an odd boy - volume three - now available

We are very happy to be able to announce that

an odd boy - volume three - when you got a good friend

is now available from Lulu.com

Volume Three of an odd boy tells of the foundation course at Farnham Art School from ’70 to ’72. At Hatch Mill—the warren of wonders—the author steps out of time into a world of creative camaraderie where every meeting is a scene from a surrealist play. ’72 marked the end of the ’60s gestalt. 

Before the final curtain call however, a tumult of bizarre scenes tumble across the panchromatic stage: strange liaisons with transient heroes and heroines of the lost time; the Farnham Blues Festival; and, ‘the religion of Art’ entwined with burlesque love stories. He meets with Liverpool Poets – Adrian Henry and Roger McGough. Poetry and oil painting co-mingle with loves won and lost. He finds himself—for a bare month—as a rising star on the British Blues scene – but with the death of Jimi Hendrix, it’s the end of an era. He steps off the stage, takes to the road – and arrives, ironically, at the ever-familiar crossroads.

For the full story - so far - of an odd boy please see volume one, volume two and volume three. All three volumes are available from our shop at Lulu.

Love has no need of reasons. If there were reasons, it wouldn't be love. The same applies to Blues.

"'Blues has been important to me since I was 8.  When asked why - I have no answer.  That's not to say that I can't provide a welter of evocative statements. 'I could give reasons - but they'd be as meaningless as explanations as to the why of 'why I love my wife'.  Love has no need of reasons.  I have the feeling that if there were reasons, it wouldn't be love.  The same applies to Blues.'."

p227-228, an odd boy - volume one, Doc Togden, Aro Books worldwide, 2011, ISBN 978-1-898185-20-8

Forthcoming publication - an odd boy - volume three

We have reached the final stages of the production of Volume Three of an odd boy by Doc Togden. It should be available for sale within a few weeks.

Volume Three of an odd boy tells of the foundation course at Farnham Art School from ’70 to ’72. At Hatch Mill—the warren of wonders—the author steps out of time into a world of creative camaraderie where every meeting is a scene from a surrealist play. ’72 marked the end of the ’60s gestalt. 

 Before the final curtain call however, a tumult of bizarre scenes tumble across the panchromatic stage: strange liaisons with transient heroes and heroines of the lost time; the Farnham Blues Festival; and, ‘the religion of Art’ entwined with burlesque love stories. He meets with Liverpool Poets – Adrian Henry and Roger McGough. Poetry and oil painting co-mingle with loves won and lost. He finds himself—for a bare month—as a rising star on the British Blues scene – but with the death of Jimi Hendrix, it’s the end of an era. He steps off the stage, takes to the road – and arrives, ironically, at the ever-familiar crossroads. 

See also Volume One and Volume Two

Bookcrossing - an odd boy - volume one

Last week we released a copy of Relaxing into Mediation into the wild via Bookcrossing.  This week we have released a copy of an odd boy  - volume one by Doc Togden. This copy has been released in Tenby as book 849-11964008. You can follow its travels via this link: http://www.bookcrossing.com/849-11964008.

Christmas Book Sale - 13th-15th December 2012

We have joined a group of independent authors and publishers to offer books at a discount between 13th and 15th December.

There are 60 books on offer with savings of up to $200.

We are offering a 20% discount on
an odd boy volumes one and two, by Doc Togden;
Rays of the Sun, by Ngakpa Chögyam; and
Relaxing into Meditation, by Ngakma Nor'dzin

Please see the Christmas Book Sale at Self-Publishing-Coach.com for the full list of books and the chance to win a $25 Amazon Gift card.

The sale starts on 13th December and runs until 15th.
 

... the explanation of the tuning of the two basses alone is worth the price of the book

"One of the things I love about the book is Doc’s ability to weave the technical aspects of music and writing process in such a simple manner as to be easily understood by musician and fan alike. In my opinion, the explanation of the tuning of the two basses alone is worth the price of the book."

— Ted Stilles, talking about 'An Odd Boy, Volume II', by Doc Togden

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Volume II of an odd boy is published by Aro Books worldwide.

