Odd Boy Blues - Ted Stilles

Recorded by Ted Stilles (http://www.tedstilles.com/) for Aro Books worldwide (http://aro-books-worldwide.org/) for an advertisement for An Odd Boy (http://anoddboy.com/) by Doc Togden

 "I've been reading the new offering from Aro Books Worldwide, Doc Togden's "An odd boy volume two". It tells the true story of the blues band, Savage Cabbage. In the late 60's they were preparing to fill the void left by the breakup of Cream. Ahead of their time and filled with dreams it appears life had other plans for them...Told from the point of view of a young englishman lost in the blues, its a riveting look inside the world of four young lads trying to find their way during the height of the psychedelic blues era. A must read for the artist in all of us." -- Ted Stilles

 An Odd Boy - volume one (http://bit.ly/docaobv01) from Lulu (http://bit.ly/docaobv01lul)
An Odd Boy - volume two (http://bit.ly/docaobv02) from Lulu (http://bit.ly/docaobv02lul)

Image of Ted Stilles by Doc Togden

--

Aro Books worldwide http://about.me/arobooksworldwide

an odd boy - volume one - gwales.com

"A memoire of an eccentric aficionado of Bach and Blues, poetry and painting. A portrait of the artist as a lad, set in the experimental cultural ferment of the late 1960s. It is a coming-of-age adventure"

http://www.gwales.com/bibliographic/?isbn=9781898185208

"One of the more interesting unconventionalities of this text is the author's integration of song lyrics into the narrative, which complements the narrative text and adds a certain surrealism to the story. It reads as if the art that was going on around the writer was in fact an actual part of his life. If the reader is someone who has ever had suspicion of the popular culture around them, this reader will definitely find the narrator an empathic character. I highly recommend it."

Savage Cabbage - Lindsay Berry

Savage Cabbage, painted by Lindsay Berry

Image © Lindsay J Berry 2010

http://www.lindsayjberry.com/

http://www.lindsayjberry.com/photo_7712500.html

"It must have been clear to Ron that I was as much of a Blues devotee as he was – and it could well have been our shared devotion that had a bearing on his eventual decision to accept us as worthy. It also helped us to stick with him through the early interpersonal ungainliness caused by his acerbic intensity. Music was a passion that welded us together and whatever other music we liked—amongst an assortment of various’n’different—we all loved Blues. Ron was particularly excited by the fact that I knew about older Blues – Delta Blues and Country Blues. "

http://anoddboy.com/part_one/chapter_07.htm

Book Launch Event - an odd boy - Doc Togden

Aro Books worldwide are very happy to announce the launch of an odd boy on 24th July at pm BST (which is midday in East Coast USA and 9am West Coast).

Please join the author for the Facebook event at http://on.fb.me/docaobv01evt


Volume one of an odd boy is a memoire of an eccentric aficionado of Bach and Blues, poetry and painting. A portrait of the artist as a lad, set in the experimental cultural ferment of the late 1960s. It is a coming-of-age adventure, both surreal and innocent, humorous and poignant, depicting an era when the Arts set a generation’s imagination on fire. The author’s life is a rare roulette wheel of childhood wonder and tragic debacles; a debilitating stammer and a powerful singing voice; bad luck and fierce good fortune. At 16 he’s travelled far in human experience from the midnight expedition he made to the crossroads at the age of 12. 

Read more about the book here http://bit.ly/docaobv01

Read excerpts at anoddboy.com

Via: http://aro-books-worldwide.blogspot.com/2011/07/book-launch-event-odd-boy-doc-togden.html 

C. J. Tozer on 'an odd boy'

"On his search for the essence and understanding of a musical form that his birth roots and tribal memories had no perception of he leads you by the curiosity of those first eerie haunting sounds that arrived via the gramophone of an elderly neighbour to the unsuspecting and absorbing ear drums of a young disciple , sounds that would drive him ever onward into adulthood on a quest for that elusive mystery that is 'Blues' "


http://www.aro-books-worldwide.org/shared/text/b/book_pb_05_an_odd_boy_v01_12_review_tozer_eng.php

you can't accidentally drink reindeer urine

The odd boy lay down by the football field – took out a slim volume of Mallarmé, / The centre-forward called him an imbecile – it’s an odd boy who doesn’t like sport. / Sport, Sport, masculine sport – equips a young man for society, Yes, sport turns out a jolly good sort – it’s an odd boy who doesn’t like sport.
Vivian Stanshall—Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band—Sport (the odd boy)—Keynsham—1969

http://aro-books-worldwide.blogspot.com/2011/07/odd-boy-you-cant-accidentally-drink.html

