The Gutter Punk Express (ePub)

In 1990 Boge a 17 year old former Hollywood teen TV star has lost his agent, his role on the TV show Tweenie Bopper Parade, and his home after his mom kicks him out Boge and his best friend Benny decide to abandon high school, Benny's apartment, and almost any shot they might have of getting back into the film industry, to try and make it on their own as buskers. They hit the road in Boge's '66 Studebaker with little more than their acoustic guitars, a sandwich bag full of drugs, a battered old green tent, some camping equipment, and long shot dreams of making it as punk folk superstars. They quickly learn though that the gutter punk lifestyle and busking up and down the west coast of America is much more perilous than they could have imagined. The brutal reality of street life soon begins to slice them apart physically and emotionally. A few bright spots appear as they meet a studio musician wizard named Pork who believes their raw sound can be channeled into something great, but this proves to be tragically short lived and they spiral deeper into addiction, panhandling, and even prison. Having hit rock bottom, Boge must try and find a way to bring his friend Benny out of his heroin addiction, deal with his own alcohol and crystal meth addiction, all while still holding on feverishly to his dream to make it as a musician just as the Seattle Sound and Alternative Rock are blowing up in the early 90's.