Getting in Tune by Roger L. Trott

Twenty-year-old Daniel Travers lives and breathes music. And so far, music has been good to him and his band The Killjoys; they always get local gigs and are by far the best band in their hometown of Creedly. But this is both a blessing and a curse because Daniel has dreams of following in the footsteps of his rock and roll idol Pete Townshend from The Who and escaping from his pathetic excuse for a home. Music is all Daniel’s got because the rest of him is beyond screwed and falling apart, and not only because of his pill popping and those voices in his head. So when he’s offered a gig at someplace called the Mai Tai Hotel, he jumps the chance to finally make it—out of Creedly and into the punk scene, so he hopes. But Daniel can’t hide from his problems forever, especially because they originate from himself.

Getting in Tune is a musical coming-of-age novel dealing with the fuzzy line between real and fake. Even through the drug and alcohol distorted world Daniel lives in, there is something so genuine about his character. He’s at odds with himself and stuck between being true to his music and finding the Real Him and doing anything to get out of Creedly and launch the Killjoys to success. I wouldn’t say the Daniel’s very likable, especially due to his frequent drinking and drug usage, but he is very easy to understand, especially when he spells out the root of all his problems. I enjoyed the deeper, almost philosophical, meaning behind the novel more than the actual plot, which was a slightly repetitive blend of drinking, smoking, playing music, and figuring out how to get from Point A to Point B. the story means more than just that, and Daniel exemplifies this search of sorts for the truth through his internal struggles. I didn’t like how the portrayal of life in a rock band is stereotyped, though many of its aspects are probably true.

Getting in Tune appeals first and foremost to all rock music lovers, particularly fans of Stephanie Kuehnert’s I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone, even if Getting in Tune isn’t as unforgettable as Stephanie Kuehnert’s musical novel.

Rating: 4.0

Review copy from author Roger L. Trott