New Memoir The Yin and The Yang of It All Traces Musician's Journey of Self Discovery

News provided by

Jun 01, 2023, 08:00 ET

PHILADELPHIA, June 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Musician John Kim Faye discusses fame, the realities of a musician's life, his Korean-Irish heritage, and more in the new book The Yin and the Yang of It All: Rock 'N' Roll Memories from the Cusp, as Told By a Mixed-Up, Mixed Race Kid.

In his memoir, published by Advantage Media Group (www.advantagemedia.com), Faye describes his struggles and triumphs, and his search for identity as a child born out of wedlock in 1966 to a 40-year-old Korean mother and a 62-year-old Irish father.

Book cover of John Kim Faye's Amazon Best Seller, The Yin and The Yang of It All. Published by Advantage Media.

Faye writes that growing up Asian-American in the 1970s was much different than today, when such Asian influences as K-Pop, Pokemon, and Squid Game are popular in the United States, and the nation observes Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month each May.

"In the 1970s, America had none of these things," he writes, "or anything that would make growing up Asian, or even part Asian, seem remotely appealing."

Faye's father died when he was young, so his home life growing up involved his mother, three older half sisters from his mother's first marriage, and unanswered questions about his heritage. He searched for his identity, trying to figure out where he fit in, and eventually found his voice, literally and figuratively, through music.

His alternative rock group, the Caulfields, signed with A&M Records to record two albums in the 1990s. For a time Faye teetered at the edge of greater stardom, but almost as quickly his and the group's 15 minutes in the spotlight ended.

The Yin and the Yang of It All is both music travelog and the story of connection to family––both biological and musical, the latter providing Faye with an ethnicity that runs far deeper than his Korean-Irish roots.

Faye shares memories of performing as the opening act for R.E.M. and Bon Jovi, touring the U.S. and Australia in a van, and of an unsettling pre-concert encounter with David Duke, former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.

Faye also details the revelatory day, 21 years after his father's death, when his mother handed him a black document bag filled with his father's birth certificate, newspaper clippings about his father's career as a semi-pro baseball player and boxer, and photographs of half siblings Faye didn't know he had.

The Yin and the Yang of It All is drawing praise from reviewers. Kirkus Reviews writes:
"Faye's thoughts on music and family are likely to linger in readers' minds," and BookLife by Publishers Weekly calls the memoir a "backstage pass to the glory days of alternative rock."

About John Kim Faye

John Kim Faye (www.johnfaye.com), author of The Yin and the Yang of It All: Rock 'N' Roll Memories from the Cusp, as Told By a Mixed-Up, Mix-Race Kid, is a music "lifer" whose career spans four decades and counting. As a recording artist, producer, mentor, open mic host, and recently retired songwriting professor at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Faye has seen the music industry from every conceivable angle. His various musical iterations – the Caulfields, John Faye Power Trip, IKE, John & Brittany, and his solo works – have yielded over eight hours of recorded music, song placements in film and television, and substantial commercial and satellite radio airplay.

SOURCE Advantage Media Group