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divine weeks

Most of us go through a stage in our lives where we really want to do or try something, but most of us never take that step. 33 Days tells the story of a group of rock band members from Southern California who took the plunge. Three of the four members had never been alone on July 29, 1987 when they hopped into a rented van and left Los Angeles for a national tour. They had no idea how they would be received or what effect the trip would have on each of them.

Bill See, the book’s author and singer/leader of the group, felt the need to break away from an unhappy home life and believed at the age of 22 that he was ready to let his music help others break through their own problems. . For three years, his band, Divine Weeks, had been playing in the Los Angeles area. They were received well enough that Bill knew they could become a national name.

His closest friend, Rajesh Makwana, was the guitarist in the group and was having an extremely difficult time leaving his Indian family. His culture did not welcome his association with the band. Raj had also been the subject of much ridicule both in England before the family moved to the United States and later in this country. Bill was the closest and best friend he had ever had. So Raj was definitely into the idea of ​​the tour as music had been the best release of his somewhat unhappy life.

Another of Bill’s close friends was George Edmondson, who was not only the band’s bass player, but had been dubbed by some as the best bass player in the Los Angeles area. George was also excited about the trip because he, too, had gotten a bit down with college life for him and wanted Divine Weeks to become a national name. However, even though he wasn’t happy with college, he still had plans to go to graduate school and had become quite serious with a young lady.

Dave Smerdzinski was the fourth and last member of the group. Somewhat older and used to living alone, he recently joined the group and became a powerful force due to his nature, his ability to play the drums and his showmanship.

Ian Bader was the band’s road manager and pretty much the stabilizing influence and caretaker for all of them.

For 33 days they toured the west of the country giving concerts in all kinds of venues you can imagine. The shows were played to some sold-out houses and some very small groups, but were well received throughout and built a large following.

However, they also had many problems and not everything was as smooth as they had imagined. Food, lodging, general travel expenses were hard to come by for a virtually unknown new band when they started.

Each of the individuals grew a bit on their own and they definitely grew as a group as their music and style spread not only across the country but also on MTV and other outlets.

There are many, many references to rock songs of the time, as well as groups that were the idols of Divine Weeks. Sometimes it seems necessary to be a fan of the music and the participants to fully enjoy 33 days. The author also tends to lose the thread many times because he moves from the present to past events without always making clean breaks.

It is, however, an easy read and quite an enjoyable one, as the reader takes the trip along with these enthusiastic young musicians in their van as they travel through the rock music venues of yesterday’s scenes.

Book provided by Bill See and Bestsellersworld.com