I was recently presented with the opportunity to combine my professional print and digital media background with my love for heavy metal and industrial music.
Yes, I’ve started doing band interviews and reviews (on the side, so to speak) for alternative music publishers like Hysteria Magazine.
It’s something I do mostly for love. In fact, writing for independent publishers is something a lot of people do for love.
Which is why I hope the following will help.
One thing that’s not surprising is the fact that, while almost everyone writing at this level is passionate, many of the people doing the writing often have not had the opportunity to receive formal training or education in professional writing and journalism.
Interviews in particular are an area where this can become apparent. An interview is a feature article and ostensibly an opportunity to say something about a band. Yet so often we read interviews in a format that either feels predictable or consists of straight questions and answers.
To be clear, there is nothing wrong with this. For one thing, time and deadlines are often a factor. All good writing takes time and transforming an interview into a viable feature is no exception.
And yet, even a basic question and answer-style interview can be improved on even in small ways if it starts with a solid foundation. That might mean being thoroughly prepared, knowing what and when to ask, and sensing when to deviate from the script.
None of the following will (likely) be a surprise if you’re a seasoned music interviewer and writer. Then again, some of it might. Nonetheless, I hope you get something out of the following band interview tips and advice.
10 tips for a killer band interview
This is Part I. Part II isn’t far off.
1) Be clear on expectations
Do you know how much time is allocated? Are you conscious of your subject’s grasp of your native language? Do you know exactly why the interview is occurring, whether to promote a new album or upcoming tour? Do you know who arranged the interview – the artist, their label or PR, or the publisher? Does the artist have outspoken political, social or other agendas? Should specific ‘forbidden’ subjects be avoided?
Some are obviously more important than others. For instance, knowing about the new album is more important than knowing that the record label organised the interview with the publisher. Nonetheless, it always pays to know as many of these things as possible before commencing. If that sounds trivial, then consider the following scenario: a popular but controversial extreme metal artist has had widely circulated allegations of racism levelled against them, which they dispute. The artists has a new album and your job is to interview them about it. The label advertises full-page glossy outside back covers in the publisher’s magazine.
You’re not the Washington Post. To what extent do you broach this topic?
It is highly unlikely that you will have to face such a dilemma. Nonetheless, being unaware of something important is one easy way to an interview train wreck.
2) Research, research, research and research
It may sound surprising, but know what you’re going to talk about. Follow the artist on all social media channels. Watch not only their music videos and performances, but make a point of listening to and reading their interviews. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by how much information you learn about the artist (after all, that’s the point of publishing an interview). After watching an interview your mind will then come up with excellent new questions.
For a new album or impending tour, narrow your web searches to interviews that occurred very recently. Do a Google search for [ARTIST NAME interview] and then (in Google on desktop) narrow the search parameters to articles published within a specific time frame Under Tools –> All. This a quick way to find out what the artist has been saying while filtering out that classic chat with Decibel Magazine from seven years ago.
All journalists do this.
3) Know what you’re talking about – or at least be honest
Did you receive the album promo copy yesterday? Chances are, so did a lot of other people.
You’re not expected to ‘learn’ the album intimately, but you should nonetheless try to familiarise yourself with the artist’s upcoming material – enough to have a casual conversation. This is where strong research (see #2 above) counts.
Promo notes are also important. Yes, of course they’re going to be full of colourful, florally, PR babble, but they also contain important information about influences, line-up changes, recording locations, touring history, events, dramas and so on. Not only will knowing all this make for a smoother interview – especially when you go off script (#10 below) – but it will make for an easier and better feature.
One more point: don’t bullshit through an interview. If you did receive the promo file yesterday, then be upfront about that. “I received the promo yesterday and the impression so far…” is, under the circumstances, an acceptable way to lead with a question. It will in all likelihood get you an honest response.
Having said that, not listening to the promo that was received a fortnight ago is a lot less defensible.
4) Literally read your questions out loud beforehand
This is a proverbial no brainer. Read your questions aloud. Several times. Then reread them after you’ve tweaked them.
I always feel slightly goofy for the first 10 seconds of doing this. And after those 10 self-conscious seconds pass, I spot ways where I can improve the interview.
I see how I can better articulate a question. I cut redundant words. I spot ways to make a question more concise and clearer.
Reading questions aloud also helps me think of further (and often better) questions. I don’t know what the neuroscience behind this process is, but there’s something about getting a question ‘out’ like this that helps me see things from a different perspective.
Naturally, being practiced in what I am about to say means I am also more confident, and far less likely to stumble over my words, if I were to feel nervous (see #6 below).
5) Always have more questions than you have time for
The ideal interview doesn’t feel like an interview at all. Rather, it sounds like a conversation about an agreed topic which occasionally deviates into unexpected but nonetheless interesting directions.
Having said that, the character, attention and ‘conversationability’ of individual artists will vary tremendously. Some artists will make it easy for you by running with whatever is front of them; some will make you work for a meaningful response. Some will be friendly; some will be apathetic (#8 below). Some will have a wealth of insight; some will be closed or self-absorbed.
As an interviewer, it is up to you to steer the interview (“Getting back to The Thing you mentioned before…”) in the desired direction. And something you desperately want to avoid is running out of questions in your allocated time if, for whatever reason, the interview doesn’t take the planned direction.
To that end, always have more questions prepared than you have time for. Not only will this give you room to fall back on in case the interviewee answers half your prepared question (or shuts them down) in the first sentence – you’ll have more manoeuvring room to steer the conversation toward interesting places if things take an unexpected turn.
6) It’s ok to be nervous
Being nervous does not make you unprofessional. I still get nervous before many interviews and I’ve worked professionally in media for more than 12 years.
