Michael Musto is known for his column in The Village Voice where he writes La Dolce Musto. He just released his latest book, Fork on the Left, Knife in the Back, in which he compiles many of his past celebrity tidbits.
We chatted about this latest project and talked shop about writing.
Windy City Times: Hi, Michael. Are you calling from work?
Michael Musto: I work out of my home, so yes. I work 24 hours a day.
WCT: Must be nice to not go to a formal office.
MM: It is kind of nice to just click something and my column goes in.
WCT: How did you wind up working for The Village Voice in the first place?
MM: When I got out of Columbia College I had no idea what my future was going to be. In fact, I recently ran a picture on my blog of me in a leisure suit in the '70s at my college graduation party. I had a horrified dumbstruck look on my face not to mention that horrible leisure suit! I started freelancing around and ended up doing a few pieces for The Voice and they liked my work so when there was an opening for an entertainment columnist they had me audition by writing a sample column. They liked the mix that I provided of movies, nightlife, fashion and politics, all with a personal vent to it. So they gave me the job. That was in late 1984. This November will be my 27th anniversary.
WCT: Congrats on that.
MM: I think that is, like, 1,400 columns but who is counting?
WCT: The whole process has changed so much throughout the years, I am sure.
MM: Yes, it has. Starting three and a half years ago I started writing a blog as well as a column. That becomes a venue for more media thoughts and breaking stories. Now the column is for me has become more of a one theme type of piece. I will either make it a one-theme piece or one personality. It is less of zigzagging around and going to events, especially since they are not what they used to be because of the economy. It used to be a sumptuous buffet and a gift bag and now it is like a cracker, some skin cream and a T-shirt. Oh, and a chance to interview a celebrity that was famous three seasons ago on a reality show! But I still leave the house and go cover what is out there.
WCT: You must love blogging since it is immediate and you don't have to wait for it to come out.
MM: Yes, at first I thought it would consume me like a tapeworm but I got into the rhythm of it. It is fun to create an instant dialogue because you immediately get comments on it. You are kind of the conversation breaker at a party. You are throwing something out there and everyone has an opinion on what you have written, if what you have written is suitably provocative.
WCT: I read your new book and saw that The Sound of Music inspired you to be a columnist.
MM: When I was a kid I went to see The Sound of Music movie in its original run. I went with my aunt, who is a nun, and a couple of her nun friends. The box-office lady was very savvy and didn't want to go to hell so she comped us. Obviously nuns get in free to see The Sound of Music. That has stuck with me in life for the complimentary lifestyle. I loved the movie and it just spun my head around. It really holds up. For years, I was angry at [movie critic] Pauline Kael for saying it was too treacly. I have a low tolerance for treacle but, to me, it works on every level. It has nuns, Nazis and a love story.
WCT: And great music, have you ever talked to Julie Andrews?
MM: I have and she lived up to the image. She was impossibly nice and sweet, very Maria Von Trapp-like. I don't know what she is really like but…
WCT: Is there a celebrity that has meant the most to you to interview?
MM: Julie was one of my early icons and Diana Ross was another. When I met her in the '80s again she lived up to the image. She wasn't anything like had been portrayed in these books where you can't give her eye contact or address her as Diana. She came up to me at a party and started chatting. People ask me, "What are celebrities like?" I really don't know. I am giving you how they behave to press people at an event.
WCT: Oh, I got that completely!
MM: You can live with someone for ten years and still not know what they are really like. I don't pretend that this is a real profile of their psyches.
WCT: Has there been a celebrity that left a bad taste in your mouth?
MM: Well, in the early days before Madonna was even famous, I had a band called The Must—Michael Musto and The Must. We actually sang Diana Ross cover songs. When Madonna was a rising strumpet we shared equal billing at a nightclub but she was already acting every bit the diva as if she was already the biggest star in the world. We never even got to do a sound check because she sound checked from every angle for so long. Her manager told us we couldn't have shared guests greet us in the dressing room after our gig because we went on first and she was getting dressed. It was especially ironic considering Madonna didn't want to change in front of people when later she made the whole world her gynecologist.
WCT: Have you ever said something that you regretted about a celebrity?
MM: After all of these years I don't think I really have.
WCT: Nothing has come back to haunt you?
MM: There have been repercussions and people have gotten angry at me but I have never been sued and I don't remember printing that many retractions so I am just going to keep cranking it out! I don't just throw it onto the page or even onto the blog. It is very well thought out. If I had regrets I would probably go nuts.
WCT: Where did the title come from?
MM: A cater waiter in Fire Island who was a butler at the house of Robin Byrd—she's a famous porn star-turned-television host—came up to me and said, "The motto of Fire Island is fork on the left, knife in the back, spoon up the nose, dish, dish, dish." I left the last part out because I don't do coke.
Visit blogs.villagevoice.com/dailymusto for your daily dose of Michael. Pick up his book at www.amazon.com/Fork-Left-Knife-Michael-Musto/dp/1936467100.
