Posts Tagged interview
Kevin Avery on The Life and Writings of Paul Nelson and Conversations with Clint
Article first published as Kevin Avery on The Life and Writings of Paul Nelson on Technorati.
The Life and Writings of Paul Nelson
From the 1960s to the early 1980s, Paul Nelson was known for writing passionate, insightful criticism of folk and rock music that showed a partiality for singer-songwriters. He, and his record collection, was of great importance to Bob Dylan early in his career. As an editor at Rolling Stone, he influenced many great critics, such as Charles M. Young and Mikal Gilmore. But suddenly, in the early 1980s, when editorial decisions at Rolling Stone ran contrary to his thinking, Nelson walked away from music criticism. In fact, he dropped out of criticism entirely, choosing to spend his remaining years in relative obscurity, working at a video rental store. He died in 2006, but not before writer Kevin Avery contacted him about a potential biography. After Nelson’s death, Avery was tapped to compile this new Fantagraphics book, Everything Is An Afterthought: The Life And Writings Of Paul Nelson, in which Avery documented Nelson’s career as well as collecting his writing. In addition to discussing this book, Avery also discussed his other Nelson-related book that he edited, Conversations with Clint: Paul Nelson’s Lost Interviews with Clint Eastwood, 1979-1983 (Continuum Books). To mark the release of both books, Avery recently allowed me to interview him via email.
Not to toss a large question your way, but how did Paul Nelson help to shape present day rock criticism?
I’m probably the wrong person to ask. As a result of immersing myself in the music and criticism of the Seventies and Eighties, I really don’t follow rock criticism much anymore, but what I do read bears very little resemblance to the kind of writing that Paul did. Paul’s writing was more contemplative and expansive—in contrast to some of what I read today, which is dictated by time and space constraints (some of the very things that brought Paul’s tenure at Rolling Stone to an end in 1982).
Ryan Stoner on MoPix
MoPix
I’ll be the first to admit, I know next to nothing about film distribution. But when I caught wind of the plans for MoPix, a film and video distribution platform set to launch in January 2012, I wanted to find out more about it. A few emails later, I was in contact with MoPix founder, Ryan Stoner, who was more than willing to educate me in the ways of digital distribution and technology. My thanks to Stoner for his time.
Tim O’Shea: When and how did MoPix initially get conceived?
Ryan Stoner: MoPix was conceived in late 2010. We were developing entertainment apps for the likes of Warner Brothers, Disney and entertainment moguls like Anthony Zuicker the creator of CSI. We had just finished building the Dark Prophecy app, and were exploring creating an ePub authoring solution for publishers looking to enhance their books with a layer of context aware content, transforming an ordinary ebook into a full sensory experience, complete with audio, visuals, discoverable content, special effects, and other content to enhance the reading experience. We quickly realized the pitfalls of transmedia content rights for back catalogues and shifted our focus to the film work. We saw an opportunity to replace the income lost from traditional distribution outlets by creating a platform for filmmakers to release their work. We also saw it as an opportunity to enable users to experience more than just the film, such as, photo galleries, behind the scenes, and any second story content created around the film.
Stephen Battaglio on From Yesterday to Today
Posted by admin in episodic TV, pop culture on December 1, 2011
Article first published as Stephen Battaglio on From Yesterday to TODAY on Technorati.
From Yesterday to Today
In 2012, the U.S. national TV broadcast network NBC will celebrate that Today, its morning news and talk show, first went on the air 60 years ago in January of 1952. Indeed, NBC’s celebration started a little early in mid-November, with the release of From Yesterday to Today: Six Decades of America’s Favorite Morning Show, a book written by Stephen Battaglio (TV Guide‘s business editor) and published by Running Press. Battaglio, who was granted access to the TODAY show’s archives in order to fully document the rich history of the show, was kind enough to take part in a recent email interview about his 272-page book. The book features a variety of information and photos covering the show’s 60-year history as well as an introduction by current Today show host Matt Lauer.
