Ex-Refreshments bassist pens novel
By THOMAS BOND
Get Out
Aug. 14, 2003

If the protagonist of Arthur Edwards' debut novel, “Stuck Outside of Phoenix,” bears marked similarities to the author, that's because Edwards was following the eternal literary maxim: Write about what you know.

“I actually made it through complete drafts of two books where I wasn't writing about what I know and the characters never really came to life,” says Edwards, the former bassist for the Refreshments, one of the Valley's most popular and successful bands of the ’90s.

Call the third time the charm. “Stuck Outside of Phoenix” is set in the Tempe music scene of April 1990, and the book revolves around Josh “Hote” Hotle, a 21-year-old bassist.

Though the novel, which will be released Tuesday, begins with a lyrical quote from Dead Hot Workshop singer/songwriter Brent Babb (from whence it gains its title), Edwards took great care to not name other actual people or places from the scene in that time period.

“I can't emphasize enough that this is a complete work of fiction,” the author says.

Following the dissolution of the Refreshments in the late ’90s after two albums on Mercury Records — “We were living the rock ’n’ roll dream for about four years,” he says — Edwards entered the master's program in creative writing at the University of San Francisco. He worked on the novel while doing temp jobs and attending school, graduating in December of last year.

Though he's written about rock ’n’ roll, the music — at least the playing of it — has been on the back burner.

“I've still got my bass guitar and an acoustic guitar, but I only break them out once a year, maybe,” says Edwards, 34, who now resides with his wife in Ashland, Ore.

Nor has he had any contact with his former bandmates, two of whom — Roger Clyne and P.H. Naffah — are still playing rock ’n’ roll and touring the country with Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers.

“The breakup of the Refreshments was kind of ugly, and I haven't spoken to those guys since, but I know we will someday,” Edwards says. “I keep up with what they're doing through the azpeacemakers.com Web site.”

Edwards is marketing his book himself through his own Web site (www. defunctpress.com) and plans to visit Tempe's Changing Hands bookstore for a reading this fall. Meanwhile, a sequel is being planned.

“I'm calling it ‘Book No. 2’ right now,” Edwards says. “I know I want to write it, but that's as far as I've gotten!”

“Stuck Outside of Phoenix” is available for $11.95 (plus $3 shipping and handling) at www.defunctpress. com or for $12 at Long Wong's (701 S. Mill Ave., Tempe) beginning Tuesday.