Author Greg Prato On His New Books About KISS & Soundgarden, Working With Chris Jericho & More

A prolific Long Island, New York-based author and journalist, Greg Prato’s writing has appeared in such renowned publications as Rolling Stone, Classic Rock, and Vintage Guitar. He is also the author of over 2 dozen published books, including Grunge Is Dead: The Oral History Of Seattle Rock Music, A Devil on One Shoulder And An Angel On The Other: The Story of Shannon Hoon And Blind Melon, and Too High To Die: Meet The Meat Puppets. You may even have heard him on one of his many radio or TV appearances, including interviews on The Howard Stern Wrap-Up Show and Eddie Trunk Live.

Prato has 2 new interesting music-centric titles hitting stores in late 2019. The first of which is Dark Black And Blue: The Soundgarden Story, which is now available for purchase. Beyond direct interviews with the members of Soundgarden, Dark Black and Blue: The Soundgarden Story includes all-new discussions with the likes of Matt Pinfield, Pantera frontman Phil Anselmo and Ramones drummer Marky Ramone, in addition to rarely-seen photos from throughout the band’s history.

The second book, you ask? Take It Off: KISS Truly Unmasked — which hits stores on November 19 — appears to be the first ever book focused on the “non-makeup” era of KISS. It includes interviews with both KISS fans (e.g. Anthrax’s Charlie Benante, Dream Theater’s Derek Sherinian) and insiders (e.g. former guitarist Bruce Kulick, producer Ron Nevison). Take It Off also includes a foreword by Fozzy frontman Chris Jericho and an afterword by acclaimed producer Andreas Carlsson.

Below are highlights from my September 2019 chat with Greg Prato by phone. More on Prato’s books can be found by following Prato on Twitter via @GregPratoWriter.

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Tags: Authors, Chris Jericho, Gene Simmons, Greg Prato, KISS, Long Island, New York, Soundgarden

About the Author

Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal. Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."