Ray Van Horn, Jr.: From the writer’s side, research is everything, particularly if you’re not so familiar with your subject or just vague about them. Do your homework, at all costs! If you want your interviewee to open up to you, know what you’re talking about! Unfortunately I do err here and there on minor details and the bands will call me out on it, but because I really put an effort into what I’m doing, I’m usually forgiven for any transgressions and still given a quality interview. If you really, really must ask who your interviewee’s influences are, be creative about it! Don’t just bluntly ask that question; it’s the mark of an amateur and you’ll lose him or her pretty quickly! Often musicians have other interviews to get to, so keeping their interest means wording your questions in an exciting or at least original way. Cite a specific song of theirs and mention you feel you’re hearing such-and-such’s ambience to the song; sound like you’ve been involved in the artist’s work, that you really listened to it and not just left it on as a soundtrack while generating hackneyed questions, or worse, skimmed through the album just to get a flavor. Absorb this stuff, because they’ll see right through you if you don’t!
I always feel that if the musician is answering my first couple questions to where it reads like a paragraph in text, then I’m in good with them and I’ll relax and let the rest of the questions flow. Try your best to be chummy with your interview; always remember they’re people just like you. Notoriety only goes so far when you break it down to flesh, follicle and emotions. I often greet my interviews with “Hey, brother,” if they’re male or something softer but inviting if it’s a female. If you bring the musician down to your level and make the effort to meet him or her halfway, you’ve learned a lot about how to deliver a good interview. My final bit of advice is to be as inventive as possible. These people get asked the same questions every day in different cities in different countries on different phones. If you want to be remembered down the road, put as much effort as you can into being resourceful with your questions. Study the persona of your interviewee and think outside the box. When I hear a musician tell me at the end of the interview they thought it was good one, I never lose that elated feeling of accomplishment.
Who are some artists that you would like to interview, but haven’t?
I consider myself blessed to have achieved all that I have in this business. To date I’ve interviewed well over 200 musicians and I’ve had the opportunity to interview the majority of my heroes of the eighties as well as meet some incredibly gifted and determined young bands. When I got into this, I set my goal to interview Iron Maiden because I got turned down so many times, being told I needed to be an “A” list journalist in order to get the interview. When I was given Nicko McBrain last fall, I felt like I’d accomplished everything I wanted out of this. Anyone and everyone beyond that is strictly a bonus and an honor. If I ever got to interview Prince, that would be a huge milestone as he is my favorite musician of all-time. Unfortunately, the number one musician I wished I could’ve interviewed is no longer with us, and that’s Joey Ramone. He’s the only celebrity I actually bawled over when he died. The man saved my life without ever knowing it.
How do you deal with negative feedback from bands or readers about something you’ve written?
So far I’ve been fortunate to have been lambasted (to my knowledge, anyway) by only one band, and I deserved it, which was this band called Fogcrawler, I believe. I took a total dump on their album, partially because I was in a very angry mood at the time and I wasn’t very impressed by their work, so I meanly scalped them with artful insults that I regret in hindsight. They called me out on it and demanded I give the readers more input in the review as to why I hated their album, plus raise my rating up from a 1 out of 10. I think we all (meaning the band, the editor and myself) handled the aftermath like gentlemen. The editor stood behind me, though admitted in confidence to me he thought I crossed the line. I issued an apology to the band for taking my personal issues out on them and rewrote the review as professionally as I would anyone else, but I didn’t raise my rating! They weren’t happy about that, but respected I came through with a detailed rationale of my low opinion of their work.
What’s the most fun you’ve had doing an interview?
I’ve had many. Just the other day I interviewed Doro Pesch and Chris Caffery of Savatage and Trans-Siberian Orchestra at their gig and that was just an amazing time. I had an easy hour on the tour bus with them, and Doro’s drummer Johnny Dee took excellent care of me. The most fun, I would say, had to be with Oderus Urungus of Gwar at the Sounds of the Underground festival last summer. We did it on their bus and out comes Oderus without his makeup and gear, yet he never fell out of character. He had me totally off my game and I had no choice but to chuck my notebook and shoot from the hip as he ranted on with every obscene and vulgar phrase he could come up with. One of the other stage minions came onto the bus with five girls and disappeared into the back. A few minutes later, they all came parading back out. As far as I was concerned, it was a show for my benefit; that, or a sad telling of the minion’s sexual prowess! While Oderus rushed me along and acted impatient during the interview, as soon as I turned the tape recorder off, he spoke normally and invited me to hang out for a parking lot barbecue. I chatted for the longest time with one of the other Gwar minions who is in another band in Virginia. Good times. To this day, my wife makes me play the tape for people because it’s one of the most riotous interviews I’ve ever done.
