Guest Blog: Steve Almond on "Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life"

Last week in class, we discussed Steve Almond's smart, poignant, and highly entertaining new memoir, Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life.  We lucked out: Steve was generous enough to field a few questions from the class about music, Drooling Fanaticism, and writing.  Read on to hear Steve Almond (a.k.a. "Drooling Steve") on writer's block, critiquing famous people, and not taking yourself too seriously:

Dress Your Family: Because you seem good at this, is it possible to, as a writer, not take yourself too seriously?

SA: Of course it's possible. Please. It's easy. Just Get Over Yourself! Realize that You're Just Not That Into Yourself. My thing is: we're all basically idiots who do dumb shit constantly and feel self-conscious and embarrassed and lame and rather than trying to deny that, I'm just like: Yep, I'm an idiot. Here's why and how and when. And the funny thing is, readers really appreciate that kind of honesty, because -- super high-level trade secret! -- they FEEL THE EXACT SAME WAY.
DYF: Have the people in your book responded to your interpretations of them? Did their responses influence the way you wrote about them?  

SA: Yeah, I mean, I was writing about musicians I'd worshipped for years, and about whom I had all these complicated envious borderline creepy feelings. So of COURSE I worried about what they would think. But the bottom line is you've just gotta be honest. If Bob Schneider turns out to be a really sad, isolated guy, you've got to say that. Because that's what art is: you tell the truth. Anything short of that is a form of marketing. And the cool thing is that Bob Schneider (who I was most worried about) was totally cool. He send me this brief email saying, basically, "I'm okay with this. You described what you saw and felt."

DYF: Your book is full of strong scenes. How do you choose when to write in scene?     

SA: My theory is that you're best to move into scene and slow down when the character -- whether it's me or some fictional character -- is in emotional danger. So that's what I try to do. The reader is there for danger, first, last, and always.

DYF: What is the hardest aspect of writing a critique of a band or performance?   

SA: For me, it's describing the music. I can talk all about how the music makes me feel, but what's actually happening musically is very tough, both because I don't really understand the language of music, and because (as the book points out, over and over) you can't make notes into words. Music is experiential and intuitive and physical.

DYF: What is your remedy for writer's block?
SA: Forgiveness.

DYF: How do you make your personal experience relevant to a wide audience?     

SA: It's really just about telling the truth about the shit that means the most to you. That's what people want to plug into. I don't worry about what's relevant to the reader. I worry about whether I'm getting
to the ugly bottom of my own experience.

DYF: If you could be the lead singer of any band, what would it be?
     
SA: The Beatles. Why not? They wrote the best songs, so even a dork like me would stand half a chance.

DYF: Will you marry me? [This question posed by two students, male and female.]

SA: Yeah, I'll marry both of you. And I'll make sweet, gentle love to both of you. But don't tell my wife.

Your secret's safe with us, Steve.  Thanks for sharing your time, insights, embarrassing truths, and super-high-level trade secrets.  We remain SA DFs.