We all had the same dreams of being rock stars, and so I really fell in love with Chardon. I just love the small town feel of it, and the people were so nice. It stuck with me years later out here writing books. – Ken Bagnis
In thinking about where to set a novel that combines “School of Rock and “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” quaint, historic Chardon, Ohio, isn’t likely the first place to come to mind.
At a glance, a comical rock ’n’ roll story, a heavy, dark tale about mental illness and rural Chardon don’t seem to meld together into a logical narrative.
But as readers of “Mind Riot” embark on Salem Scott’s summer adventure of volunteering at a psychiatric hospital while continuing to grow as a rock musician, the contrasting themes fit together seamlessly against the warm backdrop of Chardon.
Mayfield native Ken Bagnis wrote “Mind Riot,” a young adult fiction released July 7, following the advice to “write what you know.”
Chardon, the rock band scene and psychotherapy have all been important aspects of Bagnis’ life, with scenes and settings in the book straight from his memories.
Although Bagnis grew up in neighboring Cuyahoga County, he was a figure in the thriving local music scene in Chardon during the 1980s.
“I don’t know what’s in the water there in Chardon, but it makes some absolutely amazing, driven, focused musicians,” Bagnis said in a phone interview July 21.
Like Salem, Bagnis loved Chardon and Northeast Ohio, but the prospect of never driving through an Ohio winter again was too tantalizing to pass up.
In the late 80s, Bagnis’ band, Pretty Vacant, signed a record deal and went on a more than two-year tour across the country. The band ended up in Los Angeles, California. When the group didn’t work out, most of the members returned to Ohio. Bagnis stayed.
He met his wife in California and set out for a job.
“I was going to have to find another band, and that sounded exhausting, or I was going to have to go back to school,” Bagnis said.
His father-in-law was a psychotherapist, which Bagnis said he thought sounded cool — so much so, he pursued a career in psychotherapy and is now the director of a psychiatric facility in Los Angeles.
“It was the same creative energy as the band, working with people,” Bagnis said.
However, for all of California’s allure, it was Chardon that stuck in Bagnis’ head for the setting of his novel. He spent countless hours rehearsing in the basement of homes in Chardon with bandmates.
“We all had the same dreams of being rock stars and so I really fell in love with Chardon. I just love the small town feel of it and the people were so nice. It stuck with me years later out here writing books,” Bagnis said.
While writing, he called on some of his old bandmates and Chardon friends for reference, as well as advice in the writing process.
Marc Anthony, the drummer for Pretty Vacant, no longer lives in Geauga County, but finished out high school in Chardon Schools. His Chardon home was a rehearsal area for the band and inspired one of the settings in “Mind Riot.”
Lisa Draye, while not a band member, lived down the road from Anthony on Bass Lake Road. The two dated for a period of time and Draye would ride her horse or walk down to band practice.
Living in a small town meant pranks were a notorious past time for the group. “Mind Riot” starts with a prank and the repercussion of the prank propels Salem into volunteering at Glenwood, a fictional psychiatric facility in Chardon, for the summer.
“It’s a small town and it was smaller back then. There were so many ways for us to run rampant back then,” Draye said in a phone interview July 22. “The shenanigans that ensued — things did get lit on fire; cars did get flipped.”
In “Mind Riot,” Salem lights a scarecrow on fire to scare a friend, which results in siding on a house melting. The real-life incident that inspired the prank involved a plastic head Bagnis said was discovered in a dumpster.
“We put it on a pole and tried to scare our friend by actually lighting rags on fire and it got out of hand and the whole head melted,” Bagnis said. “We heard fire trucks and our friend that we pulled the prank (on), Jimmy, opened his window and started screaming, ‘Stop drop and roll! Someone’s on fire!’”
“Mind Riot” references a classic Chardon High School prank: removing the “C” in the high school’s sign so the remaining letters form a sexual reference.
“That happened every year that I can remember,” Anthony said with a laugh. “Now if you go there, I think there’s about 1,700 bolts in the ‘C.’”
Salem’s mom, Nora, was an homage to Bagnis’ own mother, who passed away before the novel was published. Her character’s demeanor can come across as annoying at times, especially in Salem’s eyes, but it comes from a place of deep love. The two endured significant loss and grief as a family.
Salem’s mother is just one character illustrating the intriguing and contrasting moods of “Mind Riot.” Bagnis incorporated many lighthearted scenes with deep characters navigating difficult traumas.
“I wanted it to be honest. I didn’t want it all to be too light and fun,” he said. “Because people have real pain in their lives, whether you’re a 17-year-old going to high school and things look good on the outside or you’re that 50-year-old psychiatric patient who’s spent the last 40 years in the system.”
In the novel, a rock ’n’ roll band is used to facilitate healing and create friendships in Glenwood. Draye said the inspiration behind those scenes in the book stemmed from memories of what she called “love clubs”— which consisted of Pretty Vacant and friends sitting in a circle, each with an instrument from acoustic guitars to egg shakers, riffing and singing songs.
“They would play until their fingers bled,” Draye recalled. “That was one of our favorite things to do.”
Bagnis said he still keeps a spot in his heart for Ohio, despite no longer visiting as much as he had been to see his mother.
“I like going back. I love it, seeing old friends and going to see their bands play, even though they’re playing the same hair metal band songs,” Bagnis said.
Draye and Anthony said they are incredibly proud of Bagnis, both for his novel and his work in psychiatry.
“Ken’s one of the most genuine persons that I know,” Anthony said in a phone interview July 22. “He cares a lot about everybody in his life. He’s always looking to help people out.”
Draye said she was honored to help Bagnis with his writing process, answer his questions and see Chardon as the inspiration for “Mind Riot.”
“I’m just honored that and I’m surprised that Kenny would pick Chardon as kind of like the inspiration for his story, not being from here, but knowing so many people from this area,” she said.
