Overview

Take a seat in the passenger-side of the van, feel the hum of highway, and join Bobbo Byrnes on a globe-trotting, laugh-out-loud, sometimes heartbreaking ride through the underbelly and glory of rock & roll. Too Many Miles: On the Road with an Unofficial Rock & Roll Goodwill Ambassador is not just a tour memoir - it's a vivid, candid, and unforgettable portrait of life lived between gigs, airports, train stations, and midnight diners; a book for anyone who's ever wanted to know what really happens after the curtain falls. Why pick up this book? Because Bobbo Byrnes writes like someone who's earned the right to tell these stories. He's the friend the band calls when things go sideways, the fixer who can smooth egos, wrangle logistics, and charm promoters - and he does it all with irreverence, heart, and a storyteller's ear for the details that stick. Too Many Miles shifts effortlessly between riotous anecdotes and small, sharp moments of clarity: the intimacy of a tiny club, the absurdity of rock & roll politics, the surreal sameness of motels in cities with names you can hardly pronounce. What makes this memoir special is its human center. Behind the rock-star glitter and travelogue trappings is a chronicler of human connection: fans who become family and the unexpected kindnesses that make long tours bearable. Byrnes is honest about the cost of the road - the relationships put on hold, the homesickness, the moral compromises - but he never loses his sense of wonder or his gratitude for a life that, despite the hardship, keeps offering up stories worth telling. Byrnes frames touring as a form of informal diplomacy: a messy, human way of bridging cultural divides that's often hampered geopolitical tensions and how a guitar or a song can break down many divides. Expect scenes that will make you laugh aloud: botched stage shenanigans that become legendary, surreal run-ins with fame, and a parade of characters so vivid you'll swear they're fictional. Expect quieter, bittersweet pages too: the toll of time, the price of loyalty, and the bittersweet perspective of someone who's watched the industry change from analog to digital, CD to streaming. Byrnes writes with crisp pacing and a wry, conversational tone that makes you feel like you're hearing these tales over a late-night drink. This is a book for: Music lovers who crave insider stories from life on the road. Readers who enjoy sharp, character-driven memoirs packed with humor and heart. Fans of rock history who appreciate both the mythic and the mundane moments that shape a life in music. Too Many Miles also serves as a tribute - to the unsung heroes who keep shows alive, to the fans who travel miles for a fleeting connection, and to the messy, beautiful reality of a subculture that never really sleeps. Byrnes' voice brings authenticity: he's not hero-worshipping, and he's not bitter. He's present, curious, and candid - a guide who invites you into the van and hands you a map and tells you to DJ the radio. If you want a book that blends the thrill of concert lore with the reflective honesty of a life examined, this is it. Too Many Miles is both a celebration and a reckoning - told with humor, empathy, and the kind of hard-earned wisdom that only comes from performing thousands of shows. Buy it to laugh, to wince, to remember what music can mean, and to travel, vicariously, with an unofficial goodwill ambassador who knows every back road and has the stories to prove it.

Full Product Details

9798994106242

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Reviews

""Whether the wider world recognizes it or not, he ought to be considered an Americana master and this book is further proof."" Lee Zimmerman, Author Americana Music: Voices, Visionaries, and Pioneers of an Honest Sound ""All these stories are at least 90% true."" Rami Jaffee In the crowded field of mediocre rock memoirs, TOO MANY MILES is a gem, blending Spinal Tap-grade road ridiculousness with Bill Bryson-grade travel writing. The result? Three hundred (plus) pages and the truth."" Joe Oestreich, Author Hitless Wonder: A Life In Minor League Rock and Roll ""Bobbo is a one-of-a-kind musician and this is an exciting adventure into his one-of-a-kind mind. Fun to read and truly brilliant. Should join the canon of highly-compelling rock and roll memoirs."" Caroline Sherman Co-Composer Empire, The Musical. ""Worst part of reading this book? FOMO - I wanted to be following it all with a video camera documenting his good will, his sense of humor, the camaraderie, and eating the food - oh, but not the sweat or the rain or the missed trains. The moments of magic greatly outweigh the small bits of misery. More than once, a lump in my throat at the cross-pond diplomacy. Couple of times real tears at the international brotherhood and sisterhood facilitated by music. Now that I think about it, he could've used a few more cuss words. However, they'd be out of character for the gentle New Englander/Californian troubadouring ambassadoring guitar slinger."" Granny PottyMouth ""A love letter to the rock & roll troubadour in all of us. One moment you're waxing poetic about how the music industry used to be, the next you're plunging headlong into tales from a tour akin to The Twilight Zone. For those to whom music means everything, Bobbo's book scratches a musical itch that has always existed in your mind, but may have fallen by the wayside of life's grind. Once you start reading these vignettes, you won't want to stop. Brian Fitzpatrick, author Mechcraft trilogy & screenwriter

Author Information

Bobbo Byrnes is a singer-songwriter, author, artist, poet, screenwriter and traveling troubadour who has spent a lifetime chasing songs down long highways and backroads. With a guitar in hand and a notebook never far away, he has logged more miles than he can count. Bobbo has built a career not on charts or hype but on human connection showing up, playing honestly and listening as much as he sings. When he's not on the road, he can be found drinking tea and eating toast at home in Southern California with his wife, Tracy, and their two cats, Lena and Lily.

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