A Good Interview Is Hard To Find

Bernanation's Steps To Journalistic Bliss
So you think you want to be a journalist. You can just see yourself mingling with celebs and writing for money. Sipping champagne backstage with Tenacious D, sharing croissants with Julia Roberts, sitting in on JTim’s GQ photo shoot… Well, it turns out that journalistic bliss isn’t all fun and frippery. It’s actually a hell of a lot of hard work. It takes guts and tenacity and a good interview. Flannery O’Conner said a good man is hard to find. I contend that a good interview is even harder.

We’ve all read those magazine articles that make you wonder if the interviewer has ever heard of his subject, much less researched him. Some journalists ask inane questions like, “What’s your favorite color?” and the person being questioned responds with “Black,” and you wind up with a dull and drool-inducing piece of dribble. Wondering how to avoid stimulating the overactive salivary glands of the literate population? I can offer a bit of insight to the process via my own first experience in the realm of the tête à tête.

I recently had the platinum opportunity to interview Honus Honus (AKA Ryan Kattner, the frontman of Man Man. How did I, a lowly JBB intern, get such a wonderful, stellar, top-shelf chance, you may ask. Well, I’ll tell you, and string you a few pearls of journalistic wisdom in the process. Behold, the Steps to Journalistic Bliss:

Step Number One To Journalistic Bliss: Never assume that someone is “too important” to talk to you. Believe me, I’ve contacted my share of duds—ie people who didn’t respond to my pleas—but not everyone will shoot you down. After seeing Man Man rock out in concert at Pitchfork, I had an idea. Expecting nothing, I threw the band an e–mail asking for a sit-down. That same day, Kattner emailed me back, “Why the hell not?” Lesson learned: It never hurts to try (unless you’re trying base jumping, which could potentially lead to a neck brace).

Step Number Two To Journalistic Bliss: Research the hell out of your subject. Yes, this step requires work. If you shy away from said work, perhaps this profession, or at the very least this particular subject, is not for you. Read other interviews, find out what questions have been asked ad nausem. For example, I steered clear of asking Kattner anything about his moustache—it had been done and done and done to death. If you are interviewing musicians, LEARN THE WORDS TO THEIR SONGS. They’ll be surprised, amused, and they will appreciate it. And it will be easier to reference their music if you know what it’s all about.

In addition, research pictures of the artists. Know what they look like. Kattner told me that he’d be the one at the concert with a moustache. If I hadn’t scoured pictures of the Man Man tribe I would have been lost in a sea of furry men; like true hipster lemmings everyone there had a moustache. Know your subject like you’d know a hypothetical enemy so as to stalk and capture their story.

Step Number Three To Journalistic Bliss: Be brave; be very, very brave. This is difficult for everyone. I was positively quaking in my Frye boots as I followed Honus Honus up to the green room, a shady attic filled with hairy musicians and hard alcohol. When I first stepped backstage, I stood rather awkwardly, awkwardly declined a beer, and awkwardly introduced myself (for no particular reason) to members of the opening bands. Still, when we sat down to the interview I bolstered my courage and asked the questions I came to ask. Honus2 turned out to be a nice guy—very willing to talk about everything from girls to rabid mothers at Christmastime. No great interview was ever gained by the meek.

So get out your tape recorders and sharpen your pencils. Grit your teeth and screw your courage to the sticking place. Do your research, send out your emails and faxes and phone calls, and get ready to join me in the glow of journalistic bliss.

You can read Brenna Ehrlich’s interview with Ryan Kattner in October’s issue of The Real Chicago, available in various locations around the city, and online at: The Real Chicago.