When I was a teenager there was a local singing group here in Pennsylvania named FFH. I can remember going to a show they did at a local Christian book store where maybe 20-30 other people were present. Not long after that, FFH was filling auditoriums at local colleges. Within a couple years of that success, FFH added instruments to their recordings, signed a record deal, and left Pennsylvania behind to go live in Nashville. As a young fan, I felt a little put out that they seemingly had abandoned their Pennsylvania fans and never looked back.
I lost track of FFH after that first big album released by Essential Records. Part of it was that they weren’t playing local shows anymore and the other part was that my music tastes were changing and I was getting into heavier music. So with that in mind, I really don’t know when or why I started following lead singer Jeromy Deibler on Facebook. What’s more, when Jeromy created a post announcing his book Liver & Onions, I don’t know why I bought it within 5 minutes. Why was I so interested to read what the lead singer of a band I hadn’t paid attention to in 25 years was doing? I don’t have any answer to that but I’m glad I bought it.
Liver & Onions
I had no preconceived notions of what Liver & Onions would be about going in. Once I began reading it, the flow of the book felt disjointed at times. One chapter is full of stories about helping people deal with trauma in their life and the next chapter is mainly a list of every car Jeromy has ever owned. These two chapters were among my favorite and least favorite. The car chapter was a low point in the book for me but it does kind of reflect the up and down nature of the book overall. Some chapters were simply more interesting than others. It’s also hard to sum up any specific theme that the book carries. Except maybe that Jeromy’s grown a lot as a person and learned a lot of things along the way. If that was what he intended to communicate, then I’d say he nailed it.
Overall, I rate the book a 4 out of 5. If I had had no previous history with the band, my rating would probably be more like a 3 or 3.5. I enjoyed it but it left me wanting more in terms of the history of FFH. While Liver & Onions offered glimpses into the band’s past, that wasn’t the main focus of the book. To be fair, nothing in the promotion of Liver & Onions would have told me otherwise.
It also left me wishing more of the bands I grew up listening to would write books. I’m sure that there are so many interesting stories that fans would love to hear if only artists decided to tell them. So for that alone, I appreciate Jeromy Deibler taking the time to write this book and at least offer a glimpse into the past and present of FFH.