A final Appeal

Hey guys, I'm now doing some work for the Nevada Appeal in Carson City. So far I'm covering local stuff like fundraisers and summer festivals.

There are those who would say that this is a step down for a guy who was interviewing Lewis Black this time last year, but with the newspaper business sliding deeper and deeper into disarray, I'm happy for any work I can get while I figure out what happens next -- under one of my former RGJ bosses, no less. Plus, I'm secretly fascinated by these rural Nevada events that come out of nowhere to attract 10,000 people to places like Dayton and Topaz.

Check out my new photo gallery to the right, and wish me luck at my job interview on Wednesday.

(Photo from Western Nevada Musical Theatre Company’s production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," linked from the Nevada Appeal)

Welcome to Nerdtown

Ha! Behold Matt Farley's first article for IGN's GameSpy! This will make absolutely no sense to you if you're not a video game nerd, but that's no reason not to check it out. I'll be doing these on a regular basis, so stay tuned...

Next stop: LakeTahoe.net

Beginning this week, I will also be contributing to www.laketahoe.net! I don't know Tahoe quite as well as Reno, so if anyone has any story ideas, feel free to pass them along. Also, I'm going to be in Las Vegas during the first part of April, so let me know if you'll be in the area.

A masterpiece in PDF

For those keeping score at home, the first issue of Mergent Music Magazine has been out for a couple weeks now. I have 11 (!) articles in it, although I didn't do the interviews myself. You can download it for free at myspace.com/mergentrecords, which you really ought to do if you're tired of the major labels promoting like three acts a years while the good bands struggle along in obscurity for 18 months before having to become insurance salesmen.

And if you're part of a struggling band, you may want to check out what the publisher, Brian Mosko, has to offer. I can't promise that he'll make you famous, but I do know that he's planned this thing out about 10 moves in advance and it seems to be working so far. Lots of positive feedback from bands on the page, too. Plus, if you sign up soon, the talented and charismatic Matt Farley might profile you for the March issue, so that's value added right there.

LIVE on Jan. 26

Stay tuned...

Reno.net is go

It looks like the folks over at Reno.net are starting to get the site rolling. I'm not sure what the long-term mission is, but I do know that they're paying me to write for them, so let's click on through, shall we? I'll have new articles up every week.

Also, if there are any Reno kids out there who have story ideas or know of cool bars or restaurants or shops that I should check out, drop me a line. I'm the Reno expert on this project, so it's pretty much up to me what happens from here.

And later this month, look for details on the new music magazine I've been helping out with. I have high hopes for it, but again, I'm only the words guy. Before now, I've always had the ability to talk face-to-face with the editors, photographers, designers, etc. I was working with, so I don't know what to expect.

Matt Farley on the radio

In August, I did a guest spot on the public radio show "Homeland Security: Inside and Out" about some drills the state was doing to prepare for catastrophic events such as a major earthquake or, as it turns out, the governor's marriage. But I never could get anyone to tell me when they used me, so I assumed that I was so bad they just scrapped the segment.

But hohoho, what's this? While frantically casting about the Internet in search of a job (see previous post if you're confused about why I'm unemployed), I came across some random blog that had me listed as a "civilian analyst" of public safety practices based on comments they heard me make on the radio. So it turns out my segment did air, and you can stream it via RealPlayer here. My part starts at 1:30 or so, and isn't bad at all considering it was 8 a.m. West Coast time and I was super nervous.

(If for some reason you can't make it play, visit the archive and scroll down to Aug. 12 to download the whole show.)

In conclusion, I'm going to need everyone to begin referring to me as "the civilian analyst" immediately. FOX News, here I come.