Author(s): Patrick Emery

Music

Feted by his peers, loved by his family and his friends and largely ignored by the commercial music industry, Spencer P. Jones was arguably one of the most important musicians of the modern era.

With a career spanning over 40 years, Spencer’s resumé is vast, deep and eclectic, ranging from the wild cowpunk of The Johnnys, to the garage swamp of Beasts of Bourbon to the rugged beauty of his solo albums, to cameos with Ian Rilen, Paul Kelly, Maurice Frawley, Rowland S. Howard, Renee Geyer, Mudhoney and Violent Femmes.

Based on over 150 interviews with Spencer and more than 150 family, friends and bandmates and illustrated with a treasure trove of previously unseen photos, Execution Days traces Spencer’s life from his childhood in New Zealand to his evolution as a musician in Australia to his profound impact on those around him.  Along the way there are stories of irreverence and excess, of frustration and heartache, of friends loved and lost. Spencer P. Jones is the real deal. This is his story.  344 pages with 16 pages of rare photos from throughout Spencer’s life

"This book is not hagiography; Spencer P. Jones was not a saint, nor would he wish to be canonised as such.  Spencer could be as flaky as he was trusting, as frustrating as he was loveable.  In the course of researching this biography I witnessed first-hand the good and not-so-good of Spencer's personality: his intelligence and humour, his trust and generosity, his laissez-faire approach to time management, his well-meaning financial dissonance.  Spencer was his own worst enemy, and at particular times in his life, his behaviour undermined both his career and some of his closest relationships.  Spencer P. Jones did bad things, but he was never a bad person.  He was just Spencer.  And there will never be another like him."