Did NBC give you full access to its show archives?
Yes. We were able to use their photos. I was able to review past episodes of Today – a lot of fun – and interviews with the personalities that NBC News producers had done over the years. I combined that with my own research and reporting on the show done over my career as a journalist covering the TV industry. I also did a few dozen fresh interviews with the current and past Today producers and cast members.
Sara Hickman on The Best of Times
Article first published as Musician Sara Hickman on The Best of Times on Technorati.
The Best of Times
During 2010, in the wake of the Texas Legislature’s budgetary cuts for arts funding, Sara Hickman, the Texas State Musician of the Year, decided to use her position to raise funds and awareness for the importance of arts education (and the funding of it) for children. More exactly, she spearheaded a collaborative effort–with a variety of Texas artists including Shawn Colvin, Willie Nelson, Rhett Miller, Robert Earl Keen as well as many more–to record a collection of Hickman’s own songs. The project, The Best of Times, was recently released as a two-CD, 38-cut collection by Waterloo Records. All proceeds from the sale of the CD set go directly to the Theatre Action Project, a non-profit that supports unique arts programs for more than 16,000 young people. To fully grasp the drive behind her charitable efforts, I recently email interviewed Hickman.
How did you go about getting all of the many fellow talented people who contributed their musical talents to Best of Times?
I knew I had, at least, a year to start lining up musicians to record for The Best of Times because Willie Nelson, who also recorded for the album, was the State Musician before my position took place. So, I immediately made a “wish list” and began calling/emailing/asking in person. I kept a giant chart on the wall with the names of artists/bands I had contacted, the titles of songs I had sent, if they had responded, if they were in the studio, if they had finished recording, if I had the recording.
Chelsea Crowell on New Album, Crystal City
Posted by admin in Music, streaming video on September 28, 2011
Chelsea Crowell's Crystal City
Winter 2012 marks the U.S. release of singer/songwriter Chelsea Crowell’s second album, Crystal City. To mark the upcoming release, Crowell was kind enough to do another interview with me. And her frequent collaborator/producer Loney Hutchins jumped in with his perspective. Crowell is giving folks plenty of places to give a listen (or watch a video) to her new music. My thanks to Crowell and Hutchins for their time on this email interview.
Tim O’Shea: I love the video for I’m Gonna Freeze, where did you find the archival footage to use for the video? Or was that present day video made to look vintage?
Chelsea Crowell: I don’t know, ask my favorite person to work with Colm O’Herlihy. I entrust him with whatever and he never fails. Plus part of it is that it’s a surprise for me too. He is one of about one I would let take over full control of something like that.
Actress-Producer Camille Mana
Article first published as An Interview with Actress-Producer Camille Mana on Blogcritics.
Camille Mana
October is going to be a busy month for actress-producer Camille Mana. First up, she has a supporting role in the feature film Norman, which opens in theatres on October 21. She plays Helen Black, a unique high school classmate who has a crush on Norman (played by Cougar Town‘s Dan Byrd). Secondly, she will appear in actor/playwright Jesse Eisenberg’s new Off-Broadway play Asuncion, which opens October 27 at the historic Cherry Lane Theatre (directed by Kip Fagan and produced by The Rattlestick). To mark the launch of these two latest projects, Mana was kind enough to do an email interview, where we also discuss her plans for new projects allowing her to pursue additional writer-producer opportunities as well as her additional upcoming film releases.
How many pages did you get into Talton Wingate’s script for Norman before you realized you wanted the role of Helen Black?
I’d say that within the first 5 to 10 pages, I knew I would love to be a part of the project. I think you always know within the first 10 pages if you’re attracted to a piece. Just like first impressions in life- you know early on whether or not you’re hooked on something. All good screenplays establish tone and the world of the story in their opening beats. I remember writing my agents, saying I loved the screenplay, because this is exactly the kind of movie that I love to watch!
