A well-written tale of Whiskeytown, one of my all-time favorite bands. In Waiting to Derail, O'Keefe brings the '90s alt-country scene to life. What a great read! -Bun E. Carlos, Cheap Trick Waiting to Derail is a hard book to put down-especially if you love Ryan Adams. Thomas O'Keefe takes the reader inside the van and the venues to give us an entertaining collection of stories from Ryan's days in Whiskeytown. -Alex LeCavalier, Third Eye Blind For those of us who were there-attended the shitshows, bought the records, dutifully wrote it all up for No Depression, can actually recall Y'alternative's moment in the sun-Thomas O'Keefe's book is more than just a ringside seat to the haymakers being wildly thrown. Waiting to Derail is an important analysis of the promise and the pratfalls of Ryan Adams before he was Capital R, Capital A Ryan-a snotty-nosed punk with talent to burn and a once-in-a-generation songwriting gift. If anything, the book tells us as much about the times, and the author, as it does Adams himself. The most solid gold rock read of 2018 to date. -Corey duBrowa, VP Global Communications and Public Affairs at Google, freelance writer I loved this book! I've known author Thomas O'Keefe since the day Train opened for Whiskeytown in 1998. I've always been a big Ryan Adams fan (Stranger's Almanac is still one of my all-time favorite albums) so I used to love when Thomas would share his Whiskeytown stories with us on the bus while he was Train's tour manager. And now he's sharing them with you. This book is an up close and personal, behind the scenes glimpse into the life of a young genius trying to find his way. -Jimmy Stafford , guitarist, Train Waiting to Derail is so legit you can almost smell the aroma of tour bus and stale beer rising from the pages. If you want to understand how rock and roll is simultaneously one of the coolest and most insane things on the planet to devote your life to, then you need to read this book. -Lou Brutus, syndicated radio host In my years as a rock and roll barfly-on-the-wall I've heard my share of great stories. I've said 'you oughta write a book' more than a few times. I'm sure I said it to Thomas O'Keefe one night a long time ago because his Ryan Adams and Whiskeytown tales are pure gold. He and Ryan both survived, and he brought this document back from the front lines. You oughta read this book. -Brian Phillips, morning disc jockey, WWCD Waiting To Derail is an anomaly among rock bios. Written with a remarkable and refreshing approach, O'Keefe captures the atmosphere honestly while maintaining a respect and affection for his subject. Here is the raw, candid truth of an emerging talent struggling to confront his inevitable stardom told from a firsthand perspective without bitterness or sleazy cynicism. -Russ Ward , ANTiSEEN

I've been making rock and roll road stories with Thomas O'Keefe all over the globe since the early '80s. Thomas has such a vivid, clear memory of what happened (and didn't) that to this day I still consult with him as 'fact checker.' No one can tell those tales as well as he can. -Jeff Clayton, ANTiSEEN You know how every kid wants to run away with the circus? It seems some of them actually did, except their circus was disguised as a rock band. Waiting to Derail makes me want to light a cigarette, crack open a beer, and get on a tour bus again. -Van Alston, Legendary Raleigh Bar Owner and former Ryan Adams tour manager

Waiting to Derail is a two-sided story that deals with the conflict between a brilliant songwriter who's talent eclipses his years and his defiant, punk ethos that threatens to destroy all of the progress and potential that those who believe in him are trying to help him realize. -Jeremy Porter, Pencilstorm

The book was like finding a long lost book of photographs. I totally got lost in it.-Greg Miller, Nurse the Hate

Waiting to Derail is a book that is wholly original, frenetic, and nearly imp