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Reporter Editor Andrew Miller wins national Rolling Stone challenge

May write for Web site

Reporter Editor Andrew Miller recently wrote 10 hypothetical questions that he'd like to ask Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter John Mayer. Now those questions could get Miller a job as a RollingStone.com writer.

2007-01-25
By Amanda Dyslin, Free Press Staff Writer [published in The Free Press, Mankato, MN, 1/25/2007]

Andrew Miller's name, printed in bold letters on the main page of Rolling Stone's Web site a good part of Wednesday, was probably read by thousands of people.

The 10 questions he submitted to Rolling Stone — the hypothetical ones he'd ask John Mayer if given the chance — had won him an electric guitar and an mp3 player for his first-place finish on an assignment for the "I'm From Rolling Stone" writing competition.

But what Miller, 22, of Mankato was most excited about Wednesday was what he hadn't won — yet.

He's now in a small pool of winners of other writing assignments Rolling Stone is dishing out weekly, one of whom will be selected by Executive Editor Joe Levy as the grand prize winner. He or she will win an Apple laptop computer and a job writing for RollingStone.com.

For Miller, who had for a long time aspired to be a music journalist, the latter part of the prize would be an actual dream come true. Now he's pursuing a degree in English and plans to go to graduate school, but a gig with Rolling Stone would still be pretty amazing.

"I'd always been interested in Rolling Stone. That was the dream job,” said Miller, editor of The Reporter, the Minnesota State University student newspaper.

From what Levy wrote about Miller's questions for the pop star, it seems he's got the talent to pursue the dream job if he chose to.

"(Miller) went to the front of the class with the nicely sneaky question: ‘Ever purchase a Jessica Simpson album?' (He) touched on news, music and Mayer's personal life, and in smart, interesting ways that left room for Mayer to be smart and interesting himself.” (Mayer dated Simpson briefly, but the relationship was trumped up in the media.)

Here's another Miller question that might get a smile out of Mayer: "Are there any songs you go back and listen and think, ‘What the hell was that about? That was terrible.'?”

But it's one thing to write good questions, and it's another to have the gumption to ask them directly to a celebrity.

Mayer probably won't see Miller's questions, unless he's a reader of the Rolling Stone Web site. But The Reporter was offered the opportunity to interview Mayer over the phone as a preview to a concert in the Twin Cities. So, if given the chance, would Miller dare ask the Jessica Simpson question?

"Yeah, I'd have no shame," he said.

The writing competition is being held in conjunction with the airing of the MTV reality series "I'm From Rolling Stone,” which follows fledgling rock journalists handpicked by Rolling Stone to perform various tasks, including interviewing celebrities, as cameras roll and capture the action.

Each week a new writing assignment is opened up to the public, and the contest wraps in a few weeks at the season finale of the show. That's when Miller will find out if he's the grand prize winner.

The third writing assignment, which was announced this week and which Miller isn't doing, was for people to submit 300 words or less about a concert they'd seen this year. He also didn't do assignment No. 1, which was to write 300 words or less about the local music scene.

Actually, Miller just kind of stumbled upon assignment No. 2, to write 10 questions for any living celebrity, one night before bed and started typing. He doesn't have any plan to complete further assignments. He's just going to wait it out until the end of the season and see if he takes the top prize.

And for a few days, at least, he'll enjoy his win.

"The coolest part for me was going on the Web site and (seeing) Andrew Miller trumped 'em all,” he said.

Here is the complete list of questions MSU student Andrew Miller wrote for John Mayer, which won him a first-place finish on assignment No. 2 of the "I'm From Rolling Stone” writing competition.

1. So, now the squeaky clean guy who once penned the lyric "bubble-gum tongue” is a weed enthusiast?

2. Which genre's artists do you find most intimidating to work with, hip-hop or blues?

3. Fill in the blank: Over the years, I've seen my fanbase … .

4. You've borrowed your guitar services on tracks by the Dixie Chicks and Rob Thomas. Any requests you've turned down?

5. You're set to appear on a track off T.I.'s upcoming album, "T.I. vs. T.I.P.” Compare the recording studio experiences with T.I.'s camp compared to your own. What went on, exactly?

6. Ever purchase a Jessica Simpson album?

7. You've been dabbling in stand-up at the Comedy Cellar in NYC. Describe the first set you bombed.

8. Are there any songs you go back and listen and think, "What the hell was that about? That was terrible.”?

9. Your lyrical matter is usually wide-ranging. On "Continuum” you sing about fear of parents dying ("Stop This Train”), political dissent ("Belief”) and even our generations abundant apathy ("Waiting on the World to Change”). But what's something you refuse to sing about?

10. You turn 30 in October. What will be the worst part about seeing your 20s go away?

For more information, visit www.rollingstone.com.

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