Created by John Kaye (1941--) Don't look back -- something may be gaining on you. In John Kaye's well-received The Dead Circus (2002), a noirish ode to dark secrets and the buried past, it's 1986, and GENE BURK is an ex-cop turned Hollywood private eye, obsessed with rock'n' roll, and still reeling over the death … Continue reading Gene Burk
Tag: Rock’n’roll
R.B. “Ax” Axton
Created by Doug Allyn (1942--) R.B. "AX" AXTON is a sometime-licensed private investigator, eking out a living on the fringes of Dearborn, Michigan. He also does collections for local loan sharks and snatches for bail bondsmen, not to mention occasional gigs as a bodyguard, bouncer, bartender and even a hotel night clerk. Whatever. And whatever … Continue reading R.B. “Ax” Axton
Lou Crasher
Created by Jonathan Brown Cop (questioning Crasher at a homicide scene) in Drums, Guns 'n' Money: "I don't need to tell you the kind of shit you'll be in if you play P.I. on this." Crasher: "No, you don't need to tell me." Don't go calling " adroitly percussive" drummer and private eye LOU CRASHER … Continue reading Lou Crasher
Adam Zantz
Created by Daniel Weizmann "Now isn't it a pity, isn't it a shame, No one ever warned the boy, Rock n' roll is a vicious game..." -- April Wine This Zantz can dance--or at least one would hope so, given his love of rock'n'roll. In the "Pacific Coast Highway Mysteries" (that's how the series is … Continue reading Adam Zantz
Josh Wainwright
Created by Robert S. Levinson (1936-2018) JOSH WAINWRIGHT is an ex-LAPD officer obsessed with proving that eccentric music producer Clyde "Mr. Magic" Davenport is somehow responsible for the death of his wife, superstar singer Katie Sunshine, shot by a sniper while participating in a local telethon years ago. And, as the current co-owner of International … Continue reading Josh Wainwright
Rolly Waters
Created by Corey Lynn Fayman Rock’n’roll never forgets? Recovering alcoholic and reluctant small-time private eye ROLLY WATERS plies his trade in the San Diego area, but still manages to wield a mean guitar (he once had a major label contract), playing parties and neighborhood bars every now and then. Not that’s he’s exactly surrounded by groupies … Continue reading Rolly Waters
Rick Shannon/Buddy Miles
Created by Bill Fitzhugh Goofmeister Bill Fitzhugh's Radio Activity (2004) introduced RICK SHANNON, an out-of-work DJ whose new job at a small FM classic rock station in a small Mississippi town turns out to be a bit of a bust--the station's under new management, the program director's disappeared and the spacious digs he's been promised turn out … Continue reading Rick Shannon/Buddy Miles
Webster Dodge (Dodge’s Bullets)
Created by Jay Faerber Can you turn it up to 11? WEBSTER DODGE is a rockin' young Seattle private eye, in his mid-to-late 20s, who's not real big on authority figures, in Jay Faerber's original graphic novel Dodge's Bullets (2004). Despite the fact that Faerber made his name with assorted spandex-clad mutants and teen titans, … Continue reading Webster Dodge (Dodge’s Bullets)
Hidden Tracks
Private Eye TV Shows... with Real! Live! Rockers! Yeah, we all know it's only rock and roll. But we like it. Still, in the decades before Midnight Special and MTV, the fusion of rock and TV drama had always been iffy, if not downright embarrassing. Think of rock and roll and television as fraternal twins, … Continue reading Hidden Tracks
Thomas Pynchon’s Inherent Vice Playlist
As Chosen By the Master Himself Thomas Pynchon actually compiled a playlist of sorts for his 2009 novel, Inherent Vice, as an Amazon Exclusive. It was definitely and infinitely weird and eclectic, a wide-ranging hodge-podge of musical digressions, rounding up everyone from Roy Rogers and Frank Sinatra to The Doors and The Beach Boys, from bossa … Continue reading Thomas Pynchon’s Inherent Vice Playlist