Review Of Heartbreaker: A Memoir By Mike Campbell with Ari Surdoval

I have been a huge Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers fan since high school, when I first heard “American Girl” on the radio. Even though I was born and raised in New Yawk, I loved Tom’s folksy southern rock style and his amazing voice and songwriting ability.

When the band’s third album (and first monster hit), Damn The Torpedoes, came out in 1979, and the entire world heard singles like “Don’t Do Me Like That,” “Here Comes My Girl” and especially, “Refugee,” I was already at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Tom’s hometown, and the place where Tom first got together with Heartbreakers’ lead guitarist Mike Campbell, a guy I always felt was severely underrated in the business. I felt the same way about Miami Steve Van Zandt, who still plays lead guitar for Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, my other favorite live rock act.

So, when I found out that Mike and his current band, The Dirty Knobs (which he formed in 2020, or about three years after Tom passed away in 2017), were playing Ruth Eckerd Hall on Aug. 13, I bought tickets for myself and Jannah, made arrangements for a photo pass for the show (Ruth Eckerd Hall’s director of public relations Katie Pedretty has always been so fair and accommodating to me) and we stayed over in Clearwater for the night.

Katie also mentioned the possibility of — and I really was hoping to also get — an interview with Mike, especially in light of the fact that he had just had his book, Heartbreaker: A Memoir, released the same week as the Ruth Eckerd show by Grand Central Publishing. I ordered a copy on Amazon, received it two days before the concert, and had read the first 150 or so pages by time we arrived in Clearwater to see Mike & The Dirty Knobs perform. I’ve already reviewed the concert online, but couldn’t yet review the book at that time because I hadn’t yet finished it.

But, Heartbreaker
what an absolutely amazing read! Mike talks about his tough upbringing in a run-down north side neighborhood in Jacksonville, FL, called Sherwood Forest. He says he loved his father, Malcolm Campbell, who loved Johnny Cash and was in the Air Force. But, not long after his father got transferred to Okinawa, Japan, he stopped sending Mike’s mother Helen money. The family had to move multiple times and Mike said all he had were two shirts, one pair of jeans and a pair of old sneakers, “but all I wanted was a guitar.”

Naturally quiet and shy, Mike said he was always the new kid at school as his family kept moving around, but his father eventually sent him a cheap Japanese guitar and he learned how to play from a “Learn to Play” book by Beach Boys guitarist Carl Wilson, even though Mike couldn’t read music. Despite his shyness, he somehow maintained straight As and his high school guidance counselor helped him earn a scholarship to U-F.

He eventually met Tom when he heard the original lineup of Tom’s band Mudcrutch play in a local bar in Gainesville and then saw a “Help Wanted” ad posted in the local music store that “Mudcrutch Needs
” and both Mike and the drummer he had been living with, Randall Marsh, were asked to join the band.

The book then chronicles the years of struggles of Mudcrutch, which became popular as a cover band that played bars that doubled as strip clubs, including a famous one called Dub’s, where each member of the band got paid $100 a week — more money than Mike says he had ever seen in his lifetime up to that point. But of course, Tom Petty wanted to play his original songs, which wasn’t what Dub had hired them to do.

Mike recounts these stories and more about Mudcrutch’s struggles as a talented band that never quite made it. There were personality conflicts, money problems and a first record that didn’t sell. And, the one record company that was interested only wanted Tom Petty. But, Tom insisted that Mike be included in any deal.

Eventually, they let Mudcrutch go, but soon, Tom and Mike reconnected with drummer Stan Lynch, bassist Ron Blair and keyboard player Benmont Tench, all of whom they knew from Gainesville.

But, even the debut, self-titled album of the new Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers struggled to find an audience. Only the song “Breakdown” cracked the top-40, while the anthem that would become even bigger later on, “American Girl,” never did.

The Heartbreakers’ second album, You’re Gonna Get It, also failed to find an audience of significant size, but Petty and his bandmates knew they were getting closer. Personality clashes, especially between Petty and Lynch, nearly derailed the band, but once the songs from Damn The Torpedoes started hitting the airwaves, the Heartbreakers quickly became one of rock’s biggest and most sought-after acts.

Campbell and Surdoval do an amazing job of bringing you deep inside the band’s rise to stardom, including the lawsuit between MCA Records and Petty that could have kept Damn The Torpedoes from ever being released, if not for Petty himself finding the loophole he needed and the courage to stand up to MCA and the group’s original manager Denny Cordell, and getting them to settle the lawsuit.

