A book about breakout 1980s New Jersey hardcore band Adrenalin O.D. may seem far removed from Orlando, but this memoir belongs here. In this year's If It's Tuesday This Must Be Walla Walla: The Wacky History of Adrenalin O.D., Dave Scott Schwartzman — who grew up in Jersey but has been an Orlando resident for years — chronicles his illustrious time coming up in a crucial era of American punk rock alongside a pantheon of legends. And Orlando does figure into the book, because he recounts both the band's Florida escapades and his ultimate relocation here (as well as that of AOD guitarist Bruce George Wingate), which has entailed AOD reunions all the way up to the 2020 COVID shutdown. The book is a fun, first-person ride through the punk underground that gets both up-close and local.
Best of Orlando 2023: Local Music
2nd: Jeremy Birdsall, jeremybirdsall.com
3rd: Thomas Milovac, thomasmilovacmusic.com
2nd: Hard Rock Live, hardrock.com/live/locations/orlando
3rd: The Plaza Live, plazaliveorlando.org
1st: Montgomery Drive, montgomerydrive.com
2nd: Jessica Pawli, facebook.com/jessicapawli
3rd: 407 Booking, instagram.com/407booking
1st: Sanford Porchfest, sanfordporchfest.org
2nd: Electric Daisy Carnival, orlando.electricdaisycarnival.com
3rd: WJRR Earthday Birthday, wjrr.iheart.com/featured/earthday-birthday
1st: Smartpunk Records, smartpunk.com
2nd: Swamp Cabbage Records, swampcabbagerecords.storenvy.com
3rd: Popnihil, facebook.com/popnihilpress
1st: Red Lion Recording Studio, redlionrecordingstudio.com
2nd: Studio 1509, studio1509music.com
3rd: Phat Planet Studios, phatplanetstudios.com
1st: Austin's Coffee, austinscoffee.com
2nd: The Alley, facebook.com/thealleylive
3rd: Renaissance Theatre Co., rentheatre.com
1st: Orlando Sings Solaria Singers, orlandosings.org/choirs
2nd: Violectric, violectric.net
3rd: Anthology String Quartet, anthologyquartet.com
1st: Angel of Boom, instagram.com/itsoffcialangel
2nd: DJ Edil Hernandez, djedilhernandez.com
3rd: DJ Richie Rich, facebook.com/iamdjrichierich
