Susan’s Book Talk: Author Rick Florino (Part 2)

When I first heard of Do the Devil’s Work For Him: How to Make it in the Music Industry (and stay in it!), I knew I had to get my hands on this book. After all, I’d been in the music industry. I was set to make it my life. It was that staying in it part that turned out to be impossible. It wasn’t that I wasn’t good. It was that I had another calling.

I think you guys know what that calling is.

Anyway, Devil’s Work co-author Rick Florino got in touch with me and asked if I’d like to hook up and talk about the book. How could I refuse?

Q: Let’s switch to the book. Why did you and Amy decide it was necessary?

I wanted to create a collective of different perspectives that provided kids with insight on how to get their foot in the door of the entertainment industry at large. Most books about this subject have simply one perspective. Our book has over 20. There are my and Amy’s perspectives. Then all my friends…Chino Moreno of Deftones/Team Sleep, Munky of KoRn, Matt Sorum of Velvet Revolver, Shavo Odadjian of System of a Down/Achozen, Dez Fafara of Devildriver, Troy Sanders of Mastodon and then industry folk that have really inspired me—such as Mitch Schneider of MSO PR and many many more. This book gives kids numerous perspectives on how to break in. There isn’t one right way or correct answer. It’s not simply black and white. I wanted to prove that with the book. So we got all of these amazing people to contribute and it’s now an entire tome of knowledge-not just mine and Amy’s either! Plus, I wanted to write something that was fun, fresh and easy. It catalogs my experience in the business, and there’s an element of fun for me in that. I’ve had an awesome ride and I’ve learned so much. I wanted to share that with readers. I want to show kids if they have passion and they believe in something—anything whether it’s music, movies, fashion, basket weaving, wine making ,cooking, sports, whatever—that they can be a part of it no matter how far away it seems. In Boston, there was no opportunity to be a part of this world. I feel blessed every day that my mom encouraged me to move to L.A. and pursue my dream of being in the entertainment business and being a writer. I had no clue that half of the jobs in the biz even existed. Now, I’m thankful to have a full-time career doing something creative that I love. Anybody else can do this too, they just need to make the jump. I wanted to share that with people. That’s why this book was necessary.

Q: You published it with a small press. Why? How’s the experience been? Are you able to hit your target audience with it, and if so, what are you doing to reach these wanna-bes?

The experience has been great, and I’m glad that the book is out and doing so well! We have been able to reach our target audience. I have an amazing publicist named Mike that’s gotten us some incredible interviews. Also, it’s really about people like you that take the time to interview us. You’re the reason I’m reaching people, thank you.

Q: What sort of reaction are you getting from others in the industry? Yep, you’ve gotten a lot of input in the appendix, but beyond that? Are they hoping this will help weed out some of the duds and bring back some of the true characters of the business? (I can name names, but I don’t think you need me to)

The support has been overwhelming! People have been incredibly positive and it inspires me every day that everyone has reacted so favorably to the book. Most importantly it paves the way for my next book –Lila. Lila is incredible. You are going to trip out on it. It will give you nightmares, and I’m psyched about that. It’s the first in a series of ten illustrated novels in a larger saga called Dolor. One of my best friends, Tony Caso, drew the art, and it is haunting. It’s a supernatural thriller, and that’s all I’m going to say. It’ll be available online for free on October 20th here www.bookofdolor.com and you can find more info on www.rickflorino.com. Be ready…We’ll have to do another interview about it.