Deeper Digs in Rock: Solving the Mystery of the 27 Club
In this series from The Rock n Roll Archaeology Project, host Christian Swain goes behind the scenes, on the road and further explores subjects surrounding the culture, technology and music that make Rock n Roll the magic that it is!
In this episode, Christian takes a break from singing in TinMan and hosting and producing multiple podcasts to sit down and read a book! Not just any book, but a very unique genre - a fictional Rock N Roll crime mystery. Then he sits down with the interesting man who wrote it- Chris Formant.
About 'Bright Midnight'
Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Brian Jones, Jim Morrison, Ron 'Pigpen' McKernan, Peter Ham; all of them iconic rock stars, all of them dead at age twenty-seven. How could a group of great musicians all die at the same age? All evidence points to the deaths being unrelated, but were they really? Gantry Elliot is a relic of rock and roll era still writing for Rolling Stone magazine, covering classic rock and roll and struggling for relevance in the age of hip-hop and electronic dance music. Even though he's an encyclopedia of music trivia, Gantry can't compete with the new kids on the block and is now reduced to watching the clock tick down on his once dynamic career. But Gantry's vast knowledge may be the only thing that can unravel the Myth of 27.
When anonymous packages start showing up at his office and then his home, Gantry initially shrugs them off as another Myth of 27 conspiracy nerd trying to get attention. As the clues became more intimate, more personal, more sinister, he realizes this is not a game: someone knows the truth, and the truth may put Gantry's life in serious danger.
Aptly called, 'The Da Vinci Code for rock and roll fans', author Chris Formant has written a terrific debut novel that creatively and deftly takes readers on a dangerous cold case hunt to uncover the mystery behind these deaths. Truth or fiction, lies or conspiracy, 'Bright Midnight' will keep you guessing until its final chorus.
Chris Formant, who got his start in rock and roll in his early “garage band’ days, never dreamed he would one day hold a seat on the Board of Trustees of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Today he is still a student of rock and roll and an avid collector of rock memorabilia. As an executive in a leading global company, running a multi-billion-dollar business, Formant is the unlikeliest of authors of a murder mystery. However, the continued unanswered questions surrounding the deaths of our most iconic rock legends led Formant to first speculate and then re-imagine what would happen if cutting-edge technology were applied to these famous cold cases. By conducting research into the archives of the Hall of Fame, studying advanced forensics techniques and gaining creative insights from top doctors, FBI investigators and a former editor of Rolling Stone magazine, Formant crafted what is being referred to as the “The DaVinci Code for Rock and Roll Fans.