Excerpts can be read on Doc Togden's Facebook fanpage and at anoddboy.com
 

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Odd Boy Blues - Commercial - Ted Stilles

Time for a commercial break. Ted Stilles talks about an odd boy . This is the radio commercial available on Youtube and Soundcloud.

"I've been reading the new offering from Aro Books Worldwide, Doc Togden's "An odd boy volume two". It tells the true story of the blues band, Savage Cabbage. In the late 60's they were preparing to fill the void left by the breakup of Cream. Ahead of their time and filled with dreams it appears life had other plans for them...Told from the point of view of a young englishman lost in the blues, its a riveting look inside the world of four young lads trying to find their way during the height of the psychedelic blues era. A must read for the artist in all of us." — Ted Stilles

An Odd Boy - volume one available from from Lulu
An Odd Boy - volume two available from from Lulu

Odd Boy Blues - Instrumental - Ted Stilles

Ted Stilles has kindly recorded a commercial for an odd boy to go out on Blues Corner Radio.  This is the instrumental version, on Youtube and Soundcloud .

"I've been reading the new offering from Aro Books Worldwide, Doc Togden's "An odd boy volume two". It tells the true story of the blues band, Savage Cabbage. In the late 60's they were preparing to fill the void left by the breakup of Cream. Ahead of their time and filled with dreams it appears life had other plans for them...Told from the point of view of a young englishman lost in the blues, its a riveting look inside the world of four young lads trying to find their way during the height of the psychedelic blues era. A must read for the artist in all of us." — Ted Stilles

An Odd Boy - volume one available from from Lulu
An Odd Boy - volume two available from from Lulu

Available now - an odd boy - volume two - The band who could have rivalled Cream

published by Aro Books worldwide, 31st October 2012

an odd boy - volume two - hellhound on my trail / living on solid air

The peak of the British Blues Boom – and Savage Cabbage the band who could have rivalled Cream. At their height they were billed with Rory Gallagher’s Taste at ‘Colonel Barefoot’s Rock Garden’ where psychedelic lyrics and electric blues ignited the night. The arts became rampant street-culture – roaring like wildfire from ’68 to ’70.

Press Release : http://pressdoc.com/p/000q8f

 

an odd boy - volume two is available now from Lulu at 20% discount until 7th November. 

Lulu are offering a further 20% discount until 23:59  on 1st November if you use their Hallowe'en coupon code BRAINFOOD

Buy an odd boy - volume two at (up to) 40% off from http://bit.ly/docaobv02lul

The band who could have rivalled Cream

The peak of the British Blues Boom – and Savage Cabbage the band who could have rivalled Cream. At their height they were billed with Rory Gallagher’s Taste at ‘Colonel Barefoot’s Rock Garden’ where psychedelic lyrics and electric blues ignited the night. The arts became rampant street-culture – roaring like wildfire from ’68 to ’70.

'an odd boy - volume two', published by Aro Books worldwide, 31st October 2012

Please see this press release for more information http://pressdoc.com/p/000q8f

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Excerpts from an odd boy can be read on Doc Togden's Facebook fanpage and at anoddboy.com

Volume one was published in 2011 and is available on amazon.com, amazon.co.uk and lulu.com

An Interview With a Welsh Buddhist Publisher

AmeriCymru is a social network for the Welsh, ex-pats, persons of Welsh descent and cymruphiles. AmeriCymru is the home of the West Coast Eisteddfod.

AmeriCymru talks to ’ö-Dzin Tridral of Aro Books worldwide, a Welsh printing press specializing in publishing works in the Aro Tradition of Nyingma Buddhism.

“Our two most recent publications are Relaxing into Meditation by Ngakma Nor'dzin and An Odd Boy (Volume One) by Doc. Togden. Relaxing into Meditation is an accessible introduction to meditation which can enable someone with no knowledge of the subject to approach meditation via practices of relaxation. An Odd Boy is a memoir from the period of the British Blues Boom of the 1960s and 1970s. Interwoven with this is the view that everyone has the possibility of being an artist and of appreciating life as art.”

Read the rest of the interview at AmeriCymru

The greatest British Blues band there never was

Volume I and Volume II of ‘an odd boy’ portray a plethora of poignant insights into what Blues meant to four lads during the British Blues Boom of the 1960s.

