Thoughts on interviews...

[General Zod]

I know there's a lot of folks here who do interviews for various review sites, webzines, blogs, etc. So I'm kind of curious to hear the opinions of others on the topic. I've found that interviews fall into three categories...

1. Interviews you don't need to prep for... you can simply have a conversation with the artist. These are generally with artists you're already a big fan of. Examples would be Alan (Primordial), Nick (Redemption), Warrel (Nevermore), Oscar (Hammerfall) and Jon (Iced Earth) are really good examples of this.

As a side note, I find that I go into these interviews thinking, "Please don't be a dick... please don't be a dick... please don't be a dick..." I'm a fan of these bands, and I don't want the experience of speaking with someone to alter my perspective when listening to the band.

2. Interviews you need to prep for... where you either bond with the artist or find a very comfortable groove during the course of the interview. Examples would be Danny (Voyager), Christian & Marc (Futures End) and Kobi (Orphaned Land).

3. Interviews you need to prep for... where you never truly establish a repoire with the subject. This could be for any variety of reasons; language barriers, weak questions, it's with an artist who gives hundreds of interviews, or with an artist who simply has a dry personality. I won't list any examples here, because mostly, it's no one's fault.

The reason I mention this is, whenever I've read interviews, I always saw the tone of the interview as being dependent on the artist. But really, there are so many factors at play.

 

[nailz]

The most interviews I read are in September when I peruse the Program. I have very rarely started and finished any interview (be it in the program or from another source) because of the length, unless it's particularly engaging or I am already heavily invested in a specific lesser known band. I have a very short attention span when it comes to these types of things, but I'm only one person. Admittedly, it's very hard to hold my attention when it comes to talking about music and the industry.

In the end, I read an interview that makes me feel like I'm part of the conversation.

 

[General Zod]

I have a very short attention span when it comes to these types of things, but I'm only one person. Admittedly, it's very hard to hold my attention when it comes to talking about music and the industry.

For what it's worth, one of my standard questions is about MP3s. Bands have such varying perspectives.

In the end, I read an interview that makes me feel like I'm part of the conversation.

Then the Redemption and Primordial interviews, assuming you enjoy those artists, would appeal to you most.

 

[Bamafan]

I'm on the opposite side of the aisle from Patrick. I enjoy reading the interviews a great deal, even for bands that don't really connect with me. I like the glimpses into the creative process and musical growth and development.

 

[Palabra de Dios]

I can relate this to something I do in my job professionally. I am a meteorologist, yes, but I also am a news reporter at my station. I do television interviews for all of my stories. And I can certainly say that each one is different but similar.

It's always about having a conversation for me. I rarely write down my questions. Since the medium I'm in is edited, I simply "see where it goes" and pull the best sound bites from said conversation. Where I agree to some degree to Zod's categories is in the notion that some interviews you don't have to prep for and others you really do. I refuse to go into an interview not knowing what I'm talking about. So sometimes that means a quick Wikipedia article on a politicians voting history or a read-through of a few pieces of legislation to talk about a bill in the state legislature, or simply watching other news coverage on a topic I'm covering. Other times it's something I'm very familiar with (like weather or music or education) and I simply "wing it" because I know what I'm talking about.

 

[General Zod]

Where I agree to some degree to Zod's categories is in the notion that some interviews you don't have to prep for and others you really do. I refuse to go into an interview not knowing what I'm talking about.

Excellent post.

Just to clarify a bit... I never go into an interview without prepping first. For starters, I have a questions template I've built over the years, that I prune and modify for each subject. I'll also read past interviews, reviews, check the news sections of the band's web site, and often ask this forum for suggestions. However, there are a small handful, where the work that goes into it is significantly less. For instance, as many know, I'm a HUGE Nevermore fan. So, while I tailored my template for Warrel, and added to it accordingly, there wasn't as much pre-work necessary because of my familiarity with the subject.

The other thing that makes simply "having a conversation" difficult, is the phone aspect of it. I have no visual clues... I'm not familiar with the person's speech pattern, and often, there's something of a language barrier. So for instance, when talking to Marc and Christian... we're all around the same age, we're all from the U.S. If I make a cultural reference or a joke, they'll get it. That's not always the case with someone from Norway. And those factors can all hinder the conversational aspect of it.

 

[Harvester]

I think my favorite aspect of any interview is the ability for the interviewer to ad lib a good follow-up question on a comment made by the artist that makes them pause for a second and think before they reply.

Otherwise, it has the potential to become a dry email interview so to speak.

 

[General Zod]

I think my favorite aspect of any interview is the ability for the interviewer to ad lib a good follow-up question on a comment made by the artist that makes them pause for a second and think before they reply.

Agreed.

 

[Palabra de Dios]

I've never done an e-mail interview, but I know that sometimes it's a necessity for music coverage. I know some 'zines that primarily do email interviews. My question about them - do you submit all your questions at once? Or do you submit one at a time and let the emails just go back and forth?

 

[dcowboys311]

I've never done an e-mail interview, but I know that sometimes it's a necessity for music coverage. I know some 'zines that primarily do email interviews. My question about them - do you submit all your questions at once? Or do you submit one at a time and let the emails just go back and forth?

In my experience, having been on one side and seen the other numerous times, it's just whatever floats yr boat. Sometimes an email full of questions, sometimes a couple at a time, sometimes a page full and then more questions based on responses from the first email, etc.

 

[Palabra de Dios]

I'm going to post this here one more time, because it's relevant.

If I were to do music interviews, it would be this style: video interviews. I love this medium a bit more than print. This is a story I did late last year, a story about heavy metal for a non-metal audience, centered around a show headlined by thrash metal workhorses Warbringer:

Heavy Metal: An Overview of the Underground

 

[TribunalRecords]

all the interviews i did in college for the radio station; Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Ned's Atomic Dustbin, etc were in person and much more fun than any email interview i have done. The guitarist for NAD was absolutely filthy and smelled awful and i couldn't understand a thing he was saying because of his thick British accent. you miss that stuff via email nowadays. oh yeah, Kurt Cobain was a dickhead.

 

[AeonicSlumber]

For me personally a good interview is about being not afraid to ask questions that are off the cuff and a bit hard hitting. The same typical "how's the album coming along; tell me about the creative process" questions get kind of cliche. I love it when people go out of the element and ask the person being interviewed about sports, video games, and non-related stuff in addition to the important things that need to be asked of the interview-ee.

Also I feel like a good interview should read like a "conversation." Otherwise as mentioned, it would just seem like a dry email.