A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die

"A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die - A Collection of Writing by Chris D. Expanded 2025 Edition" is the overdue update of the 2009 mega-anthology from Chris D., singer/songwriter of the bands The Flesh Eaters and Divine Horsemen. Included here are all the song lyrics Chris penned, from 1977 through 2025, plus poetry, short stories, dream journal entries and excerpts from his crime fiction. Altogether, this new edition adds well over 80 pages of new material. A treasure trove for Chris D.'s fans and an introduction to a truly neglected literary talent. Chris has produced landmark records by The Gun Club, The Dream Syndicate, Green on Red and The Lazy Cowgirls (along with his own bands), acted in films, worked for a decade 1999 - 2009 as film programmer at Los Angeles' American Cinematheque in Hollywood, and written and directed a feature film (I PASS FOR HUMAN, 2004). Between 2009 - 2013 he taught genre film history classes at Academy of Art University in San Francisco. 2005 saw publication of his first non-fiction book, "Outlaw Masters of Japanese Film" from IB Tauris. He released five novels and one short story collection of crime/noir fiction through his own imprint, Poison Fang Books between 2010-2013. He also published the 800+ page non-fiction "Gun and Sword An Encyclopedia of Japanese Gangster Films 1955-1980" in 2013 and a collection of his early punk writing (including record and 'live' show reviews) plus film essays for legendary punk magazine, Slash: "Writing for Slash 1977-1981: The Know-It-All-Years" in 2022. Other writers/musicians had this to say on the "A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die" collection: "..he continues a tradition in writing that is all but lost; authors who use their powers of imagination and creativity rather than simply recounting or inventing a memoir. Like the outsider artists that Chris D. champions, he writes for the future, for art, to someday be truly discovered for the great talent he is." - from the Foreword by John Doe (of X, The Knitters, John Doe Trio) "Chris D. presents...such an immense encapsulation of his life's work that it reads as literary autopsy of a man not yet dead but of one who has died a thousand times and somehow miraculously between crucifixions used pen as shovel to prevent himself from being buried alive." - from the Afterword by Lydia Lunch (author, "Paradoxia," "Will Work for Drugs") "Reading Chris D's blood-on-the-page prose is like running naked, screaming with terror and desire, through the fetid back alleys of American pulp culture. You're seduced, f----d over, doused with whiskey, set on fire, dragged by the getaway car, nailed by the hail from a 30.06 and still, still-you can't stop reading." - Eddie Muller (author, "Dark City Dames," the novels "The Distance," "Shadow Boxer" and host of Turner Classic Movies Noir Alley). More kudos from critics writing about his most recent musical forays: "...dark thoughts, doomed romances, and the defiance that comes from a vision soaked in darkness but never surrendered to it." - Michael Toland, The Big Takeover (2023); "..the lyrics are metaphorical reflections on the hows and why of returning to relationships, personal or artistic...film-noir flavoring through it all...the obvious energy and care put into this, via playful performances and mysterious path-leading wordplay, raise the album above its dark heart." - Eric Davidson, Please Kill Me (2020); "These...arrangements show Chris D.'s songs in the best possible light. Their power, their attitude and their sheer trashy abandon have never been more evident, which means Desjardins in a way is finally getting his due." - Paste Magazine (2019); "If the first 45 minutes don't convince you this is the best garage rock album in years, then the closing 13 minute epic 'Ghost Cave Lament'...will seal the deal...Strap yourself in and...go crazy." - American Songwriter Magazine (2019)