 We are back again. I told you today we're like that. Interview after interview after interview. Welcome back to the show that she's rocked to a live right here. The hashtag is rocked to a 2 5 4. Now right about now I'll be shout out to Mosh by the way. I can see Mosh you are tuned. You and your friends I'll be shout out to all of you. You have a request. Alasema umchizengo maina kakaya eivi. Oswe naiva shei bwene daski a rock gani eivi. Oh, I was out to chiza next Saturday. Next Saturday? Okay Mosh, sumeski ya next Saturday. Just stay here, right? I think he's so much for seeing me that. Now we have another guest and he is not a singer but he's an author. Yeah. Yes. A metal author. A metal author. How often do you hear that? This is a plus. We're just here to teach you. Rock to a school. School. The easy. Schooling every day. I appreciate it. Yes, his name is Edward Bunch. Welcome to the show. Thank you very much. Thank you for having me. Thank you so much for coming through. Now first of all, just tell us about the inspiration about how you actually got started. I know like I have to ask that. Everyone has to tell us about Ajani but for you, how did that start? Have you been an author? No, before the book, just you as an author. How did you get started? Writing? Yeah. I didn't really grow up really with the ambition to be a writer or be an author. It just sort of happened. It happened, I just was in college and graduate school. I ended up writing a lot which gave me a lot of confidence and professors that I have gave me confidence to be, to at least think that writing is something I could pursue. I'm more of a political scientist by training. So very academic. But the metal writing happened because I love it. It started with a book, the first thing I ever really published. That is the first book you ever wrote. The first article I ever got published in a major newspaper was about... I'll need a favor from you. You can just hold it so that the guys at home can zoom in. We're going to be doing that. We're going to be showing the guys at home. You can just frame it and then they can show it to the guys at home. Now, Heavy Metal Africa, that is the title. What does that even mean for someone who's seeing the book? Heavy Metal Africa is my journey into Africa's heavy metal scenes. That's it. Various African countries. Just very straightforward. Very straightforward. The scene formation. So when I traveled to the African countries I did for this book, I just started asking musicians that started the early bands in the country, the present bands and even some up-and-coming bands, so young bands. That's it. I just really wanted to get a better understanding of what shaped them, what made their music and what challenges they faced. And what the countries were like themselves as well. I don't think Africa ever really gets seen positively. I was really hoping that people would change their minds. This is a different story from Africa. Right. I also want to know, so for you two, you just didn't wake up and then did that. What inspired you to go and do that? I'm a lifelong rock and metal fan since I was in grade school. I really fell in love with heavy metal and rock music. And as an adult, I pursued Africa academically. I was studying politics. So then I went to, I wanted to pursue Africa there in college. As universities we say in America. And I went to graduate school in the University of London, England at the School of Oriental and African Studies. You've got a master's in African Studies. Post-colonial politics has always been my interest, but being a lifelong metal fan, I really just put the two together because people kept asking me about rock and metal in Africa and I couldn't answer the question. How they've seen war is right here in Africa. So what did you learn about this when writing the book? That it's deeper than... It appears that the scenes and rock scenes and metal scenes in Africa have been around longer than I assumed as well. And that it's bigger than I first thought. I think the social media pages that I was using to research the scene were just meeting people online. It was very small, like one or two guys here but maybe there's one rocker, two rockers in Kenya. There's one rock band here. No, when I was here in person for the first time I saw how big it was and I was just meeting people every day and I really got to learn a lot about the rock and metal scene here. So what surprised you most? What did you find out that you were like, wow, I had no idea that actually was there. So what surprised you when you were doing your research? By country or by the whole? The whole thing in general. Really just what I kind of touched on, how big it was, how big it is. I really only talk about six countries. Yeah, and I mean I could keep going. Before I came to Kenya, I flew here from Togo, West Africa and I was at a metal show there with a band from Ghana as well. So there was Togo Lees and Ghana represented. There's bands all through North Africa. Nigeria's got something kicking up. I'm told there's a rock festival in Wagadugu, Burkina Faso. So there's more coming. It's just really coming along quite well. I didn't get to go to Angola for the book and Angola has a massive rock and metal scene. I know most people would want to check the book out and also be heard. First I read it. It's a very interesting book. I'm reading it now for the second time. And also I like it because I'm also in the book. Yes he is. He is. Actually I met him the last time I was here on the night before I left. I left the following morning to fly back home and I met him that night I remember he mentioned it on the show. He was like, yo guys is this book. You gotta go check it out. He mentioned it on the show. I didn't think it was actually. But he didn't tell me about it. He was like, no, I think you should just go read it. I actually can tell you about it a lot. But it's about metal. That's what he told me. It's a little more than that too. I do talk about the countries and the musicians here opened up about some issues that they wanted to talk to me about. I didn't push them. They just opened up. I was just curious. Where is the book available? If someone at home is looking to buy it. Yeah, from Kenya I would say I know that people told me from the Amazon UK sites. I could ship it to people from here. It's a bit pricey. Unless there's a book retailer here that wants to order some copies and keep it here. So it's not available locally? Not that I'm aware of. If there's any bookshops here in Kenya that sell it. So give us a social media handle so that if there's someone out there who's looking to maybe get the book they can maybe talk to you directly and then you can gather them where they can get them. At Heavy Metal Africa, Instagram at Heavy Metal Africa, on Twitter and Facebook. You can follow me also personally Edward Banks, B-A-N-C-H-S. We can, whatever, if you really want I can maybe work out something. I can send you guys a PDF if you're in Kenya. If you like that. I think some people can get it on. You can always buy it on the digital readers and I don't think that costs very much money. I know that the PESA is a little much for Kenyans. I know the earning rates. Oh, you make it up. Nina Soma kizwa hili. Nili Soma kizwa hili in London. Yes, yes. Yes, yes. In Joroge. Not in Joroge, it's in Joroge. In Joroge. It gave me the name last time. It was a DJ switch. We have in Joroge. It was the bass player from last year's tragedy who gave me the name. I love to see him on stage yesterday. But now, if you want to see or actually talk to him, he's going to be Edward Banks, he's going to be tonight. You're going to Crooked Kill, right? He's going to be there. The book is going to be there. Maybe talk to him, he'll let you know on how you can get your hands on this book. But thank you so much for coming through. It's been such a pleasure. I wish you had more time, right? I wish you had more time to talk more. But you can always come back. Can you tell me around? You can always come back to the show. I won't be coming back to Kenya. Thank you so much for coming through. Alright. Thank you.