My Riot

The Cuban immigrant faces childhood struggles, finds his voice in hardcore, and survives the dangerous 1980s Lower East Side.

One of Pitchfork's Favorite Music Books of 2017"A frank appraisal of a life filled with mistakes, triumphs, and the transcendentalism of the stage." —Pitchfork“Roger gave a voice to the voiceless and has lived the life he sung about. This book is incredible! I couldn’t put it down.” —Lars Frederiksen, Rancid“My Riot is a powerful and riveting read. A brutal look into the life of a man that did what he had to do to survive.” —Scott Ian, Anthrax“Hardcore has a code of honor that never wavers. Roger’s character and loyalty are only outweighed by the fire in his heart and his dedication to the cause.” —Jerry Only, Misfits"This is raw, powerful and intense reading! I can't put it down! Highly recommend grabbing this book when you can, but be prepared it ain't pretty!" —Jesse Leach, Killswitch Engage“It's a great read, tracing the roots of New York Hardcore via lots of crazy stories about potentially deadly situations. . . . Pick up this book & take a walk back in time through the Lower East Side when it was still a hair-raising adventure.” —D. Randall Blythe, Lamb of GodGangs of New York meets Mean Streets in this gripping memoir about surviving the treacherous 1980s Lower East Side and finding refuge and a life in music.My Riot is the definitive insider account of the birth of the volatile New York Hardcore scene. With Roger Miret as front man, legendary band Agnostic Front’s focused fury and aggression defined the times.Born in Cuba, Miret fled with his family to the US to escape the Castro regime. Through vivid language and graphic details, he recounts growing up in a strange new land with a tyrannical stepfather and the roles that poverty and violence played in shaping the grit that became critical to his survival. In his teen years, he finds himself squatting in abandoned buildings with unforgettably eccentric runaways and victims of similar childhood trauma. With like-minded misfits he helps pioneer a new musical genre, but with money scarce and commercial success impossible, he turns to running drugs to support his family and winds up in prison. It’s the ultimate test of his toughness and perseverance that eventually sets him on a path towards redemption.My Riot is both an unflinching portrait of downtown New York in the 1980s and a testament to the perils of growing up too fast.Forewords by Al Barr of the Dropkick Murphys and Jamey Jasta of HatebreedRoger Miret is a pioneer of the New York Hardcore scene. The Cuban-born singer joined Agnostic Front in 1983, and the seminal group released classics like United Blood, Victim In Pain and Cause For Alarm over the next several years. Miret also fronts his own solo group, Roger Miret and The Disasters. He lives in Scottsdale, Arizona.Jon Wiederhorn is the author of Louder Than Hell: The Definitive Oral History of Metal (with Katherine Turman) and the co-author of Ministry: The Lost Gospels According to Al Jourgensen (with Al Jourgensen) and I'm the Man: The Story of That Guy from Anthrax (with Scott Ian). He has written for Rolling Stone, SPIN, MTV, Guitar World and Revolver, among others. He lives in Montclair, New Jersey.