‘Shock Rock’--Short Stories Mix Elements of Horror, Rock ‘n’ Roll

Rock ‘n’ roll may not be the devil’s music after all, particularly now that corporate America has embraced the sound as a safe enough way to shill soft drinks and sneakers. And yet something about rock’s darker side left certain listeners worried as far back as the 1950s.

Author-editor Jeff Gelb has understood this ever since his adolescence, when he read horror comic books while listening to his favorite rock records. It’s a tradition that’s been kept alive in more recent years in the horror rock shtick of Alice Cooper, the Cramps and Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” Now Gelb has offered a contribution of his own, with the recent publication of “Shock Rock,” the first collection of short stories that mix elements of horror and rock ‘n’ roll.

“Both items are somewhat taboo, unacceptable in mainstream society,” Gelb said.

He was sitting among gold and platinum records in the Century City conference room of Radio & Records, the music trade paper where he works as an advertising salesman. “People look down their noses at both, and therefore are kindred spirits.

“Both are roller-coaster rides where you know you’re going to get scared, but you’ll have a great time.”

The paperback (Pocket Books, $4.99) opens with a foreword written by Cooper, and collects new stories written by Stephen King and other horror specialists on topics ranging from groupies and music videos to heavy metal and bootleg records. And scattered throughout are speculations on the afterlife of such late rock artists as Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin.

A story about a possessed Les Paul electric guitar was co-written by Peter David and Bill Mumy, the rock musician and former child actor of television’s “Lost in Space” and “The Twilight Zone.”

“Any arena is certainly a viable arena for horror,” said Mumy, whose band Barnes & Barnes scored a cult hit with “Fish Heads” in the early 1980s. “Just look at the world we live in. It’s pretty easy to imagine something negative happening in almost any setting.”

Mumy, who has co-written and produced songs with the band America and who also plays locally with the Generators, said mixing the two elements plays with some long-held negative perceptions about rock music. “People are always afraid of something that stirs up the youth.”

Added Gelb: “I wanted to be very sure about not having 20 stories about rock ‘n’ roll being the devil’s music. That’s not the way I see it, and I didn’t want to espouse that as a philosophy.”

In his foreword, Cooper also differentiates between the grim playfulness of his sideshow act and the mind set that led a pair of young fans to his house one morning offering a dog’s heart to “ward off evil.”

Cooper writes: “There has to be a balance between horror and real life. I enjoy being Alice on stage, but I also like being able to go to a mall in my jeans sometimes.”

Gelb said he had hoped to include the horror fiction of other working musicians in the book, including members of Anthrax and Metallica, but their schedules didn’t allow enough time. Still, Cooper was eager to participate, he said.

“Alice is a lifelong horror fan,” Gelb said. “Probably before doing his own music, he was reading the same comics I was reading, and the same books I was reading, and going to all the cheesy ‘60s drive-in horror movies I was.”

If “Shock Rock” proves commercially successful, Gelb said, he may compile a sequel, with a new selection of writers. The book has already generated some early interest from television and film producers.

“But what this collection really deserves is its own soundtrack album,” he said. “A person reading ‘Shock Rock’ should read it with a loud AC/DC or Metallica or Nirvana record on the stereo.”

SCHOOL DAYS: Musicians and music listeners can chart the history of rock music through a 10-week UCLA Extension course led by archivist Michael Ochs and a variety of industry veterans beginning April 8.

The Wednesday night class is titled “American Music--Take 1: Inside Rock History With Michael Ochs and Friends” and will feature a variety of noted recording artists and industry leaders--including former Eagles member Glen Frey and A & M Records co-founder Jerry Moss--as guest speakers, depending on availability.

The class fee is $225. For information, call (310) 825-9064.

FREE CLASSICS: A free concert celebrating the Rossini bicentennial performed by members of the Opera Guild Company and others begins at 4 p.m. today at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

The “Sundays at Four” performance--which is also broadcast live on KUSC (91.5 FM)--will feature soprano Diana Tash, mezzo-soprano Ellen Rabiner, tenor Bruce Johnson and bass Ray McLeod with pianist Gayle Blankenberg, clarinetist Marcus Eley, cellist Rowena Hammill and double bassist David Young.

The concert is presented in the museum’s Leo S. Bing Theater, 5905 Wilshire Blvd. For information, call (213) 485-7219.