Joe Pernice is a renaissance man. There are no two ways about it. Ok, maybe there are because most of his talent revolves around writing, whether it’s music, lyrics, poetry, or now, a full length work of fiction. But however you wish to categorize his output one thing is for sure: Pernice’s resume is chock full quality work. And It Feels So Good When I Stop, the book, soundtrack, and solo acoustic show in support of both are no exception.

There’s a word in Hebrew, dayenu, that loosely means, “it would have been enough for us.” If we would have only gotten It Feels So Good When I Stop the book…dayenu. The story is told from a nameless narrator’s point of view 3 days after he has bailed on his new wife and gone back to Cape Cod to live in his sister’s abandoned home. Through short pieces that take place over a few key points in the narrator’s life, Pernice let’s us make up our minds on whether the narrator is a flawed hero or just plain flawed. And, though Pernice populates this world with sad sacks and losers, he never looks down on them. Basically the novel is an easy extension of the characters that inhabit his songs. As heartbreaking as it is, Pernice’s attention to detail makes it all too real and, ultimately, totally rewarding.

Now, if we only got the the soundtrack…dayenu. Not unexpectedly, the narrator is as much a music junkie as Pernice himself. In fact, with the freedom to do what ever he wanted, Pernice purposefully littered his novel with songs that meant something to him. Listening to the soundtrack it becomes clear how these songs have influenced Pernice’s own writing. Disparate artists as Dell Shannon and Lou Barlow are given equal treatment and, because Pernice has such a strong sense of style, the soundtrack keeps a consistency despite the variety of songwriters and styles. Stand out tracks “Soul and Fire (Sebadoh),” “Found A Little Baby (Plush),” “Chevy Van (Sammy Johns)” and “I Go To Pieces (Dell Shannon)” all get worked into the achingly beautiful Pernice mold. He even has a way of making “Chim Chim Cheree” the saddest song ever sung. There’s also a cover of a Young Accusers song, “Black Smoke (No Pope).” If you’ve never heard, this is the fictitious band the narrator mentions in passing. The Sub Pop 7″ by the band also has “Unsound” and “Feather the Edge.”

So, to tie everything together Pernice played a solo acoustic show at Schubas last Friday, September 11, in support of both the book and soundtrack. It made for an interesting mix as he spent the first part explaining the general storyline before reading a exceptionally funny piece in which the narrator and his roommate, Richie, debate whether one can, in good conscience, grow a Hitler mustache. Pernice’s mannerisms were surprisingly Woody Allen-esque. He never seemed particularly comfortable reading, but his awkwardness only added to the charm.

Everything clicked once he picked up his guitar and played some of the songs from the soundtrack. The solo acoustic delivery really drove home the aching beauty of Pernice’s voice. I’ve seen the Pernice Brothers many times live, and they have a tendency to play a little faster which often renders their songs less powerful. That was not the case this night as was apparent when Pernice ended his set with a few of his own tunes. “Amazing Glow” and “How Can I Compare” both benefited from being stripped down but it was the Chappaquiddick Skyline tune “The Two Of You Sleep” that really made the night. With the handful of us sitting quietly in the dark, the creepiness of the song was really brought to light.

With the novel, soundtrack, and subsequent tour, Pernice kind of put himself out there. At the show he kept thanking us for indulging his “experiment.” Alas, it should be us thanking him for bringing his talents to a new medium. I’m not much of a reader, but I found myself plowing through the book. Joe Pernice is a pretty unique talent, one that unfortunately seems to continue to fly a little under the radar. His ability to maintain his voice throughout a novel as well as when singing songs penned by others speaks to this uniqueness. One of these three, the book, covers record, or solo acoustic show, would have been enough. All three just feels like a ridiculous treat.