Lenny Kaye’s new book, Lightning Striking – published on November 16 by White Rabbit – is a breathless investigation of ten moments in history when the spirits aligned to change the course of rock’n’roll, from Memphis in 1954 to Seattle in 1991.
As always, Kaye writes with the knowledge of an insider and the wild enthusiasm of a fan, having maintained a foot in both camps throughout his career. Indeed, one of the scenes he writes about in the book, New York in 1975, places him right in the eye of the storm as guitarist for the Patti Smith Group – a role he continues to perform with elegant abandon to this day (see the new issue of Uncut, out next week, for a review of Patti Smith’s triumphant recent show at the Royal Albert Hall).
As compiler of the landmark Nuggets anthology, Kaye defined ’60s garage rock while simultaneously inspiring ’70s punk. He’s also made records with Suzanne Vega and REM, and written books about Waylon Jennings and ’30s crooners.
So what do you want to ask a hands-on rock’n’roll evangelist and living musical encyclopedia? Send your questions to audiencewith@www.uncut.co.uk by next Friday (November 12) and Lenny will answer the best ones in a future issue of Uncut.