"SINGING FOR MY SUPPER, The Greatest Self Help Book Ever  Written"  By Phillip E. Hardy

 C. MacDonald Book Review

HOLLYWOOD, CA--Writing from the heart and soul, exposing your warts, along with your achievements, offering advice to smooth the trail for others, and expressing a sense of humor while doing it, is not easy. Yet Phil Hardy, a , sometimes spitfire Hollywood drummer/singer in bands that sizzled in the famous Whiskey, Troubadour, Starwood, Madame Wongs, Gazzaris and Club 88, manages to pull it off in this entertaining and insightful book that's woven part self-help, autobiography, novel, shock and humor.

The title will suck you in. In the first pages, Hardy's humor oozes like fresh syrup on a pancake. Thanking his editor, he adds, "Any word omissions or grammatical errors may be attributed to his poor attitude, shoddy attention to detail and generally foul disposition." Next, he dedicates the book to his wife, Kelly, "who is beautiful on the outside and inside. She is too good for me, which is a fact she constantly reminds me of in perpetuity." He talks about one manager, who "smelled like a high school locker room." One of the funniest tales by the progressive rock and jazz man, who's now highlighting the blues, is about how he very creatively and cleverly deals with a foreign scam artist regarding a potential inheritance. The drum-beating bammer hilariously turns the tables on the scammer. Read his wonderfully-written letter and you'll laugh out loud.

Although Phil is now a professional project manager with a Master of Management Degree, Hardy's Hints for success and survival definitely were earned through the the university of hard knocks. He grew up in what he calls "a dysfunctional family;" he once had to fire his father at work and he called his mom, "a man magnet." He learned how to pass a Spanish class by asking the teacher how she was every day; "I could always turn on the charm when I wanted something." He even was able to stop substance abuse on his own and overcame being overweight and unfit with some help.

Hardy said he sometimes shot first from the mouth--saying what he thought or what some didn't want to hear--causing him to be fired, ostracized or lose a girlfriend. But, during a try out, his sometimes abrasive behavior was actually appreciated by the lead singer and bassist of Bent Antenna, who had grown up in New York City.

The multi-talented fellow, who mentions Clint Eastwood, Jimi Hendrix, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Jethro Tull, The Who, and James Dean, once helped The Millionaires get booked all over and even open for the popular group, The Motels. The Millionaires also played a catchy reggae rock song he wrote called, "New York City." The author, who could be a stand-up, Jerry Seinfeld-type comedian  someday, was drummer for a band playing a USO show aboard the aircraft carrier USS Constellation in San Diego. He bangs the sticks with his latest band, New Blues Revolution. To see him in action and get him to autograph his new book, find out the group's bookings at www.newbluesrevolution.com.

The largely self-taught sticksman, who played and still plays with passion and abandon, writes with style: "It was a murky afternoon right out of an Edgar Allen Poe story."

His book, which should be studied in business school and in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, covers everything but the kitchen sink: business, problem-solving, losing weight, finding a mate, discipline and more.

Some of the Stanford University Certified Project Manager's business advice:
--Never walk into a job or business relationship with the assumption you know more than the next person.
--The best confidant is a closed mouth.
--If you want a friend you can trust, buy a dog.
--Wisdom has taught me that I should speak less and act more.
--Attitude is everything.
--Be an excellent listener (one of the most valuable skills but hardest to master)

"Remember, you're never done learning," Hardy reminds us. "Life is a carnival, enjoy the ride." (Just like his book, which is available in hardcopy at www.lulu.com; and Kindle at amazon.com.).