Mike Corcione – Telling Tales From The Gutter

1. How did you first get involved with the music industry, and what led you to become an author?

I started out as a nightclub DJ in 1978 in an illegal after hours bar in NY and everything else that happened and everything else I ended up doing just fell in my lap after that really. I was hungry to do it, to be involved somehow, and being a DJ was a natural thing for me. I was good at it and I loved music. I was just very enthused about being a big club DJ and playing to crowds of 3000 people and I achieved that. That opened doors for me and I just kept moving and shaking. I had always written things, and over the lockdown I re-visited my writings and added to them and decided to release a book of my musical journey.

2. “Tales from the Gutter” features some incredible stories about your experiences with legendary bands like Motley Crue and Iron Maiden. Can you share one of your favorite stories from the book with us?

Wow there are so many. There are lots of things that I couldn’t fit into the book. I mean there are endless stories. My favorite story really are my DJ days in the clubs on Long Island in the late 70’s and early to mid 80’s. Incredible time to be involved in music. So much was happening. Disco, punk, new wave, reggae, heavy metal, glam, rock and roll, electronic music. It was incredible.

3. You’ve worked with a variety of different bands throughout your career, who has been your favorite to work with and why?

Well I partied and networked with a lot of bands but the only band I really worked for officially was LA Guns. I worked at Relativity/Combat Records and worked with many bands in a record label capacity, but with LA Guns I was their road manager and worked directly for them. When you tour with a band for 9-10 months you form a bond and you share some incredible times, especially back in 1988. It was loose and free and we all had a blast. It was the height of the LA, Sunset Strip, Hollywood glam metal bands. In 3-4 years grunge would come in and that was it. It was over. But to have worked for LA Guns on their first album tour was an incredible experience that I talk about in my book.

4. What was the most challenging experience you’ve had working in the music industry, and how did you overcome it?

Probably being LA Guns road manager. I had never done it before. But I knew I could do it. It was 9-10 months of little sleep, bad food, ego clashes, dysfunction, rock and roll, and a lot of fun. I listened to my gut and did what I knew to be the right thing in the moment. It was fly by the seat of your pants a lot of the time. I did it as long as I could before cracking up. Then I went home and slept for 2 months.

5. Can you talk about any interesting or surprising moments that occurred while you were researching and writing “Tales from the Gutter”?

Nothing really as I just sat home and worked on it over the lockdown. It was like purging the past. Getting it all out there. I had written a lot of the material over the last 35 years. Bits and pieces, stories. I had a lot of it and just took it all out and looked at it, then added to it and assembled it into a memoir. My life in music.

6. In your opinion, how has the music industry changed since you first began your career, and what impact has that had on the industry as a whole?

Well there really is no music industry anymore. Its all corporate entertainment monster conglomerates. There are still independent labels and such but it really is a grind to do it that way. You haver to be totally committed to doing it and earning your living that way. It becomes every waking moment of your life. Then just when you get things really rolling some bigger company comes in and waves money at you etc and you have to make a decision. Sign with the devil or no? But the days of mega record labels signing “music” artist is over. Most of the big acts today are celebrity and social media driven and the “music” is created to service that. So there is no more music in the business. Its all business. Very little real music.

7. What advice would you give to aspiring authors looking to write about the music industry and their experiences within it?

Just write. Its easier now to self publish and get your writings all over the world via amazon etc. Just write. If thats your passion just write what you feel, what subject you focus on will come later. Or the direction of the book will emerge down the line. But just write.

8. How do you balance the desire to tell a compelling story with the need to protect the privacy of the people involved in your stories?

Its my story so they are my experiences. Its all true. I have the pictures to prove it! My instagram @1985roaddog is tied to the book, like the visual companion to the stories in my book. I interviewed old friends for the book as well and they tell some of their stories and shared experiences from the old days.

9. You’ve been a part of some legendary tours and shows throughout your career, what was the most memorable concert or event you’ve attended and why?

Another hard question! I would have to say Kiss in 1975. Just seeing them in a small auditorium at 15 years old was life changing. They were larger than life, young and hungry. Amazing. That and seeing the Sex Pistols in Atlanta GA in Jan 1978. Again it was life changing. Those two gigs were pivotal moments for me.

10. Your book covers a wide variety of bands and experiences, what do you hope readers will take away from “Tales from the Gutter”?

I am telling the story of my life experiences in music. I personally read a lot and I enjoy personal accounts of someone that was deep in the whole life, the lifestyle and the business, and most importantly the music. I hope readers get that from Tales From the Gutter and enjoy the stories.

11. How did you approach the process of writing your book, and what challenges did you face during that process?

I just sat home and worked on it over the lockdown. It was like purging the past. Getting it all out there. I had written a lot of the material over the last 35 years. Bits and pieces, stories. I had a lot of it and just took it all out and looked at it, then added to it and assembled it into a memoir. My life in music.

12. Can you share any exciting projects or plans you have for the future, both as an author and within the music industry?

I am taking it one day at a time. I hope to get this released as an audio book and possibly do a book tour if I can get that together. We will see. But I have learned to never say never!