you want. And you pick up a
CD, and somebody across the
aisle starts talking to you about
that CD, and the person next to
you joins in," says Graff, who's
freelancing while on strike from
the Detroit Free Press, where he
was the music critic for 13 years.
"That happens in bookstores,
it happens in video stores and,
to me, that's great shopping. I
suppose for some people that
happens in a clothes store, but
for me it happens in a record
store — it's that kind of shared
communal passion. That's what
I wanted the book to be like, and
I feel like we did that."
Just released at the end of Oc-
tober, the book came together
very quickly. There were meet-
ings galore, nonstop phone calls,
e-mails and intensive discus-
sions. Through personal con-
tacts and referrals, Graff
gathered together more than
100 music mavens from across
the country to write, along with
him, the eventual 1,400 entries.
Tracey Rowens was the art di-
rector on the project, which fea-
tures the Hound series icon, dog
bones, used for music ratings.
Putting together the list of
who should be included in the
book was a major part of the
process.
"You kind of look at it and
say, 'It's rock when you know it,'
says bass player Graff, who
keeps five guitars stashed in the
corner of his office, along with a
massive inventory of CDs and
collectors albums. Tor instance,
you can say Neil Diamond is
rock 'n' roll because of some of
the music he's written and per-
formed, but Barry Manilow is
clearly MusicHound schmaltz.
Pat Boone is in there because he
made a career out of basically
homogenizing rock 'n' roll and
R&B hits, so we felt like he be-
longed in there.
"One of my great personal
pleasures is having The Chip-
munks in the book. That may be
my very favorite entry [written
by Christopher Scapelliti] in the
book. You know, it's a lot of fun
to read, but then you think,
`Well, yeah, they do belong in
the book.' "
Though Graff initially start-
ed his journalism career as a
sports reporter in his hometown
of Pittsburgh, his first love was
music.
"My brother was my rock 'n'
roll inspiration," Graff says
about Harvey, who's 11 years
older. "As a very young kid, I
have very concrete memories of
seeing the Beatles on 'Ed Sulli-
van' ... I remember watching
them with my brother and try-
ing to comb my hair down into
Beatles bangs when I was 4
years old. And I remember be-
ing 7 years old and all my
friends' favorite songs were from
whatever the new Disney movie

`Born to be Wild' because that's
what I heard.
"I heard all the Beatles stuff,
all the Janis Joplin, and Blood,
Sweat and Tears — back when
they were adventurous — all the
Rolling Stones and, basically,
what teen-agers and college kids
listened to in the mid- and late-
'60s was what I was exposed to
through my brother."
For exposure these days,
Graff, in one recent week, at-
tended the Billy Bragg, ZZ Top,
Danzig and The Who concerts.
He also dropped in a few local
clubs to hear new bands, fol-
lowing trick or treating with his
7-year-old daughter Hannah;
went to Tuesday night floor
hockey at Berkshire Middle
School and did some work for
the Adat Shalom Men's Club,
Where he's on the board of
trustees and on the education
committee.
Somewhere in between, he
also spends time with his wife,
Judy Brysk, and his 16 1/2-year-
old twin stepsons.
"Ben and Josh were the He-
brew Quiz Bowl champs of 1993
for the metro area," boasts Graff
about the two Hebrew honor
students who are also active in
AZA. "They were two-thirds of
that team — it was a big deal,
since Adat Shalom had never
won before."
As for his parents' response
to the newest book writer in the
family, "I don't know if [the book
for them has as much impact]
as when I have an article in the
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette," he
jokes. "I know they're very ex-
cited about the book and
pleased. I'm sure my mother will
personally sell 10,000 herself in
Pittsburgh.
"They already told me they
have a space on the bookshelf
for me now. There will be seri-
ous history books [written by my
brother Harvey, a Ph.D.], and a
series of MusicHound books
with this little cartoon dog."
Graff is already working on
the next MusicHound book in
the series, MusicHound Coun-
try, for which he'll serve as co-
editor, and he'll be supervising
editor for future editions that
will feature pop, blues, classical
music and others.
But for now, he ain't nothing
but a Hound dog. Rockin' all the
time. CI

'IT Gary Graff Will sign Musio.

Hound Rock: The Essential Al
bum Guide at 7:30 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 2, at Borders in
Birmingham, (810) 644-1515;
8-10 p.m. Midnight Madness,
Friday, Dec. 6, at Schoolkids'
Records in Ann Arbor, (313)
994-8031; and 7 p.m. Friday,
Dec. 13, at Borders in Novi with
performances by the Howling
Diablos and the Civilians, (810)
347-0780.

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