Strange Way to Live : A Story of Rock 'n' Roll Resurrection

Carl Dixon takes readers along on his wild journey through the golden days of Canadian rock, from early days with upstarts Coney Hatch to dizzying success with The Guess Who and April Wine. Strange Way to Live fuses rock-and-roll memoir and the comeback story of Carl's recovery from a life-threatening auto crash.

Carl Dixon’s journey through the twists and turns of a music performer’s life began in Northern Ontario, where his boyhood dreams, shaped by the 1960s, collided with a new musical culture.

Though Carl’s road was rocky, it was still paved with gold. It has led from his early days with hard rockers Coney Hatch to tours and lasting friendships with huge acts like Iron Maiden. The ups and downs were meteoric. Carl became a member of the legendary bands The Guess Who and April Wine and then faced the hardest test of all: a horrific auto collision in Australia that left him in a coma, barely clinging to life.

Strange Way to Live follows Carl’s progress, never faltering and sometimes comical, toward musical glory. Blind determination can lead one to some strange places. Carl’s took him through some of the biggest, smallest, and weirdest scenes in this vast country, and from the glory days of Canadian rock to the present day.