Amy Sciarretto Interview
This is the latest in a series of interviews profiling heavy metal writers. Writers shape the information you read about your favorite artists. The good ones, like Amy Sciarretto, add insight and bring out interesting facts and stories from their subjects. Anyone can do an interview or write a review. It takes talent, experience and an understanding of the music and the people behind the music to make those interviews and reviews compelling.
Sciarretto is one of those gifted writers that is able to do just that.
When you pick up a metal or alternative rock magazine, odds are that Amy Sciarretto either writes for it now, or used to write for it. The very prolific scribe currently writes for Alternative Press, Hit Parader, Outburn, Metal Maniacs, Chord, Ruin, CMJ New Music Report, Mean Street and The Aquarian Weekly. She has also written for Revolver, Guitar World, Kerrang, Decibel, Rockpile and many others. In addition to metal, Amy also writes about cosmetics and beauty products for beautynewsnyc.com. Sciarretto’s day job is also in the music industry. She works for Roadrunner Records.
Chad Bowar: How did you get started writing about metal?
Amy Sciarretto: I started my first year in college, writing for a locally published music magazine called Chord, which is still around and I still happily write for. I sent the managing editor and publisher a sample review of Texas Is The Reason’s debut EP, and they liked it, and sent me a bunch of CDs for free to review.
I didn’t get paid, but I was so happy to get free CDs by bands that I loved, and to be able to write about them. This, of course, snowballed. I built clips, and started writing for my school newspaper, and I also ran my school’s college radio station, and through contacts there, I met editors at other magazines, and started writing for Juice, the surf/skate/rock mag. I got paid $5 a review, but it was worth it. I had so many clips and bylines and a reputation after a year that the paid gigs started coming in. I wrote all through college, interning at FMQB, the radio trade magazine, and from there I got a job as an editorial assistant at CMJ New Music Report. After 2 months, they gave me the Loud Rock column, which ballooned from one chart and two pages of editorial to two charts and five pages of editorial.
What do you do at Roadrunner Records?
Hard Rock radio and video promotion. Basically, if there is a radio station, be it commercial, rock, college, alternative, community, or satellite radio, with any sort of metal programming, I work with them, getting airplay on the bands, setting up interviews, taking bands to visit stations, doing contests, promotions, giveaways. It’s like press, only for radio stations, not magazines! I love it. Been here for over 5 years and love all the bands!
Do you ever write about the bands on your label?
It depends on the magazine. Most magazines don’t care, some do, thinking it’s a conflict of interest. I don’t think so, because I can often get a band in a good headspace, since they know me well and are comfortable with talking to me. But if a magazine doesn’t want me to write about my bands, that is fine. There are plenty of other great writers out there who can do a good job on Roadrunner bands in print, and there are tons of other new and up and coming bands I’d like to expose.
Do you think working at a record label gives you a different perspective than other writers?
Yes. Because you get to see the album grow from a seed to a mighty oak. You see a marketing plan. You hear demos and rough mixes. You see the album through to completion. You see how the label is attacking each outlet for the band. You get a bit of a bird’s eye view that others may not.
Take us through your typical workday.
It starts at 9 and often doesn’t end until midnight, and yes, I still make time for boys even though I work too much. I live in New Jersey –my whole life, and proud of it- about 11 miles from New York City. I hop on the transit commuter bus, walk to the Roadrunner office, and I take the first hour of the day to plow thru emails and to take care of any pressing stuff. Then I proceed to make hundreds of calls and emails a day to radio stations throughout the country about my bands. If they have the record, I don’t want one spin. I want 3. So I come up with creative promotions to get them to spin my stuff extra, and to expose my artists even more to their listeners and on the air. I’ve been doing this over 5 years, so I am very close with most of my programmers, and feel they are friends. I know who’s getting divorced, whose kid is acting up in school, who is going to rehab, etc. Then, I leave at 6 or 7, and either go to a show, or go home, and work on my editorial for any of the magazines I’m writing for.
Who was your favorite interview and why?
I have interviewed thousands of rock dudes, rock stars, people who think they are rock stars. But my favorite? Gosh, I don’t think I could narrow it down. The biggest I ever interviewed was Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam. He was so down to earth, and nice. Peter Steele of Type O Negative is always good for a laugh, as well.
Who was your least favorite interview and why?
The singer of Disturbed (David Draiman). He talked down to me and condescended and chided me like I was 4 years old. That was in 2000 when they were first breaking. Needless to say, I have not interviewed him since and don’t plan on ever interviewing him again.
