Next Big Thing - The Novel

Next Big Thing - The Novel Disarmingly absurd and heartbreakingly real, the novel mixes the gritty vibe of The Commitments with And that’s just from his own band.

After years in the sub-basement of Boston’s teeming underground music scene, Lennonspectacled wordsmith Mark Zodiac is used to enduring abuse, neglect and indifference for his music. But when he’s thrust into the spotlight on the night of Shadowland’s record release concert, the crowd tunes in as never before - much to the chagrin of Mark’s best friend/Shadowland’s star-in-waiting, Will. With the

record moving up the charts, their ego-librium gives way as Mark strives to keep control of his music without selling his soul in the process. Complicating Mark’s world is the shadow of the loss that both drives and haunts him, even as he attempts to find love amidst the graffitied alleyways of Kenmore Square. On the eve of stardom, Mark must decide if being the Next Big Thing is really the most important thing. At once disarmingly absurd and heartbreakingly real, Next Big Thing combines the gritty backstage vibe of Roddy Doyle’s The Commitments with the emotional thawing heart of Jay McInerney’s Bright Lights Big City, and every page crackles with the kinetic current of true rock’n’roll.

“Kitchen gets all the details right ‒ I felt myself back in the Rat, the Channel and the other clubs of that era - but most of all, he gets the underlying sense of adventure. Next Big Thing reminds me just how much it all meant and how exciting it was.”

-Brett Milano, author of The Sound of Our Town: A History of Boston Rock ‘n’ Roll

When I was a student at G.I.T. in Hollywood (the Guitar Institute of Technology - really! - now the Musician's Institute...
07/11/2024

When I was a student at G.I.T. in Hollywood (the Guitar Institute of Technology - really! - now the Musician's Institute), session player Larry Carlton came to do a seminar and brought his Gibson ES-335, that he'd played the 'Kid Charlemagne' solo on, and all those cool swoops on Joni Mitchell's Court and Spark. He hung out after class and let me and a few lucky others play the guitar (!), truly a highlight of my life. Fast forward a buncha years, and in my novel Next Big Thing, the main character Mark finds a green oversize guitar in a pawn shop the band nicknames 'The Green Monster.' So when I heard last week that Epiphone was discontinuing its Inverness Green ES-335, I couldn't resist, and I got the last one. Now I have no excuse not to play like Larry Carlton!

This month is the 10th anniversary of the publication of Next Big Thing! Here's author Terry Kitchen with Ana Crowley, c...
08/04/2023

This month is the 10th anniversary of the publication of Next Big Thing! Here's author Terry Kitchen with Ana Crowley, co-owner of Rozzie Bound Books in Roslindale, Mass. Please support your local bookstore - Next Big Thing is available as a paperback, ebook and audiobook, and all formats have a download code on the acknowledgments page for the accompanying songtrack. Enjoy!

Happy (belated) 2023! It's the 10th anniversary of the publication of my first (and so far only) novel Next Big Thing. I...
01/27/2023

Happy (belated) 2023! It's the 10th anniversary of the publication of my first (and so far only) novel Next Big Thing. It's set in the Boston music scene and tells the story of a band slowly clawing its way up the ladder toward stardom while also trying (and failing) to maintain the ego-librium that makes the band possible. It's available as a paperback, ebook and audiobook, and includes a downloadable 'songtrack' album, which features great performances from Mara Levine, Rebecca Lynch, Deede Bergeron, Leslie Sterling, Brian Middleton and Larry Finn in addition to my Loose Ties bandmates Brice Buchanan, Bill Kuhlman, Chris Peeler, Barry Singer and Jeremy Debra Chase. To celebrate, the book's now on sale - wicked cheap! - in all formats. Hope you enjoy it!

'80s Boston rock novel by scene veteran Terry Kitchen! After years in the sub-basement of Boston's teeming underground music scene, Lennon-spectacled wordsmith Mark Zodiac is used to enduring abuse, neglect and indifference for his music. And that's just from his own band. But when he's thrust in...

