Jacob Hoye – Smoke Snort Swallow Shoot (Book)
Lesser Gods
http://www.lessergodsbooks.com/

Rating: B+

“Moderation is key in life but these are not stories about regular life. Sex, drugs & rock ‘n roll is not about moderation. Go ahead and check it out. And remember. They did it so you don’t have to.”

“Words of wisdom, Lloyd my man. Words of wisdom.” Just as Jack Nicholson’s character Jack Torrance so aptly put it to Lloyd the bartender in the cinematic classic The Shinning, the same can be said for the final few sentences lifted from the introduction to author Jacob Hoye’s latest rock tome, provokingly titled Smoke Snort Swallow Shoot – Legendary Binges, Lost Weekends & Other Feats of Rock ‘n’ Roll Incoherence.

Published by NYC based Lesser Gods this frenzied and harrowing roller coaster ride brings together some of the wildest and craziest drug stories ever told between the covers of one book. Hoye’s role here is not so much author, as it is editor and master of ceremonies, in the sense that all of the legendary tales (some much more so than others) included here have previously been published on their own and represent snapshots of much bigger pictures. That being said, this is a good thing as it not only gives the reader a varied sampling from across the rock ‘n roll spectrum, but let’s face it, having these sleazy, sordid samples from Lemmy, Aerosmith. Motley Crue, The Rolling Stones and Guns ‘n Roses to name just a few, all in one compact paperback, is pretty damn kick ass as far as I’m concerned. 

From the opening descent into LSD hell courtesy of shock rocker Marilyn Manson through to the final, hazy musings offered up by Mike Doughty (ex-Soul Coughing) everything about Smoke Snort Swallow Shoot is aimed at giving you maximum bang for your buck. At just a shade over two hundred pages I classify this nugget as one of those hard to put down, read it in a day, or at the worst, tear through it in a weekend (as I did) kind of books, because I’ll be damned if this isn’t about as addicting as some of the drug addled personalities that inhabit these grimy pages.   

Major kudos to Jacob Hoye for being able to see beyond his original concept of putting together “a collection of remarkable drug stories by regular people” to hitting it out of the park with an obviously more marketable and certainly more entertaining collection of tales from some of rock’s most notorious characters. Bottom line, pick this one up and if you’re like me you’ll be anxiously awaiting the sequel. I’ll take mine with pictures please.  

By Ryan Sparks