevic. Michael, while widely know among insiders as the most talented vocalist in rock, (he boasts a five octave range- all of it in a stunningly full voice) remains a virtual unknown to the public at large. “The Rock Star” documents Mikey’s past, from his father who used to chase him around the house with a Luger, to his incredible vocal gift that led him to a professional recording contract at the age of thirteen, to his success with Steelheart and his spectacular, near fatal on-stage accident. In early 2000, Michael auditioned for and was signed to do virtually all of Mark Wahlberg’s vocals in the major Hollywood film Rock Star.  In the years following the movie, Michael did a demo with Guns N’ Roses sans Axel. He jammed repeatedly with Van Halen and there was conjecture that he would be Van Halen’s new frontman. A half dozen separate potential summer tours or recording opportunities almost happened but fell through. And, somehow, as a full year drifted by since I’d first met him, nothing came out of any of it. Michael became virtually destitute and didn’t know what to do.

I was given unprecedented access to legal documentation about Steelheart’s recording contract, one of the worst in music history, a corrupt triangle set up between notorious manager Stan Poses (Badfinger, The Raspberries, Eric Carmen, D’Angelo) and MCA. I researched the story of how the movie “Rock Star” came to be made and how Warner bungled the marketing and legally gagged Michael from taking any of the vocal credit.

At the same time the book details my own struggles, my decision to leave a good-paying secure job and launch off into the unknown, my separation and reconciliation with my beautiful wife, my agony over my own failed music career. When I was younger I was completely driven by becoming a rock star, first as a failed guitarist and then, in my college years, as a failed Jim Morrison clone. By the time I was thirty I had married, focused on my career and given up even listening to music.  But Michael woke it back up. I found myself wondering what on earth happened to the passion I had when I was younger.

I spent weeks with Michael and hundreds of hours on the phone with him. I sat beside him in his pathetic recording space housed in mega rock photographer Neil Zlozower’s Hollywood studio. I watched him create and sing dazzling compositions. I hiked all over the Hollywood hills and canyons with him and his luminous girlfriend. We got drunk in Sunset Blvd. bars like the Rainbow and The Viper Room. We found out that huge areas of our lives echoed one another’s. He became one of the best friends I have ever had.

The Rock Star deals with the issues of being a middle-aged rocker and wondering where all the good music went. It tells the travails of a musical genius looking for allies and finding nothing but wannabes in Los Angeles. It explores today’s disposable music and plastic singers. It asks the questions every artist who sees no outlet for his work asks: “Why am I doing this?” and “When is it time to quit?”