Passing through Minnesoda and Other Altered States

A fictionalized memoir (autobiographical novel) written by Thomas Edward “Eddie” Shaw

The author chronicles a rock and roll, jazz and funk musician’s odyssey from the late 1950s to the early 21st century, recounting the right of passage —obsession, success and failure — struggling against barriers that keep many artists from arriving at their destination. On his journey, he becomes the alienated hero, the punk-rock bass guitar player, the Miles Davis-influenced jass trumpeter, the soaring rock and roll pigeon.

Even as a boy, Thomas “Eddie” Shaw knew what he would do when he grew up. At the end of each night, after playing to customers in the barroom Eddie’s role model, Jackson, got up from the piano stool, emptied the ashtrays, cleaned the bar, swept and mopped the floor, and then made his bed on the pool table. It was the perfect life of the jazz musician, and Eddie wanted this life for himself.