As an avid lover of music and books, one of my favorite things to do is read a book about music, so when I heard about "One Bad Pig Forever," I was excited to get my hands on it. The author Carl Phelan also happens to be the grandfather of Jared Hartmann from "Flyleaf," and his love for music, One Bad Pig, and what they accomplished in music history can be clearly seen through these pages which detail the career of one of the pillars of the Christian punk rock scene. For those who have not heard of OBP, you will have to read the book to see how this band hailing from Texas helped to usher Christian rock tunes into becoming something that we all take for granted these days.

The entire first half of the book goes into great detail about the band and each individual member. There are countless personal stories shared and different perspectives given as you are thrown right into the middle of what OBP was trying to create in the mid 1980's. The history found here is one that most music fans rarely get to hear about, unless VH1 does a "Behind the Music" segment. The book is very nostalgic and fans of OBP are definitely going to enjoy the various stories that come from so many different perspectives, and hardcore fans will probably be able to forgive the oft repeating of those aforementioned stories. I think I lost count of how many times the band coming up with a name like "One Bad Pig" was recounted, and even though it's a most unique band name, I grew tired of the repetition. There will be some other aspects of that happening throughout the book as you'll read track listings being repeated and the multiple times that the band recorded in such-and-such a place.

The second half of the book will give more stories and almost carries a scrapbook feel which is unique in our day of iPhones and instantly uploading videos. There are many photos of the band playing live, doing interviews, and miscellaneous photos shoots so fans who grew up listening to OBP are going to love all of the history shown here. There are multiple in-depth stories that only firsthand interactions can share and as you read, you can't help but to be drawn into the music scene and feel as if you are a part of what OBP was doing during their tenure. Succeeding as a band is no easy feat, and when you throw in what OBP accomplished in being a Christian band trying to make it in a secular scene without a lot of support along the way, you can't help but root for them to soldier on. This book is certainly not your run-of-the-mill nonfiction piece of work, but if you love "One Bad Pig" or you are totally into the history of punk rock tunes, then you definitely need to check this out. However, if you don't fall into either of those categories and you are looking for a more polished finished product, this may not be your cup of tea.