Hello. I’m Gavin Edwards, the public speaker and the New York Times-bestselling author of The Tao of Bill Murray, the ’Scuse Me While I Kiss This Guy series, and Kindness and Wonder: Why Mister Rogers Matters Now More Than Ever. If you’re interested in hiring me, click here for more information.
One of the nice things about releasing a book is that smart people want to talk about it with you. If you’re interested in knowing more about about Last Night at the Viper Room, or if you just want to see how I handle answering questions instead of asking them, perhaps you’d like to check out these interviews that I did about the book?
You might be interested in a couple of pieces I wrote that appeared on the Rolling Stone website last week. I have a short interview with National guitarist Bryce Dessner, centered on his collaboration with the Kronos Quartet (the album Aheym, which I quite like). And, pegged to Halloween, I did a roundup (I’m trying to avoid the word “listicle”) about Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video. John Landis on the sexual meaning of werewolves and Jackson rendered in Lego–how can you resist?
Hello, good people of Portland, Oregon! I am currently in your beautiful city, and tonight I will be appearing at the world-famous Powell’s bookstore, reading from Last Night at the Viper Room: River Phoenix and the Hollywood He Left Behind, answering your questions, and signing copies for anyone who wants one. (Personal message to those folks who live elsewhere in the world: if you want a signed and/or inscribed copy of the book, I bet the good people of Powell’s would be happy to hook you up and ship it out to you. Call them today at 503-228-4651, and I’ll do the signing at tonight’s event.) The other events I’ve done recently have been lots of fun–I won’t go so far to say that this the literary and cultural event of the year, but you have to consider the possibility that it might be, you know, the literary and cultural event of the year. Note that this event is not at the Powell’s flagship store on Burnside, but at Powell’s Books on Hawthorne, which is at 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd., Portland OR 97214. I hope to see you there: everything gets started at 7:30 pm.
If you want to read full-length paragraphs on the topic of River Phoenix, woven together into a larger narrative, your best bet is the full-length biography I wrote that was published last week, Last Night at the Viper Room (available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Powell’s, or your local bookstore). But if you want something to whet your appetite, of if you just prefer lists, I can help you out. For MTV’s website The Hive, I compiled a list of ten songs inspired (directly and indirectly) by Phoenix. Buzzfeed has a list that draws from my book, on the top ten roles Phoenix played (or might have). And Rolling Stone is hosting a slideshow of River photographs through the years.
If you’d like to read some more samples of Last Night at the Viper Room: River Phoenix and the Hollywood He Left Behind, two sites have excerpts today, which happen to bookend each other: Refinery 29 has a taste of the introduction, while Slate has a chunk relating to Dark Blood and the final weeks before Phoenix’s death. (My thanks to both of them!) If those inspire you to read more, you can buy the book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Powell’s–or your favorite local bookstore.
Today marks the twentieth anniversary of River Phoenix’s death. I’ve known this day was coming for many months, ever since I started working on writing Last Night at the Viper Room last year, and yet today I find myself surprised and saddened all over again. I just wanted to take a quiet moment out of the huggermugger of my life to reflect on his passing; whatever he meant to you, I hope you’ll do the same.
Thanks to everyone who came out last night to Book Soup: we had a full house, people asked lots of great questions, and I was happy to meet so many of you. I am making another appearance tonight, in conjunction with a screening of Dark Blood: that’s the movie River Phoenix was making when he died, completed only this past year and previously unseen in Los Angeles. It has some uneven patches, as one would expect from a movie that had to abandon its shoot before it was done, but it also has some really lyrical moments, and I find it genuinely inspiring to see River in the last months of his life, looking healthy and clear-eyed. If you’re a River fan, I think this will be a treat for you.
The screening is at the Aero Theatre (1328 Montana Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90403), starting at 7:30 pm. There’s a reception beforehand, at which I will be signing copies of Last Night at the Viper Room. Dark Blood director George Sluizer will also be in attendance, and I’ll be conducting an interview with him after the screening. Tickets are $11; less if you’re a member of American Cinematheque. Hope to see you there!
The website for the Russian edition of Rolling Stone has put up an excerpt from Last Night at the Viper Room (the chapter about the making of Stand by Me). I can’t speak to the quality of the translation, so I’m just going to assume that it’s excellent. It’s cool and surreal to see my writing in Russian (especially considering that my freshman year of college, I made it about five weeks into a Russian class before my head exploded and I had to drop the course).
Hello, citizens of Los Angeles and visitors to this fair city:
Tonight (which is Monday night, October 28), I will be at the legendary Book Soup, starting at 7 pm, reading from Last Night at the Viper Room and answering questions on any topic you care to bring up, be it River Phoenix, Lou Reed, or Def Leppard. (Book Soup is at 8818 W. Sunset Boulevard, a short walk from the Viper Room.) Rumor has it that it’s going to be an excellent time, and that it is your best possible way to get a book signed by me. Come on down!
One of the nice things about releasing a book is that smart people want to talk about it with you. If you’re interested in knowing more about about Last Night at the Viper Room, or if you just want to see how I handle answering questions instead of asking them, perhaps you’d like to check out these interviews that I did about the book?
