Montclair teenager is writing for several music sites, thanks to some insightful advice from his mentor.
Montclair teenager Eli Zeger is writing for several music sites, thanks to some insightful advice from his mentor. (Courtesy School of Rock Montclair) MONTCLAIR -- Life for one New Jersey teenager has truly started to imitate art.
Eli Zeger, 17, is still in high school. He begins his senior year at Montclair High School Tuesday. But, his budding career as a music journalist began three years ago, thanks to inspiration from a movie about one of his idols.
Zeger said he's long been a fan of the 2000 movie "Almost Famous," a fictional account of director Cameron Crowe's experiences writing for Rolling Stone as a teenager in the 1970's.
"I have always loved music, and when I saw (that movie), I knew that's what I wanted to do," Zeger, who has been playing bass guitar at the School of Rock in Montclair since the age of 12, said in a phone interview.
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So, he said he reached out to Crowe's production company, Vinyl Films, for some advice about how he could start his career.
Crowe sent Seger a complete package to help him get started - clippings of his Rolling Stone articles, a list of authors to study, some specific advice about how he could jumpstart a music writing career as a teenager, and some swag - including an autographed copy of the movie and a vinyl album of its soundtrack.
The advice has paid off.
Zeger said he started writing about what he loves, and submitting his articles to various music-related blogs and publications. He is now one of the youngest regular freelance contributors to outlets like Vice Media, the New York Observer, and Red Bull Music Academy.
The topics he writes about range from the local music scene in New Jersey, to a teenager's perspective on new tech music gadgets. He's even created his own blog with a long list of his published articles. Though he will be busy applying to colleges this year, Zeger said he will continue to write about music.
"It's great because I get to write about what I love...and to have this experience at my age is unbelievable," Zeger said.
And his work is not going unnoticed. Zeger's mentor has given his articles a stamp of approval.
"Eli is the future of music journalism," Crowe said in a statement to NJ Advance Media.
"His writing is filled with passion, precision and incredible taste. He sends his readers into musical directions that aren't just entertaining, they're inspiring."
Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