Marc Bernardin on Syfy’s Alphas
Posted by admin in episodic TV on September 14, 2011
When I found out that writer Marc Bernardin wrote next Monday’s episode (The Unusual Suspects [premiering September 19 at 10/9c]) of Syfy’s Alphas, I wanted to find out all I could from the writer himself. Lucky me, Bernardin was eager to discuss his work on the show. Below is a preview of the episode. Syfy described the episode as follows: “When a member of the team is suspected of being an agent for Red Flag, the group is held against their will until the traitor is revealed.”
My thanks to Bernardin for a fun interview during a busy and successful time in his life.
Tim O’Shea: How did you get involved with Syfy’s Alphas?
Marc Bernardin: Well, the long story is very long and involves decades of waiting, a boatload of luck, and a plane-load of an unnamed substance being airlifted into a classified location. The short story is, I wrote an original TV pilot for a show that’ll never get on the air — basically, I wrote a $30 million action movie, and that’s about $26 million more than they like to spend on pilots — my agents thought that, while it would never sell, it was strong enough to serve as a good sample. They sent it to the boys at Syfy who thought that my particular love for blowing stuff up, mated with my comic-book experience, would be a good fit for Alphas.
Novelist Diana Abu-Jaber on Birds of Paradise: A Novel
Posted by admin in Literature on September 8, 2011
Birds of Paradise: A Novel
Article first published as Interview: Novelist Diana Abu-Jaber on Birds of Paradise: A Novel on Blogcritics.
If you are a regular listener to NPR, you likely have heard one of novelist Diana Abu-Jaber‘s frequent essays. Next week (September 6, to be exact) marks the release of the award-winning author’s newest novel, Birds of Paradise [Editor's note: Of course, the book is out as of this past Tuesday]. While I was already aware of Abu-Jaber, thanks to NPR, I did not realize she had finished her new book until an early July tweet by Bethanne Patrick (aka @thebookmaven). Soon after learning of the new novel, I reached out to Abu-Jaber for an email interview–and she was more than happy to entertain my queries. As described by her publisher (W. W. Norton & Company): “In the tropical paradise that is Miami, Avis and Brian Muir are still haunted by the disappearance of their ineffably beautiful daughter, Felice, who ran away when she was thirteen. Now, after five years of modeling tattoos, skateboarding, clubbing, and sleeping in a squat house or on the beach, Felice is about to turn eighteen. Her family—Avis, an exquisitely talented pastry chef; Brian, a corporate real estate attorney; and her brother, Stanley, the proprietor of Freshly Grown, a trendy food market—will each be forced to confront their anguish, loss, and sense of betrayal. Meanwhile, Felice must reckon with the guilty secret that drove her away, and must face her fear of losing her family and her sense of self forever.” In addition to the book, we also delve into her recent mention in a New York Times piece on email manners.
How early in the development of Birds of Paradise did you realize it had to be set in Miami–and what appealed to you in terms of setting it there?
Miami was present from the very first page. My husband and I moved to Miami eight years ago and I knew I wanted to use it as a setting. Ever since my second novel, Crescent, I’ve been very inspired by sunlight and water and I always like to use a strong setting for my stories– like the city of Syracuse and the blizzard that seems to keep blowing throughout Origin, my third novel. Birds of Paradise is a reflection of Miami’s many layers– its outward dazzling tropical colors and beauty, its racial and cultural collisions. I’m fascinated by that complexity and challenged by it. Setting my new novel here gave me a way to reflect on my adopted city and to push myself to learn more about it.
Baron Wolman on The Rolling Stone Years
Posted by admin in Music, photography on August 31, 2011
Article first published as Interview: Photographer BaronWolman on The Rolling Stone Years on Blogcritics.
