The Rockologist On The Art Of The Interview
Published February 15, 2008
One of the nice things about "phoners" is that they are generally such controlled and predictable affairs. As such, they are pretty hard to screw up. Fifteen or so minutes usually means time for only the most basic of questions, which means you are not likely to get beyond the concert or album you've already signed on to promote in the first place. You are also probably somewhere in the middle of an ankle-deep line of journalists the artist is talking to in assembly line fashion from a phone in a hotel somewhere.
So, while there is little chance for disaster with a phoner, you also probably won't be breaking any big stories here.
By contrast, the face to face "in-person" interview can be quite unpredictable. First of all, since these tend to take place (at least in my own experience) either before or after "the big show" you are dealing with a variety of intangible factors.
For one thing, they are nearly always very rushed, especially if taking place in the chaotic backstage environment. Here, it's just you, the artist, and your tape recorder — usually seated somewhere in the corner of a room where dozens of assorted roadies, security guys, caterers and the like are shouting over each other as they scurry frantically about.
The artists "temperament" — meaning any number of things from his mood to his degree of intoxication — also comes into play here. Which is why it is always best to conduct these types of interviews before, rather than after a show.
I can relate any number of horror stories stemming from the backstage interviews I've conducted over the years — any one of which would make a pretty good read on its own.
There was the time I was brought into a hotel conference room to interview Tom Petty after a show in the seventies, only to find Petty face down on a table clutching a near empty whiskey bottle. Or the time I had to chase Yngwie Malmsteen all over Seattle to attempt an interview I was promised would go smoothly despite Malmsteen's "difficult" reputation.
When I asked Earth Wind & Fire's Maurice White to describe his band's new album, I got a lengthy response about the spiritual order of the universe, or some other such New Age goobledy-gook. When I asked Dennis DeYoung from Styx the same question about his band's The Grand Illusion, he replied "real good" with a cold stare. Real charmer, that guy from Styx.
But I'll save my favorite two stories for a couple of interviews that went so badly, they never even became articles at all. Here once again, the artists will be broken into those two categories of most likely to grant interviews. The first was a band just begining to climb the ladder of success, while the second was an artist who had long since made the slide all the way back down.
- The Rockologist On The Art Of The Interview
- Published: February 15, 2008
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Music
- Filed Under: Culture: Personal History, Music: Business, Music: Classic Rock and Oldies, Music: Metal, Music: R&B, Music: Rap, Music: Rock
- Part of a feature: The Rockologist
- Writer: Glen Boyd
- Glen Boyd's BC Writer page
- Glen Boyd's personal site
- Spread the Word
- Like this article?
- Email this
Save to del.icio.us
Comments on this articleComments
Thanx Connie. I've only had instance to do one interview for BC -- so far, anyway -- which was a phoner with Marillion drummer Ian Moseley, and the experience was a good one. I hope to do many more.
-Glen
Fascinating, Glen. And brave - I don't think I'd last long among these types.
Maybe I'm alone, but I've really never had much of an interest in talking to most musicians exactly for the reasons you talked about. The few that I have are the ones that I know are down to earth people to begin with (I met guitarist Mike Keneally at an in-store promo for one of his albums a few years back and he was exactly as nice as I heard he was. He was thrilled to hear that I'd taken time out of my vacation to stop by. Really nice guy - and a killer musician, by the way.)
Back in the late 80s, an acquaintance of mine interviewed a certain hair metal lead singer (who shall go unnamed here) and opened with, "So, how do you feel now that your new album's stiffed?"
End of interview. The roadie took the videocamera too, I thik.
Thanx guys.
I could've gone on and on here (and yes, I know the article was already a bit long), but you get the drift. Like anybody else, rock stars can be assholes or, as Tom noted, they can very nice people.
Speaking of hair metal JC, some day I'll have to tell you my Stryper story...
-Glen
I feel the same way Tom. I've been to a few shows where the musicians hung around afterwards signing autographs and what not, but I never felt the need to meet them. I know there isn't a chance of striking up a friendship and meaningless chit chat seems silly.
And there's always the chance they'll be total jerks and ruin my respect for them.
But good stories Glen.
I always considered it "working."
When your a kid growing up idolizing rock stars, dreaming you could meet them and what not -- which is exactly what I did as a young fan -- what you soon find out is that it's never quite what you expected.