Heartbreaker also provides insight into the making of every album that came after Torpedoes, including Tom’s first “solo” (in quotes because Campbell and nearly all of the other Heartbreakers also played on it) album Full Moon Fever, which included the monster hits “Free Fallin’” and “I Won’t Back Down.” It was on Full Moon Fever that Tom began working with former Electric Light Orchestra frontman (and fellow future Traveling Wilbury) Jeff Lynne as his producer.

The book also gives amazing insights into Campbell’s now-50-year marriage to his wife Marcie, Petty’s divorce from his first wife Jane and his second marriage to his wife Dana, the band’s use of drugs, especially cocaine, the abuse of heroin by bass player Howie Epstein (who replaced Blair in the band) and, for a while, by Petty himself, Tench’s drinking problem and even Campbell’s one-time overdose on amphetamines, which landed him in the hospital.

The chapters about the Traveling Wilburys — George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Lynne and Tom —as well as Mike’s work with the Eagles’ Don Henley (Campbell wrote the music for Henley’s solo hit “The Heart of the Matter”), and co-writing, with Tom, the huge hit Stevie Nicks (of Fleetwood Mac fame, of course) song “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” are all told from Mike’s unique perspective.

But, through all of these trials and tribulations — and huge successes — Campbell and Petty endured together, not only as lead guitarist and lead vocalist, but as a powerful songwriting duo. Mike explains how his songwriting process was completely different than Petty’s and that he composed at least pieces of dozens of songs that never made it onto a Heartbreakers or Petty solo album. Many of those compositions by Campbell did, however, end up as part of the three Dirty Knobs albums (so far, at least).

The story about the Heartbreakers’ final tour and final performance at the Hollywood Bowl in 2017 — only days before Petty passed away from an accidental overdose of painkillers, after he played the final shows of that tour with a broken hip — is absolutely a gut punch. Campbell says he finally told his long-time friend and partner, “I love you, brother” as he held Petty’s hand shortly before Tom passed away.

The book also talks about Mike touring for two years as the replacement guitarist for Lindsey Buckingham in Fleetwood Mac after Tom’s passing, and how Nicks got Mike together with her vocal coach.

And, there also are chapters about Mike’s time as the primary songwriter and lead singer in his band The Dirty Knobs, which basically brought me right up to date just days after seeing the wonderful concert which featured more songs by the Heartbreakers (11) than by The Dirty Knobs (8).

I’ve tried to touch on as many periods as possible in the amazing life of Mike Campbell without giving away the entire story. Whether or not you’re a fan of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Heartbreaker: A Memoir is a true page-turner.

I picked up my hardcover copy of it on Amazon.com.

Long-Time Wesley Chapel Resident (& Santa) Paul Bartell Authors Santa: An Angel Dad 

Jamie and “Santa Paul” Bartell. After 30 years of playing Santa Claus, Paul has written a book — Santa: An Angel Dad — where he tells the story of his years portraying St. Nick, Sean’s passing at the age of 16 and the creation of the Sean Bartell Memorial Foundation, which has provided cash scholarship grants to graduating seniors from high schools in Wesley Chapel & Zephyrhills the last nine years. (All of the photos in this story are from Paul Bartell’s Facebook page) 

I first met long-time Wesley Chapel resident Paul Bartell about a dozen years ago, when he was the volunteer event chair for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. My wife Jannah, who I had only met the previous year at the same event, was the Cancer Society’s staff community representative running the show at that Relay. 

It was a hot day and Paul had been there the entire day, his face beet red from working in the sun. And, even though I didn’t know he also had been dressing up as Santa Claus for kids and events throughout the Tampa Bay area for many years, I remember that I definitely thought he looked a little like Ol’ St. Nick himself. 

I also didn’t know back then that Paul and his wife Jamie had two sons — James and Sean — or that Sean would pass away (at age 16) only a couple of years after I met Paul, from a rare skin and blood disorder known as Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (or SJS). 

Sean Bartell

With his ruddy complexion and pleasant demeanor, Paul was seemingly born to portray Santa. In fact, he has been playing the jolly man for 30 years, the last 22 in and around the Wesley Chapel area. He clearly delights in the role and has continued to make dozens of appearances as St. Nick each year, even in the difficult years since Sean passed away. 

In fact, Paul says, it was Christmas Day in 2014 when Sean, who was then covered in the blisters and lesions associated with SJS (which starts with flu-like symptoms and is usually caused by a severe adverse reaction to certain medications and needs to be treated immediately at an emergency room when the symptoms first manifest) was no longer the promising young man who was fifth in his graduating class at Wesley Chapel High (WCH). “He was in so much pain and there was nothing Jamie and I could do to help him,” Paul recalls. “It was such a terrible, helpless feeling.” 

And, although SJS is only fatal in about 7.5% of cases, Sean lost his battle on New Year’s Eve that same year. But, his devastated parents could only think of how much Sean loved school and how much they wanted to something positive to come out of their family’s tragedy. 

