How Do You Get Interviews?

I thought this would be a good initial blog post on my new website for a few reasons: (1) It will help introduce what I do to folks who just found me, and (2) It might help answer a question that a lot of folks seem to ask.

For anyone who has visited my YouTube channel, you will likely see that my most popular videos and series/playlist by far is my “On the Record” series. In this series, I get together and interview notable musicians (oftentimes guitarists) about how they make a living in the crazy world of guitar. Along with this theme, we discuss their careers, opinions on the different areas of the music industry, and advice they might have for the future.

So, how do I get the opportunity to actually sit down with some of the guitar world’s greatest musicians? Well, the short answer is: it depends! Haha. The series started with me interviewing people with whom I have previously worked and my friends; people like the greats Richard Smith and Brent Mason, as well as the walking vintage guitar dictionary George Gruhn. With Richard and Brent particularly, I had previously played shows and worked guitar clinics with them, and consider both to be friends.

After interviewing my friends, I went on to working some of my contacts as well as cold contacting folks. It was quite the “hitting the pavement” moment for me. I was lucky enough to get some fortunate initial “yes” responses, and it just went from there!

So why would these folks bother with a small YouTube channel like mine? Well, I like to think it is for a few different reasons. First, I find that if you can provide a high quality finished product that the interviewee can use as self-promotion, they are more likely to see the benefit in spending their time with you. Second, if you can pick a topic of interview that might intrigue the interviewee (maybe something that they do not usually get asked about), they are sometimes more willing to accept the interview.

To answer the follow-up question that tends to come in these conversations: Do I ever pay people for interviews? The answer is no. I think that an interview needs to be something organic and natural — not forced under the pressures of financial requirements. If someone does not want to speak with me, that is absolutely fine! There are plenty of reasons to do an interview or to pass on an interview!