Same goes for when you end up working for a label -- which I also did -- and going to all those "glamourous" parties you read about in magazines growing up.
The truth is, that it's a lot less glamourous when you experience it up close -- and it's occasionally quite ugly.
Once I acheived my dream, getting to L.A. and hob-nobbing with the big boys and all, I soon discovered I wanted nothing more than the seemingly mundane life of the picket fence and the station wagon.
That's still my new dream actually.
In the meantime, I write these articles in my drab little smoke-filled house in Seattle, because I discovered a couple years back that I still had something to say.
It's kinda nice actually..
Which is what makes BC so cool. I can still pontificate (and in this case, reminisce) about music, but I don't have to live the lifestyle 24/7 anymore.
What is it about that old saying "be careful what you wish for..."?
-Glen
Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking you for meeting all those rock guys, or anyone else who tries to meet celebrities (rock or otherwise) it just isn't my thing.
Although given the chance to interview Jeff Tweedy or something I'd probably get giddy as a school girl.
No offense taken Mat. None whatsoever.
And like you with Tweedy, I'm sure I'd have much the same sort of reaction if I were to ever interview someone like Springsteen, Dylan, or Neil Young.
When I first started this series, the idea was to put down a series of personal experiences related to my years in the music industry with the ultimate goal being to turn them into a book. Lately, I've been writing "The Rockologist" columns much more looking to that original goal I had in mind.
I figure with all of these stories I've accumulated, they might as well be put to some sort of practical use. Plus, they usually seem to draw positive reactions (well, for the most part anyway)...so hopefully, I'm on the right track here.
Anyway, I'm just glad you and others seem to enjoy the stories. Hopefully, I can get the same sort of interest from a publisher at some point down the road...
Thanx for the comments.
-Glen
funny, i was having lunch with the wife today and she posed the question...what would i ask bruce if i had a chance to interview him.
honestly, i have no idea. i mean, what the heck could i ask him that hasn't already been asked a bazillion times?
and that's always been my problem when I go to concerts where the band hangs out afterwards. I saw Victoria Williams once at a tiny little club and for a spell she stood in the corner waiting on someone to come over. I never made it over there as I couldn't think of something interesting to say, or at least something to say that didn't make me sound like a fool.
Sometimes they just wanna hear someone say they sounded alright (you'd be surprised how sensitive the egos of some of these artists are). But it's hard to get a read sometimes, so I know what you mean.
Interestingly, I actually did meet Springsteen once, back in the seventies during the Darkness tour. We didn't even talk about his music. We talked about cars -- a subject I know F--- all about. Go, figure...
-Glen
I had this dream once where I met the Boss. I asked him if it was all worth it - he was quite noncommittal and didn't really answer the question at all.
I guess I should've dreamed we talked about cars.
One of my favorite experiences meeting an artist was when I met Emmylou Harris after a concert in Tampa a few years ago. There were maybe 15 people waiting outside the theatre afterwards and as she walked out and toward her bus, we all thought she was done for the night. Then she said that she just needed to check on her dog (who was on the bus) and that she'd be happy to meet everyone if they'd join her on the bus as well. So we all lined up and she personally invited each person on the bus.
When it was my turn, I went in and she asked me to sit down right next to her (like we were in her living room or something). She was the kindest, most down to earth person and she immediately put this starstruck guy at ease.
I told her how much I enjoyed her then-recent work on Elvis Costello's The Delivery Man and she thanked me and talked about how highly she regarded Costello's work. I nervously asked if she'd sign one of my CDs and she wound up signing all 4 of the ones I'd brought. And she asked her assistant to take a photo of us with my camera.
Emmylou was the classiest, kindest woman. That experience made up for all the times when I'd had my perceptions of artists crushed by inflated egos or, well, booze.
- Donald
Thats a great story Donald. When I met Bruce, he was actually really nice too. Most of these guys are actually...I mean they are just people, right? But the ones that went badly just make for such a more interesting story ya' know?
Anyway, thanks for the comments.
-Glen
Add your comment, speak your mind
(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/73897)
Nice piece, Glen.
As I was reading I was reminded of my own experiences doing interviews for BC Music. Personally, the good experiences have far outweighed the not so good.