Everything Is Combustible: Television, CBGB's & Five Decades of Rock and Roll - the Memoirs of an Alchemical Guitarist

Legendary Rock and Roll guitarist. Founding member of Television. Masterful storyteller.

Written in Lloyd's inimitable, frequently humorous style, Everything is Combustible chronicles, through vignettes, Lloyd's colorful early life, starting in Pittsburgh and soon moving to New York City, and then details his teenage travels and encounters with music legends including Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy and Keith Moon.

Lloyd recounts the founding of Television, the band's rise alongside other bands and personalities in the 1970 s New York Music scene, and the legend-making of the unparalleled music venue CBGB. As the rock 'n' roll tales unfold, he accompanies them with insights into his approach to music and the electric guitar.

Lloyd's mid-career vignettes detail his solo years, including the backstory of critically praised records such as Alchemy and Field of Fire, his drug addiction and recovery, his 90s-era work, and touring adventures with artists such as Matthew Sweet, John Doe, and Robert Quine. Throughout the book is an undercurrent: Lloyd's continually evolving spiritual-philosophical approach to life, emerging from the conscious digestion of the highs and the lows, both ends of the same stick.

In Everything is Combustible, Richard Lloyd relates his life, both inner and outer, in the narrative style, digging beneath the events and revealing their meanings.

Everything is Combustible is a must-have for any fan of Television and the heyday of the New York rock music scene. It fills a void in the written record as the first complete account of the band, including the making of their records and touring, from a founding member of the band.

Considered a foundational band of alternative rock, Television's debut record, Marquee Moon, is widely viewed by critics and musicians as one of the greatest albums ever recorded. As one half of Television's unique guitar sound, and a legendary solo artist in his own right, Richard Lloyd's music has influenced a range of bands and artists from U2, Johnny Marr and Joy Division to R.E.M., Sonic Youth, Wilco and John Frusciante."I literally couldn't put it down - what a journey! I love the way Lloyd finds a way into deeper areas - I haven't seen anything like it in other rock memoirs." - Danny Goldberg

"The book chronicles [Lloyd's] entire life, from seemingly transcendental childhood experiences, bouts in mental institutes, the highs of stardom, the lows of drug addiction, and finding redemption through the strength of his own character punctuate Lloyd s life. Stories of lovingly trading insults with Keith Moon, taking drugs with Keith Richards, and enduring personality clashes with fellow Television guitarist Tom Verlaine are told with humor, honesty and aplomb." - Chad Radford, Creative Loafing


"Incredible book. The stories, the writing, the....Richard Lloyd You get such a sense of a fascinating life and voice and person. I can't recommend this enough. -- Steve Wynn, The Dream Syndicate" - Steve Wynn, The Dream Syndicate


"Richard Lloyd was the backbone of the band and is a masterful storyteller - mixed with humor and vulnerability. Besides Television, Lloyd has some incredible stories about the West Coast in the late sixties, and a wild cast of characters in the cesspool of Manhattan throughout the 70s, 80s, etc. I didn't know what to expect from this book and I dug it deeply. - Pat Thomas, author of Listen, Whitey! and Head of A&R at Light in the Attic Records
Richard Lloyd's book is wonderful, totally unlike any other book I've yet read by a noted musician.- Shirley Pena, LA Beat