Enter: The Foundation 

“There’s no doubt that education was always Sean’s focus,” Paul says. “He was planning to study biology at Vanderbilt University.” According to the website for the Sean Bartell Memorial Foundation (SeanBartell.org), which the Bartells started in 2015, the family’s church, Atonement Lutheran on S.R. 54, came to them wanting to start a scholarship in Sean’s name, which is how the idea got started. 

That first year (2015), the Foundation gave its first $1,000 scholarship/grant to then-WCH senior Meghan Sanchez. Today, the Foundation has awarded $74,000 to students and more than $10,000 more to teachers at Wesley Chapel, Wiregrass Ranch, Cypress Creek and Zephyrhills high schools (and this year, Kirkland Ranch Academy of Innovation will be added to that list), to assist them with furthering their respective educations. 

Each year, based on the amount of money the Foundation is able to raise, a gala has been held at Atonement Lutheran where the scholarships have been awarded. The Foundation has hosted events like a Quarter Auction and Charity Bingo nights to help raise additional funds, but Paul says he still always wanted to do more. 

Paul, Jamie & James Bartell, with Cypress Creek High principal Carin Hetzler-Nettles (next to Paul) at the 2024 Sean Bartell Memorial Foundation gala. 

“I have had so many experiences as Santa, why not write a book?,” he says. “I’m not really a big TV watcher and I like to read. I had read probably half a dozen books about being Santa and I said to myself, ‘Why can’t I write a book? I’ve been doing it long enough and I’ve got a story to tell.’ And I figured I would donate any proceeds from the book sales to the Foundation.” 

Paul says that it took him four or five months to write the book. “Because I’m Santa all through November and December every year, January and February are my ‘down’ times when I’m basically a couch potato.” He adds that he wrote the entire book on his iPhone. 

“I just looked back at all of the pictures in my phone that people had sent me and that became my timeline to tell the story,” he says. “I basically went backwards on the timeline and I wrote down what I remembered about each picture.” 

He then tweaked it a few times and added pictures at the end of the book and he was ready to publish. He uploaded the pages to Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) platform and, “It was easy,” he says. “You don’t even have to buy any copies. You pick your own sales price, between $10 and $200. So, we picked $19.98, because that was the year Sean was born. I ordered a few author’s copies and it went live on Amazon on July 1 of this year.” The book is available in both hardcover and Kindle versions and the Foundation retains 60% of the proceeds after the initial per-book charge of $8.06. 

Paul also says that the full story of what happened to Sean is one of the book’s chapters. 

And, in the meantime, “Santa Paul” is in the middle of his busy season. After making 123 appearances as Santa last year, he had been through about two dozen of his 128 scheduled appearances this year, which includes the Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel’s “Breakfast with Santa” at Bubba’s 33 on Saturday, December 14. 

And yes, Paul still also works full-time in the sales department of a company that sells pumps for vacuums used in manufacturing and laboratories. He also wanted to make sure I mentioned how hard Jamie, his wife of 36 years, has always worked behind the scenes for the Foundation and how much he appreciates all of her efforts. 

Unfortunately, this year’s Charity Bingo event for the Foundation was postponed due to Hurricane Milton. It has been rescheduled for Saturday, January 25, but without a location because Atonement Lutheran was badly damaged by the storm. 

If you or someone you know has a location that could host that event, visit SeanBartell.org. To order your copy of Santa: An Angel Dad, visit Amazon.com. 

Local Author Lois Lewandowski Hopes To Inspire  Others

Local author Lois Lewandowski poses with most of  her “vanity published” books, including The Ghost on Swann. (Photos by Charmaine George)

I recently read a novel by someone I’ve known indirectly for more than 20 years — Hunter’s Green resident Lois Lewandowski.

To be fair, despite knowing Lois’ husband (and local financial advisor) Chuck Lewandowski for that amount of time, I had only met her a handful of times and I honestly had no idea that the one-time IT rep for a Silicon Valley company who later worked in the jewelry department of Nordstrom’s was a published author.

So, when Lois (who writes her books as “L.A. Lewandowski”) contacted me by email about buying an ad for her most recent “vanity published” (she hates the term “self-published;” more on this below) novel — The Ghost on Swann — I told her that I would read the book first and be honest with her about whether or not I thought it would be worth buying ads to try to sell copies of it.

Well, quite truthfully, I was blown away by The Ghost. Each chapter of the book is told in first person by one of the four major characters — the ghost herself, Bertha “Posh” Swann, Posh’s friend Victor, Victor’s niece Tyrene and even a mannequin named Maude. The format, albeit a little confusing at first, does make you want to find out what happens next. Posh, who “haunts” the business now owned by her living friend Victor, was murdered in the same building many years earlier. 

