Music Industry Insider Howard Paar’s Once Upon a Time in LA Releasing 11/1/15

LOS ANGELES - Aug. 5, 2015 - PRLog -- LOS ANGELES/Aug 4, 2015—Written by the Grammy-nominated Howard Paar, Once Upon a Time in LA is a dark, thrilling ride deep into the lives of a megalomaniac record label chairman, mob-related radio promotion men, and a young band that gets sucked into the vortex. Once Upon a Time in LA will be released by Over the Edge Books on Novemer 1, 2015 in digital, print, and audio formats (advance copies available from the publisher), with the book’s soundtrack available at http://www.howardpaar.com/book/ . The unique 60-song soundtrack for this book includes songs by The Clash, Isaac Hayes, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Kraftwerk, The New York Dolls, Patsy Cline, Primal Scream, George Jones, and many more. Fine art photographer Mona Kuhn shot the cover and is creating a companion series of iconic images from the story. The first book signing is at Book Soup, 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, on November 8, 2015.

This rock ‘n roll noir novel follows music exec James Dual as he battles ghosts of his past in watering holes from Hollywood to Nashville to Mexico. James finds himself quickly drawn into a web of blackmail, violence, and murder after he receives a cassette tape implicating him in a tragedy from 20 years ago. The story pulses with mythic songs and stories from when music defined reality and meant everything to those who gave their lives over to it.

Howard Paar’s work with a diverse range of artists and filmmakers including Larry Clark, Quentin Tarantino, Patty Jenkins, and Gregg Araki have earned Paar a reputation for independent vision and authenticity to character, time, and place and that voice comes through in his first novel, Once Upon a Time in LA.

Advance Praise for Once Upon a Time in LA

“My favorite mysteries don't just solve a murder, they introduce me to a new world. In Once Upon a Time in LA, veteran LA music insider and expat Brit Howard Paar takes us on a joyride through the vanished world of 1970s to 90s LA rock ‘n roll. Authentic, fierce, gritty, and moving, with loads of local color and scenes along the Sunset Strip, Malibu, and Hollywood record offices and nightclubs, this is a welcome addition to LA's mystery literature and Paar is an author to watch."

Denise Hamilton, LA crime writer and editor of the short story anthology Los Angeles Noir

“Infused with an outsider’s affection for LA, Howard Paar’s lively noir is distinguished by the author's irrepressible love of music and an insider’s savvy take on all the dark twisted corners of the record biz."

Steve Erickson, author of Days Between Stations, Tours of The Black Clock, Zeroville, and These Dreams of You

Howard Paar, a London native who relocated to LA in the late 70's working first as a club creator (The On Klub) and then as a long-time record label executive, has worked with an array of iconic artists, including The Specials, The Clash, The English Beat, The Go-Go’s, NWA, Jimmy Cliff, Eric Burdon, Moby, X, Michelle Shocked, Run-DMC, Def Leppard, Chuck D, INXS, Bon Jovi, and Kiss. Today, Paar is a music supervisor in the film industry and was nominated for a Grammy for his work on Dogtown & Z Boys. He has worked on more than 60 films and TV series, including The Diary of a Teenage Girl, Monster, Bully, Cobain: Montage of Heck, and Mysterious Skin, as well as groundbreaking TV shows like The L Word.

Over the Edge Books in Los Angeles publishes biographies, underground art, and alternative fiction books from a diverse range of authors. Over the Edge Books was founded in 2012 by Paul Stewart, the well-known A&R man who signed The Pharcyde, Warren G, and many other hip-hop icons.