Say Hello to Wires (ePub)

It was a guitar world in the early 1980s. Synthesizers weren't welcome in the lives of real musicians, who deemed them fake instruments not worthy of their time or money. Admitting you listened to strangely named bands like Depeche Mode, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark or Kraftwerk could cause serious ridicule and possible physical harm. What might happen to these outcasts if they emulated their New Wave heroes and were actually in a band with no guitars?

In the novel Say Hello to Wires, Noah Voss resembles every other person at his small, conservative college in the American midwest. But Noah has a secret: he loves music made with synthesizers. Following a confrontation with another student, Noah decides to start a band with his best friend with a single rule: no guitars allowed. Armed with synthesizers, a drum machine, a new haircut, and songs written late into the night, Noah discovers that his future is right in front of him, waiting to be plugged in with wires and electricity.

Say Hello to Wires is brimming with an authentic love for music from the 1980s, but even if you don't know the difference between a Moog or an Arp, its appealling combination of satire and youthful romance is universal. Recalling the comedic music novels of Nick Hornby and Roddy Doyle, with a dash of Charles Portis inspired deadpan comedy, Say Hello to Wires delivers a humorous and heartfelt peek into an innocent era, where simply having a unique hairstyle and refusing to play guitar was an act of rebellion.