We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tom Rizzuto. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tom below.
Tom, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you wish you had started sooner?
Honestly, I do wish I started sooner. Only because part of me misses having the time and energy to do the things I did when I was younger. To be clear though, my work back then was mostly terrible. In fact, I’m very grateful that I started writing and doing music before everything was archived forever online. I look back on things I did that I was so proud of and I am mortified that ever I let anybody read or listen to them.
I definitely had a greater output back in my twenties, but again a lot of it was garbage and it’s a blessing that so little of it saw the light of day. I don’t get as much done now because I have so many more responsibilities than I used to. I think that’s just a fact of life that a lot of creative people face. However, the stuff I do get to work on comes out so much better than it would have if I tried to do it 10 years ago. So, what I would really love is to be able to have my current brain in my 25 year old body. That would be something.
Tom, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Tom Rizzuto and I’ve been working as an writer, musician, and educator for most of my adult life. I’m a guitarist and songwriter who teaches music and media literacy at several New York Universities. I’ve been published in magazines and academic journals. I also perform music and lecture on musical topics for community institutions and organizations like Lectures on Tap.
I’ve always been really into “info-tainment,” or anything that presents facts in a fun way. I try to bring that to my lectures both at the universities where I teach and when I’m out doing them on my own. There’s a lot of stuff like that out there about history, but not as much on music. So I try to fill that gap.
I recently wrote the music for a really great fictional podcast called “Dean’s Killer Joke” from Evagation Media. I also played the character of Malcolm. The best way I can describe it without giving too much away is that it’s a dark comedy centered around a group of New York City comedians recorded like a true crime podcast.
I’m also dipping my toes into documentary filmmaking. I received a grant from Molloy University to make a series of short documentaries about working musicians in the New York area. It’s called Sound Advice for the Musician’s Life and each short is going to focus on a different person making a life in music. Their advice for future generations of musicians will also be featured. The first episode is up on YouTube at @SoundAdviceDocs.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
If I’m being honest, the best thing about being creative is getting to hang out with other creative people. As a general rule, I try to shy away from anything that separates creatives from the rest of society. We’re just people like any other people, but I would be lying if I said that I didn’t feel like we were more fun to be around. Creative people tend to find each other, and more often than not we have something to talk about. We also understand each other on a level that I think is hard for other people.
I also love knowing that something I created had an impact on people. Not long ago, I was giving a lecture in a bar in Brooklyn about how Beethoven’s music was used as propaganda during World War II. After it was over, three people from the audience came up to me to tell me how much they enjoyed it. It turns out they were tourists from Germany. Of all the things they could have been doing in New York City, they decided to take a 45 minute ride on the M train (of all trains) to see me talk about Beethoven. Now my lecture is going to be one of their stories from the time they visited New York. To me, that’s a real honor.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
Get out of the house and experience things. Go see live music. Purchase books and read them. Go to the theater. Share things you love with your friends. The arts need people and places to keep them going. A little effort goes a long way.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://TomRizzuto.net
- Instagram: @TomRizzuto85
- Twitter: @TomRizzuto
- Youtube: @SoundAdviceDocs
Image Credits
I own all the photos. They’re all from my phone.