What We Can Learn From An Insane 2022, From Publishing A Book To Open Heart Surgery, To Take Into 2023

For all those hoping for a more normal 2022, uh no. I have spoken to so many people who found this year to be even more disruptive, chaotic and overwhelming than the previous two years of COVID-induced lockdown.

Four years after dealing with a 16-month period of personal insanity that saw my dad on life support, my mom die from congestive heart failure and then finally my beloved dog, Sierra, pass of liver cancer, I thought I would never go through a more personally tumultuous period.

But the last three months of 2022 said, “Hold my beer.” On October 25, Harper Horizon published my book, Anthems We Love: 29 Iconic Artists On The Songs That Shaped Our Lives, that featured many of the biggest names in music history.

Starting with The Temptations’ Otis Williams, the last living member of the band to record “My Girl,” and ending with Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance talking about “Welcome To The Black Parade,” the book included interviews with U2, Shania Twain, Carly Simon, The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson and Al Jardine, Neil Diamond, TLC, KISS, Aerosmith, Linda Ronstadt, Earth, Wind & Fire, Daryl Hall, Nile Rodgers, The Doors’ Robby Krieger, Grace Slick and many more, as well as my personal favorite chapter, an incredible piece on the song “Take It With Me,” written by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan.

It was a great achievement. But instead of getting to bask after two years of writing and working with Harper and Shore Fire Media on the release, three days after the book was released I went for what I thought was a routine doctor’s appointment, wound up in the hospital and found out I needed open-heart surgery.

In terms of the surreal it’d be hard for anything to top the absurd juxtaposition the combination of my book release and surgery. Just look at the week of book release.

The night of the book release gathered with a great group of 14 or so friends to celebrate at Meet In Paris Bistro L.A. Two nights later attended a phenomenal City of Hope benefit where the Jonas Brothers and Jack Johnson performed and John Legend and the Weeknd were in the audience. And the next night was in the hospital.

To make a long story a little shorter November 11 had triple bypass surgery. Four days later I was out of the hospital; November 17 I interviewed the Isley Brothers, November 18 Danny Elfman and by November 21 was promoting Anthems We Love again. Ten days after triple bypass surgery I was doing a TV interview on WGN.

I have since seen the cardiologist and surgeon who said my recovery was “freakishly good,” and that I was up and around faster than anyone than anyone they had ever seen after this surgery. I feel great physically and mentally. I was able to take what could have been a deadly negative and turn it into a potentially life-changing positive. That, to me, is the best way to approach the insanity of the last year. And as someone fortunate to interview so many intelligent and successful people here are some of my favorite lessons to take into 2023.

1) Know Your Value – This is a big one. And it’s non-negotiable, even if sometimes it means giving up a lot. Here is an example. While working on Anthems We Love I ran into an obstacle in the form of a potential colleague I was extremely unhappy with. Our styles didn’t mesh at all. Without getting into too much detail I informed them that if we could not reach an agreement I was taking the book and it would never be published, even with all the great artists involved. I was not bluffing. I wasn’t happy and wasn’t being treated right and I knew that if I didn’t speak up I’d regret it. And, this applies to all areas of life, business and personal. This holds just as true in personal relationships. Sometimes, you have to be prepared to walk away, even if it’s the last thing you want to do.

2) You Don’t Know Everything — This is one of the most valuable and my favorite lessons because it essentially saved my life. If I had my heart surgery as a dumbass kid in my 20s who believed he knew everything I’d probably be dead, or at the very least back in the hospital. But, trust me, when you’re older and your sternum is literally cut in half and the doctors who know way more than you tell you not to drive or lift stuff for four weeks because your wound is healing and the wrong movement can crack your sternum back open you learn to listen. There are always people smarter than you in different areas. Listen to them, your life will be much more interesting and easier.

3) Be A Fan – In 2007 I was fortunate to be one of a dozen U.S. journalists to attend the Led Zeppelin reunion show at the O2 Arena in London. From the opening seconds of “Good Times, Bad Times,” it was, and remains, the greatest concert I have ever seen out of thousands. And yet I saw all these nimrod journalists in my row nodding their head, “Oh, not bad.” Being detached doesn’t make you cool. I get interviews no one else does because I love music. And if I believe in someone’s music I champion them as a fan. This is not new. Rock critic Jon Landau wrote nearly 50 years ago, “I saw rock and roll’s future and its name is Bruce Srpingsteen.” He still manages Springsteen to this day. So whether it’s The Afghan Whigs, whose frontman Greg Dulli I have interviewed on every album since 1994; The National, who I first saw at the tiny Echo in Los Angeles and have known 20 years, or more recently Noah Cyrus, one of my two favorite new artists in the last five years — who I have interviewed at least five times in two years and can’t wait to interview 50 more — I still get excited by music. Trust me, artists appreciate the hell out of that. And this again goes well beyond music. Life without enthusiasm and passion, in whatever you are doing, feels empty. Be a fan of many things.

4) Use Your Resources — Cyrus is one of my two favorite new artists of the last five years. The other is singer/songwriter Sage Bava, who I recently started championing. Bava is an acquaintance from Grammy Camp, where she attended and I taught and she asked me for some advice on getting signed. I sent her stuff to several friends whose music opinions I trusted. People like producer John Feldmann (Blink-182, Avril Lavigne), songwriter Sam Hollander, managers Peter Katsis and John Shank and others. The unanimous consensus among others is she is an extraordinary talent, with a remarkably unique voice, capable of soul, R&B and jazz, and story, as well as a legit musician who plays multiple instruments and can produce. She is a superstar, as you can see from the video below, and multiple managers I reached out to as friends want to meet her. By hitting up others whose opinions I respect, I get a new artist to champion, which I love as a music fan. And I’ll bet a thousand dollars by the end of 2023 she is signed to a label deal. Win for all involved.

5) Follow Your Gut — This is the greatest lesson I have learned and it continually applies. Case in point, I had to cancel both New York and L.A. book events for Anthems We Love because of my heart surgery. I could have bitched, tried to put off surgery to sneak in events, whatever the case might be. But I learned when my parents were sick, when Sierra was sick, things have a way of working out. Many things I cancelled then were rescheduled or came out better. Because it felt right to cancel them. This has been my way my whole life and it led me to NYU, where I became a journalist, to great personal relationships, to some of my favorite interviews, to quit jobs that weren’t right. The biggest mistake I see people make is over thinking things. I had no choice, get surgery. Did it, went great and recovered without it hanging over my head. And like everything else on this list a very multi-purposeful life tip.