Matt Pryor, the beloved frontman and emo icon of acts like The Get Up Kids and the New Amsterdams, has penned a memoir chronicling his beginnings in Kanas to the Get Up Kids growth spurt to emo giants in his debut memoir “Red Letter Days.”
Pryor’s songwriting charm is reflected in his approach as an author. The storytelling narrative he chooses to tell his life story is against the grain from your typical memoir “Red Letter Days” at times almost feels like you are reading a coming-of-age fiction novel. There’s some honest and raw reflection about growing up and fitting in:
“Our actual enemy though we don’t know yet, is our own individual identities. All we know is that we don’t fit in with what our parents want us to be, so we try on different hats in attempt to figure out who we really are.”
The way Pryor titles certain characters and events is unconventional, but fits tone of his story. The book even reads like a weird and witty punk rock travel blog.
If you have had the pleasure of meeting Pryor or knowing him off the stage, his endearing personality and good nature even come across throughout “Red Letter Days,” which is a hard thing to pull off when you think of authorial choices in terms of diction, tone, and overall direction. For fans of the Get Up Kids, or the wave of Vagrant Records emo bands that helped redefine the genre, “Red Letter Days” is something to write home about for sure.
“Red Letter Days” is out Jan.23
By MIKE DAMANTE
If you are a fan of emo and pop-punk, Mike Damante’s book “Hey Suburbia: A guide to the emo/pop-punk rise” is out now, and features exclusive interviews with the Get Up Kids, blink-182, New Found Glory, Alkaline Trio, Descendents, and others.