Some reviews and comments about the book 'Confessions of a Lighthouse Keeper' by Greg Appel
‘With humour and frankness that sometimes feels quite brutal, Appel’s book stumbles into a story of people making music because they could, on little money and not necessarily great ambition, just the sense that doing this answered a need they might not even be able to articulate.'
Bernard Zuel, Sydney Morning Herald, September 2020
Bernard Zuel website
'A frank, fun and feel-good read.'
Chris Lambie Forte Nov 2020
'This is the real interest of the book, and Appel’s skill is balancing this certain sense of regret with a humorous and colourful insider’s memoir of music, people, places and youthful aspirations.'
Chris Cody Music Trust Nov 2020
‘Greg Appel has written a beautiful, insightful—and at times poignant—memoir of music, people, times and places. Confessions Of A Lighthouse Keeper is about a band, of course—but it’s about so much
more. It’s about youth, aspirations, turmoil and craziness. It’s about
growing up and being creative in Australia during the 1980s. This is a book about—to paraphrase Leonard Cohen—wild-eyed kids with a head full of dreams. Enter their world and go with the flow—just like they did.’
Stuart Coupe, Petersham, July 2020
' just read your book. It looks like it was quite a big project in the end. I’m surprised there haven’t been more books covering that era in Sydney, and the other cities for that matter. I think it was a great period to be in living in Sydney in your late teens and twenties and tobe into music in a big way. Like you say, it was cheap and the people were cool and there were lots of great bands playing all the time. I used to “publish” BSide magazine with my friend Caroline, so for us music was almost our whole life I suppose. I often tell people if you really get into music, you can almost have a different life to what you would otherwise have had. But maybe it’s harder to do that now than it was in what a mate of mine calls “the simpler days” of the early 80s. He is probably right.....So yeah, enjoyed the book man. I’m sure you’ll get a great response to it.'
Simon Lonergan, 2020
‘With humour and frankness that sometimes feels quite brutal, Appel’s book stumbles into a story of people making music because they could, on little money and not necessarily great ambition, just the sense that doing this answered a need they might not even be able to articulate.'
Bernard Zuel, Sydney Morning Herald, September 2020
Bernard Zuel website
'A frank, fun and feel-good read.'
Chris Lambie Forte Nov 2020
'This is the real interest of the book, and Appel’s skill is balancing this certain sense of regret with a humorous and colourful insider’s memoir of music, people, places and youthful aspirations.'
Chris Cody Music Trust Nov 2020
‘Greg Appel has written a beautiful, insightful—and at times poignant—memoir of music, people, times and places. Confessions Of A Lighthouse Keeper is about a band, of course—but it’s about so much
more. It’s about youth, aspirations, turmoil and craziness. It’s about
growing up and being creative in Australia during the 1980s. This is a book about—to paraphrase Leonard Cohen—wild-eyed kids with a head full of dreams. Enter their world and go with the flow—just like they did.’
Stuart Coupe, Petersham, July 2020
' just read your book. It looks like it was quite a big project in the end. I’m surprised there haven’t been more books covering that era in Sydney, and the other cities for that matter. I think it was a great period to be in living in Sydney in your late teens and twenties and tobe into music in a big way. Like you say, it was cheap and the people were cool and there were lots of great bands playing all the time. I used to “publish” BSide magazine with my friend Caroline, so for us music was almost our whole life I suppose. I often tell people if you really get into music, you can almost have a different life to what you would otherwise have had. But maybe it’s harder to do that now than it was in what a mate of mine calls “the simpler days” of the early 80s. He is probably right.....So yeah, enjoyed the book man. I’m sure you’ll get a great response to it.'
Simon Lonergan, 2020
Rhythms Dec 2020
