Planet Ostrogoth

About the book and the website:

At the end of and after our high school years (1993 through around 1996) my friends and I would gather and make mostly improvised comedic films with two VHS video cameras. A small group of us branched off to joke around and record a handful of songs. We needed a name so we grabbed a random encyclopedia and flipped through it to randomly put our finger on a page. The finger landed on the article for the Ostrogoths. This became our band name as we continued to goof around and make songs that sometimes reference the historic Ostorgoth mythology.

Eventually people started getting jobs and girlfriends. The movies and the music stopped. When we did meet up we would talk about "getting the band back together" and make up wild stories about what the band was up to or had done over the years. One day I decided to start writing it down and flesh out some of the stories and bullshit we made up about the band Ostrogoth. Partially inspired by the Beatles Anthology that came out around then, I decided to string the stories together and make it a satirical full length book of the our fantastical band's experiences. The original title was The Ostrogoth Anthology.

Throughout 1996 and 1997 I pecked away at the book. I decided to tie all the stories together a little more closely and write it like it was a "tell all biography" that lampooned celebrity excess at every level in the most extreme ways that I could possibly think of. I set out to create a laugh a sentence satire that would be a ridiculous read which stabs at the heart of excessive celebrity culture. At this point I changed the title to Planet Ostrogoth!: The Inside Story of History's Most Alternative Band. The "Planet Ostrogoth" was meant to riff on the dawn of the highly popular celebrity restaurant chain "Planet Hollywood". The "Most Alternative" in the subtitle was meant to dig on the mid '90s trend of every band trying to be as "Seattle Alternative" as possible by layering on the flannels and scruffy faces. Both references are now dated but based on the way the book plays out neither need to be noticed--the title works to represent the book in a host of other ways.

In 2006 I did a complete revision of the original book and sent out queries to 30+ agents. After piling up the rejections I ended up turning to a Pring On Demand publisher to self-publish the book. In 2007 Planet Ostrogoth! was released. I promoted the book through book signings, newspaper ads and internet marketing. The most involved support of the book came through an elaborate website (www.planetostrogoth.com) which contains appendices, features, side stories and a host of other supplemental material not found within the book itself. The content there can be enjoyed without reading the book and vice versa. The Planet Ostrogoth website is a beast of its own that contains a wealth of Ostonomics for the all of the unknown universe to study and enjoy!

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To take a trip to Planet Ostrogoth

To check out the Promotional History of Planet Ostrogoth

To review the options to purchase Planet Ostrogoth!

Planet Ostrogoth!:

The Inside Story of History's Most Alternative Band

was released on March 15, 2007