If you recognize the spelling of “Swann,” it’s because Posh’s family is supposedly the reason Swann Ave. in Tampa’s renowned Hyde Park Village neighborhood (where the entire story is set) was given that name.

For a book devoid of sex and violence (even the description of Posh’s murder was somewhat pedestrian), The Ghost on Swann is a true page-turner. I told Lois that, as I read it, I wondered if maybe Posh’s murder was more of a mystery than the reader is led to believe, but as it turns out, The Ghost is not a murder mystery. Instead, it’s simply a well-crafted story rooted in the fashion industry (as Lois herself has been) that likely will appeal more to women than to men but I wouldn’t discourage anyone from giving it the once-over.

“I’m very proud of The Ghost,” Lois says. “It took three rewrites to get it to where it is now.”

Lois On ‘Vanity’ Publishing

Speaking of rewrites, as I mentioned earlier, Lois isn’t a fan of the term “self-published,” because it indicates to many people that the books are likely less “professional” than those published by one of the remaining major publishing houses. 

However, after reading The Ghost, it’s obvious that Lois’ work is not only professional, she takes a lot of pride in things like her editor (Stacy Juba), the design of the covers of her books, the spelling, grammar and punctuation of her stories and other things that many “self-published” authors don’t seem to sweat as she does.

“I prefer to call it ‘vanity publishing,’” she says. “Just because Viking, Penguin and other traditional publishers haven’t published my books, I care that if you read them, you won’t be able to distinguish it from a traditionally published book.”

She admits, however, that some self-publishers who don’t think they have to pay the same attention to detail, give the vanity publishing business a bad name. Many also don’t think you can make “real” money as a vanity publisher.

“But that just isn’t true,” Lois says. “I’m in a lot of online independent publishing groups and the word is that it takes as many as 15 books to really start making money. The Ghost on Swann is only my sixth book, but my brain is very active and I have at least three more that are close to being ready, so I feel like I’m on my way.”

On the other hand, Lois says that even though sites like Amazon do provide numbers of copies sold to authors, “I don’t really worry about sales. I write because I have stories in my head and I do regularly receive money for my book sales, too.”

Lois says it wasn’t always her dream to be a writer — “I wanted to be a lawyer, really…but it is my dream now.” She points to one vanity publisher who has written 35 or more books, putting out two a year, and has enough of a following that it is now his full-time job. “Amazon has an algorithm (for book sales) and you have to feed the algorithm, so I have to get another book out by October of this year to do that.”

She also says that a lot of people she meets tell her that they really want to write a book and she always encourages them to do so.“Stephen King calls it ‘BIC,” or ‘Butt in Chair,’ which is the only way to get it done.”  

In addition, Lois wrote for a blog called “Indies Unlimited” and found out, “that a lot of self-published writers are too cheap to register their work with the Library of Congress to protect it. But, if you really think you have a story people would be interested in reading, why wouldn’t you want to protect it?”

She adds, “Writers’ ideas are not copyright-able, but the words themselves are. If you protect your work, and someone publishes something that’s really close to your words, you can go after them legally.”

Lois says she even has gone so far as to teach “Authors 101” courses at public libraries, where she teaches people who want to write how to get started. “After the Tampa Bay Times did an article on me several years ago, I had 25 or 30 people at my course at the Riverview library,” she says. “The information I gave out then is all old now because of the internet, but I found out that a lot of people definitely have stories they want to tell in a book. That’s why, when I did my Authors 101 course, I felt so good about encouraging other authors to become vanity publishers.”

She also notes that it’s harder than ever to get one of the big publishing houses to publish your book, as you have write query letters to literary agents because, “you can’t even submit a manuscript to the folks at Random House.”

But, Lois says, “If you want to be a writer, your goal should be to publish, not to make money. “I don’t keep track of my sales because my goal is to be proud of my work. If people love my books, the money will come.”

Before releasing The Ghost on Swann in 2022, Lois’ first book was Born to Die, The Montauk Murders (2011). That was followed by A Gourmet Demise, Murder in South Tampa (2014), which Lois says briefly hit #1 on Amazon for a while and may be her career best-seller. Between those murder mysteries was Gentleman Vampire: The Undead Have Style (2012). She also has published Bacon Aporkalypse, which is a collection of recipes paired with short stories in 2014. And, Lois says the ebook Thirty Days of Work from Home Style (2020), was how she navigated the pandemic. She says her next book, which she plans to have out by the end of this year, will be the sequel to Gentleman Vampire.

Search “Books by L.A. Lewandowski” on Amazon.com. Almost all of Lois’ titles are available in paperback and for Kindle.Â