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!

Check out Part 2 Now…

You’ve got a AAA press pass and people are keen to answer your questions about living a creative life. Who would you like to talk with and what would you ask them?

That’s what SUBvert magazine is all about, a conduit between you and your creative heroes and a tool to help you reach your own creative goals.

We’ve just completed a series of new in-depth interviews about the creative life with a motley crew of our our own heroes. We’ll be publishing these for free on the blog over the next 8 weeks and they will also be available in a new format PDF mini-mag, you can share around. (If you’re a graphic designer or illustrator who would be interested to do something special with the layout of any of these articles drop us a line with samples of your work)

- Brandon Boyd artist and lead singer of Incubus takes his bicycle to the beach
- Chet Zar visualises monsters
- David Horvath artist and Uglydoll co-creator goes looking for aliens
- Jeff Soto illustrator and artist talks to Tyler Durden
- Tim Burgess lead singer of the Charlatans on how he was saved by Ice-T
- Jon Burgerman on being a slack-jawed, boney armed, artist
- Geoff Thompson, BAFTA award winning script writer talks about creativity on the toilet
- Peter Hook, Joy Division and New Order bass player talks about his first ever performance
- Duff Mckagan, legendary Guns and Roses and Velvet Revolver guitarist tells us about his kidneys exploding
- Plus some of our favourite Project Runway contestants, revealing what it’s like behind the scenes.

And now it’s your turn…
This is your chance to learn from the people who inspire you the most. Just drop us an email and tell us which creative heroes you’d most like us to interview on your behalf and what questions you’d put to them. You can ask as few or as many questions as you like. There are no limitations, but we aren’t going to ask Britney why she shaved her head, so avoid the gossip. This is your opportunity to learn the secrets of a happy successful creative life and career from people who are living it.

Send your questions to angel@subvertmagazine.com today and if we think they are up-to the mark, we’ll do our very best to get the interview and if it comes off you’ll get your name dropped to your chosen artist and a credit in the article. All submissions received before the 15th of September will be entered into a draw for an exclusive original Steve Rack character t-shirt! So, send your questions in today.

Alex with Tim Burgess Glastonbury Festival 2007

We met Alex at Glastonbury Festival while getting ready to take photos in the pit. She had already met most of her favorite bands backstage and had her photo taken with them! Her story should be an inspiration to anyone who wants to get into the music industry. Alex told us she had just finished her National Diploma in Media Production at Central Sussex College’s, but she’s got tons more real life experience than your average student.

Keith From We Are Scientist with by Alex backstage at Glastonbury Festival

As well as Glastonbury, Alex has done work experience with Biss Magazine,. She has also contributed to Europunk.net, mytelegraph.net, www.mtv.co.uk, www.creaturemag.com, www.studentnetworksussex, as well as NME. She also has her own blog www.alexandramcloughlin.blogspot.com

Miss McLoughlin has interviewed shed loads of successful bands including Stone Gods, The Ghost of A Thousand, Bowling For Soup, The Horrors, Madina Lake and The Blackout to name just a few. She has also met We Are Scientists, The Enemy, Kelly From Stereophonics, Tim Burgess (The Charlatans), Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters), James Morrison, Luke from The Kooks, Arctic Monkeys, Jamie from the Klaxons and many more.

Mark Ronson performing at Glastonbury Festival 2008, photo by Alex McLoughlin

Alex – To enhance my career as a young Music Journalist, I try to get involved as much as I can with the media so I arrange my own interviews with bands and write articles on Record Labels as well as Reviews on Albums, Bands, Venues, Mainstream Music, Gigs, books and Movies and I do all this work on a voluntary basis.

As well as managing to secure interviews with some top bands, she has also won Most Promising Journalist award, as well as BTEC Learner of the year. Alex has also been granted a NUJ (National Union of Journalists) press pass, and she was hand-selected by Edexcel to celebrate the launch of VQ Day at the House of Commons.

What advice would you give other people who want to meet their creative hereos?

You have to be very, very determined and prepared to wait for as long to meet the person. Do not mix with the eBayers. You can tell who they are as they are often the people who do not know who anyone is and they have a folder of professional photos of every celebrity you can possibly think! They bring them, get then signed and sell them. You can often hear them talking about how much money they have made out of them. I keep seeing the same ones at every movie premiere and music award ceremony. They really bug me and the celebrities!

How do you go about meeting top musicians and celebrities?

Before I became a Journalist I would wait before or at the end of a gig at the backstage door. I would do this depending on how much I wanted to meet the person. Sometimes you wait for hours and others not so long. Depends on the celebrity. In terms of non-musicians, I go to the BAFTAS as a fan with mum and we wait by the red carpet. Many people do it! And also movie premieres. Check out www.premierehub.com for up and coming premieres and locations.

Pigeon Detectives performing at Glastonbury Festival, photo by Alex McLoughlin

How do you find the press details?

Normally on the record label’s website and other times on the bands website. Sometimes on their myspace page and other times you can’t find a contact at all. It’s so much harder then you could imagine!

What skills do you think you need to succeed?

You need patience because sometimes you get don’t get a reply about interviews until the last minute! Personality because if you are very shy then the band are likely to pick that up and will feel awkward, also making them laugh is great because it’s like talking to a close friend. You must have good grammar so that you can be heard clearly. Strong emotionally because sometimes stubborn tour managers yell you at on the phone and have to deal with difficult PA’s, but you can’t let this get you down. And finally you must be determined to get the interviews or press access and do whatever you must to get it! There was a band who I tried for months to get an interview with, never got replies and then finally I got it!

What do you think is the key to getting interviews with bands?

“Persistence! You must be persistent. Even though you may have won awards for being a great Journalist or been given Glastonbury twice in a row it doesn’t mean you are going to get a reply about an interview with “We are Scientists” or whoever you are trying for. You have just got to be persistent. If you get one denial from a label don’t give up! Try, try, try again. One of my Journalist friend’s kept getting rejections about a certain band so she held a sign up at a gig and got it! The band noticed it, recognised her and gave her an interview! Oh and by the way always send the links to your past interviews to whoever gave you them!

What lessons have you learned from interviewing bands?

They are not always as confident as they seem! Most of the bands that I’ve interviewed who seem really fearless and “hard” have actually been very sweet and shy. Just because the guy has a chest covered in tattoos and swears on stage it doesn’t mean he’s nasty and loves himself that much! I’ve also learned that every interviewer has their own style of doing things. I like to ask random off the wall questions because you get laughs out of it and it’s just more fun to watch or listen to! If you think about it, bands get interviewed all the time about the same old questions, they need a change and a little shock! It’s far more fun!

At the end of August, Alex has arranged work experience with the NME and shortly after kerrang, then she’s off to to start University at Goldsmiths in London studying Media and Communications.

To have achieved all this at the tender age of eighteen is really impressive. It goes to show that anything is possible, if you have the balls to go out there and get it. Its not just about talent. It takes dedication, tenacity and the right creative attitude.

For more info check out

www.alexmediaproduction.zoomshare.com