What was your first job as a journalist?
I wrote a preview of a Twin Peaks tribute concert.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes
How is social media changing news?
Easier to spread and easier to fake.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Peter Parker.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
Amplifying voices
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Email or Messenger.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Word. TapeACall. Rev. Adobe Acrobat. Email. Messenger. Text. Facebook. Instagram. Voice Memos. Notes. Camera. A physical notebook. Pen.
What's your favorite social network?
Facebook.
Who do you wish followed you?
Jello Biafra
Why did you become a journalist?
I saw a music scene that was being largely overlooked, and I wanted more people to look at it.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
No, but I had a poem published in it once.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
My interview with Nadya Tolokonnikova of Pussy Riot.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Editors are people. Email them with the right pitch, and they might respond. Just write your story well and be open to future assignments.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Whenever. I'll see it.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
I love it when people offer to send me records.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Some dude on LinkedIn had a moderately successful business and wanted me to ghostwrite his biography but wouldn't pay me anything up front.
What's your favorite drink?
Bourbon. Seltzer. Lime.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
At a show. Cycling. Watching cartoons.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
Rolling Stone.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That it's like some super crazy world. It's just people doing their jobs.
