David Fagin, former frontman of power-pop band The Rosenbergs, releases his memoir “Confessions of a Musical Masochist: My Life As An Almost Rockstar” on September 22 via Scout Media in association with Noshpit Entertainment. The book, which carries a foreword by journalist Rob Tannenbaum, recounts Fagin’s decades-long pursuit of a music career, including run-ins with Universal Music, a partnership with Napster and encounters with figures such as Robert Fripp, Jimmy Iovine and Gene Simmons.

According to the announcement, a central episode involves a 1999 dispute over a restrictive contract tied to a Rosenbergs appearance on Farmclub.com, the Universal Music venture backed by Iovine and Doug Morris. Fagin’s critical email about the contract reportedly spread widely among musicians and drew coverage from outlets including CNN, CNBC and Wired, with Universal said to have moved from threatening legal action to discussing a possible signing. The band later struck a deal with Fripp’s Discipline Global Mobile that let them retain ownership of their masters, and subsequently partnered with Napster, which sponsored a tour and featured the band on its homepage during a special edition release of their album “Mission: You.”

The memoir is narrated by Fagin himself in its audiobook edition, a preview of which has been made available online.

Based on a press release provided to Music Industry Weekly by Jon Bleicher, prospectpr.com.

Richmond Hill, Ontario singer-songwriter Katie Dauson has released “Fresh Sugar,” a country rock love song, via Frog & Bog Records. The track was recorded at Cleveland Sound Lab in Vaughan, Ontario with producer and engineer James Nickle, with Dauson writing, composing and singing the song as well as playing rhythm guitar and designing the artwork.

According to the announcement, the song originated after Dauson heard a Raspberries record on vinyl and began writing immediately in her family’s living room. Her sound draws on rock and roll, rockabilly, surf rock, country, folk and bluegrass, with influences including The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Fats Domino, ELO and Gordon Lightfoot. Before pursuing music, Dauson studied physics and astronomy at York University and worked at the school’s observatory.

Dauson performs with a full band, including horn players on saxophone and flute, and is scheduled to play the El Mocambo Tavern in Toronto on October 23.

Based on a press release provided to Music Industry Weekly by Eric Alper, thatericalper.com.

Mager BooBoo, the solo project of Ottawa-born, Thailand-based musician Robert Bachtell Eastland, has released “Monkey See Donkey Do,” the second single from his upcoming debut album “Oops!” The track follows lead single “Dumb” and uses animal imagery to explore conformity and social conditioning, wrapped in a chant-driven, call-and-response arrangement.

Eastland, 64, describes the project’s sound as “Heavy Irony,” combining layered vocal harmonies, guitars and programmed drums with lyrics aimed at modern life. He performs all instruments and vocals himself, crediting fictional band members for the recordings. According to the announcement, “Dumb” has drawn comparisons to the Pixies, Arctic Monkeys, Nirvana and the Strokes from outlets in Brazil, Costa Rica, Peru, Italy and the United States since its July 22 release, and was praised by broadcaster Alan Cross of Corus Radio’s A Journal of Musical Things.

Eastland began writing songs at 14 and worked for decades in musical theatre, radio and television, including writing for the CBC-affiliated children’s show “Cowboy Who?” and fronting the band 101 with his brother. He has 51 songs registered with SOCAN. After more than 20 years away from music while working as a teacher, he returned to songwriting and taught himself modern production techniques to build the Mager BooBoo project, which he now records in Thailand alongside his full-time work as a university English instructor.

Based on a press release provided to Music Industry Weekly by Eric Alper, thatericalper.com.