I'd say the vast majority of my interview experiences have been pleasant, better than pleasant. But sometimes there will be people who will size you up. There can be that "rock star" thing where they think it's cool to pull back.

I'd say the vast majority of my interview experiences have been pleasant, better than pleasant. But sometimes there will be people who will size you up. There can be that "rock star" thing where they think it's cool to pull back.

I might ask about the first time a person heard a song that they really responded to, like when I asked Mos Def when he first "got" hip-hop and he went into this memory about how hearing someone rap really affected him. He wasn't simply remembering the event. It was almost like he was occupying that space again. When you can really transport an interview subject like that, your readers can feel it and it helps them to connect with the artist.

I'd always read a lot about rock 'n' roll growing up, but the first real thing I set out to do was become an English professor. Even so, I always hoped in some way or another that I would get to write about music in a popular - non-academic - format.

It can be nerve wracking if you walk into the interview and you're not sure what to expect.

People looked to Kurt Cobain because his songs captured what they felt before they knew they felt it.

If a musician cares about what he or she is doing, and you show up and care, you can go some place. That will never change. There are a number of ways to approach this, and my favorite is the way we're doing it now - just talking.