The 27s: Authors Josh Hunter and Eric Segalstad Sit Down For Q&A

The 27s is a brilliant new book that explores the mysteries of the infamous "27 Club" - the group of rockers and artists that all met their maker at the age of 27. WNEW.com has run a series of excerpts from the book (see Parts 1, 2 and 3) and we're also giving away signed copies (enter here).

I sat down with authors Eric Segalstad and Josh Hunter last week and talked to them about what went into the making of this really interesting book. Here are the highlights from our conversation.

What inspired you to tackle this subject?

Independently, both Josh and I were aware of the 27 phenomenon and curious as to what it meant. I remember seeing Josh's art for the first time and noticing several 27s that graced his canvases: Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Robert Johnson. Once we got to know each other we talked loosely about it. "Wouldn't it be fun to do something bigger about The 27s?" or in Josh's case, "I would love to do a 27s art show." Of course at the time we only knew the most famous 27s; Jimi, Janis, Brian, RoJo, Jim Morrison, and Kurt Cobain.

What are some surprises that you found when researching the 27s?

There were obviously a lot of surprises, but a few that comes to mind would be how many of the 27s are intertwined in one fashion or another. Obviously the '60s are important in that regard--Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, but also Alan Wilson of Canned Heat, Malcolm Hale of the pop group Spanky And Our Gang, as well as Arlester Christian--the father of funk from Dyke And the Blazers. Interestingly, most of these guys were blues based rockers who were fascinated with Robert Johnson, another 27. Moving forward, Echo & the Bunnymen played songs by the Doors, Lost Boyz took their name from the movie that included a great song by the Bunnymen.

Another fascinating aspect was how a couple of living legends are intertwined in The 27s saga. Courtney Love claims she's one of the toddlers found in the Grateful Dead family photo on Aoxomoxoa (her father was a college buddy of Dead bassist Phil Lesh). While an adolescent, she hung out in Liverpool and roomed with Bunnymen drummer Pete de Freitas for a short while before he kicked her out. Then she obviously was Kurt Cobain's
wife and a little later, had Kristin Pfaff (another 27) lay down bass on See Through This, Hole's best record.

Another key figure is Mike Watt, a sublime bass player who's been in the alternative scene since the late '70s. First as a bass player for Minutemen with his best buddy D. Boon, who tragically died in a car accident in 1985. His most high-profile project today is playing bass with The Stooges. Iggy reunited the original line-up, but since David Michael Alexander died at 27 in 1975, he recruited Michael David Watt for the job. We could go on and on about this, but I guess the best thing would be to read The 27s and see for yourself.

What makes this book different from a normal non-fiction work?

First off, the colors and illustrations that are as much part of the book as the words. You know, few non-fiction books have much of any visual stimulation. The 27s turns that notion upside down. We wanted visual stimulation. The art correspond with the words here, supporting the story, visualizing it in an artistic interpretation. Then there are times when the art tell a different story or add to the words. Around Brian Jones' death in The 27s there's a photo of a freshly dug grave adorned with flowers. The overlay of white butterflies is an example of the latter. It tells a story about Brian's death that's not described using words. Also, the reading experience is quite unlike most non fiction with timelines and sidebars to frame the story in a pop cultural or historical context. The main story line is unbroken by chapters--it's a complete story--yet given the art and other artifacts one can pick it up, glance at any page, and walk away from it with a piece of knowledge, much like a coffee table book.

Who is the most tragic of all the 27s?

Any young death is obviously tragic, so that's really up to the eye of the beholder. Pete Ham of Badfinger is up there. He wrote incredible songs - Without You is a pop classic at this point - but he hung himself in 1975 because the band was screwed over by a crooked manager. The story is obviously a lot more complex than that, but that sums it up. Tom Evans who wrote the chorus to that song ("I can't live, if living is without you") followed in Pete by hanging himself eight years later.

Did the majority of the 27s cause their own demise?

Not directly. I'm sure some would argue that they chose a lifestyle that got the better of them at that early age, but it's not like they all died from too much dope. The deaths run the gamut, really. Plane and car crashes, freak accidents, murder, assassination, monoxide poisoning, an equestrian accident - and various health issues stemming from drink and drugs of course.

Who did these incredible illustrations? Describe the inspiration and process behind the illustrating.

The artwork for The 27s was created by Josh Hunter. While most music history books settle on a handful of recycled black and white photographs, The 27s is a 312-page, fully illustrated book. At times, the art is illustrating the words within the text and at others, the artwork is telling a separate side of the story not found by reading alone. The art is symbolic, cryptic and was meant to develop throughout the story, carrying the reader from beginning to end in a fashion we think is quite unlike any reading experience. Inside The 27s, the audience will also discover 22 portraits of 27s such as Pete Ham, Brian Jones, Kurt Cobain, Hole’s Kristen Pfaff, Minutemen’s D Boon, Richey Edwards of the Manic Street Preachers and Freaky Tah of the hip hop sensation, Lost Boyz. Each of these illustrations were created by photographing original pencil illustrations I had drawn and importing these snaphshots into the computer where they were colored using Adobe Illustrator.

For the past 3 years, I have been photographing a plethora of objects and drawing sketches for what would become the artwork of The 27s. I was an avid comic book collector and reader when I was younger and that method of story telling inspires much of the layout for this project. I tried to think of this book’s story as something more than flat illustrations, instead the idea of film and cinema inspired us to try and create a cinematic experience within a traditional art form.

Pick up your own copy of The 27s and discover for yourself – only on THE27s.com