Kindle and 'an odd boy'

"For my birthday in May I received a Kindle. I have been so delighted with this gift and have been reading much more than I was previously and thoroughly enjoying that. It is so easy to download books and such a convenient way to read. I am now working on converting Relaxing into Meditation into Kindle format so that I can make this available for download."

http://ngakma-nordzin.blogspot.com/2011/06/kindle-and-odd-boy.html

an odd boy - Press Release

"This portrait of the artist as a young man – is a coming-of-age adventure set in the cultural ferment of the 1960s. A high-spirited escapade—humorous and poignant by turn—of an era when the arts set a generation’s imagination on fire. It was an epoch of volatile excitement, naïve hope, and reckless experimentation. Music was the revolutionary edge and its protagonists saw no limits."

http://aro-books-worldwide.blogspot.com/2011/03/odd-boy-press-release.html

an odd boy : mister love

mister love

I wonder why that south-bound train don’t run, now you don’t need no telling, little girl, you know what you done. 
Southbound Train—Big Bill Broonzy—1937

What a voice that man had! “Who—is—that man? ” I asked – and Mr Love told me all about Big Bill Broonzy. Who’d ever heard of a person having such a name? The three Bs together were magic. Mr Love told a long story and illustrated it by playing different gramophone records. It was like being in school – but as school ought to be, not school as it was.

“I want to sing like Big Bill Broonzy! ” I proclaimed with joy.

http://aro-books-worldwide.blogspot.com/2011/06/odd-boy-mister-love.html

an odd boy : alice in wonderland

"Scent of wild strawberries. Grasshoppers performing arpeggios on the unripened wheat-husks of their legs. Sunflowers gazing down with undisguised curiosity in an acre of garden emboldened by handsome chestnut trees. Alice and I played there all day in the Summers. It was almost as much my home as hers. My father didn’t mind me being away for unusual stretches of time – as I wouldn’t be making a nuisance of myself in his vicinity."


http://aro-books-worldwide.blogspot.com/2011/06/odd-boy-alice-in-wonderland.html

Hot off the Press - an odd boy

Aro Books worldwide have just received the first printed copy of Doc Togden's an odd boy.  This is the start of the next phase of book production.

http://aro-books-worldwide.blogspot.com/2011/04/hot-off-press-odd-boy.html

---

Please see Aro Books worldwide for more information about an odd boy

Extracts from an odd boy can be read on the website http://anoddboy.com

an odd boy by Doc Togden : seeking pre-publication reviewers

Volume One of an odd boy, by Doc Togden is now being prepared for publication. Although that means, in practice, that there will still be a few months before the book is launched, we are seeking pre-publication reviews and endorsements, so that we have a good number of commentaries on the book before it is launched. A pre-publication review copy should be available by the beginning of March.

Volume one of an odd boy is a memoire of an eccentric aficionado of Bach and Blues, poetry and painting. A portrait of the artist as a lad, set in the experimental cultural ferment of the late 1960s. It is a coming-of-age adventure, both surreal and innocent, humorous and poignant, depicting an era when the Arts set a generation’s imagination on fire. The author’s life is a rare roulette wheel of childhood wonder and tragic debacles; a debilitating stammer and a powerful singing voice; bad luck and fierce good fortune. At 16 he’s traveled far in human experience from the midnight expedition he made to the crossroads at the age of 12.

To read more about an odd boy, please see the excerpts on the web site http://anoddboy.com and also those on Doc Togden's Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Doc-Togden/126465894244

If you are able to write a review we would be looking for your permission to publish it, and also asking whether you would be willing to publish it on Amazon and similar places when the book becomes available.

If you are interested in writing a review of an odd boy please write to arobooksworldwide@gmail.com and we will let you know when a pre-publication version of the book is available.

[http://aro-books-worldwide.blogspot.com/2011/02/odd-boy-by-doc-togden-seeking-pre.html]

Forthcoming: an odd boy by Doc Togden

Volume one of an odd boy is a memoire of an eccentric aficionado of Bach and Blues, poetry and painting. A portrait of the artist as a lad, set in the experimental cultural ferment of the late 1960s. It is a coming-of-age adventure, both surreal and innocent, humorous and poignant, depicting an era when the Arts set a generation’s imagination on fire. The author’s life is a rare roulette wheel of childhood wonder and tragic debacles; a debilitating stammer and a powerful singing voice; bad luck and fierce good fortune. At 16 he’s traveled far in human experience from the midnight expedition he made to the crossroads at the age of 12.

