Going Nowhere, Mark Black’s new book about local prog-punk heroes Nomeansno, is “more of a fan’s take on the band than a biography,” Black explained, reached by phone at his home base in Nova Scotia. Still, it contains much oral history of Nomeansno, as offered by the likes of John Wright, Tom Holliston, and various members of the Nomeansno penumbra, including Ford Pier, former Alternative Tentacles label manager Greg Werckman, album-cover artist John Yates, and Hanson Brothers drummer Mike Branum (aka Mikey Hanson).

Two conspicuous absentees are former guitarist Andy Kerr, who “was quite forthright that he had no interest in talking about that part of his life”, and Nomeansno bassist-vocalist and main songwriter Rob Wright, who was “impossible to get ahold of” within Black’s time window—almost, it seems, to the author’s relief. “It’s just that sort of younger-brother syndrome or something,” he said. “But you get intimidated by approaching someone that’s older than you who you, I guess, idolize.”

Going Nowhere is out now, as part of Invisible Publishing’s Bibliophonic series.