Find your own voice and go for it, by rock journalist and author Anthony Bozza.
You have passion, you have ideas, all you need now are the guts to go for it! Anthony Bozza, former journalist at Rolling Stone and author of several influential rock autobiographies including “The Life and Times of Eminem”, tells us how he gained success as a writer by finding his voice, following his passion and most importantly trusting his instinct.
Anthony, how did you originally break into music journalism?
My first and only real job was at Rolling Stone magazine where I started as an intern in the now-defunct book publishing division, then I was a research assistant in the library. Yes, Rolling Stone has its own library, which is pretty cool! And finally I was an editorial assistant in the Music Department.
From there, I worked my way into the magazine by volunteering for any unclaimed writing assignments. Whether that meant writing captions, tracking down members of Sly and the Family Stone to talk about “Hot Fun in the Summertime” – not an easy, but definitely rewarding task – or interviewing bands of the week for the Charts page. I then graduated to writing and editing the “Random Notes” pages and finally got my big break writing about a white rapper that I’d been begging my editor to let me cover since the first time I heard him, which was about a year before he was signed by Dr. Dre. His name was Eminem.
What did you do at Rolling Stone to make yourself stand out from other writers?
I’d always tried to bring something new to whatever I did at Rolling Stone magazine. Growing up, I didn’t read the magazine regularly and I hadn’t been to a journalism school, so I think I approached writing for Rolling Stone a bit differently than my peers.
During my tenure as a research assistant I spent more time reading the frail, yellowed, original issues I found encased by plastic in ‘The Vault’ than doing what I should have been doing, such as compiling data for advertising sales representatives.
I wasn’t earning myself any gold stars in the eyes of my boss, the head librarian, but I did get a primary source education in magazine and history of pop culture writing. Rolling Stone really was the institution that started it all, bringing together the rebel energy and idealism of the hippie generation with the idea that politics, music, art, lifestyle and strong opinion should exist within the same pages.
Anthony’s collaboration with comedian Artie Lange, Too Fat to Fish, debuted at number one on the New York Times best seller list
Other magazines like Playboy had done this in a more mainstream way, but none had taken the Rock & Roll, counter-cultural stance at a national level before Rolling Stone. In those issues, the subject matter may have been dated, but the spirit was still inspiring. Reading Hunter S. Thompson’s “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” as it originally appeared in those pages was amazing. It was also incredible to read Cameron Crowe chronicling the 70’s, Chuck Eddy’s incendiary pieces from the 80’s, as well as Kurt Loder back when he was still a print journalist – something I hadn’t realized watching him on MTV.
It sounds like you thoroughly researched the magazine and really understood its history and point of view. Tell us how you made your mark on the magazine and what value you added?
When I got the chance to write my first cover story I wanted it to be as exciting as the articles were in the magazine’s hey day. When, as Cameron Crowe depicted in Almost Famous, reporters were in the thick of it. I’m lucky to have landed an assignment that unfolded precisely that way.
Anthony’s first book was Whatever You Say I Am: The Life and Times of Eminem. Illustration by Robin Boyden
I caught Eminem just at the top of the roller coaster, and we got on well enough for me to be able to report on the real Marshall Mathers, just as he greeted the world. My experience with him was great material, but I still had to put it out there for all to read. I wanted to do it justice and and in doing so, I took a bit of a risk – I turned it in without showing it to a mentor of mine who had up until then, seen everything I’d written for the magazine before I turned it in to my editor.
This mentor helped me get assignments and prepped my writing for publication but as I got more confident I started to realize that a lot of the changes this person was making weren’t so much to suit the magazine’s style because they were tailored to read as if they had written it, not me.
Anthony joined forces with Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee, for his autobiography Tommyland.
How did you deal with the pressure, especially as this was your first major assignment?
The week I wrote my first cover story was harrowing to say the least. I went right from my time in Detroit in the freezing cold, to covering the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in New York City. That night is a story that deserves its own chapter. In the issue where my first cover story appeared I also wrote an extensive feature on the ceremony as well as Random Notes, meaning that I was responsible for about half of the full length articles in the magazine that issue.
Paul Rosenberg Eminem’s Manager, David Saslow from Atlantic Records, Dennis Dennehy Eminem’s publicist and Anthony Bozza
I was scared because it was more pressure than I’d endured and more writing than I’d ever produced for print in so short a time. As nervous as I was, I was also determined to succeed on my own. So rather than show my mentor or anyone else my first cover story, I turned it to the music editor exactly the way I wanted it. And, aside from some minor tweaks, that is exactly the way it was printed. It was a huge success and if I had to choose one moment that made my career, that would be it.
I remember Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner coming out of his office with the issue in his hands and coming up to my desk, saying, “You’re Anthony right? This is the kind of story we need more of. Excellent work.” He said it loud enough for the entire department to hear, which was completely embarrassing but awesome at the same time.
I’ve written in many styles and in many other people’s voices since then, but that moment taught me to never, ever doubt my instincts when it came to writing.
You’re now a very established writer, what has been the most important factor in developing your writing skills?
The most important lesson I learned was finding my own voice. I think it’s the most important facet of any creative art. There are some artists who come out of the gate knowing exactly what they want to do and how they want to do it, but that isn’t typically the case.
A young Anthony Bozza
Back in school I started to realize that, unlike many of my friends I really liked writing essays and I liked reading whatever was assigned even more. I’d also write for myself, mostly in journals, which piled up as I got older. I still have a few boxes of them and if I ever need to be reminded of the importance of honing your craft, I can open any one of them to any page.
So once you discovered your voice and started developing your writing style, how did you overcome the fear of ridicule, in order to publish your work?
I’ve only taken one creative writing class in my life. It was a continuing education class at New York University. The class I joined was taught by a man who had published a number of paperback mystery novels. I don’t remember the story I wrote but the observations and pointers he and my class mates gave me, as well as the writing shared by my fellow students, obliterated any fear I may have had.
A number of them had been published and although my work was more or less torn apart, I knew that no matter what they thought of it, considering what I thought of their writing, I should have no problem getting published. It made me feel that there must be somewhere out there for everyone in publishing. It was definitely a good exercise to have my work dissected in front of me, in this case, by a room of people I didn’t feel that I had much in common with.
Click here for Part 2 Of This Interview where Anthony describes quitting his job as a journalist, setting up on his own and writing his first book. He shares his thoughts on the impact of the internet and the benefits we can gain by using it effectively. Plus he gives us even more details on this cut throat industry, including getting slapped in the face and having a fire lit under his ass!
