Jason Narducy is quick to point out that rock 'n' roll stories are not all about biting the heads off bats, snorting human ashes, torching hotel rooms or having an intern remove every brown M&M from the dressing room.
The Evanston-reared musician certainly has his share of wild sagas from touring with Bob Mould and Superchunk and from his R.E.M. covers project with Michael Shannon, not to mention his own bands Split Single, Verböten and Verbow. But the stories he tells in detail in the second volume of his memoir series, "Mostly the Van," due out Tuesday, are considerably tamer. Among them: receiving Facebook friend requests from George Wendt, sparring with Guided By Voices frontman Bob Pollard over Miller Lite versus Heineken, and playing with Split Single at the infamous Pizzagate restaurant in Washington, D.C., right as the 4chan conspiracy theory went viral in 2016. There is also one hard-to-believe account from Paris, where, while touring with Telekinesis and fresh from a grim visit to the catacombs, he watched a motorcyclist catch fire.
"I think most people in the general public think that if you are in the music industry, you're either famous or you're a hobbyist, when actually there are tens of thousands of us in here that make a living at music," Narducy said. "Those are the stories that interest me the most.. I wanted a human thread."
The title itself sets the tone. It comes from a 2023 tour stop when Narducy and fellow musician Kieran McCabe walked into a Midwestern coffee shop and the barista immediately pegged them as band members. The giveaway was not their thrifted clothes or rock star aura but "mostly the van," their battered sprinter parked outside the window. More humble brags follow in the book's pages.
The new volume arrives nearly a year after the first, released last December. Both appear on the indie imprint Porchlight Books and were edited by Freda Love Smith, a former member of the alt rock group Blake Babies turned publishing professional, who lends the books a sharp insider edge. The pages also hold self-shot Polaroids, early iPhone photos and professional work, including two chance shoots with a random van outside photographer Nathan Keay's North Side house that captured the spirit of the title. Narducy, who donated his own trusty van, Old Bessie, years ago, was stunned to find the stranger's van still parked at Keay's a year later. "I want to leave a note for that guy or that gal and just say, 'Thank you. [Your van] is in a bunch of books,'" he said.
What distinguishes this collection is its reach back to Narducy's teenage years, when the North Shore teenage punks Verböten were making waves. The book includes modern-day encounters with Dave Grohl and his mother Virginia, whom Narducy calls "Ginny," noting that the Foo Fighters frontman grew up with Verböten singer Tracey Bradford and credits the young band with inspiring him to write songs.
The narrative opens with 19-year-old Narducy getting a call at his day job at Record Exchange on Belmont Avenue and learning he was going to be a father. It closes with his first-born daughter, Alexa, then 8, shrugging off his "very challenging" turn singing the national anthem at a Bulls game in 2000. "I think almost every parent can relate to having a kid who just does not care about anything they do," he joked.
The standout adolescent story, without spoiling too much, involves the late sportscaster Tim Weigel, stepfather of a high school friend, yelling at Narducy for playing music too loud, followed by a brush with Evanston police over illicit activity in Dawes Park. It was his first submitted story unrelated to music, but editor Smith told him that going toe to toe with the Evanston Police Department at age 17 was pretty rock 'n' roll. "It taps into that kind of teenage rebellion, a rare moment where .. the cops were [messing] with us, and we won," Narducy said with a laugh.
Verböten famously reunited as adults in 2024, playing Riot Fest plus Metro and Salt Shed, opening for Frank Black and Iggy Pop, though there are no plans for the group to continue. "I'm in so many bands and sometimes the schedule picks up," Narducy said, noting that he and Shannon are booked for a 40th anniversary celebration of R.E.M.'s "Document" album this spring. He hopes for more Verböten shows and says he wants to write a whole chapter on the band. At a book event at SPACE on Saturday, following a conversation with "Daily Show" co-creator Lizz Winstead, Narducy will reunite with Alison Chesley, his Verbow partner, for a special Jason & Allison performance.
Narducy expects more van chronicles ahead, saying he has no doubt two more volumes exist, including fuller stories about Bob Mould, whom he calls probably his most important collaborator. He plans to wait a few years, gather stories, gain perspective and make more music, including a new Split Single album in the works. And if the book contains one mistruth, it is his talk of needing a retirement plan. In reality, he admitted, "I have no plan.. I'm really fortunate that I love what I do."
