INTERVIEW ANXIETY! (Patreon)

Today I did an interview for the podcast with a guy called John Arnison. If you're a Marillion fan, he'll need no introduction, as he was the band's manager for 16 years, from before they signed a record deal in the early-80s, right through to the late-90s. In his time, he has managed Gabrielle, Leftfield, and currently manages Billy Ocean! Which is a bizarre list of talent, especially when you chuck Marillion in there. 

I'll be honest, I was slightly shitting myself. I generally don't like conducting interviews. I like being interviewed, but that's relatively easy. 

Even back in the Digitiser days, doing an interview was something I avoided as much as possible. I'd always prefer to send a questionnaire than do it over the phone or in person. Or get someone else to do it for me! Partly, that's because I don't like talking on the phone full stop. Plus, I would always feel a responsibility to try to get something out of the subject that nobody else had managed. Too often, an interviewee will be doing a round of press, and so they wheel out the same answers to the same old questions. I always want to get the exclusive, and not just tow the PR line, otherwise you just get the same interview in 50 different places.

With John, he was a name I grew up hearing. He'd essentially shepherded my favourite band to (in the 80s) superstardom, and out the other side, and I know that some music managers can be slippery characters. What's more, John was one of the main reasons Fish left the band, and then the band let John go over the direction they were headed... and I knew these - and other subjects - weren't ones I could avoid asking about. I know that, as a fan, I'd want to get his take. Not least, because I'd never really heard him talk about them. 

In fact, I''d never seen an interview with John until very, very recently, with a Marillion Facebook group, and he'd very much remained diplomatic, and avoided anything too controversial. I knew I couldn't settle for that, so I felt real pressure going in.

Then there's always the anxiety that the interview subject won't actually say very much, and I'm left either with awkward pauses, or scrabbling to find ways to get them to open up. The whole thing fills me with anxiety. Which is daft, because once I get underway all of that goes out the window, and I'm fine. But... beforehand, yeah, I do worry.

So, fortunately... I had nothing to worry about at all. He's an absolutely lovely, down-to-earth, bloke. We covered everything I wanted to talk about. He was open, honest, and revealing. And even if I do say so myself, it's a great interview. One that I, as a fan, would want to hear! 

And it's particularly interesting for me, because I find the stories of those people around the band kind of more interesting than interviews with the band. I've heard the same tales and anecdotes so many times from the band members, whereas those on the periphery often have more revealing takes on events. So, I'll continue trying to track down those people.

I have to say, while the Digi videos will always remain my priority, the podcast is fast becoming something I'm really proud of. I love that it's a niche subject, which really lets Sanja and I get as nerdy as possible. Plus, all our counselling training seems to come in hand for analysing the lyrics. And now I'm getting to put my old journo skills to use once again. It scratches a lot of itches simultaneously.  

Check it out if you haven't! You might enjoy it.

https://shows.acast.com/between-you-and-me