Songs by Honeybird

In Songs by Honeybird, Peter McDade (Wampus Multimedia 2022) tells the story of Ben and Nina, two people who meet at a college outside of Atlanta. The chapters alternate between the voices of Ben and Nina, how they met and became a couple before unravelling and slowly moving on with their lives. Ben’s story focuses on his life as a graduate student and the research he does into a possible dissertation about an integrated band from the late 1960’s before two of its members died in a fire. Nina’s story involves her quest for meaning, philosophical discussions with her talking dog who is possibly an incarnation of the Buddha and facing the untimely death of her father when she was too young to understand. The author, a talented, working musician, wrote and recorded a soundtrack of original songs to accompany the novel. In addition to being about fathers, race, growing up, relationship, and understanding one’s history, this is a novel about seeking the truth.

As a drummer (who started playing at eight-years-old) for the rock band Uncle Green, Peter McDade spent fifteen years traveling the highways of America in a series of Ford vans. While the band searched for fame and a safe place to eat before a gig, he began writing short stories and novels. Uncle Green went into semi-retirement after four labels, seven records, and one name change; Peter went to Georgia State University and majored in History and English, eventually earning an MA in History. His first novel, Weight of Sound, was published in the fall of 2017, and like Songs by Honeybird, has an accompanying soundtrack of original songs created with help from friends in the music world. He teaches history to college undergrads in Atlanta, plays drums for Paul Melançon & the New Insecurities, and spends time writing, making music, and with his family, trying to understand how to raise teenage girls.