Great White book on the Station Fire

Anyone seen this new book or read it?

I think I want to read this one? You know of this one Scott?

http://blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=180127

Unless this book labels the club owners as the reason this happened and calls all the families that sued heartless, money-grubbing assholes, then it's not accurate.

Quote :

Fans of disaster nonfiction and forensic thrillers will find ample elements of both genres in 'Killer Show'."

Classy. "Hey everyone , ya like 'C.S.I.?" Then check this book out, maaaaan! It's just like that show but with extra rock n roll!"

The title alone turns me off, its trying to come off as clever but to me it comes off as crass and tasteless.

I agree with you Manny. They could have thought of a way better name. However, this also seems like a really bad idea to even have the book written and published.

I won't be reading this though, can't even stand Great White.

I see nothing wrong with this book. It's a history of an event that has interest to some people and uses a common phrase as a title. So? Does everyone have to get offended by everything now?

Yeah, nothing wrong with the book.

Witchfinder wrote:

I see nothing wrong with this book. It's a history of an event that has interest to some people and uses a common phrase as a title. So? Does everyone have to get offended by everything now?

Not offened and yes I am aware that is a common phrase, but these were real people, so I think the book title in my opinion should have been a little more tasteful. The book maybe an excellent example of journalistic investigation, but with a title like that I highly doubt it.

manny wrote:

Witchfinder wrote:

I see nothing wrong with this book. It's a history of an event that has interest to some people and uses a common phrase as a title. So? Does everyone have to get offended by everything now?

Not offened and yes I am aware that is a common phrase, but these were real people, so I think the book title in my opinion should have been a little more tasteful. The book maybe an excellent example of journalistic investigation, but with a title like that I highly doubt it.

My guess would be that the title was chosen to appeal to an audience that has little to no knowledge of Great White or hard rock/metal. Thus the pun of the title. I readily concede that this book could suck out loud.

That whole incident hit a little too close to home for me. When I think of all the small, ratty clubs I've been to over the years and how easily anyone them could have had the same situation occur (or even the Dimebag shooting), it gives me a pit in my stomach.

I know all I need to know about that night. I'd have no interest in either the gory details or the finger-pointing.

My guess is that tis is an attempt to set the stories straight as to what really happened that fatal night.

Not offended in the slightest. I guess I'll just stop being nice then and say how I really feel from now on!

Quote :

On February 20, 2003, the deadliest rock concert in U.S. history

Hard to believe that next year it'll be 10 years since this happened.

Quote :

That whole incident hit a little too close to home for me. When I think of all the small, ratty clubs I've been to over the years and how easily anyone them could have had the same situation occur (or even the Dimebag shooting), it gives me a pit in my stomach.

Same here. I had pretty much "retired" from goin' to shows in clubs by the time the poop went down at the Station, but it was still pretty scary watching the reports roll in on TV that day, cuz over the years I'd seen hundreds of bands in dozens of rat-hole clubs just like it.

It made me think of one time when I'd gone to see a KISS tribute band at a local dump club; one of their flash bombs must've been packed with too much powder cuz when it went off it blew out a couple of ceiling tiles over the stage, and they had to stop the show while the crew came out and cleaned up the mess. Everybody in the audience thought it was funny at the time, but when I look back it in light of the Station tragedy, I think to myself "Damn, maybe I dodged a bullet."

Believe it or not Rolling Stone had a pretty good article about the fire. It was powerful in that it told the story of various people attending the show. Really did a great job of personalizing the horror of it all. The thing that hit me hard was it just as easily could have been any number of shows I'd attended over the years (as metalguy & freddy said). How many shows I saw where I thought to myself "damn have enough pyro!" never once thinking it could have been tragic or that I might have been in real danger. As the article made clear these were just big music fans seeing a group they still loved on what should have been a fun night.

One time on ebay I won a Raven "All For One" shirt. The seller included in the listing that it had been purchased at a show at the Station. After winning he sent me this long message telling me once again about how the shirt came from the Station and how he was supposed to have gone to see Great White but got called into work so he ended up not being able to go. It was really sad because it was clear how much survivor guilt he carried and how much it was still affecting him several years after. I still can't look at the shirt and not think about that dude and the Station.

Thats a pretty sad story jstate.

speed101 wrote:

Thats a pretty sad story jstate.

It is.

I found this book on the "New Release" shelf at my library today so I picked it up. Will post my thoughts once I've read it.

Eyesore wrote:

Unless this book labels the club owners as the reason this happened and calls all the families that sued heartless, money-grubbing assholes, then it's not accurate.

