In the last couple of weeks, we’ve seen Taylor Swift innovate touring to make each and every stop worthy of vast, international media coverage: bringing completely unexpected celebrities out to perform at each stop.
Since the format has given us chances to revisit the likes of 90s Alanis Morissette an Phoebe Buffay, it’s hard to complain about it. With the announcement of Carrie Brownstein’s upcoming book tour to support the release of her memoir about her earlier Sleater-Kinney years, Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl, the musician/comedian/writer has revealed just as impressive a guest list; hopefully it’ll bring wider attention to the not-usually-widely-covered phenomenon of the book tour.
On each stop, Brownstein will speak with a guest interviewer. The list includes Amy Poehler (in Los Angeles), Questlove (speaking to Carrie Brownstein at Brooklyn’s storied metal bar, St. Vitus), Dave Eggers (in San Francisco), SNL‘s Aidy Bryant (in Philadelphia), Transparent‘s Gaby Hoffmann, and Pitchfork Senior Editor Jessica Hopper (at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art and in Montreal).
The official description of the book calls it “a candid, funny, and deeply personal look at making a life—and finding yourself—in music…from the guitarist of the pioneering band Sleater-Kinney.” It says Brownstein “chronicles the excitement and contradictions within the [90s’] flourishing and fiercely independent music subculture, including experiences that sowed the seeds for the observational satire of the popular television series Portlandia years later.” Penguin will release the memoir on October 27, and the tour begins in Brooklyn on the same day.