Right after Dan Kennedy finished writing Loser Goes First: My Thirty-Something Years of Dumb Luck and Minor Humiliation (Crown, $21.95) -- a funny, self-immolating new memoir detailing his blazing failures as a dotcommer, a rock star, a health-club attendant, a pro bass fisherman (and the list goes on) -- the 35-year-old landed an awesome job as director of creative development at Atlantic Records. We caught up with him in his fancy, high-tech midtown Manhattan office.
Dude, look at this place -- you're not a loser at all!
Here's the deal -- I have to close the door to say this. When the galleys of ''Loser'' came out, I was totally trying to keep it under my hat. It
felt like having a pound of weed at work. They're just going to
read this and go, ''What the f---? You tricked us into this.''
Is it sneaky to write a book about being a loser when you're not
a loser?
I don't think you understand. The sneaky thing is holding a job like this when you're a loser.
When did you decide to write the book?
I started doing
[spoken-word] gigs about how everything I've tried to do for the last few years was basically f---ed up. The more gigs I did, the
longer I realized that list was. I was like, ''This isn't just about dotcom. This isn't just about [my stint in] advertising. How far back does this go? This goes back to when I was, like, 10!''
Are you worried you'll draw real losers on your book tour?
My girlfriend goes, ''Well, I guess you'll be able to meet lots of
groupies on the road.'' I go, ''Think about the book I'm supporting, and you tell me who wants to sleep with that guy after the gig.'' She's like, ''Yeah, good point.''
