Amanda Kramer, the keyboardist for legendary post-punk and new wave band The Psychedelic Furs, will be joining acclaimed Kildare author and former Hot Press contributor Wayne Byrne for a special event marking the release of their book Hired Guns: Portraits of Women in Alternative Music.

The ticketed event will take place in Naas Library & Cultural Centre on Wednesday, 11th December, at 7pm.

As a member of The Psychedelic Furs, Amanda Kramer’s four-decade career in music has seen the keyboardist tour, record and perform with artists such as World Party, The Golden Palominos, 10,000 Maniacs, Siouxsie Sioux, Lloyd Cole, Thompson Twins, Information Society and Eurythmics.

Hired Guns is Kramer’s debut literary work and first collaboration with Byrne, who has authored books on film legends such as Tom DiCillo, Walter Hill. Burt Reynolds and popular horror franchises including A Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween.

The co-authors, who first met twenty years ago at a Psychedelic Furs concert at Vicar Street, are continuing their collaborative relationship with another book set to hit shelves in 2025, which documents the history of film music of the New Hollywood, which spanned the mid-1960s to early 1980s, and American Independent canons.

The forthcoming book will feature contributions from the likes of film score composer Mark Isham, English multi-hyphenate Thomas Dolby, David Mansfield (Bob Dylan’s Renaldo and Clara, Blake Leyh (HBO’s The Wire, Devo frontman Mark Mothersbaugh and more.

The launch of Hired Guns: Portraits of Women in Alternative Music is a can't-miss event for music fans to hear about Kramer's decade-spanning career with insights from Byrne and Kramer on their literary endeavors and future collaborations.

Tickets for the event are free and are available by contacting the Naas Library & Cultural Centre at 045-980795 or [email protected].