Open Book

Christine Weiser on Broad Street

by A.D. Amorosi

Sure, Christine Weiser is one of the co-owners/publishers of Philadelphia Stories and the lit mag's auxiliary blogs-n-pods. And she plays bass in the harsh-mellowing local band the Tights from time to time. Not to mention her 5-year-old. But Weiser has also found time to write her debut novel, Broad Street, which her own PS Books has just published. The story of an all-girl Philly rock band, it hardily talks a blue-and-gray streak about Philly's '90s indie-rawk past — which Weiser's former band, the punky Mae Pang, was queen of. Following a reading, Saturday's release party will feature performances by Kitten Disaster, Thee Minks, Normal and the Tights. Do it, Weiser.

City Paper: Mae Pang vs. the Tights: compare and contrast?

Christine Weiser: The largest comparison between the two is external to the bands: basically, my personal lifestyle. I was single and kid-less when I played with Mae Pang, so it was easier to do, well, pretty much everything. We just had a ball playing simple garage rock, seeing other bands, hanging out to all hours, living an only mildly responsible life of rock and entry-level jobs. It was fun to go back and edit Broad Street because it brought me back to those days.

CP: Did writing Broad Street feel like war reporting?

CW: Because it was a fictionalized version of my own coming-of-age story, I got inspiration from real tough times like the downside of playing out — no one shows up, technical glitches, personality differences, etc. — and just the general confusion of being in your early 20s and not exactly sure what you want to be when you "grow up."

CP: Why this book now? I mean this in the nicest way, but it's very '90s.

CW: Broad Street is set in the mid-'90s because that was the world of Philadelphia music that I knew. It was an interesting time for "alternative" music with the Seattle scene influencing so much, and the Riot grrrls were seen as a kind of third wave of feminism with bands like Bikini Kill. It was a great time to play in an all-girl band because there were so many new opportunities.

CP: I feel like I recognize a bunch of people in this. Anybody see or hear themselves in this book and be happy about it? Or pissed off?

CW: It's funny — everyone asks if they are in the book, and there are definitely real people that inspired fictional characters. Like Sara Sherr, who was the first reporter to really give Mae Pang our first break.

CP: Did you have to write about the rock thing — your rock thing — before you could move toward other fictions?

CW: I've written four books, and this is the first to be published. Like most writers, the first book tends to be semi-autobiographical, and the band was definitely inspiration for many stories. There is just a lot of great material for fiction in the band life.

CP: Tell me the one incident you left out and why.

CW: Originally, one of the characters died at the end of the book, and it never felt right. After struggling to make it work, I decided to give him a stay of execution. Once I made that choice, I think the ending worked much better.

CP: Why is City Paper the paper of record in your novel?

CW: City Paper and the "Welcomat" were the places we always turned when we wanted to get the latest band news, so it made sense to include one of those papers in the novel since they were doing such a good job covering the local music scene.

CP: So where is Philadelphia Stories at this point — the mag, blogs and podcasts? It all seemed to have happened pretty quickly.

CW: Philadelphia Stories is in its fourth year and still growing. We've expanded our free, nonprofit literary magazine into a community through our blog, Web site, readings and professional development events. It is way more work than my business partner, Carla Spataro, and I ever thought it would be, but it's been great. We've met so many talented writers, and I've learned so much as a writer. It was always our five-year goal to expand Philadelphia Stories into the books world, which we've done with PS Books. Broad Street is our first title.

CP: Do you feel like Philadelphia Stories has had the proper recognition nationally that it could and should?

CW: Because of our Web presence, we have been able to reach an audience outside of the area, and we have gotten submissions from people around the world. Our submission guidelines state that the author must have some connection to this area or the subject matter has to be about the area, so that actually reaches a wide audience. We're distributing PS Books nationally through Baker & Taylor, so we're hoping this will expand our name even further.

CP: I'm certainly not assuming — unless you're saying so — that every moment in Broad Street is yours as opposed to a composite. Was there a tough true-life incident to lay out there?

CW: Part of the challenge in writing fiction, especially in first person, is building distance between the author's voice and the character's voice. This is especially hard when real-life events, like challenging relationships, inspire fictional events. That was my biggest challenge in writing this book, and it took me several years to get the distance I needed to separate my voice from Kit's voice. I took years of writing workshops and also went to the Iowa Summer Writing Festival. Having other people read and comment on your work is so helpful. Carla was especially helpful to me. Good readers have the distance needed to tell you what is and isn't working on the page. These experiences helped me write past those first three chapters, which I'd rewritten way too many times, find a voice for Kit, and finish the book.

Broad Street Release Party | Sat., Sept. 27, reading at 8 p.m., music at 10 p.m., free, Tritone, 1508 South St., 215-545-0475, christineweiser.com