Lipscomb music faculty releases fiction book set in East Nashville
Long-time music industry veteran shines a light on the creativity of East Nashville in new fiction work.
From Staff Reports |
Lipscomb’s John J. Thompson, visiting professor of music industry studies, and a long-time veteran of the music industry, has made his first venture into fiction writing with the release of his third book, but first novel, The Ballad of the Lost Dogs of East Nashville, this past December.
A special event featuring songs and stories from the book will take place on Jan. 29 at The Well Coffeehouse on Granny White Pike at 7 p.m. “An Evening of Songs and Stories with John J. Thompson and Vince Wilcox,” presented by Red Dog Productions, will benefit the live music practicum at Lipscomb. The event is free but donations are requested.
Wilcox, a music industry attorney, songwriter, musician and author of one of the textbooks used in Lipscomb's music industry classes, and Thompson will hold a wide-ranging conversation about books, music, the future of the industry, their own creative projects and more. Wilcox has previously led the music business program at Trevecca University. He and Thompson have worked on several projects over the years.
Thompson has been a writer since his early days as the chief journalist and editor of the magazine True Tunes News, and he has contributed to magazines such as CCM, Christianity Today, and sites like ThinkChristian.net for years.
His first full book, Raised By Wolves: The Story of Christian Rock and Roll, was released by ECW Press in 2000, and his second book, Jesus, Bread and Chocolate: Crafting A Handmade Faith in a Mass Market World, followed in 2015 via Zondervan/Harper Collins.
The Ballad of the Lost Dogs of East Nashville marks Thompson's first foray into fiction. “This book represents more than 10 years of work,” said Thompson. “It combines my love of music, my commitment to my local community, and my love of good music and a good tale into a story I hope makes people laugh, think and maybe even sing along.”
Ballad tells the story of an unlikely group of musicians who are brought together through the power of music when something miraculous happens. Set against the backdrop of Nashville’s rapidly changing and explosively creative neighborhood of East Nashville, and seen through the eyes of people who have experienced true devastation, this unintended troupe brings a community together across cultural, generational and ethnic divides.
“The characters in this story,” Thompson said, “while completely fictional, are all loosely inspired by people I have met and known throughout my years living in this amazing place. Telling a story this way is kind of like writing songs. Through art, I get to explore ideas about reconciliation and pain, and love and forgiveness. And yeah, there is a lot of music in it too.”
Over the years, Thompson has served as a creative consultant, writer, music supervisor and producer for various publishing companies, independent artists, films, websites, festivals and more. He served as director of creative and copyright development for Capitol CMG Publishing from 2007-2016 and as the associate dean of Trevecca University’s School of Music after that.
He currently hosts the True Tunes Podcast, consults for several independent artists and speaks at colleges, theaters, churches, and other venues around the U.S. and abroad.
Thompson has also written some new songs for the book, including “Sweet Marianne,” one that he recorded with guitar virtuoso Phil Keaggy and accordion master Jeff Taylor. Thompson started his first band when he was 16, and opened True Tunes, a record store, magazine, mail-order company, concert venue and indie label, in 1989.
“Sweet Marianne” was released through Thompson’s music store (TheWaysideStore.com) in December and will hit streaming services later in 2025. “I am so thrilled with this song,” he said. “To get to record with one of my all-time favorite artists, Phil Keaggy, and then to have Jeff Taylor add his magic is just incredible. This song comes up throughout the story, and we were able to use several iterations of it in the audiobook.” Other new songs and cover tunes are being planned for recording and release at a later date.
Thompson expanded the scope of Gyroscope Productions, the brand he has used for the production of his popular True Tunes Podcast for the past five years, to finance the launch of the book through a Kickstarter campaign. Gyroscope is a marketing, consulting and production company that worked with a diverse range of clients, including EMI Music, eOne Music, Gloria Gaynor, Community Music, Third Man Records and more.
The Ballad of the Lost Dogs of East Nashville is available at select Nashville stores and online exclusively at LostPerros.com via Thompson’s Gyroscope Productions imprint.
“After talking to several publishers and seeing how the business has changed, I decided to build something new. It has been great to release books with both boutique and major publishers in the past, but it just seemed to me that it was time to create something that was a bit more imaginative,” said Thompson, who provided the Lipscomb community access to his book on campus in early December.
“I'm as proud of this book as I am of anything I have been involved with in my life,” Thompson adds. “I am thrilled with the early response and excited to get out and do some special events around its release.”
For more information, visit LostPerros.com or Thompson's main site, TrueTunes.com.