Book Review: Runnin' with the Devil, by Noel Monk

"For one thing that goes wrong...one...one single thing that goes wrong, a hundred things go right.  Do you know what I spend my time doing? I sleep two or three hours a night. There's no sex and drugs for Ian, David.  Do you know what I do?  I find lost luggage.  I locate mandolin strings in the middle of Austin! You know? I prise the rent out of the local Hebrews. That's what I do!" -- Ian Faith, manager of Spinal Tap

Though that quote was said by the manager of a fictional rock n' roll band, it could probably apply to any rock band's manager, ever, and certainly could apply to the author of this book, Noel Monk, who managed Van Halen during the first and best era of the band's history: 1978 to 1984.

If you're a child of the 80s or lived through any of the 80s as a fairly young adult, or even if you just love rock n' roll, you have to have at least a little spot in your heart for Van Halen. Their music is such a permanent fixture of radio station playlists, movie soundtracks, pop culture, commercials, references, that even if you're just an American living in the present day (it helps if you spent a good chunk of time in the 20th century) you probably have at least some feeling about the band, good or bad. And if you don't even know who they are, then I'm sorry but I'm going to have to report you to the Committee on Un-American Activities.

Van Halen's success was built off of the strength of six albums and almost non-stop touring throughout the period from 1978 to 1984. The band's iconic lead-singer David Lee Roth left the band in 1985 and thus ended what most consider to be the first and only "real" iteration of Van Halen. Built around the core of brothers Eddie Van Halen (guitar, duh) and Alex Van Halen, the band has continued in some form or another ever since then. But for all intents and purposes, and for the purposes of this book, Van Halen was really Van Halen only from 1978 to 1984.

Noel Monk basically baby-sat the band on the road as they rose from an opening act to a platinum record-creating, stadium-filling rock powerhouse. It's an easy and fun read, but if you're not the least bit interested in Van Halen, the 20th century music business, or just the history of rock and roll, then don't bother. This book is not complex or beautifully written, it will not enhance your understand of life in some grandiose way; however, it will reveal some riveting "behind the curtain" details about the band and the music biz that will keep you entertained.

A book written by a band's manager is, necessarily, going to be different than a book written by its lead singer, or by its studio producer, or by the wife of one of its members, etc. This book is not super heavy on details about the music, how it was created, what was done in the studio, etc. because Noel Monk was not a big part of that. Nor is it loaded with salacious details about crazy groupie sex or drug binges -- I mean, there is definitely some of that in this book -- because Noel Monk (as he claims) wasn't really a party to that either, he just cleaned up the aftermath.

As you might expect, this book is more heavy with the details of what it was like managing a group of four testosterone-filled man-children whose only job was to show up relatively sober and play music for 90 minutes a night in front of  screaming fans. Noel Monk was responsible for settling disputes withing the band and making sure they got along with each other, for making sure they woke up in time in order to get on the bus or the plane to the next gig, for making sure that they did not get arrested for destroying hotel rooms or limousines, making sure they got their money from greedy promoters. He was also, apparently, instrumental in scoring them a huge and vastly improved second contract from Warner Brothers, and for making sure they had the time necessary to work on what would become their greatest album, 1984.

In other words, while the members of the band were drinking, smoking, playing music, and having sex, Noel Monk was working as the band's baby-sitter, protector, and constant advocate. As a result, his book is more of a behind-the-scenes "how the sausage is made" kind of look. He talks extensively about the different personalities in the band, how they clashed and how he had to repair the rifts that began to show up. He talks about the process of making sure, through the time-tested 20th century "payola" system, that each of the band's records hit platinum, even after they started to fall off a bit. He talks a lot about the band's contracts and how he helped make sure they were getting paid fairly on both the micro- and macro- levels. It's actually super interesting.

Some highlights:

• Inside look at the nuts and bolts of what it's like (or what it was like) to be on a major tour with a major league rock and roll band.
• Monk dishes pretty freely on his opinions about various members of the Van Halen cadre; this is not a "puff piece" and you can definitely tell there is some serious lingering resentment. For example, he makes no secrets about his hatred for the band's first manager (Monk was actually the road manager for about a year or so before he became the actual manager), so much so that it's almost comical. He does some of the band members pretty dirty at times, but in the end, you will understand why.
• The insider look at the 20th century record industry. Today we're so far-gone into the digital era, it's hard to remember a time when, if you wanted to listen to a band's music, you had two options: go to a record store and buy an album or turn on the radio. Well that's the way it was, and just like I'm sure there's massive corruption in today's industry, the 20th century record business spawned it's own unique species of sleaze and corruption, and it's all the more interesting because it's now so far gone.
• Monk takes immense pride in the protection he placed over the band's merchandising rights, establishing a merchandise company and creating hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue for the band in the process. But he also describes with glee how he and a small posse of enforcers used to walk around outside concert venues and threaten and occasionally beat-up merchandise bootleggers
• For most of the band's early history, the internal dramas (if not the music itself) were driven by the personalities of David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen. Roth, the prima-donna with the outsized ego who always wanted to stick his nose into everything, always wanted his voice heard, and Eddie, the sensitive guitar genius addicted to women, booze, and cocaine, and who was as likely to stay up all night in his hotel room playing guitar as he was partying. 
• The way the band's dynamics changed over time, from their "all for one and one for all!" attitude when they first started, to a point where they actually wrote their bassist, Michael Anthony, out of a share of future profits while keeping him in the band as essentially a wage slave.
• The heart-breaking tale of Noel Monk's final few months as the band's manager and, ultimately, his unceremonious firing. This book is worth finishing just for the last sentence. I've rarely read a book, in any genre, with such a big emotional pay-off.