Heavy Metal Nation is a place for fans of heavy, interesting music to come and read, write, and comment on articles about heavy music. ALL PENS BLAZING: A ROCK & HEAVY METAL WRITER’S HANDBOOK By Neil Daniels

Published by Authors Online

Available to buy from most online book stores, including Amazon and AuthorsOnline Ltd

Book Size (Paperback editions): 5 x 8" (203 x 127mm) Perfect Bound

ISBN (Paperback edition): 978-07552-1256-9

Approx Number of Words: 199,047

Pages: 350

In this extract from ALL PENS BLAZING: A ROCK & HEAVY METAL WRITER’S HANDBOOK VOL II (by Neil Daniels; Published by AuthorsOnline, 2010), selected rock scribes share some of their difficult interviewing experiences:

“I deliberately steer clear of them to be honest, although I did once do mushrooms with Kory Clarke from Warrior Soul in his dad’s bar. That was a strange night. I had the shakes the next day, but I think that was more down to lack of proper food.

I don’t know if the following is a rock ‘n’ roll scenario, but it’s certainly a strange one. I was asked to do an interview with maverick songsmith Tyla from Dogs D’Amour after a show. Just trying to find him was intimidating. I entered a smoke- filled backstage area full of tottering, dark clad people staring at me with hate or confusion in their eyes. It was like walking into a vampire movie. Some were so high they were shuffling around like zombies. I could hardly get through them. Barely visible in the smoke, sat at the back and clearly the worse for wear was Tyla. He did communicate but his responses to my questions were, shall we say, open to interpretation. My wallet disappeared that night. A few months later, Tyla rang me to say that he had my wallet with him. Obviously it was no good to me at that stage because I’d long since reported it as lost and changed all my bank cards. I told him to keep the tenner that was left in it. I’m not accusing anyone of anything, but I still can’t get my head around the sequence of events that night, or how my wallet ended up in Tyla’s possession.”

- Steve Beebee

“I can't say I've really had any truly difficult interviews. There have been some underwhelming ones where the person probably was not in the mood to chat too much, or perhaps I did not know as much about them as I should have. That being said, I always pride myself on my research. I was once warned by an Interscope publicist prior to an interview with Blixa Bargeld, founding member of Einstürzende Neubauten, that if he got bored he tended to leave the room. That made me nervous for a short time, but I chose to come armed with solid questions and references to underground groups few people would bring up. We chatted for a good forty-five minutes, and he was engaged the entire time. It probably also helped that I actually liked his music and knew why it was so influential. I am of the belief that if you come prepared with interesting and unusual questions and a good knowledge of your subject that you can win over even someone who is in a bad mood.

When I spoke with four of the members of Monty Python individually on the red carpet at an NYC screening last year, I asked each of them a non-Python question first. That opened them up because they could tell I was interested in other aspects of their lives. I also didn't ask them something lame like, “What's your up about them on their own if they feel comfortable with you. Prior to interviewing David Tibet from Current 93, I was told to avoid the “Nazi thing”. Ten minutes into the favourite Monty Python sketch?” Sometimes publicists have warned me of subjects with their clients. I have heeded such warnings and found people will often open up about them on their own if they feel comfortable with you. Prior to interviewing David Tibet from Current 93, I was told to avoid the “Nazi thing”. Ten minutes into the interview he bemoaned how people misunderstood his song ‘Hitler As Kalki’ and he wasn't a Nazi and that his father fought against the Germans in World War I hadn't even touched the subject. But he clearly felt it was important to address.

I think it is usually better to let people ease into controversial topics rather than jumping right into them. That depends on the nature of the interview, of course, but when people feel safe with you, they will open up on their own. Amy Lee from Evanescence told me about a sister who passed away when she was six years-old, and I knew nothing about this sibling prior to that. She just wanted to tell me about her in the context of the conversation we were having.”

Bryan Reesman

“Nothing to make a big deal about. Dave Navarro was a prick – but then, aren’t we all at sometime or another? I’m not confrontational – I tend to take the side of the people I’m interviewing. For two reasons, really. On M8 I used to review a lot of unsigned bands and I realised that, if I wasn’t careful I could meet these guys in a pub and, it being Glasgow, get my head kicked in. I couldn’t afford to be some smart-arsed hack in London, taking the piss from a safe distance; I had to at least be fair and constructive. And, secondly, working on mags like Bassist and Total Guitar you’re automatically more on the side of the musicians – you’re writing for musicians about musicians, so it’s not really appropriate to take the piss out of them. On Classic Rock a lot of the guys we write about have had the piss taken out of them by the press for years – for being old, being ‘dadrock’, being prog, being hippies, whatever – so it doesn’t feel appropriate to be confrontational. It’s time to be fair and let them talk.”

Scott Rowley

“Not particularly difficult – but some bands have more egos than others. I remember being flown to America to cover Linkin Park for a Rock Sound cover story. I attended two shows – one in Florida and one in Mississippi. The band was probably at their peak of success on the first album and it showed in terms of their attitude. I was kept waiting in Mississippi for hours before I was finally given a brief interview with Chester and Mike (vocalists) and from the start it was clear that neither really gave a shit about Rock Sound being there – and it was simply a case of a band going through the motions.

On the other hand – interviewing Corey Taylor springs to mind as difficult – in the sense that on a number of occasions that I have interviewed him, we have discussed some truly heart-wrenching stories – of divorces, a love child, alcoholism, broken homes, etc., etc., – which when they are revealed for the first time (which was the case for all these things) – truly make interviewing hard as the subject matter is so personal and you know how difficult discussing such topics can be for a person. Listening to such stories is a truly moving experience.”

Darren Sadler

“Surprisingly few, although Feeder refused to talk to me for the first day of an ‘on-the-road’ piece because I’d written a less than flattering review a few weeks before. I didn’t exactly get on with Frank Carter from Gallows and it was difficult to interview Chris Cornell last year without saying: “So, the new album – it’s a bit shit isn’t it?”. Oh and one day I had Slash calling my house for a phoner. My stepson, who was about eight at the time answered the phone and said “Hello strange man” before informing me there was a strange man on the phone. Which there was.”

Paul Travers

“Just Henry Rollins. Having been an admirer of Hank’s brutal work ethic, I was excited when an on-the-road opportunity arose at Kerrang!. In early 1993 the plan was to fly to Amsterdam to see Rollins’ spoken word show, interview him, and then accompanying him to Brussels in a Transit van driven by his tour manager. The morning after his spoken word performance, Rollins sat in the front, myself in an armchair in the back. In the confines of the vehicle, a hideous row erupted. It concerned Kerrang! writer Morat’s hungover interview with Rollins at Reading, and his character/integrity which I saw fit to defend. At one point we were both screaming at each other, the bench seat a welcome physical barrier – the tour manager kept eyes glued to the bitumen. When we reached Brussels airport, I placed my legs on the road and they wobbled like jelly. It wasn’t that I feared Rollins (after all, I’d stood inches from Angry Anderson in his prime), more that it was a thoroughly unpleasant experience. It was the last time I would “Get In The Van”.”

Robyn Doreian

Posted 25th July 2010
Updated Sunday, 25 July, 2010 2:51 PM