P 2

J:
As a music writer/editor, can you list and describe/elaborate on 3 things you've learned about dealing with people?

Roni:
Writing and editing are pretty solitary jobs, so I can't say I've learned particularly much about other people (though I've learned about my own capacity/lack of capacity for solitude at work). Most of what I've learned about others has probably been outside of work, just in life in general. But I guess, when considering specifically interviewing artists, what I've learned is that creativity is manifested in a lot of different ways. Some people are so eloquent and can elucidate their ideas and motivations so well, and some people can't string together a cohesive explanation for anything they do. But whether they can or not, it really doesn't have much bearing on how good their art is; both types of people are capable of creating great work.

J:
Is popular culture/music cyclical? Where do you see college radio or even commercial 'alternative' stations (themselves ironically products born out of the commercial success of one time obscure fringe values) format heading in the 2000's?...

Roni:
Culture and music are as cyclical as anything in history. Some things keep reappearing, and others evolve into something else. It seems commercial alternative is such a lame format that it will die soon. But it'll just evolve into whatever the next hot format is. College radio will continue as it has for so long now. But what's most exciting about radio is Internet streaming. The ability to get stations from all over the world, in real time, is incredible, and really breaks down a lot of doors to getting underground music out. I think that's going to grow a lot in the near future.

J:
What will give MTV real competition? ( Admittedly, I don't watch television so really have no idea what MTV is like these days!) .....Web TV? The internet? (And even the one time 'alternative' 120 Minutes MTV program got to where it wouldn't touch a video unless it was major label driven. This changed it seemed with the one-time 'King Of Independence' Dave Kendall leaving.) What about music retail/ and or the corporate record labels? Programming our OWN c.d.s from MP3 downloads?

Roni:
MTV has already given up on being a video channel, so if anyone steps in to fill that void, it won't even be a competition, really. In some cities, there's The Box, which is a cool station that actually shows videos (not much underground stuff, but some). But again, the Internet is the place to find videos. You can get them any time you want, and as obscure as you want. As for MP3 and downloadable music, I have to admit I'm a bit at a loss to figure it out. Everyone keeps talking about how it's going to take over, and I'm sure it will some day, but I've yet to really feel the appeal personally. It seems so unruly right now. I don't really want to program my own CDs. That's what I want artists to do; to create a full package that I can enjoy. But yeah, clearly MP3 is another way to get non-commercial music out to people.

J:
What has the reaction been to Secret History...? Can you offer any advice to persons out there who have an idea for a book on contemporary culture? Did you approach publishers? What was that experience like?

Roni:
The reaction has been really terrific. It's very gratifying, though at the same time, I realized going in that this book would be an easy thing for people to applaud. It's all about "the underdog" and about those who sacrificed for their art; all the romantic notions that people love to applaud (even if they don't necessarily live it themselves). My experience with the publisher was atypically smooth. Generally, if you have an idea for a non-fiction book, you need to write a detailed proposal, and maybe even a sample chapter, then get an agent to represent you, and then send it around to many publishing companies until someone bites. In my case, it was really informal. I was aleardy working with an agent, and she had just sold a book to Billboard Books (my publisher), so she recommended that I just call up the editor and pitch my idea over the phone. I did, and he gave me the go-ahead. I was lucky, and it went very smoothly.