Jim Harold, owner of Boston's legendary rock club The Rat, passed away this weekend. It was my band Loose Ties' first gi...
08/04/2022

Jim Harold, owner of Boston's legendary rock club The Rat, passed away this weekend. It was my band Loose Ties' first gig in Boston after moving here from Ohio in 1982, and many great Boston bands got their start there (The Cars, anyone?), and lots of touring artists - The Police, Tom Petty, Talking Heads, The Ramones, Joan Jett, etc. - played great shows there. Here's my tribute, from the songtrack companion album to my novel Next Big Thing. Thanks for the music, Jimmy!

Terry's elegy to the late, great Rathskeller club in Kenmore Square, Boston. From the companion CD to Terry's new '80s Boston rock novel Next Big Thing.

NBT author Terry Kitchen's new album Next Time We Meet is dedicated his Loose Ties bandmate Bill Kuhlman (in blue below)...
02/05/2020

NBT author Terry Kitchen's new album Next Time We Meet is dedicated his Loose Ties bandmate Bill Kuhlman (in blue below) who passed away from cancer in 2018. The band (and therefore the book) never would have happened if they hadn't met back in Ohio - "two literate, paranoid glams stranded in a town ruled by jocks, Young Republicans, and Lynyrd Skynyrd fanatics..." More on the album at www.terrykitchen.com

Since losing my friend (& former Loose Ties bandmate) Bill Kuhlman last month, I've been listening to some of our old ta...
09/24/2018

Since losing my friend (& former Loose Ties bandmate) Bill Kuhlman last month, I've been listening to some of our old tapes and found this recording of our song 'Next Big Thing,' which seemed like the perfect title for a novel about a band. So I wrote one... http://www.terrykitchen.com/nextbigthing.php
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGMOb51SeH8

1987 Loose Ties recording of the song that inspired Terry Kitchen's debut novel! Featuring Bill Kuhlman on bass & harmony, Brice Buchanan on guitar & harmony...

Prof. Jeffrey Melnick invited me to speak to his Social History of Music class about the '80s Boston scene, the backdrop...
11/02/2017

Prof. Jeffrey Melnick invited me to speak to his Social History of Music class about the '80s Boston scene, the backdrop for Next Big Thing. Incidentally, he's working on a book about the Manson family, so the Loose Ties (aka Shadowland) story was right up his alley...

Prof. Jeffrey Melnick invited me to speak to his Social History of Music class on the '80s Boston scene, the backdrop fo...
11/02/2017

Prof. Jeffrey Melnick invited me to speak to his Social History of Music class on the '80s Boston scene, the backdrop for Next Big Thing. Incidentally, he's working on a book on the Manson family, so the Loose Ties (aka Shadowland) story was right up his alley!

12/05/2016

This Thursday evening Dec. 8 from 6-8 PM I will be taking part in the West Roxbury Library's 'Holiday Book Stroll' local author event. I, and other local authors including Hank Phillippi Ryan, will be signing copies of our books (I'll be signing my novel Next Big Thing, and will also sneak in a few CDs), and there will be holiday refreshments, so it's a great opportunity to do some Christmas and Hanukah shopping. Hope you can make it!
http://www.bpl.org/branches/westroxbury.php

Established in 1848, by an act of the Great and General Court of Massachusetts, the Boston Public Library (BPL) was the first large free municipal library in the United States. Today, the Boston Public Library system includes a Central Library, twenty-four branches, a map center, a business library,...

This Thursday night Nov. 12 I will be singing (and signing copies of my novel Next Big Thing) at The Public Library of B...
11/11/2015

This Thursday night Nov. 12 I will be singing (and signing copies of my novel Next Big Thing) at The Public Library of Brookline's local author book fair, 361 Washington St., from 6 PM - 8:15 PM upstairs in Hunneman Hall. Please stop by!

Next Big Thing now available as downloadable audio book! Check it out! http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/Next-Big-Thing-...
01/05/2015

Next Big Thing now available as downloadable audio book! Check it out! http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/Next-Big-Thing-Audiobook/B00RENKVMS/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srImg?qid=1420501023&sr=1-1

Check out this great listen on Audible.com. '80s Boston rock novel by scene veteran Terry Kitchen! After years in the sub-basement of Boston's teeming underground music scene, Lennon-spectacled wordsmith Mark Zodiac is used to enduring abuse, neglect, and indifference for his music. And that's ju...

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