Doc Togden details his Blues education—as an 8-year old English boy—in terms of the informal schooling he received form Mr Love an elderly shell-shocked gentleman who introduced him to Bessie Smith, Big Bill Broonzy, Robert Johnson, Blind lemon Jefferson Memphis Minnie, and many others.

The story continues from 1960 to 1970. The initial idea of creating a Blues band comes into focus and becomes an on-stage reality by 1968. As Cream leaves the scene and Savage Cabbage takes its first steps as the band that could conceivably have filled their shoes – had not two untimely deaths intervened.

This is the story of the greatest British Blues band there never was – a story of a passion for a milieu that became a religion to four lads form the outskirts of the Thames Delta 

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Doc Togden is the author of Volume 1 of an odd boy published by Aro Books worldwide.
Excerpts can be read on Doc Togden's Facebook fanpage and at anoddboy.com

A period drama which defines the lost time

Absolutely compulsive reading – a book you can read cover to cover in a day, if you don’t do anything else – and that’s just what I did. Then of course – I wanted to start at the outgoing again.

The only book that sent me straight back to page one as soon as I’d finished was Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. This book has something of this quality – but it’s a modern adventure, an account of a life of a young man exploring the arts.

It’s a memoire that reads like a novel – and a novel that reads at times like poetry. It’s almost like Dylan Thomas’ Under Milkwood but charged with the hip patois of the late 1960s.

The main characters, as the book evolves, are the members of the Savage Cabbage Blues Band – and they are described through the conversations they have with the author.

This is an English epic – and I find myself wondering ‘Is this the next Harry Potter?’ Nothing like this has appeared Since Jack Kerouac’s On the Road and it seems itching to be made into a movie.

The book is written in scenes and as each opens the reader is lead into another weird and wonderful world – but worlds that were still part of the 20th Century.

It's a period drama which defines the lost time, a epoch that ran from the early 1960s to the early 1970s – and the writer takes you right into that time frame. I recommend this book to anyone who loves reading – where they interested in the 1960s or not.

— John Hancock

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This review of an odd boy is from gwales.com, the website of the Welsh Books Council.  Read more reviews here.

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Volume 1 of an odd boy by Doc Togden is published by Aro Books worldwide and is available from amazon.com, amazon.co.uk and lulu.com - and your local bookseller.

Excerpts can be read on Doc Togden's Facebook fanpage and at anoddboy.com
 

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‘An Odd Boy’ - worthy of modern classic status - John Dummer

Young Victor Simmerson feels alienated growing up in a Surrey village in post-war Britain. A free-thinking lad with an outlook ahead of his years he is distanced from his elderly disciplinarian father and turns to his gentle neighbour Mr Love for company. The ‘shell-shocked’ Mr Love wears ‘Evelyn Waugh clothes and possesses a collection of American Blues 78 rpm records. Victor is totally hooked by the imagery and romance of Blues. At the tender age of twelve the story of how the Devil granted a super-human talent as a guitarist and singer to the legendary Bluesman Robert Johnson in particular fascinates him. He learns that Johnson met the Devil or the African god Legba at ‘the crossroads’. Victor wants to try this himself but reckons his local crossroads near the village of Netherfield lack the qualities of the Mississippi Delta and decides to ramp up the element of danger by cycling there naked with his plastic ‘Skiffle Junior’ guitar on his back. When the Devil fails to turn up he cycles home disappointed but undaunted.

‘An Odd Boy’ is crammed with little gems and enchanting anecdotes like this. The character of Victor is reminiscent of the best of the American writer John Irving’s creations. Peppered with Blues couplets and quotes from ‘Alice In Wonderland’ to illustrate his point the author recounts Victor’s thoughts and observations of the suburban world he is growing up in in the sixties. Preferring the company of girls to boys (much to his father’s disgust) at five he falls in love with Alice, the daughter of liberal-thinking neighbours the Trevelyans, and they plan their future marriage down to the last detail. At junior school Victor is bullied by the other boys because of his German mother with shouts of “I’ll ’ityer!” (Heil Hitler). His Grandmother (Clara Schubert) is sympathetic to Victor’s aspirations. She had fled the Nazis at the beginning of the war and her story of how Hitler had killed the family’s parrot is a memorable one. Seemingly the radio station would turn up the volume when Hitler came on the air. The parrot had been sitting on his perch alone in the living room. During a particularly loud rant by the Führer the poor parrot was so shocked by the menacing voice he fell off his perch and died.

