W.A.S.P. frontman Blackie Lawless recently shared an update on his long-in-the-works autobiography, Tales From The Square Mile, explaining that the project has taken six years because it evolved from his personal story into a deeper look at Hollywood, its disappearing music history, and his own journey through the city, during an interview with IndiePower TV.
Lawless discussed his early struggles in California, including sleeping on floors and living in a tiny closet right across from the Hollywood Palladium.
“Well, the first year [after I moved to California], I slept on people’s floors,” Lawless said. “I did the floor tour. And then I moved into my deluxe accommodations, which was a closet that was three feet by 12 feet, and I was in there for a year and a half. And that was literally right across the street from the Hollywood Palladium, which is where [W.A.S.P.] played the last time [December 2024] we were [in Los Angeles]. Now, that’s about 50 feet away from where I was sleeping in that closet.”
He then compared his writing timeline to other musicians, noting how much longer his project has taken.
“I talked to [Iron Maiden’s] Bruce Dickinson and some other people that wrote books, and I said, ‘Well, how long did it take you to do it?’ And they said, ‘Oh, six months.’ And so I thought, ‘Okay, well, that’s probably what it’ll take.’ Well, six years later, I’m still working on it.”
Lawless explained that the book expanded because it became as much about the history of Hollywood itself as his own life.
“And the reason that I’m still working on it is because when I first started, I thought it was my singular story, and that seemed reasonable at the time. But the more I started working on it, the more I realized, no, it’s not my singular story. It’s equally about the town itself. And the research that I had to do on the town, because the town, it plows its history over. It’s not like Des Moines, Iowa, or someplace like that, where something really important happens, they put up a street marker for it. You know, such and such happened here on such and such a day.”
He pointed out how Hollywood often replaces historic music landmarks with modern businesses.
“Hollywood doesn’t do that. It just plows over its own history. Every one of the recording studios, every one of the management offices that we had, had all been something before that was industry-related. And to give you an example, when I had the recording studio on Santa Monica and Vine, right next to me, literally, right there was an alleyway that separated us, but Gold Star recording studios had been there.”
He recalled rehearsing in a local laundromat before finding success and acquiring his own studio nearby.
“And, unfortunately, it’s a donut shop now, the last I saw. All those great records came out of there. But when we were coming up, and we were first getting started, there was a laundromat that’s diagonally across that intersection there. We used to rehearse in that laundromat after nine o’clock at night. We would set up the equipment in between the washing machines, and that’s where we would rehearse. Fast forward nine years later, and I’m at the light waiting for it to change, and I look over and that laundromat is still there.”
Lawless reflected on how success changed his circumstances but kept him physically close to where he started.
“And I’m thinking, ‘This is the longest 75 feet I ever walked in my life,’ to get from the laundromat to being the proprietor of this recording studio. How does this happen? So you’re living in a better place. You’re driving a better car. You’re eating better food, all that stuff, and you think that success is gonna change everything.”
He noted that despite his achievements, he still finds himself working within the same square mile.
“I was naive enough to believe that I was gonna end up in Valhalla, but as much as everything changed, nothing changed. I’m literally three blocks away from where I used to live. Like I said, the last show I just played [in Los Angeles] was right across the street from where I used to live. So I’m still working in that square mile, like it or not, that I’m still going back to these places, and I would do that for 20 years.”
Finally, Lawless emphasized that his autobiography will offer a unique perspective rather than a typical rock memoir.
“And what I discovered about the town is, like I said, when you see the book, it’s not your typical sex, drugs and rock and roll. I mean, there’s a period of that, but by the time I moved to California, I had a lot of that… I wouldn’t say it was out of my system, but I was ready to go to work. And my story is pretty different than whatever you’ve been used to reading.”
This autobiography is highly anticipated by fans who are eager to learn more about his journey and the history of Hollywood.