Ladies are splendid magical beings like unicorns, albatrosses, owls, or flying fish. They hit the surface of reality like whales surging up from a hundred fathoms. They’re suddenly there—sparkling like the very Christmas tree at the end of time—decked out with every delight imaginable. Ladies are Art. Not in the demeaning objectified sense sans personality – but radiant presences residing in the space of life.
— Doc Togden

… like all the beautiful love stories I've ever read in a few paragraphs. Incredibly touching. The love and daring of a young boy in search of the Muse at an age when all dreams can be made real and the joy of art lives in the heart and doesn't boggle the mind.
— Sugar Blue

an odd boy will be published in 2011. To read excerpts from the book, please see http://anoddboy.com

[http://aro-books-worldwide.blogspot.com/2011/02/forthcoming-odd-boy-by-doc-togden.html]

An Odd Boy: Alice through the looking glass

I wore a dark maroon velvet smoking jacket, a high collared dark blue satin shirt, and grey-green elephant-corduroy trousers. I sometimes wore Levi 501s flared out with Levi denim insets. My brother and I used to buy a pair each and a third pair – the largest size available in the shop. We’d unpick the large pair and use the fabric to make our inset ‘sails’. The bottoms of those Levis were larger than the waistbands – and they swirled well whilst dancing. They were practically culottes. 

http://anoddboy.com/chapter_09.htm 


http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=97835710479

An Odd Boy: lachrymal tincture

What astonishing words: ‘Black rock enraged that the north wind rolls and will not stop itself’ Stéphane Mallarmé seemed to be projecting his feelings onto the rock and thereby expressing far more than he would had he written of himself. I was impressed by the way in which he could write something as compact as this: ‘ . . . the ring-dove nearly always coos when the many folds of immaterial grief rise as clouds to obfuscate the ripe stars of tomorrow - silvered by scintillations.’ I’ve always attempted to emulate the sheer density of such lines. I saw poetry as ‘painting with words’ and aimed to write poetry whose structure attained the critical mass of Mississippi Mud Pie. I wanted to write poetry that would make a feast under the ripe stars of tomorrow.

http://anoddboy.com/chapter_08.htm 


http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=97835710479

An Odd Boy: Like a rolling stone

Occurrences of great enormity however, were almost weekly fare from 1965 onward. The world was gearing up for a spectacular deviation from conservative pedestrianism – but on one day in particular there was an occurrence which was to have a major impact on my life. A human meteor entered the atmosphere of my existence brandishing a trail of musical fire eight miles high. Ron Larkin. 

http://anoddboy.com/chapter_07.htm

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=97835710479 

An Odd Boy: hoo doo

"Miss Elphinstone decided that I should recite solo where my Blues rhythm was evidently the operative mode. This was fantastic – it was something at which I could excel. Without knowing it, I started keeping time with my foot. This surprised Miss Elphinstone – but she decided it worked and eventually the whole class were clapping in time."

http://anoddboy.com/chapter_06.htm


http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=97835710479

An Odd Boy: Percy's Applause

"I tried a few more numbers sans tempo rubato – but that finished me off. I was not a pink-voiced metronome – and had no intention of becoming one. They were as happy to see me leave as I was to get out of the door. They’d have to find someone who liked pink voices, sugary songs, and candyfloss chords."

http://anoddboy.com/chapter_05.htm


http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=97835710479

An Odd Boy : You can't accidentally drink reindeer urine

I have always found ladies splendid. They’re magical beings like unicorns, albatrosses, owls, or flying fish. They hit the surface of reality like whales surging up from a hundred fathoms. They’re suddenly there—sparkling like the very Christmas tree at the end of time—all decked out with every delight you could ever imagine. Ladies—in my life—have been Art. Not in the demeaning sense of objectified images without personality – but as radiant presences who reside in the space of my life. 

http://anoddboy.com/chapter_04.htm 


http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=97835710479

An Odd Boy : If you see me coming ...

For once however, my father seemed pleased with me. He wrote back to the school telling them that I was not—and had never been—the type of boy to fight. I was not to be punished for defending myself against bullies – especially as there were witnesses to the effect that I had not started the fight. He said that it was their job to ‘police the playground’ and to prevent bullying. If they were not capable of maintaining discipline and good behaviour, then they had no business running a school. He told them it was right and proper that I defend myself against attack and that he stood behind me in defending myself on any future occasion it proved necessary.

http://anoddboy.com/chapter_03.htm

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=97835710479