In Case We Die

SEATTLE, WA  |  JANUARY 26, 2013  |  FANTAGRAPHICS PRESS RELEASE

Fantagraphics Books is proud to announce the forthcoming summer 2013 publication of In Case We Die, the first novel by longtime Seattle music figure Danny Bland, which follows a pair of addict outsiders who find themselves locked in the palpable, dizzy grunge-rock drug scene of '90s Seattle. The book will also be supported by a unique audiobook project from Seattle's Local 638 Records.

Both love story and horror story, In Case We Die is a semi-autobiographical and visceral story of love, crime, addiction, redemption and revenge. Bland, a 25-year veteran musician (Dwarves, Cat Butt, Best Kissers In the World) and road manager (Dave Alvin and the Blasters, Supersuckers) and longtime Seattlite, brings his own experience to a harrowing tour through Seattle's darkest underground.

"When I first read a draft of In Case We Die, I did it purely as a favor to Rachel [Flotard, proprietor of Local 638]," said Fantagraphics Associate Publisher and acquiring editor Eric Reynolds. "Rachel is hard to say no to. But I read it and loved it and actually tried to convince Danny to get an agent, and sell it to a big NY house who could land him a big movie deal. I actively discouraged him from thinking about Fantagraphics. But Danny told me all the reasons he thought that would be a bad idea, and I knew we were kindred spirits. He's shown great faith in us packaging the book he envisions and I'm proud to make that happen, because it's a book I'll be particularly proud of not just as a publisher, but as a Seattlite. It's a quintessentially Seattle novel."

Vulnerable to the high relief of heroin addiction, Bland's characters — Charlie Hyatt and Carrie Finch — are beloved, unapologetic protagonists whose epiphanies are as blinding as their weaknesses. Finch, 21, beautiful and dangerous, drowns out the voices in her head and the consequences of a misled life with electric guitar, booze and petulant misbehavior. Her single abiding faith takes the form of an unlikely savior — 60s psychedelic musician Roky Erikson. At the ripe old age of 28, Hyatt attempts to make sense of the cards he has been dealt; a miserable job, a drug habit he cannot afford and the wildly unstable woman he had chosen to love.

Two damaged people can balance a seesaw for a long time, even finding the illusion of safety; but when one gets off unannounced, the other will fall. As Finch finds sobriety, her sanity and her relationship with Hyatt falter until an inevitable event brings the two back together a decade later.

In Case We Die will premiere in Seattle this July with a number of local events t.b.a. promoting the release, with a wide release in August.
 

IN CASE WE DIE
A Novel by Danny Bland
Hardcover  |  Summer 2013

In Case We Die will also exist as a remarkable audio book to be released by Local 638 Records. An exclusive roster of legendary artists, musicians, actors and friends have lent their support and donated their talent by reading and recording chapters of the book including:

Dave Alvin The Blasters, The Knitters		Mark Lanegan Screaming Trees, Queens of the Stone Age
Greg Dulli The Afghan Whigs, The Twilight Singers		Lew Temple The Devil's Rejects, The Walking Dead
Duff McKagan Guns N' Roses		Lou Beach author, artist
Donal Logue Sons of Anarchy, American Splendor		John Sinclair White Panther Party, MC5 manager
Blag Dahlia Dwarves		Steve Earle singer, songwriter, actor
Wayne Kramer MC5		Mark Boone Jr. Sons of Anarchy
Eddie Spaghetti Supersuckers		Amiee Mann singer, songwriter, actress
John Doe X, The Knitters		Marc Maron actor, WTF podcast
Jacob Pitts Justified		Rob Delaney comic, Twitter superstar
Damien Echols West Memphis Three		Mark Arm Mudhoney
		and others t.b.a.

A portion of the proceeds benefiting MusiCares, a non-profit organization founded by The Recording Academy and The Grammys, helping musicians and roadies gain sobriety and obtain medical care.