Victor fails to achieve the necessary five ‘O’ level passes for Farnham Grammar School for boys and instead applies for an interview at the girls’ grammar which only required three ‘O’ levels using just his surname and first initial. At his interview with the headmistress she expresses disbelief. “This is a—gells’—grammar school - and you are a boy. Is that not a problem?” He explains the number of ‘O’ levels differences. “I’ll wear a skirt, I’ll buy the uniform myself.” Victor assures her earnestly. The headmistress is amused and writes a letter to the headmaster of the local comprehensive school to secure him a place there.

‘An Odd Boy’ is an absorbing and rewarding read, a memoire written as a novel, unique in its vision of the world and in my estimation, worthy of modern classic status. Apparently this is just Volume One and the sequel, ‘Hellhound on My Trail’ is in the pipeline. I look forward to reading it.

— John Dummer

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John Dummer has been a local paper reporter, music business press officer, record plugger and broadcaster. In the sixties he toured with his own John Dummer Blues Band and in the seventies drummed with the hit doo-wop revival group Darts. He met his wife Helen when she was the photographer on a Darts photo-session.


After Darts, Helen and John formed their own group, True Life Confessions, and also recorded as the duo, John Dummer and Helen April. John went on to manage the powerhouse rock trio the Screaming Blue Messiahs. 


After three years of touring the States, burnt out from all the madness, he upped sticks with Helen and moved to France. There followed a two year sojurn living in a windmill in the Alentejo region of Portugal, and a return to France with finances much depleted. They discovered if they registered as 'brocanteurs' (French antique market traders) they could work and be covered under the excellent French health system. 


It was working the French outdoor markets and the amusing and fascinating characters he met that inspired John to write his first book, Serge Bastarde Ate My Baguette. The sequel Son of Serge Bastarde is published by Summersdale on June 4th. John and Helen now live in South West France in the middle of the Landes forest with their dog Buster and quite a lot of cats.


Read more about Serge Bastarde on Facebook

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Volume 1 of an odd boy by Doc Togden is published by Aro Books worldwide and is available from amazon.com, amazon.co.uk and lulu.com - and your local bookseller.


Excerpts can be read on Doc Togden's Facebook fanpage and at anoddboy.com
 

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A wonderful read for the artist in all of us - Ted Stilles on 'an odd boy'

“It’s not about ‘worth it’ or ‘not worth it’ when you have a dream. If you want to be an Artist, you’ve got to go with your dream – or it’s just a daydream.” — Doc Togden.

Truer words have never been spoken. Doc takes the reader inside the heart and soul of the young creative in a way that at once reveals the relentless pull that takes some of us to heights unimaginable in a world set on conformity. We may be few and far between but he reminds us we are not alone. A wonderful read for the artist in all of us.

— Ted Stilles

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Ted Stilles is an American born blues guitarist from Montclair, NJ who was a part of the New York City blues scene in the early ‘70s. His first blues recordings were on the Spivey Records label. He has performed with such blues legends as Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters, and Johnny Winter. In the ‘80s he spent time with Blue Note recording artist Big John Patton. There’s a passion and subtlety to his playing that connect with audiences large and small.

Ted Stilles records with Candyland Recording Inc. http://www.candylandrecording.com/ Candyland Artist Key# 953

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Volume 1 of an odd boy by Doc Togden is published by Aro Books worldwide and is available from amazon.com, amazon.co.uk and lulu.com - and your local bookseller.

Excerpts can be read on Doc Togden's Facebook fanpage and at anoddboy.com

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The Tiger's Table - An interview with Doc Togden - Freado.com

Freado.com — a site where book lovers can win books — features an interview with Doc Togden where he talks about an odd boy, the influences on his writing, and his next plans for publication.

