The Bad Penny (beta)

It’s been a minute since we’ve published an installment in our series What You Readin’ For, in which musicians discuss and recommend good reads to fans of their music and this website. The latest pick comes courtesy of Clinton Jacob, who handles vocals and guitars for self-described trashy grunge band mr.phylzzz from Chicago. The duo of Jacob and drummer Danny Sein are putting out their newest album, Fear the Lord, September 4 on Amphetamine Reptile, one of the most important noise-rock labels ever. (Fun fact: mr.phylzzz and Buzz Osborne‘s Melvins are the only two active bands left on Amphetamine Reptile’s roster.)

Get a taste of Fear the Lord in the video at the bottom of this post, but before you scroll down, read Jacob’s pitch for John Fante’s tragicomedy Dreams From Bunker Hill, available for purchase on HarperCollins’ website:

I read a lot, but if there’s one book this year that has held my attention more than doom-scrolling my life away, it’s Dreams from Bunker Hill by John Fante.

I love when a book can combine humor and downright bad luck all into one story. I first got into John Fante after shopping at Myopic Books in Chicago with Buzz before a King Dunn gig I was opening for. He handed me Dreams from Bunker Hill and said, “If you want to read something great, read this.” Buzz and I have shared book recommendations for a while now, and he never misses. He’s an avid reader — I once watched him read an entire book within an hour. He consumes books like oxygen feeding a wildfire, so if he says it’s great, it’s great.

Set in 1934 Los Angeles, the story follows 21-year-old Arturo Bandini, who is living in a cheap rooming house on Bunker Hill. He trades his dollar-a-day busboy job for an absolutely terrible screenwriting gig in Hollywood, and it’s metaphorically (and literally) all downhill from there. It captures 1930s L.A. so well — not that I’d personally know, but I can dream!

I love a story with a good struggle, and this one is loaded with cringe-worthy mishaps that I secretly relish. I’m obsessed with the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s. There’s something magical and slow about an era where life could be as simple as finding a good diner and a friend to waste the day with. I yearn for slow days like that.

So, if you’re looking for a book about someone failing at every turn while chasing what they think is their dream job, this is the book for you!

This entry was posted on 08/20/2026 at 11:22 am and is filed under Features, What You Readin' For? with tags Amphetamine Reptile, Buzz Osborne, Chris Jacob, Danny Sein, Dreams From Bunker Hill, John Fante, King Dunn, Melvins, mr.phylzzz. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.