Nervousness is a stress response. It’s your body saying to you: “I have a visceral feeling that something can go terribly wrong and that this will be to my detriment”. That can often manifest as a physical sensation like stomach butterflies, increased heart rate, sweats, being a snippy or a temperamental jerk (yes, really).
To simplify what is an enormously complex biological process, nervousness is an aspect of our fight or flight response. We feel this way when confronted with a threat. The feelings of nervousness and anxiety may not be pleasant, but they are intended to aid our survival. In fact, small amounts of nervousness and stress may actually help you focus and concentrate (it’s the chronic or extreme stress that is to be avoided).
A threat, of course, can be as much about perceived danger to our safety as it can be about fear of losing face – such as screwing up an interview.
One thing to remember is that your interview subjects will likely be accustomed to all sorts of interviewers: slick professionals as well as nervous amateurs. Indeed, the person you speak to may have done half a dozen interviews that day, so they’re unlikely to be phased by speaking to one nervous person.
The single most important thing to counter nervousness, though, is preparation. That means knowing what you hope to get out of the interview (#1 above). Knowing your subject matter (#2 above). And being confident on how your questions will sound because you’ve read them out aloud several times (#4 above).
I try to do all these things when I prepare for an interview. Yet I still get nervous in the lead-up. What I find, though, is that my nervous rapidly recedes after the first minute.
It’s all down to preparation.
7) Sometimes your interview subjects will be nervous too
A famous Australian hard rock outfit once sang: “It’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock ‘n’ roll” (or to use the popular local fan-variant: “It’s a long way to the shop if you want a sausage roll”).
Every successful artist must start at the bottom. Even Metallica and Iron Maiden began as teenagers playing dive clubs. No one is born a professional musician who exudes slick wit and charm in front of any camera or microphone. It’s often something that is learnt.
Though hard to believe, musicians conducting interviews may actually be nervous too. True, like any professional who practices often, they may no longer feel that way. And yet, many musicians are in the proverbial “early stage of their career” (incidentally, try not to use that exact phrase in the write-up for the simple fact that it’s been said a thousand times before).
More to the point, it’s hard to imagine that someone who chooses a profession that requires them to be in public, on stage, playing a live instrument, could feel trepidation about a one-on-one recorded conversation. And yet, they’re people just like you. Being on stage with people they know very well is different having your every spontaneous word recorded, analysed and reported on.
Musicians are humans too. Even if, as in all walks of life, some of them can be jerks (#8 below). Most people in bands are cool. But they can still get nervous, just like you.
8) But some people can still be jerks
As mentioned, most interview subjects are cool. They (hopefully) understand the value from a media outlet that is supporting and promoting them. They are ok with (often) amateur interviewers being a bit awkward in their questions. They (again, hopefully) don’t mind being asked the same questions a dozen times in a day.
And yet, fame and success can occasionally do strange things to people.
Egos can make people conceited and arrogant. A long time spent in the clutches of hedonism can warp someone’s outlook. Sometimes, fame exacerbates someone’s existing inclination to be a jerk.
No one feels good about interviewing someone who is apathetic, unreasonably demanding or even hostile. To give them the benefit of the doubt, artists are people too (#6 above) who may have bad days if, for instance, they’re sleep-deprived or stressed. It is still unprofessional, though, and will hopefully be a rare occurrence.
But some people are still jerks.
To be clear, they’re not doing themselves any favours. All you can do is be professional about the whole thing.
9) Ask open-ended questions
Take some time to familiarise yourself with a fundamental interview technique: asking what are called open-ended or open questions, as compared to closed-ended or closed questions.
An open-ended question is one that cannot be answered with a simple yes or no. Common examples are “how would you describe The Thing” or “what are your thoughts on The Thing”.
An open-ended question is one that can be answered with a yes or no. Common examples are “did you do The Thing” or “when did you do The Thing.”
Good-natured interview subjects will try to conduct themselves in a professional manner. To them, closed questions are a cue to respond with a substantial answer. Nonetheless, an open question almost always improves the likelihood of a better answer
Be conscious to not make your open-ended questions too ambiguous. “Tell me about the new album…” or “tell me about the recording process…” are questions which, technically speaking, are open-ended, but which are too vague. Again, a good interviewee will try to provide good answers. But you, as an interviewer, could probably do better.
One trick is to make all open-ended questions relate to a qualifying detail. “What are you hearing people say about the new album…” or “what was the most challenging part about recording…” will elicit a better response.
10) Be ready to go off script
Journalism cadets are taught that the best and most interesting interview material may occur when talking about something unrelated, or even after the ‘formal’ part has ended altogether. That is, the so-called ‘off camera’ comment.
What the precise psychological mechanism is behind this I am, again, not clear about. It likely has something to do with the fact that a person who feels less guarded may be more likely open up about some deeper reflection.
The fact remains, though, that any good interviewer should be prepared to go off script. If you want to talk about the upcoming tour but the interviewee talks about their love of Medieval sword fighting or their cat rescue centre, then prod them in that direction if it’s relevant. If you ask about the album and they talk about genuinely funny gig mishaps of old, then roll with that if you think it’ll make for a good story. And if someone talks about their love for a particular artist or genre, start a conversation about what else it is they love most about said artist, or if there’s similar music in that vein that they love. Of course, be conscious of time too.
As a consequence, the interviewee will (hopefully) appreciate talking about something that doesn’t require a standard answer (remember, you may be one of a dozen media people they’ve talked to that day). This in turn will form the basis of a more original and therefore better write-up.
Provided you capture the essential information (see #1 above), going in unexpected directions usually helps.
That concludes Part I. Part II will be around soon.
Photo by Matt Botsford on Unsplash.