Arts & Entertainment

How Did They Get There? A Q&A with Dan Reilly, Editor of Spinner.com

Reilly is a 2000 graduate of Ward Melville High School.

Dan Reilly said he has a favorite moment in his career as editor of Spinner.com: the day he got to follow Slash on his publicity tour of New York City.

"Rather than just be another stop on his publicity tour of the city, I got to ride along with him and see what a musician goes through when promoting their work," Reilly said. "...I had heard he was a down-to-earth guy, but I was still very surprised about how cool he was to us."

As head of AOL's music enterprise, Reilly, 29, said he is responsible for editing articles and photos, obtaining video, monitoring news, and planning and writing stories. But before he became the editor, Reilly spent years freelancing for a variety of publications, including FHM, ESPN, Blender, Maxim, and others. And before that, he was a student in the Three Village school district; he graduated from Ward Melville in 2000.

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Reilly himself is a musician. He started out playing the viola as a student at Nassakeag; then he switched to trumpet, and eventually guitar. He played in the Murphy Junior High jazz band and formed a band outside school with friends, which pretty much became a lifestyle while at Ward Melville and later as a student at Trinity College.

"After 7th grade, my parents bought me a guitar and a small amp," he said, "and I was hooked right away."

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Patch recently had the chance to discuss with Reilly his ascent from a student in Three Village to the editor of Spinner.com.

Patch: How do you feel your education at Ward Melville High School prepared you for a career in the "real world"?
DR: Probably by having teachers, both in the music department and in other areas, that treated my classmates and I as adults rather than students. Many of the teachers and club leaders were open to the ideas I had, and I think that prepared me for collaboration with people of all ages and stature in the workplace.

Patch: If ten years ago you had to guess where you'd be now, what would it have looked like?
DR: Probably playing in a band or doing something music-related. That was at the end of my sophomore year of college and I spent that summer playing in bands with high school friends and working at the Tucker Jones House making , and there I pretty much discussed music all the time with my boss, a former musician. I don’t think journalism had really crossed my mind at that point yet, nor had any concrete post-college plans.

Patch: What do you love about your position with Spinner? What, if anything, do you wish could be different?
DR: Being surrounded by music all day, getting to meet some of my favorite artists, going to concerts, the rush of writing and editing a breaking news piece, being able to write for a living – I love it all. If I could change one thing, I’d make it less of a job: No worrying about numbers or competitors. Still, I have a lot of freedom to do what I want, while also making sure we cover everything that counts.

Patch: How would you characterize the evolution of music journalism over the past decade or so?
DR: The shift to online journalism has meant that people don’t need to rely on recommendations and reviews nearly as much, so we have to be mindful about being a trustworthy source of information. Social networks have played their part too: Why listen to a stranger’s recommendation when your friends can post songs or videos on Facebook or Twitter? ... The online shift also means we have to have a wider focus because there are so many bands that can become big without major-label backing or a hit single or video. It seems like there are a million ways to discover new music now, and everything is so instantaneous that it feels like we always need to be on our game when it comes to listening to new artists and covering the news.

Patch: What advice can you share for new Ward Melville graduates?
DR: Have some career goals in mind, but don’t be afraid to change them. I had considered going into finance until I realized how much it bored me. I decided to pursue my interests in music and writing, and I couldn’t be happier.


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