Joe Blood, former frontman of the famous late '70s punk band Blood Blister (you remember them, right?) is — horror of horrors! — about to turn 40. However this birthday promises to be very different from the others. Seventeen years ago, Joe and his bandmates Vin and Deke made a blood pact to kill themselves once they reached that age, and a cigar-smoking "time beast" has planted itself in Joe's kitchen calendar to make sure they keep their promise.

Still trying to live his life like it's the '70s, Joe dresses and acts the part of a punk has-been, even though his day job consists of working at a butcher shop (dressed like a cow), and his sole form of transport, a scooter he calls Road Bastard, is robbed daily by preteens who think he is a joke.

But Gypsies Stole My Tequila (which was originally published in the first Amityville House of Pancakes anthology) is not just about the sad life of an aging rock star. Adrienne Jones's comic novella is also about second chances. Joe's second chance comes in the form of Vin's son Max and his bandmates Pez and Shane. They have talent; they just need the guidance of someone with a musical vision. And Vin is convinced that the person they need is Joe.

What follows is bound to be familiar to most readers, but it is rendered no less effective for its conventionality. Hell, the ending is practically sentimental, which makes it by far the most traditional work I've read from this normally outré author. Other than its somewhat orthodox base, however, the only real weak point of Gypsies Stole My Tequila is the time beast itself — the catalyst of the entire plot — who, regardless, never comes across as believable or even necessary.

Jones's voice is so unique, however, and she makes the character of Joe so unforgettable, that everything comes across as completely original. In fact, written by just about anyone else, Gypsies Stole My Tequila would be practically groundbreaking, but coming from the author of truly off-the-wall books like The Hoax and Temple of Cod, it can't help but be mildly disappointing. That said, it's still a great introduction for those unfamiliar with Jones's style and hopefully will lead readers to seek out her more exceptional works.

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