The inside story of the first openly gay pop-punk band.

Deflowered is Jon Ginoli's journey of self-discovery, musical passion, and drive to become the founding member of Pansy Division, the first out and proud punk rock band to make the national scene. We follow the band from their inception in the early '90s in San Francisco, to their search for a music label, and their current status as indie rock icons. We see the highs—touring with Green Day—and the lows—homophobic fans—of striving for acceptance and success in the world of rock. Featuring behind-the-scenes photographs and replete with the requisite tales of sex, drugs, groupies, band fights, and label battles, this rollicking memoir is also an impassioned account of staying true to their artistic vision of queer rock'n'roll.

"Few bands outside the mainstream ever write songs so striking that listeners will rush out and buy them on first hearing, but I think Pansy Division is one such band. To this day, their back catalogue remains hugely liberating for any gay music fan who's grown up immersed in the het pop, macho rap, and metal posturing of Western youth culture. The songs are also tremendous fun. Their riotous celebration of male-on-male sexuality remains a unique achievement in pop music history." —Tom Robinson, BBC Radio

JON GINOLI is a guitarist, singer, songwriter and founding member of Pansy Division, a gay punk rock band whose cds include Undressed, Deflowered, Wish I'd Taken Pictures, and more. An Illinois native, he's played both dive bars and arenas, and his favorite color is purple. When not on tour with the band he lives and works in San Francisco.