HelloAngel
ONE love, blood, life
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By Devlin Smith, Contributing Editor
2006.02
There wasn't just one thing that made me want to be a music journalist; it was a series of things. One part of that series of incidents and "a-ha" moments was Kim Neely's 1992 cover interview with Axl Rose for Rolling Stone. In the interview, Neely got the up-until-that-point closed-off Rose to discuss his troubled childhood, inner-band tensions and his image.
I can remember reading that interview in my high school science class and feeling with every new paragraph that I wanted to do that. I wanted to be the one asking the questions.
Anthony DeCurtis had that same feeling when he read Rolling Stone as a teenager, leafing through interviews with the Rolling Stones and John Lennon. "I still remember the interviews I read in Rolling Stone when I was a kid," he said. "I would find a quiet place to be and read every word."
Doubtless he's inspiring the next generation of rock reporters with the work he does for publications including Rolling Stone, where he serves as contributing editor, and the New York Times, work that's highlighted in the recently released "In Other Words: Artists Talk About Life and Work."
"In Other Words" features interviews with 39 musicians, actors and directors, including Bono, Johnny Cash and Bruce Springsteen. More than a collection of DeCurtis' work, though, the book is about interviewing itself, the art behind it, and it's that subject that had me and the writer talking for more than an hour.
"I wanted to put together a collection of interviews, something I enjoyed and wanted to read," DeCurtis said. In choosing which interviews to include and what headings to use, DeCurtis just went with his gut. "I guess I mostly went for the things that I thought were the best," he said.
Bono found his way into the book twice; one in the first chapter on "Cash Family Values" and the second in "The Spiritual Life." The Cash interview was done for a Rolling Stone tribute following Johnny's 2003 death. "It was a little bit of a footnote," DeCurtis said of the interview's inclusion in the Cash piece. "There was just a quote or two so I wanted to have [it] run at some length."
The other interview was conducted for Beliefnet.com, a faith and spirituality website. "I wanted to establish some of the connections between his religion and activism, how strongly that link existed," DeCurtis said of the interview.
DeCurtis believes his work with Rolling Stone helped him to get the interview for Beliefnet.com. "I did the first big political story in Rolling Stone about his work with debt and I think he appreciated it," he said. "He went some places he wouldn't normally go, which is to say agreeing to do an interview exclusively about his religious life."
The results of the interview, a 30-minute phone call as opposed to the usual two-hour or so face-to-face done for Rolling Stone interviews, are something DeCurtis is quite proud of. "I think what fascinates people about Bono is that he is a work in progress and I think sees himself in that way," he said. "Personally I like to see that sense of struggle and ambivalence and a yearning for belief that exists within him. I saw myself pretty affected by what he had to say."
DeCurtis was also pretty affected by the interview he did with George Harrison that is also included in "In Other Words." "It was a powerful experience for me," he said. As described in the introduction to the "Meet the Beatles" section, Harrison was hard to both track down and pin down, DeCurtis not finding out until the morning of that the interview was on.
Despite the difficulties in getting the interview, and in keeping the conversation rolling, the interview turned out great and DeCurtis was able to break the news that Harrison was working on a new album. "The Beatles and The Stones were kind of it for me, that's why I do this work," he said. "For me to be around George Harrison of Paul McCartney [who's also included in the book], you go back to that place because they were the ones, they were why I'm doing this work."
And it's work he both enjoys and is good at, a fact he's not quite ready to admit. "I think I'm good at certain things," he says. "I've worked hard at this for a long time. I still work at my technique, I'm still learning things." Even though he won't call himself good, the editor in him will say, "There aren't too many people I'd send out before I'd have myself do it."
Many thanks to Anthony DeCurtis, Jenna Young and everyone at Hal Leonard for their help with this article.
By Devlin Smith, Contributing Editor
2006.02
There wasn't just one thing that made me want to be a music journalist; it was a series of things. One part of that series of incidents and "a-ha" moments was Kim Neely's 1992 cover interview with Axl Rose for Rolling Stone. In the interview, Neely got the up-until-that-point closed-off Rose to discuss his troubled childhood, inner-band tensions and his image.
I can remember reading that interview in my high school science class and feeling with every new paragraph that I wanted to do that. I wanted to be the one asking the questions.
Anthony DeCurtis had that same feeling when he read Rolling Stone as a teenager, leafing through interviews with the Rolling Stones and John Lennon. "I still remember the interviews I read in Rolling Stone when I was a kid," he said. "I would find a quiet place to be and read every word."
Doubtless he's inspiring the next generation of rock reporters with the work he does for publications including Rolling Stone, where he serves as contributing editor, and the New York Times, work that's highlighted in the recently released "In Other Words: Artists Talk About Life and Work."
"In Other Words" features interviews with 39 musicians, actors and directors, including Bono, Johnny Cash and Bruce Springsteen. More than a collection of DeCurtis' work, though, the book is about interviewing itself, the art behind it, and it's that subject that had me and the writer talking for more than an hour.
"I wanted to put together a collection of interviews, something I enjoyed and wanted to read," DeCurtis said. In choosing which interviews to include and what headings to use, DeCurtis just went with his gut. "I guess I mostly went for the things that I thought were the best," he said.
Bono found his way into the book twice; one in the first chapter on "Cash Family Values" and the second in "The Spiritual Life." The Cash interview was done for a Rolling Stone tribute following Johnny's 2003 death. "It was a little bit of a footnote," DeCurtis said of the interview's inclusion in the Cash piece. "There was just a quote or two so I wanted to have [it] run at some length."
The other interview was conducted for Beliefnet.com, a faith and spirituality website. "I wanted to establish some of the connections between his religion and activism, how strongly that link existed," DeCurtis said of the interview.
DeCurtis believes his work with Rolling Stone helped him to get the interview for Beliefnet.com. "I did the first big political story in Rolling Stone about his work with debt and I think he appreciated it," he said. "He went some places he wouldn't normally go, which is to say agreeing to do an interview exclusively about his religious life."
The results of the interview, a 30-minute phone call as opposed to the usual two-hour or so face-to-face done for Rolling Stone interviews, are something DeCurtis is quite proud of. "I think what fascinates people about Bono is that he is a work in progress and I think sees himself in that way," he said. "Personally I like to see that sense of struggle and ambivalence and a yearning for belief that exists within him. I saw myself pretty affected by what he had to say."
DeCurtis was also pretty affected by the interview he did with George Harrison that is also included in "In Other Words." "It was a powerful experience for me," he said. As described in the introduction to the "Meet the Beatles" section, Harrison was hard to both track down and pin down, DeCurtis not finding out until the morning of that the interview was on.
Despite the difficulties in getting the interview, and in keeping the conversation rolling, the interview turned out great and DeCurtis was able to break the news that Harrison was working on a new album. "The Beatles and The Stones were kind of it for me, that's why I do this work," he said. "For me to be around George Harrison of Paul McCartney [who's also included in the book], you go back to that place because they were the ones, they were why I'm doing this work."
And it's work he both enjoys and is good at, a fact he's not quite ready to admit. "I think I'm good at certain things," he says. "I've worked hard at this for a long time. I still work at my technique, I'm still learning things." Even though he won't call himself good, the editor in him will say, "There aren't too many people I'd send out before I'd have myself do it."
Many thanks to Anthony DeCurtis, Jenna Young and everyone at Hal Leonard for their help with this article.
