Dean M. Boland

Born, raised and still living in Lakewood, Dean Boland now finds that his professional life and his avocations are converging. An Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for Cuyahoga County, Dean specializes in the prosecution of computer crimes, as well as assisting the entire office with its implementation of technology. While surfing the Internet one night in January 1996, he decided to pursue an old interest: just how did rock bands choose their names? And thus was born Rock 'n' Roll Call: The History and Mystery Behind Rock Names, published by Dowling Press in November 1997.

"Since I was about 12 years old, I have always wondered where the strange names of rock bands come from. I can remember sitting outside my older brother's room while his friends listened to Pink Floyd and wondering why such allegedly cool guys would listen to a band with the word 'pink' in its name. Ever since that time, I have listened whenever the fan of a particular band has mentioned the origin of the group's name. But, the book hadn't quite formed yet. It was the Internet that propelled it," said Boland.

"I sent out some e-mails one night and was swamped by responses and realized that this could be a book," he continued. He began his research at Lakewood Public Library looking through rock and roll encyclopedias, newspaper and magazine articles, old issues of Rolling Stone magazine, and finally, the Internet. Although a book on a similar topic had been published in 1993, the explosion of the World Wide Web since then meant that Boland was able to discover over twice as many stories behind band names as appeared in the earlier book.

Boland was born in January 1967 inLakewood Hospital, the middle of what would eventually be six children. He attended Taft Elementary School, Emerson Middle School and St. Edward High School. As a child, he took classes at the Beck Center's Theater School for Children and Teens, playing, among other roles, Grumpy in a production of Snow White. He received a B. A. in Anthropology from Cleveland State University, and his J. D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 1995, continuing to live in Lakewood throughout his education.

The Anthropology degree is more relevant than you might think. Studying human customs and cultures comes in handy in prosecutorial work. Boland expressed some regret that he finished his degree just as Peter Dunham, now Associate Professor of Anthropology, began leading field excavations of Mayan sites in Belize. It was his senior spring when Dunham led the first expedition, and Boland needed to stay on campus to finish up. Nonetheless, Dunham's archaeological research had its influence on him. His as-yet unpublished first novel, a suspense thriller, centers on an archaeologist from Cleveland who has made the find of his career in the jungles of Belize, and the threats he faces in bringing it to light. Boland claims that the courtroom scenes are based on his experience in the prosecutor's office, while the archaeological and academic aspects come from his undergraduate study. "Anthropology and law--I like to stick with stuff I know," he says. "If I don't know something, I can find the people who do." Boland plans to finish the novel by the end of 1997, and he has a literary agent interested in it. "It's a lot easier now that I can say I'm a published author, but the first book is more of an encyclopedia. Getting the novel published will be the true test of being a writer." Boland may be too modest. He has a weekly column in the Cleveland Bar Journal, "The Cutting Edge," in which he covers developments in computer-related crime, in addition to Rock 'n' Roll Call.

"The rock and roll book was really the expansion of a hobby--just stuff I was interested in. When I told my colleagues at work that I thought I'd found a book in the topic, they thought it was goofy. Even my wife didn't believe it when I actually received a contract in response to one of my query letters." said Boland. He says his story should offer encouragement to other would-be writers. He claims he knew nothing about the process of selling a manuscript, but picked up a copy of Writer's Market at the Lakewood Public Library, learned how to write a query letter, and sent off 25-30 with excerpts, to music-related publishers. He received 22 rejections, and three publishers wanting the book, and chose Dowling Press based on their focus as well as aspects of the contract. He is particularly excited that the store at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum will be carrying the book, and he plans to send a copy to Drew Carey, in hopes that it could be a prop on the show.

Attorney and author, Boland also sports a 4th degree black belt, and is a Master Instructor in the Korean martial art Soo Bahk Do. He has trained at the Korean Karate Center in Lakewood, where he met his wife, Lisa Kozak. Lisa is a professional martial arts competitor and instructor who now runs a club in Akron, where she teaches twice a week, with Dean as an assistant. The couple have just purchased their first home in Lakewood, and look forward to moving, with their daughter Abby Sky. All in all, 1997 has been an eventful year for Boland. Watch this space for news of further developments in his literary career.

Email Dean Boland at dean@deanboland.com and visit http://www.deanboland.com/.