Jesse Malin @ Jack’s Music Shoppe, promoting new book “Almost Grown” — April 11, 2026
Maryanne Christiano-Mistretta, Jesse Malin
WARNING – CONTAINS SPOILERS (Don’t read if you haven’t read the book yet).
I was a D-Generation fan back in the 1990s and saw them perform as much as possible. They were fantastic, and helped me get through the hard time of my grandmother’s passing. (She raised me; she was my everything). I also spent many a night at Jesse’s Coney Island High nightclub dancing the time away.
Just a few months ago I saw Jesse Malin perform at Stone Pony, putting on a blow-out show. All fans know Jesse suffered a spinal stroke a few years ago and is paralyzed from the waist down. Nevertheless, he stood up to perform many songs–always delivering a high energy show. I’ll be going to see him perform his “Silver Manhattan” autobiographical play and rock show later this year.
Right now I just finished reading Jesse’s memoir “Almost Grown.” It’s a perfect read, full of depth, sadness, triumphs, and heartache. Jesse is extremely generous, laying it all out for us. Brilliantly honest. And absolutely hilarious at times. I couldn’t keep the funny as fuck parts to myself. I’m reading the book, sitting next to my husband who is listening to YouTube videos with his head phones on. I’d tap him every so often, “And listen to this” and tell him a story I just read and we’d both crack up.
“That’s movie material,” he’d say.
There are two specific stories that made me laugh until I had pains in my stomach. Both were when he was in school. One was when he and he friend put a hole through his apartment wall so they could peep at the hot girl on the other side. This ended in a disaster. Another was when he wanted to get revenge on disco girls who made fun of him. His father taught him “never hit a girl.” Instead he walked up to the girl who was the ringleader, whipped out his dick and slapped it on her desk. He was expelled from school for a month. Hating school, he loved that. His mother also grounded him for a month. Until she told her boyfriend and he laughed. Then she laughed. And Jesse was no longer grounded.
Definitely movie material!
Then there’s the time when D-Generation toured with Kiss, and Jesse and Danny Sage got to all the hot girls before Gene Simmons. Near the end of the tour, Kiss gave them a bass drum head signed by each member. Gene Simmons wrote “D-Generation, never ever cock block me again.”
I’m only about 4 years older than Jesse, so I related so much to this book. I was actually at his Heart Attack show at Max’s Kansas in December of 1981! Kraut was also on the bill and my friends and I were there to see them. Heart Attack was on stage and I remember one of my friends commenting on how young they were. I just turned 18 that summer, so Jesse must have been only 14. This was the tail end of Max’s Kansas and they had mostly hardcore, but Johnny Thunders played there too at the tail end.
It was great hearing about how all Jesse’s bands started and the ups and downs of having a career in music, eventually leading to his incredible solo career and all the big names he’s worked with. If you ever wonder what musicians do for money before they hit big, Jesse shares that too, from having a man with a van service, to getting a $5000 loan from his dear friend Joey Ramone (RIP).
I especially love the personal stories. He’s Jewish but said he liked Jesus because with the long hair and a crown of thorns he was like a rock star. Reading about his Jewish family reminded me a bit of my Italian family. I admired his closeness with his sister and his mother — something I never had with my sister or my mother. But his mother reminded me so much of my cool grandmother! I got choked up reading about his mom’s battle with cancer. (I’m a cancer patient, currently in remission. Mine was first grade uterus cancer, caught early so a hysterectomy got rid of it. No chemo. No radiation. But I’m on watch for the next four years, seeing the oncologist every three months. Next year it gets stretched out to six months). When I told Jesse I had cancer last year, he said, “You can’t tell.” That made me happy because I feel I’m finally looking like myself again. But, yeah, reading about recording “Broken Radio” for his late mom, with Bruce Springsteen, it hits hard. Death. What we all go through in life. No matter how healthy or positive we are (I love how Jesse says PMA — Positive Mental Attitude) no one is exempt from sadness and darkness.
It’s also great that Jesse poured his heart out and talked about his love relationships. Plus, it also seemed like everyone who Jesse was friends with was a true deep connection. My favorite was his D-Generation bandmate, Howie Pyro (RIP). Howie was like the older brother who offered Jesse the best advice when he needed it. And then there was 9/11.
The book ends with the death of Jesse’s father and Jesse receiving stem cell treatments for his spinal cord injury and doing intensive physical therapy in Buenos Aires.
When you read a book, no matter how much an author tells, you know it’s not everything. Even in the most simple lives, a book of 200 or so words can’t possibly cover it all. The way Jesse Malin bangs out music left and right, I would like to believe he’ll write another book someday with stories he left out and of course new stuff that happens along the way.
Thanks for a great book, Jesse! Sending positive vibes on your healing journey — you got this!
#dGeneration #entertainment #goodReads #hardcore #jackSMusicStore #jesseMalin #jesseMalinAlmostGrown #maryanneChristianoMistretta #memoirs #music #punk #writing
The Colorado Sound Playlist
Maryanne Christiano-Mistretta