"Then – there’s an off-the-wall project – a recipe book called ‘The Tiger’s Table’. The gustatory olfactory senses are mainly neglected when people speak of the Arts – and Caroline and I would like to change that. This is something of a long term project because nothing I cook makes references to measurements or qualities. This means we shall have to cook everything and take notes of what we’d need to tell the reader with respect to reproducing our outrageous gastronomic exploits . . . It will be the recipe book that puts the ‘hell’ in health and the ‘die’ in diet ." — Doc Togden

Read the full interview here : http://www.freado.com/users/interview/29347/doc-togden/

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Volume 1 of an odd boy by Doc Togden is published by Aro Books worldwide

Excerpts can be read on Doc Togden's Facebook fanpage and at anoddboy.com

The book is available on amazon.com, amazon.co.uk and lulu.com

Empowered to be more creative

We enjoyed an evening with Doc Togden on 4th November at which he spoke of the nature of Art and the way in which people could be artists in their own lives - if they want to be.

"It would be good to think that people could feel empowered to be more creative in their lives and to think of themselves as Artists. I’m a great believer that hard work in more important than natural ability"
— Doc Togden

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Doc Togden is the author of Volume 1 of an odd boy published by Aro Books worldwide.
Excerpts can be read on Doc Togden's Facebook fanpage and at anoddboy.com

Wales Book of the Year Award 2012 & an odd boy

an odd boy - volume one  by Doc Togden has been accepted as an entrant in the Wales Book of the Year Award 2012 run by Literature Wales / Llenyddiaeth Cymru. an odd boy has been entered as a work of literary non-fiction.

"The annual Wales Book of the Year prizes, administered by Literature Wales with funding from the Arts Council of Wales, are awarded to the best Welsh-language and English-language works in the fields of creative writing and literary criticism." — Literature Wales

Works in English are being judged by Spencer Jordan, Trezza Azzopardi and Sam Adams

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Volume 1 of an odd boy by Doc Togden is published by Aro Books worldwide and is available from amazon.com, amazon.co.uk and lulu.com - and your local bookseller.

Excerpts can be read on Doc Togden's Facebook fanpage and at anoddboy.com

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An evening with an odd boy - Bristol - 4th November 2011

An evening with an odd boy

enjoy an evening of wine, readings and book signing with Doc Togden

Friday 4th November at 7pm

Aro Ling, 127 Gloucester Road, Bristol, BS7 8AX

an odd boy is a memoire of an eccentric aficionado of Bach and Blues, poetry and painting. This is a portrait of the artist as a lad, set in the experimental cultural ferment of the late 1960s... A depiction of an era when the Arts set a generation on fire.

"I wish to inspire people to think of themselves as artists – even though they may never paint, write, or engage in any obvious way. Being an artist simply requires a compassionate state of mind that is open to a joyous appreciation of the sense fields."
— Doc Togden

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Volume 1 of an odd boy by Doc Togden is published by Aro Books worldwide and is available from amazon.com, amazon.co.uk and lulu.com - and your local bookseller.

Excerpts can be read on Doc Togden's Facebook fanpage and at anoddboy.com

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Either Doc Togden is normal, or I'm odd too. Kris Gray reviews 'an odd boy'

Either Doc Togden is normal, or I'm odd too, as there are so many similarities here with my early life we could be brothers. We both had fathers who fought against our chosen musical careers and the length of our hair. I like biographies and this one of Doc's early life with his introduction to blues music at the tender age of 7 is like no other I have read before. I couldn't put it down, although often forced to by the late hour. He illustrates his points with quotes from many a blues song, film, poem or book to the extent that I have never seen before. This book should be a benchmark for all future music biographies, I'll even have to go back and re-write some of mine!

Any musician who grew up in the 50's and 60's, when the boundaries of music were being pushed further than they ever will again, will empathise with Doc and his struggles with family, friends and school to fulfil his ambition to be a blues musician. I urge all of those musicians to read this book; it will bring a tear to your eyes of both sadness and joy. I can't recommend it enough. Anybody who thinks The Beatles `Revolver' album was the best one they made certainly knows his stuff!

— Kris Gray

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Kris Gray is a Blues musician, record produce, music agent, manage and author.   http://krisgray.co.uk/

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Volume 1 of an odd boy by Doc Togden is published by Aro Books worldwide and is available from amazon.com, amazon.co.uk and lulu.com - and your local bookseller.

Excerpts can be read on Doc Togden's Facebook fanpage and at anoddboy.com

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