Where is the most unusual place you’ve conducted an interview?
In a bathroom. It makes for very echo’y recording and difficult transcription.
Sciarretto is one of those gifted writers that is able to do just that.
When you pick up a metal or alternative rock magazine, odds are that Amy Sciarretto either writes for it now, or used to write for it. The very prolific scribe currently writes for Alternative Press, Hit Parader, Outburn, Metal Maniacs, Chord, Ruin, CMJ New Music Report, Mean Street and The Aquarian Weekly. She has also written for Revolver, Guitar World, Kerrang, Decibel, Rockpile and many others. In addition to metal, Amy also writes about cosmetics and beauty products for beautynewsnyc.com. Sciarretto’s day job is also in the music industry. She works for Roadrunner Records.
Chad Bowar: How did you get started writing about metal?
Amy Sciarretto: I started my first year in college, writing for a locally published music magazine called Chord, which is still around and I still happily write for. I sent the managing editor and publisher a sample review of Texas Is The Reason’s debut EP, and they liked it, and sent me a bunch of CDs for free to review.
I didn’t get paid, but I was so happy to get free CDs by bands that I loved, and to be able to write about them. This, of course, snowballed. I built clips, and started writing for my school newspaper, and I also ran my school’s college radio station, and through contacts there, I met editors at other magazines, and started writing for Juice, the surf/skate/rock mag. I got paid $5 a review, but it was worth it. I had so many clips and bylines and a reputation after a year that the paid gigs started coming in. I wrote all through college, interning at FMQB, the radio trade magazine, and from there I got a job as an editorial assistant at CMJ New Music Report. After 2 months, they gave me the Loud Rock column, which ballooned from one chart and two pages of editorial to two charts and five pages of editorial.
What do you do at Roadrunner Records?
Hard Rock radio and video promotion. Basically, if there is a radio station, be it commercial, rock, college, alternative, community, or satellite radio, with any sort of metal programming, I work with them, getting airplay on the bands, setting up interviews, taking bands to visit stations, doing contests, promotions, giveaways. It’s like press, only for radio stations, not magazines! I love it. Been here for over 5 years and love all the bands!
Do you ever write about the bands on your label?
It depends on the magazine. Most magazines don’t care, some do, thinking it’s a conflict of interest. I don’t think so, because I can often get a band in a good headspace, since they know me well and are comfortable with talking to me. But if a magazine doesn’t want me to write about my bands, that is fine. There are plenty of other great writers out there who can do a good job on Roadrunner bands in print, and there are tons of other new and up and coming bands I’d like to expose.
Do you think working at a record label gives you a different perspective than other writers?
Yes. Because you get to see the album grow from a seed to a mighty oak. You see a marketing plan. You hear demos and rough mixes. You see the album through to completion. You see how the label is attacking each outlet for the band. You get a bit of a bird’s eye view that others may not.
Take us through your typical workday.
It starts at 9 and often doesn’t end until midnight, and yes, I still make time for boys even though I work too much. I live in New Jersey –my whole life, and proud of it- about 11 miles from New York City. I hop on the transit commuter bus, walk to the Roadrunner office, and I take the first hour of the day to plow thru emails and to take care of any pressing stuff. Then I proceed to make hundreds of calls and emails a day to radio stations throughout the country about my bands. If they have the record, I don’t want one spin. I want 3. So I come up with creative promotions to get them to spin my stuff extra, and to expose my artists even more to their listeners and on the air. I’ve been doing this over 5 years, so I am very close with most of my programmers, and feel they are friends. I know who’s getting divorced, whose kid is acting up in school, who is going to rehab, etc. Then, I leave at 6 or 7, and either go to a show, or go home, and work on my editorial for any of the magazines I’m writing for.
Who was your favorite interview and why?
I have interviewed thousands of rock dudes, rock stars, people who think they are rock stars. But my favorite? Gosh, I don’t think I could narrow it down. The biggest I ever interviewed was Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam. He was so down to earth, and nice. Peter Steele of Type O Negative is always good for a laugh, as well.
Who was your least favorite interview and why?
The singer of Disturbed (David Draiman). He talked down to me and condescended and chided me like I was 4 years old. That was in 2000 when they were first breaking. Needless to say, I have not interviewed him since and don’t plan on ever interviewing him again.
Where is the most unusual place you’ve conducted an interview?
In a bathroom. It makes for very echo’y recording and difficult transcription.
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