"RUBEN GOES TO HOLLYWOOD" is Ruben Blue's first book, a rip-roaring fun-filled autobiography chronicling his life from the early beginning in rural Michigan, through college, then to California, living on the beaches, and finally to Laurel Canyon, Beverly Hills, and Hollywood. This book details the life of a poor country boy who moves to the big city and rides it like a rollercoaster. The book is written with a good sense of humor with lots of iconic photos and fascinating stories.
This photo-filled coffee table book paints a picture of California life and colors it with brilliance and excitement as well as with historical cultural events, and the entire story is set to the music that was popular and influential at the time. All the characters are colorful people with real names and real faces who became local celebrities and are portrayed as they were. The adventures never cease as Ruben discovers the beaches, the girls, the bands, and the vibrant lifestyle of Hollywood California. This autobiography documents Ruben's transformation from hippie to punk, rockabilly, rap, alternative, goth, and heavy metal as the music scene exploded.
Ruben Blue was the publisher/editor/photographer of SCRATCH MAGAZINE and ROCK CITY NEWS and published tens of thousands of live photographs, plus articles and reviews of all the local bands, scenesters, and artists that dominated Los Angeles in the 80s and 90s. Ruben was the FIRST to discover, interview, and publish feature stories on almost every historical Los Angeles band during the 80's and 90's. Ruben also produced the annual Rock City Awards Show "THE ROCKIES" for fifteen years.
Further, autobiographical books will continue as a series called "WHEN HOLLYWOOD ROCKED", narrating Ruben's life from the beginning of SCRATCH Magazine in 1983 through the end of ROCK CITY NEWS, chronicling the 80's and 90's Hollywood art and music scene, complete with all the characters and stars that made it happen. Tens of thousands of never-seen-before photographs will soon make their way into the eyes of music lovers everywhere. No one has done what Ruben has done, so we invite the movie industry and documentary historians to jump on board and help bring this amazing story back to life.
All types of music flourished during this time, from punk, rockabilly, rap, alternative, goth, as well as art and fashion, and above all, a close-knit social community that kept it going. SCRATCH MAGAZINE was the glue that tied it all together, putting all the movers and shakers of every new trend on its pages every week. Similar to high school yearbooks, giving everyone involved their "five minutes of fame," SCRATCH did this same thing every week making it the first "Facebook," an interactive magazine distributed every week, where people reacted, commented, and tried to get their picture in the following issue. Although a decade before the internet was invented, SCRATCH was the first social media.