Phillip Kriz has been a go-to road warrior for acts like Carrie Underwood, Guns N’ Roses, Justin Bieber, Florida Georgia Line, KISS and many others… and he’s carried the badge of Crew Chief, System Engineer and Front of House Engineer for over 15 years. Now, he’s off the road and ready to make his literary debut on December 1 with The Roadie Cartel. Earlier this year, Kriz signed a publishing deal with W. Brand Publishing to release the novel; an action-packed thriller which follows a family immersed in drug trafficking under the cover of the music business.

Watch a vividly stirring trailer for the novel below.

After hearing former Navy S.E.A.L. and bestselling author Jack Carr guest on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, he decided to write a book of his own.

“I never wanted to write an autobiography about myself,” says Kriz. “Life on the road is amazing, but it’s not as glamorous as you think. People don’t see the boring side of it. So, I thought, ‘What if the music industry was attached to a cartel? What if all of the tickets, buses, trucks, and shows were hiding billions of dollars in drug money?’ So, the book follows an immigrant family who changed the entire music industry through drug trafficking. Most importantly, it’s a father-daughter story with elements of revenge.”

“My decision to sign Phil and his story was truly a no-brainer after his pitch of the intricate storyline,” shares JuLee Brand, the founder of W. Brand Publishing, “but it was the immigrant backstory that sealed the deal. His background in production and fantastic imagination of the ‘what ifs’ many concert goers wonder about regarding backstage life and the production industry meld seamlessly with the fast action cartel world. Who wouldn't be a fan of The Last Waltz meets Narcos?”

(Photo - Jamie Wendt)