Almost a year ago Pig Roast Publishing was granted the honor of re-issuing Nick Zedd’s autobiography Totem of the Depraved. It was at this point that the voyage began. I had a 2.5 hour phone call with Nick, me in RI and him in Mexico City. We discussed everything from The Swans and his having been roommates with Michael Gira, to modern government conspiracies and living through the hell-scape of Covid. It was a great call and I’d say we really clicked. It was such a treat speaking to an icon like Nick, and we ended the call feeling optimistic about the re-issuing of his legendary book.
The publishing process was difficult, as one printer scammed us, and another seemed to sabotage the process (although I cannot prove this, it seemed they were offended by the content and made a great effort to ruin it and charge hundreds of dollars for ineffectual printing work and general fuckery on all levels.) We spent months and many sleepless nights working on formatting this book. It is a facsimile and since the photos scan at different resolutions, blah, blah, you get it, I hope. It was a rocky road! But it got done.
Nick was ill and sadly passed away on February 27, 2022. We were very sad and wish the book could have been delivered sooner, but such is life and death. He will be missed. Nick’s work is unprecedented and it is doubtful such an innovative force will ever come through the world again.
It is our sincere hope that you, the reader, can understand the content of this book, appreciate it, and read first-hand the story of Nick Zedd’s life he conveyed within.
We give you (once again) Totem of the Depraved by Nick Zedd