Against the loud, overdriven backdrop of 1980s hard rock covers, the Madison resident and I opted to chat in a corner booth, slightly away from the stage. We strained our voices against the music of Denim N Leather, a local cover band that took the stage at Bowl-A-Vard Lanes in Madison promptly following Susan Masino’s book signing Saturday, April 18 for her latest publication, “AC/DC FAQ: All That’s Left to Know About the World’s True Rock ‘n’ Roll Band,” which hit shelves March 31.
“It’s been a long road, and I’m still not a millionaire, but I like my work,” rock journalist and author Masino said.
We spoke about the book — named the “AC/DC Bible” by Terry A. Shockley — which spans decades of the band’s climb to the top, colored with their wild antics. Following her previous publications, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy” and “AC/DC: Let There Be Rock,” AC/DC fans can expect to find more details and juicy stories this time around, filling in gaps and offering readers a full spectrum view of the Australian rockers’ legacy. This interview has been edited for clarity and style.
How did this whole relationship start out with AC/DC in the first place?
Honestly, I became pen pals with the drum roadie. His name was Barry Taylor. He’s now a reverend in L.A., he’s written a couple of books — a brilliant man — and he was on their, well, it was his first time in the States as a roadie.
And we hit it off by actually listening to them: they were setting up, and they were slagging on the U.S., you know? And I finally got close enough where he turned around and looked at me. He was the youngest, he had long hair, very cute, very cute — sweet man.
And he turned and looked at me, like, “What do you want?” And I leaned over and I said, “You know the airport’s not that far away, I could give you a lift?” He looked at me and he’s like, “Who are you?” And I said, “Psh, I think you ought to identify yourself first.” And we just struck up this friendship, and he started calling and writing me every week for three years. So we stayed in constant contact.
What kinds of things do you touch on in this book that you haven’t necessarily touched on in your previous ones?
I got into a lot more detail, and I was able to include a lot of stories that were not included in the “Let There Be Rock” book … With the “FAQ” book, I covered all of their albums, producers, studios, tours — you know — awards. It’s almost like an encyclopedia, and then the fun part is that I got to throw in some personal stuff that didn’t make the other books.
So what kind of “personal stuff” are we talking about here?
Oh, you know, just partying with the band, you know, and hanging out with Bon Scott backstage, and some of the funny things he tried to pull on us. One night I got to watch the band behind the road cases on the stage, and [lead guitarist] Angus [Young] was out on the walkabout, but then [singer] Bon [Scott] came back, and Angus didn’t. And I’m behind the road cases, you know, on the stage hearing the band play, and I can hear Angus wailing, but I don’t know where he is. And all of a sudden, I feel a little tap on my elbow, and I turned and looked, and Angus is right next to me, crouched down, just playing his heart out! … I looked at him, and he went like this to me (nudges) and I leaned as far as I could to the left, and he shot out on stage, and the crowd just went crazy. And it was so funny.
What’s one of your favorite little stories that made it in then?
Probably the night after I did an interview with all five of them, and … nobody knew who they were. And we were gonna go to their hotel afterwards, and I had my two girlfriends, and the band pulled up in a cab, and — I think it was [drummer] Phil [Rudd] and Bon jumped out and threw [guitarist] Malcolm [Young] out at me and grabbed my girlfriend Terry — who is here tonight — threw her in the cab, and they took off! And Malcolm’s like, “Oh! I guess I’m supposed to show you to the hotel!” And I said okay. And so he came with us, and he was in the backseat behind me, and my girlfriend was next to me, and he spent the whole ride with his hands over my eyes, or him trying to drive the car — from behind me. [laughter] So it was a long ride to the hotel.
Having known AC/DC, and knowing that they are something else — I mean, they are probably the rock band of the generation, can you still look at them the same, or do you get star-struck?
It’s kind of like growing up and being Michelangelo’s buddy, like wow, you’re good! You know what I mean? It’s like, I know that they’re good, that they’re, like, superstars, but it’s hard to see them that way when I hang out with them because they’re just the same guys that they’ve always been — they wear the same clothes, even! I’m not kidding; it’s hilarious. It’s never like, you know, the servants and food and champagne and all this high-brow stuff; it’s just like a cup of tea and a cigarette.
Who exactly is your target audience? Who did you write for?
The AC/DC fans, because there’s billions of them, and they’re very dedicated, and they’re very supportive, and there’s a lot of great Facebook pages for the band. And I’m a fan, so it’s for me, too.
Do you have any final remarks about your book? Anything you would like to say?
You know, I’m very honored to be able to do another book on one of my favorite bands in the whole world. They’re incredible, they deserve all the success that they have, and my book is a fun series of history and events —some of it I was lucky enough to be a part of, and if the fans are happy with it, and the band is happy with it — and if they’re not, I will definitely hear about it — I’ve done my job.
Updated April 26, 2015
