I was curious about this book because of the music and time period - NYC Punk Scene. What I discovered in reading this was a beautifully curated homage by his partner and friend. Alan Vega who founded the band "Suicide" started out as a painter at Brooklyn College, studying under Ad Reinhart and Kurt Seligmann. He left home when it was clear he was the black sheep in the family (a creative, restless soul). He ends up befriending and working with Ric Ocasek from the Cars - and Ric not only helps promote him, he also produce some of his albums. Throughout the book are incredible photographs of Alan, his family, friends, other musicians, and his incredible drawings, paintings and sculptures. He seemed to be quite a renaissance man who left a huge impact on many. People like Alex Chilton and Henry Rollins among others were excited to get to know him and play music with him. There is a section written by Liz about her relationship with Alan which is beautifully expressed and I did cry reading Dante (his son's) tribute to his dad -- his dad turned him onto art, literature and sports and taught him Chess when he was 4 years old. Alan died in 2016 but clearly his legacy lives on.

Thank you to Netgalley and Globe Pequot for an ARC and I voluntarily left this review.

If you’re just grabbing this because you like the era or music biographies, you’re in for a treat!

Alan Vega lived. I don’t mean he was alive at some point, I mean he took advantage of every day. This loving, but real book shows this. It brings a man that even some Suicide fans didn’t know well and brings him back to life on the page.

I sank into this and couldn’t let it go. The writing was great, the information well researched, and it was a hell of a story.

I knew who Alan Vega was going in and it was a bit of a surprise to see how well liked he was by people. I had always thought he was extremely private and didn’t have a lot of friends. He had lots of them! It’s things like this that make this book great, you actually get to know the guy. That’s rare. I’m trying not to give away a lot, because this was such a great and surprising read that, I want everyone to have the same joy of discovery that I did.

Great book! I’m already recommending it highly. Read it!!!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions s are my own.

Infinite Dreams: The Life of Alan Vega
by: Laura Davis
Due 6-18-2024
Rowman + Littlefield Pub.
5.0 stars

Alan Vega is best known as the co-founder of the punk duo, Suicide. His art, music and philosophies, inspired so many fans and fellow musicians. His talents were deep and came from the heart. His life was a search for truth, for meaning, for acceptance and understanding. He died way to soon.

'Infinite Dreams' is an intricate look at a man that involved and evolved, from a jouney that had no boundaries and a mind that never quit. This is a deep dive into that journey.

The inclusion of photographs from throughout his life, and the art worked he created, gave a more involved and complex vision of his mind and philosophies. Each work, art or music, is so personal and give us so much more to contemplate. That is the mastery of a true artist, to me. His unique style comes to life in his work. The inspirations and stories behind his works, captured his life in a way that opens our minds, and widens our scope of the world. I never realized how much I did not know about Alan Vega until I read this book.

His talent was boundless, this is a fantastic, and well-written look at a remarkable person.
#NetGalley # Infinite Dreams

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Globe Pequot- Backbeat for an advance copy of this biography dealing with one of the mysterious yet influential musicians of the early punk scene, a singer whose performances drove crowds to hysterics, became a friend to many, and an influence to bands yet to come for his love of performance, and being true to the artist inside.

In the early 1970's music was starting to change again and new bands, with new music, and ways of performing began to appear. One band, a duo was asked by legendary owner of CBGB Hilly Kristal, “I hope you’re not planning for this to be your career.” A band that other bands would ask to open for them, knowing either a riot would happen, or something so the headliners could take a night off. A band that would have so much stuff thrown at them, that roadies could make hundreds cleaning the stage of spare change off the stage. A band that locked doors to keep people in. A band whose name made Alan Ginsberg physically angry. A band called Suicide. With Alan Vega and lyrics, singing and moaning, and Marty Rev creatin musical soundscapes, the band angered listeners, radio people, and bar owners, yet crafted a musical legacy that lasts to this day, with music that still sounds like tomorrow. Infinite Dreams The Life of Alan Vega is a biography by Laura Davis-Chanin and Vega's wife Liz Lamere, discussing the life of a man who was so mysterious and dark on stage, yet a man who was loved my many in the music industry.

Alan Vega was born Alan Bermowitz, and raised in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn in 1939, something that Vega never discussed, always pretending to be at least ten years younger. Alan grew up in a traditional family, one not particularly Jewish but one that pretty much regulated where his life was going to go. And though he loved art, he knew the world was not for him. Until college, when studying physics his sketchbook was spotted, and he was able to switch majors, something his father was not happy about. This started a split that never healed. Vega married and began an art career, but soon found both music and drugs. Alan left his wife, and began to experiment in art and in his life. Soon he found a like minded person in Marty Rev and after some feeling out, the idea of Suicide was born, and a career began to grow.

A wonderful, complete look at a man who embraced his art in every way he could. Vega was a rebel, one who loved to stand out and was patient enough, to put up with the slings and arrows, and occasional knives and axes that came his way, until others began to see how the art really was complete. The book looks at Vega's youth, his art and solo career, soundtracks installations and best of all his numerous friendships with people in the music industry one would not expect. Ric Ocasek of the Cars, Bruce Springsteen, Henry Rollins, all those still around discuss working with or listening to Vega, and what a great person he seemed to be. There is a little drifting around in time. This happens in the interviews and in the book, but one could see Vega saying life isn't chapters, so one can forgive that. Vega really comes across as a great person, and one that the world, especially this current world could use a lot more of.

Recommended for music fans, art fans, and for those who love stories about New York City especially in the 70's and 80's. Just be sure to play a lot of Vega's music while listening.