Meet R. Alan Siler | Author / Publisher / Musician

We had the good fortune of connecting with R. Alan Siler and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi R. Alan, can you tell us about an impactful book you’ve read and why you liked it or what impact it had on you?
I have had an interest in writing most of my life. Throughout my career as a musician playing in lots of different bands, I have been involved in songwriting, mostly lyrics. In more recent years, I became an author. I have written five books of my own, and have had essays published in various magazines, anthologies, and collections. In recent years, I formed my own publishing company to expand my offerings by also publishing other authors as well.

The inspiration for all of that came mainly from my love of the band Rush. I was first introduced to Rush in 1978. The complex instrumental work and song structure were very new to my ears at that time, having grown up mainly loving bands like KISS. Rush was different from everything else in my musical world at the time. As a young, fledgling drummer, listening to Rush drummer Neil Peart was an education for me. I’d spend hours studying and trying to replicate his intricate rhythms and unique phrasings and fills. I incorporated certain licks that I learned from him into my own playing. Listening to Rush broadened my understanding of music and made me a better drummer. But it was his lyrics that really captivated me.

Drummers are usually thought of as the noisy ones — the party animals, the wild, sometimes destructive characters, reinforced by figures like Keith Moon of the Who, John Bonham of Led Zeppelin, and Ginger Baker of Cream. But then along comes Neil Peart, a quiet, thoughtful, hyper-intelligent man with the soul of a poet. His lyrics were never of the “sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll” variety; he drew inspiration from mythology, history, science fiction, philosophy, speculative literature, and more. His lyrics were picturesque; portraying battles between good and evil, futuristic societies, deep explorations of human emotion, chronicles of foreign lands that he and the band visited, etc. One song (“Countdown”) described the experience of witnessing the launch of a space shuttle. Another (“Jacob’s Ladder”) paints a picture of sunlight breaking through storm clouds. And one (“Red Sector A”) relates a harrowing tale of life in a Nazi concentration camp.

I grew up reading books like War of the Worlds, Frankenstien, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings by Tolkien, and the novels of Jules Verne, but it was Neil’s lyric writing, which took inspiration from those and many other books and experiences and create an amalgam of approaches and styles from them. Neil taught me that I could be the drummer in the band and still be the quiet, smart one, and still make significant contributions to the bands’ songwriting. Reading his words inspired me to become a writer and led not only to lyrics, but books, articles, media reviews, biographies, and music more.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m an author of six books and am working on my next two (with lots of ideas of where to go next!). I am driven to create. Between writing, podcasting, and performing, I’m constantly working on creative pursuits. I started a small publishing company called kOZMIC Press in order to publish my own works but also to expand my offerings by publishing other authors. I’ve also recently gotten into filmmaking by creating a documentary of a convention I used to run. What I have learned about myself is that left unchecked, my imagination and creativity run rampant and I come up with too many ideas that I get excited about and want to pursue. I can’t possibly do all the things I want to do. My goal is to grow the business enough that I can hire others to help me expand. The biggest challenge has been balancing my full-time day job, my creative pursuits, and my commitment to my partner.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
A perfect week in the city would include visits to the Georgia Aquarium, the High Museum of Art, and the Beltline. I enjoy showing off some of the quirkier neighborhoods like Little Five Points and the interesting shops, restaurants, and pubs to be found there. Most of my best friends are on the geeky end of the spectrum, so we would definitely hit up some hangouts like Battle and Brew, Infinite Realities, and Challenges Games and Comics. For food, I would take them to some of my favorite places, which would include Hattie B’s, Fox Bros., Dumpling Master, Lucky’s Burger and Brew, Los Bravos, and La Botana Tex Mex. I would try to take in a show, whether it be a big production at the Alliance Theater or a smaller, more intimate show by the Lionheart Theater Company.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Neil Peart, Rush

Website: https://www.kozmicpress.com

Instagram: @kozmicpress

Facebook: @kozmicpress

Youtube: @kozmicpress1314

Image Credits
J. Daniel Pierce