Baron Wolman: The Rolling Stone Years
Only one person can lay claim to being Rolling Stone magazine’s first chief photographer–and his name is Baron Wolman. From 1967 to 1970, Wolman captured some of the most iconic images of musicians that graced the magazine’s pages. This August marks the release of The Rolling Stone Years, a collection of Wolman’s photographs from those three years, described by publisher Omnibus Press as consisting of “many … images from the late sixties and early seventies [that] have become iconic shots from rock’s most fertile era.” In addition to his amazing photos, Wolman writes a substantial amount about the early days of the influential magazine as well as his experiences photographing musical greats of the late 1960s/early 1970s.
At one point in the book, you express your preference to shoot in natural light. What is the appeal of using that kind of light for your photos?
Natural light is just that. “Natural.” Nothing artificial about it. What you see in the photo is what I saw when I took the picture. For the most part, flash disturbs the subject and ruins the intimacy of the moment…
What was more challenging to do, decide which pictures to run in the book or writing the text to accompany the pictures?
Both were challenging in the best sense of the word, not to mention the locales where the challenge was met: Paris, Santa Fe, Bangkok. I wanted to add some international “spice” to the process.
Some of your subjects died far too young, how hard was it to look at those pictures?
Not easy, of course. Wondering how their lives would have evolved had they had the opportunity, sad for such talent ended before it had a chance to soar, remembering the moments we shared.
Mike Doughty on Yes and Also Yes
Posted by admin in Music, Uncategorized on August 24, 2011
Article first published as Interview: Musician Mike Doughty on Yes and Also Yes on Blogcritics.
Mike Doughty (be sure to click the pic for a closer look at the Clayton Moore portrait behind him)
My appreciation of Mike Doughty‘s music started much later than most fans, as I first became aware of his work with his 2005 album, Haughty Melodic. When I found he had a new album, Yes and Also Yes, set for release on August 30, I immediately set up an email interview to find out what was in store for fans of his work. If you’ve never seen Doughty live, take a spin around YouTube for a bit and you quickly will realize that you should see him live as soon as possible. To best frame the album in proper context, I quote Doughty himself: “I recorded it in a studio in Koreatown, Manhattan, from July ’10 to April ’11. Produced by Pat Dillett. Notable musicians included my trusty factotum Andrew ‘Scrap’ Livingston on bass, and the pianist Thomas Bartlett, aka Doveman, who basically plays with everybody who’s groovy (Justin Bond, Antony and the Johnsons, Glen Hansard, The National, David Byrne, Yoko Ono). I’m releasing it on my own label, Snack Bar, through Megaforce. I split with Dave Matthews’ label ATO so I could run my own shop and have more control, business-wise.”
I had a chance to listen to the album in preparation for this interview, and I was pleased to find there’s not a bad cut among any of the 14 songs. One song that I hope will garner a lot of attention is “Holiday”, a Christmas duet with singer/songwriter great Rosanne Cash. About Cash, Doughty said: “ I did a show with her, and she said, onstage, ‘I feel nervous playing my new songs, because Mike Doughty is here, and he’s such a great songwriter.’ That blew my mind.” Honestly, to borrow a phrase from Doughty, their duet blows my mind. I am the kind of person that hates hearing Christmas music anytime other than December. But this song has such an amazing hook (as most of Doughty’s songs do), I ended up playing it seven times in a row the first time I heard it. The whole album pulled me in just as much and it was a pleasure to interview Doughty. We also get to discuss another recent Doughty musical project, Dubious Luxury, released earlier this month. My thanks to Doughty for his time and thoughts, as well as Rob Moore for facilitating the interview.
You’re an artist who clearly loves to play live. In developing Yes and Also Yes, how much did you play some of these songs before an audience prior to entering the studio? And did any of the cuts change drastically from how it was initially conceived compared to the final version?
I’ve been playing a lot of comedy shows, around Brooklyn and Manhattan, as a musical guest, and I played “Na Na Nothing”, and “Day By Day By” at nearly every one of them, plus, maybe, “27 Jennifers”. If I play something a lot, before or after recording it, the phrasing will change ever so slightly, so there’ll be a cumulative evolution that I barely notice, unless I listen to a five-year-old version, and then it’s kind of startling. So, I don’t really know.
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