I'm about a quarter of the way into this book so far and it is definitely not portraying the Derderian Bros. (owners of the Station) in a very flattering light... it would appear that they were ripping off bands and engaging in questionable business practices long before Great White ever set foot in the club.

Finished this book last night... anybody else checked it out?

As I mentioned earlier, the Station's owners (the Derderian brothers) were definitely no saints, but they're not the only ones to shoulder blame. Of course there's Dan Biechele, Great White's road manager, aka the doofus who set off the pyro in that firetrap in the first place.

In addition, the local fire marshal dropped the ball repeatedly over a number of years by playing fast-and-loose with the "maximum safe occupancy" number for the club, repeatedly ignoring a lack of fire extinguishers in the building, and somehow never noticing that the walls were covered in highly flammable foam insulation.

Also, the club's staff were utterly clueless about how to handle an emergency. One bouncer actually forbade patrons from exiting the burning building through a door right next to the stage, claiming that it was "for band members only" and forcing them to head for the club's front door, which contributed to the stampede and bottle-necking at the entrance that caused a pile up of bodies.

Jack Russell doesn't get off scot free either. You'd think that since his name was on the contracts, that it was his gig, and therefore he should've - and probably could've - stepped up at some point before the Station and said "Hey, do we really want to be shooting off fireworks in these little shoebox clubs?" but he's portrayed as a clueless dork who is pretty much disconnected from the daily workings of his own band; in other words, aside from his time on stage, he doesn't worry about any of the other details since he has people on his payroll to worry about them for him. It's mentioned that Jack Russell was on TV shortly after the disaster showing off his new $50,000 face lift and talking about "healing through the love of music" while victims of the fire were still waiting for some sort of compensation for their pain and suffering. By the end of the book you're likely to be saying "Geez, what an a$$hole" whenever his name comes up.

The book does get bogged down with some pretty thick legal-ese during the last quarter when it details the massive combination of lawsuits that were filed in the aftermath of the fire, but aside from that it was a quick, involving read.

In a nutshell - there were really no "good" guys in this story, just a whole lot of people whose bad decisions cost 100 people their lives.

I will eventually read this. As an attorney, I am interested in the lawsuits that were filed and their outcomes.

I know that after the fire I am much more aware of all the exits in any concert venue that I am in. I also think about what I will do in the event of a fire and which exit I will use.

Thanks for the review FF.

I doubt I will read this one. The whole thing leaves me with a pit in my stomach every time I think about it. I've played in dives like that and I've seen hundreds of shows in hole-in-the-wall clubs like that. I understand the fascination and don't blame people for reading it, but I'm gonna pass. It's one piece of rock and roll history I don't wish to really get into deeper.

Witchfinder wrote:

As an attorney, I am interested in the lawsuits that were filed and their outcomes.

...and as an attorney, you'll probably have an easier time than I did with the "thick legal-ese" in the later chapters.

Quote :

Thanks for the review FF.

No problem. I'm planning to do a more in-depth version for my HubPage blog.

ultmetal wrote:

I doubt I will read this one. The whole thing leaves me with a pit in my stomach every time I think about it. I've played in dives like that and I've seen hundreds of shows in hole-in-the-wall clubs like that. I understand the fascination and don't blame people for reading it, but I'm gonna pass. It's one piece of rock and roll history I don't wish to really get into deeper.

I felt the same way when the subject of this book first came up but when I found it at the library I couldn't resist, my curiosity got the better of me. Turned out to be a damn good (if depressing and tragic) read.

I have this on reserve from my local library. My question is will it make me feel guilty listening to Great White? I know just after the fire I had trouble enjoying their stuff for a good long while.

jstate wrote:

I have this on reserve from my local library. My question is will it make me feel guilty listening to Great White? I know just after the fire I had trouble enjoying their stuff for a good long while.

Honestly, GW's music was kinda ruined for me by the Station fire. I still spin their stuff occasionally but nowhere near as often as I used to before the tragedy. It just bums me out.

That said, reading this book prompted me to pull out the Hooked CD for the first time in a good long while (mainly to hear "Desert Moon," which was the song GW was playing on that fateful night when the sh*t hit the fan) and I've been jammin' it for the past several days.

Fat Freddy wrote:

Quote :

Thanks for the review FF.

No problem. I'm planning to do a more in-depth version for my HubPage blog.

...and here it is! Please check it out if yer so inclined. Thanky kindly.

http://hub.me/aeIxW