Most of us go through a stage in our lives where we really want to do or try something, but most never take that step. 33 Days tells the story of a group of Southern California rock band members who took the plunge. Three of the four members had never been alone before on July 29, 1987, when they climbed into a rented van and left Los Angeles for a national tour. They had no idea how they would be received or what effect the trip would have on each of them.

Bill See, the book’s author and singer/group leader, felt the need to break away from an unhappy home life and believed at the age of 22 that he was ready to let his music help others break through their own problems. . For three years his band, Divine Weeks, had been playing in the Los Angeles area. They were received well enough that Bill knew they could become a national name.

His closest friend, Rajesh Makwana, was the guitarist in the group and was having an extremely difficult time leaving his Indian family. His culture did not happily accept his association with the band. Raj had also been the subject of much ridicule both in England before the family moved to the United States and in this country afterwards. Bill was the closest and best friend he had ever had. So Raj was definitely into the tour idea as music had been the best release of his somewhat unhappy life.

Another of Bill’s close friends was George Edmondson, who was not only the band’s bass player, but had been dubbed by some as the best bass player in the Los Angeles area. George was also excited about the trip because he too had gotten a little depressed about his college life and wanted Divine Weeks to become a national name. However, even though he wasn’t happy with college, he still had plans to go to graduate school and had gotten pretty serious with a young lady.

Dave Smerdzinski was the fourth and final member of the group. Somewhat older and used to living alone, he recently joined the group and became a powerful force due to his nature, his ability to play drums and his showmanship.

Ian Bader was the band’s road manager and pretty much the stabilizing influence and caretaker for all of them.

For 33 days they toured the west of the country giving concerts in all kinds of venues that can be imagined. The shows were played to some full houses and some very small groups, but everywhere they were well received and built a large following.

However, they also had many problems and not everything was as easy as they had imagined. Food, lodging, travel expenses in general were hard to come by for a practically unknown new band when they started.

Each of the individuals grew a bit on their own and they definitely grew as a group as their music and style spread not only across the country but also on MTV and other outlets.

There are many, many references to rock songs of the time, as well as groups that were idols of Divine Weeks. Sometimes it seems necessary to be a fan of the music and the participants to fully enjoy 33 days. The author also tends to lose the thread many times because he moves from present to past events without always making clean breaks.

It is, however, an easy and quite enjoyable read, as the reader makes the journey alongside these enthusiastic young musicians in their van as they travel through the rock music venues of yesterday’s scenes.

Book provided by Bill See and Bestsellersworld.com