Coming on Dragon Crown Books: The biography of Tempest's Lief Sorbye
Stephen H. Provost
Dragon Crown Books is ringing in the new year with a major announcement: I’m excited to share that I’m co-writing the authorized biography of Tempest founder, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist Lief Sorbye.
As a Tempest fan for nearly a quarter-century and a lover of music history, I’m extremely pleased to be working with Lief on this book. I first encountered Tempest at a St. Patrick’s Day gig at Fresno’s Downtown Club in 2000, and I was hooked immediately. I’ve been attending Tempest concerts over the years ever since, and I’ve witnessed first-hand the evolution of the band, which has included an impressive array of talented musicians.
Most recently, Sharon and I attended Tempest’s concert in Reno a couple of days before our wedding. At my request, they played my request for Sharon’s favorite tune, “Jolly Roger,” and I was thrilled when they launched into my own favorite, “Hal An Tow,” immediately afterward.
Tempest has released a dozen studio albums, including their most recent, 2022’s Going Home, as well as five compilations. They tour regularly on the West Coast and across the country, including regular appearances at the Philadelphia Folk Festival.
Tempest has been blazing trails in Celtic rock since 1988, but this new book will be much more than a memoir of Lief’s time with the band. It will be a complete biography, spanning Lief’s entire life. He’s got some fascinating tales to tell from his childhood in Norway, as well as his time as a busker and with earlier bands, including Golden Bough and with his acoustic side project, Caliban. He’s also worked with some well-known people in the music industry, like the late keyboard wizard Keith Emerson (Emerson, Lake & Palmer) and frequent Tempest producer Robert Berry (The Greg Kihn Band, Ambrosia, Emerson, Carl Palmer…)
That’s just the tip of the iceberg. This will be a complete biography, illustrated with photos from Lief’s personal collection.
Lief’s biography will be my second foray into this genre of writing, 2019’s release of The Legend of Molly Bolin. I worked with Molly (Bolin) Kazmer to tell the story of her life as a trailblazer in women’s sport—the first woman to sign a contract with a pro basketball league, not to mention its leading scorer.
Dragon Crown is embarking on 2024 with a variety of projects on deck, including the second, expanded edition of Fresno Growing Up and Bonanza Highway: U.S. 95 in Nevada. That’s just the beginning. To help me achieve my goals this year, I’ve brought my wife, Sharon Marie Provost, on board full time to handle marketing and distribution, among other duties. She has some writing projects in the works as well, in the wake of co-authoring our just-released book of short stories, Christmas Nightmare’s Eve.
Look for more announcements about what’s coming from Dragon Crown and updates on The Authorized Biography of Lief Sorbye & Tempest in the coming months.
2024, here we come!