Despite his fumbling, stutters and awkward facial expressions, Marc Spitz managed to tell about 50 people what they wanted to hear: the raw truth about music journalism.

Spitz, 38, a music journalism veteran and currently a senior writer for SPIN magazine, was a guest speaker at the Ninth Annual Arts and Entertainment Career Fair at DePaul University.

He attempted to be professional, donning a blazer, sweater vest and tie. But his tight black jeans and excited hand gestures demolished any business-like exterior. Spitz just couldn’t conceal his genuine passion for the profession, for music and his overwhelming desire to be forthright.

“He was stuttering and neurotic, but approachable and interesting,” says Chris Herner, a 23-year-old English major at DePaul.

Full of honesty and occasional expletives, Spitz attempted to give an accurate assessment of the journalism business based mostly from his struggle to break into the industry.

Spitz advocated for young writers to stand up for themselves: “Don’t be afraid to pitch big (story idea suggestions) from the start,” he said. “There’s no law that says 21- or 22-year-olds can’t make a great feature.”

He also said, however, that there is a “prejudice against youth” in this industry.

Although not present at the speech, Abe Peck, a Medill professor and the head of the magazine program, says he doesn’t think it’s that hard to get started as a music writer, though it is hard to make it big.

“There are more major music magazines now than there were in the ’60s, as well as myriad Web sites,” Peck says. “Where Spitz has a point is that it’s hard to rise in the field. There are fewer well-paying magazine outlets for rock than there are for, say, in the women’s or health categories, and staff jobs aren’t that common.”

According to Spitz, up-and-coming journalists can combat this bias with great story ideas.

“Don’t stress out over writing samples; (editors) won’t read them, but they will read 10 great pitch ideas,” Spitz said. At SPIN, he says editors and senior writers are always trying to figure out “who has a fucking idea.”

Another marketable quality he advocated is being “editable.” He said that by “being clean instead of being great,” a journalist can build a rapport with his editors.

In order to accomplish this stability, Spitz warns against being anxious.

“Don’t be intimidated by editors, like I am (to) you,” Spitz said as he anxiously downed his beverage on stage. “Don’t be afraid to speak up and have a sense of self. They’ll respect you more.”

Impressed with his honesty, DePaul freshman and music management major Liz Catalano said, “He wasn’t what I expected – he really motivated me to want to do something.”

Spitz also spoke about some of the personal struggles that came along with being engulfed in the rock ‘n’ roll world as a writer. At the career fair, Spitz said he captured his strife in his semi-autobiographical book, the coming-of-age story How Soon is Never, through the book’s restless protagonist, Joe Green.

Though Spitz didn’t admit to the same heavy drug use as the fictional Green, he did acknowledge turning to drinking.

“Ultimately, the struggle is inevitable,” Spitz says.

To deal with these seemingly hopeless moments, Spitz recommended taking advantage of humility. Instead of wallowing, he said to “appreciate where you are and pick things up that’ll impress people, and don’t do drugs.”

Even though in today’s “underground scene” it appears that self-destruction instead of desire motivates good art, Spitz said strong convictions should eventually pull you through.

“You don’t want to be up at night doing coke with the Strokes,” Spitz said. “It’s not good for them and it’s not good for (you). You want to take in the moment, but in the end it comes down to commitment.”

No longer a newbie, Spitz said he has been writing for SPIN for the past eight or nine years. But being a veteran doesn’t make it easier to interview your idols. Spitz warned not to be afraid of your heroes – instead, he recommends, be prepared.

Spitz shared one of his worst interview moments of his career as what not to do, saying: “The first interview I ever did was with the Jesus and Mary Chain. I thought they were the coolest band ever. I was like, ‘You’re the Jesus and fucking Mary Chain.’ And they thought the Velvet Underground was the coolest band ever. I was dead from the start.”

Though he’s matured enough to handle his heroes, Spitz said getting older has posed a new problem. While he continues to write for SPIN, some of his peers have moved onto writing for what Spitz calls “more acclaimed” men’s magazines like GQ that feature Armani-clad Ethan Hawke versus the raunchy Internet alt-porn Suicide Girls.

He disagreed with this notion, saying he would be bored out of his mind being sent to these “resting homes” and “writing about cheese.”

So Spitz is prepared to respond to this stereotype of aging music journalists – looking at the audience with widened eyes and a surprising glimmer of confidence, he said, “I still love rock ‘n’ roll; fuck you.”4

Medill freshman Andrea Hart is a PLAY writer. She can be reached at [email protected].