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bonniegrrlWhen I first started interviewing bands long, long, LONG ago for my college radio station KUCB and then on TV on Teletunes in Denver, and later for various music magazines and Web sites, I remember being so excited to chat with some of my heroes in music. I had some really amazing conversations with folks from Skinny Puppy, Nine Inch Nails, the Decemberists, Legendary Pink Dots, Idaho, Therapy, Catherine Wheel, the Cramps, Primus and so on.
And even when things go wrong (which they often do), I've still managed to turn it around into something worth reading or watching. We didn't have anywhere quiet to video tape, so I interviewed Budgie from Siouxsie and the Banshees in the waiting room of the women's bathroom. When Front 242 ditched me at the computer store so they could upgrade their Macs instead of talking to me, I interviewed the guy who sold them computer parts instead. I interviewed Shonen Knife on TV in the back alley of a concert which would have been fun if they knew English -- but at least I got them to say hello and do the Twist. I made do.
But sadly I've also had some incredibly BAD interviews that couldn't be saved. I've had music icons get mad at me because they couldn't smoke during the TV interview. Blur mocked me -- "Is this your real job?" -- and tried to set fire to the table using candles that had been placed around for "mood lighting" during a power outage. I've had shot glasses of bourbon thrown at my head, been chased around a tour bus by an oversexed punker and been told to stop listening to their music because I was making it uncool by association.
So watching this this video of Luke Burbank, on his show The Bryant Park Project from NPR, try to interview the Icelandic band Sigur Ros only to witness it spiral downhill was pretty relatable. It's hard to know what to do next when your live radio interview with a band takes a turn for the worst. Luckily, the folks at NPR got former MTV2 VJ and Rolling Stone music journalist (as well as the author of But Enough About Me) Jancee Dunn to do a post-mortem commentary on what Luke did wrong.
Check it out here:
Anatomy of an Interview Gone Wrong
It's incredibly funny and insightful. Some of Jancee's advice actually does work:
I have to admit I'm always impressed with Jancee Dunn and her advice. She should be dissecting band interviews gone wrong as a service to MTV, VH1, CNN, MSNBC, and others. But this NPR interview is a great start. She needs to be doing "How to Interview a Surly Band" tutorial. I would totally pay for that.
And even when things go wrong (which they often do), I've still managed to turn it around into something worth reading or watching. We didn't have anywhere quiet to video tape, so I interviewed Budgie from Siouxsie and the Banshees in the waiting room of the women's bathroom. When Front 242 ditched me at the computer store so they could upgrade their Macs instead of talking to me, I interviewed the guy who sold them computer parts instead. I interviewed Shonen Knife on TV in the back alley of a concert which would have been fun if they knew English -- but at least I got them to say hello and do the Twist. I made do.
But sadly I've also had some incredibly BAD interviews that couldn't be saved. I've had music icons get mad at me because they couldn't smoke during the TV interview. Blur mocked me -- "Is this your real job?" -- and tried to set fire to the table using candles that had been placed around for "mood lighting" during a power outage. I've had shot glasses of bourbon thrown at my head, been chased around a tour bus by an oversexed punker and been told to stop listening to their music because I was making it uncool by association.
So watching this this video of Luke Burbank, on his show The Bryant Park Project from NPR, try to interview the Icelandic band Sigur Ros only to witness it spiral downhill was pretty relatable. It's hard to know what to do next when your live radio interview with a band takes a turn for the worst. Luckily, the folks at NPR got former MTV2 VJ and Rolling Stone music journalist (as well as the author of But Enough About Me) Jancee Dunn to do a post-mortem commentary on what Luke did wrong.
Check it out here:
Anatomy of an Interview Gone Wrong
It's incredibly funny and insightful. Some of Jancee's advice actually does work:
- If it's more than a couple of band members, address the questions directly to a person so someone has to answer it instead of the question falling flat.
- If the band isn't talking, ask the drummer a question. No one ever talks to the drummer and it gets the rest of the band puzzled and jealous enough to chime in.
- DO NOT ask about band influences. This is a lose-lose question considering most bands hate being compared with others and they get asked it a million times.
- Ask yourself the questions you pose to other people first to see if the answers would even make sense at all.
- Don't apologize for a question before you ask it.
- Zero in on the friendliest face in the group to up your confidence.
- Pretend you are on the same level as a contemporary to the band and not as a die-hard fan. You want there to be some level of equality during the interview even if it's so not true.
- Have emergency questions ready just in case the band looks bored and annoyed. Examples: "What's the worst gig you've played?" and "What was your first band's name." (Some of my emergency questions have included, "What movie soundtrack do you wish your band could rescore?" and "What commercial would you hate your music to be used for to sell a product?")
I have to admit I'm always impressed with Jancee Dunn and her advice. She should be dissecting band interviews gone wrong as a service to MTV, VH1, CNN, MSNBC, and others. But this NPR interview is a great start. She needs to be doing "How to Interview a Surly Band" tutorial. I would totally pay for that.
