Q1. Hello, can you please introduce yourself? Readers would love to know more about you.
My name is Michael Cimino. No… not the famous movie director of The Deer Hunter fame, or the handsome young actor from Las Vegas (laughs).
I’m an ex-radio announcer and music journalist from New Jersey who happens to earn a living as a sommelier in upstate New York’s wine country. Oh, and by the way, I am the author of three books; Music Head – A Memoir of Purpose, Badfinger and Beyond – The Biography of Joey Molland, and A Beginner’s Guide to Wine.
Q2. What were the key challenges you faced while writing your book “Music Head – A Memoir of Purpose”?
Probably, the biggest challenge was going through the hundreds of hours of tape recordings that much of the book is based upon. When I was working in the music business I had the opportunity to interview, many famous musicians and I captured all of the interviews on cassette tapes.
Transferring many of the old tapes to the digital format took a lot of time, and then, of course, picking which interviews and what parts of the interviews to use in the book was a challenge as I wanted them to have a cohesive flow in order to not only tell the musicians’ stories but the story of music history as well.
Several of the stars I spoke with were instrumental in the founding of Rock and Roll, and are still stars today; like Roger McGuinn, who founded the very influential group The Byrds in the 1960’s, Gregg Rolie from Journey and Santana, and Pete Best, who was The Beatles’ original drummer.
Q3. What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?
The books that influenced me throughout my life are actually listed in the bibliography of Music Head, but it is hard to tell if any of those authors actually influenced my personal writing style.
I think, the person who did influence the way I write was one of the people who was invited to teach the class on Australian wines when I was studying at the Sommelier Society of America. After his presentation I asked him a very simple question about Australia’s climate and he went off on this tangent for, like, twenty minutes and by the time he was done I was so confused that I don’t think he actually answered my question.
So from that time on I told myself that whenever I was communicating, whether it was educating someone about a wine, or writing about a musician, I would never ‘speak over people’s heads.’
I think reading and writing should be fun and educational, not some academic chore that one needs to complete. I also think that song lyrics have influenced me just as much as poetry and prose.
Q4. What’s your favourite spot to visit in your own country? And what makes it so special to you?
Most definitely, the Finger Lakes wine district in upstate New York. Honestly, I didn’t even know the Finger Lakes existed until I started studying wine. When I first visited the area it was to learn about winemaking and the growing grapes. Then I fell in love with the area and New York wines.
Whenever I was in the Finger Lakes I felt a part of something much bigger. A community of people working within an industry that brings us all together. Wine can do that. So can music. It feels a bit different now that I live here full time, but it is still my favorite place.
Q5. What inspired you to write the book ‘Music Head – A Memoir of Purpose’?
They say, and I don’t know who ‘they’ are, but it has been said that everyone should leave something behind for the rest of the world to remember them by after they’re gone. Some people have children who carry their lineage forward, some create art. I wrote a book that contains music history but it also contains my legacy. I touched upon this subject in the early part of the book.
Q6. How long did it take you to write your book ‘Music Head – A Memoir of Purpose’?
All of my life, practically! The idea has been floating around in my head for decades. When I was younger I was a scrap booker, and had all of these binders full of photos and concert ticket stubs and other memorabilia from my life. I always thought it would be cool to put together a definitive scrap book for my family.
Then, after I started seriously writing in the 1990’s, I thought to put together an autobiography of some sort. After editing the 10 year anniversary edition of my wine book in 2019 I began to compile the stories that make up Music Head, and then on winter break last January I completed it for the most part.
Q7. On what platforms can readers buy your books?
All of my books are available on Amazon.com. Other than that, there are a very small handful of shops in the Finger Lakes area that have supported my books.
Q8. Tell us about the process of coming up with the book cover and the title ‘Music Head – A Memoir of Purpose’?
Originally the book was going to be called Casual Conversations about Rock and Roll, but as it evolved I discovered that the book was really as much about me as it was about the musicians I was writing about, and that changed everything.
Throughout the book, and my life, I have continuously questioned ‘what is my purpose in this world?’ And, ‘who am I?’ Well, music has been the driving force throughout my whole life, so I am a ‘music head,’ and it seems I have found my purpose. It’s all in the book, of course.
As for the cover, my fiancée Debbie always loved the picture she took of me one winter day while I was sitting at my desk working on something. I had a full beard at the time, which is not my norm, and she suggested we use that. She said I looked like a writer! I guess it was my Finding Forester period!
I had the idea to use shiny black as the background in homage to The Beatles’ early singles on the Apple Records label and do the back cover print in the same color of green that The Beatles used. The green didn’t really work out that great so we changed it to gold. Deb used to work in magazine design. We worked on the cover together.
Q9. What would you say is your strength as a writer?
I think this harkens back to what I said about ‘who influenced my writing.’ I like to keep things simple and not try to impress anyone with overly flamboyant statements, or overly wordy passages.
Q10. What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve been given about writing?
I don’t know if I’ve ever gotten any advice about writing. I certainly can’t recall anyone giving me any advice, but there are two things that spring to mind.
One is a line in the screenplay of The Last Emperor by Bernardo Betolucci. In the movie version he has Peter O’Toole say the line ‘words are important because they say what you mean, and a gentleman should always mean what he says.’ I have always found that statement to be very profound.
The other thing is; I’ve always believed that the universe has a plan. Why I wound up being a writer, I really don’t know, but surely everything happens for a reason.
Buy Music Head: A Memoir of Purpose on Amazon
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