ghost of miles Posted July 12, 2003 Report Share Posted July 12, 2003 Still in a state of disbelief, but through an unexpected series of conversations, it now transpires that I'll be interviewing Anita O'Day via telephone for a two-part radio program in August. I'll be sure to post the link when we broadcast... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christiern Posted July 12, 2003 Report Share Posted July 12, 2003 (edited) Congratulations.... I did a phone interview with Anita many years ago. When I called her, she asked me to call back, because she had just poured a martini and she didn't want it to go bad. I called her back and got a good interview. Edited July 12, 2003 by Christiern Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzmoose Posted July 12, 2003 Report Share Posted July 12, 2003 Damn! I am extremely impressed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Lightning Posted July 13, 2003 Report Share Posted July 13, 2003 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Fitzgerald Posted July 13, 2003 Report Share Posted July 13, 2003 Do me a favor - I doubt she would, but ask if she remembers a bassist who played with her around 1957 at the Red Hill Inn in Pennsauken, NJ - name of Henry Grimes. Just so I can cross the t. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catesta Posted July 14, 2003 Report Share Posted July 14, 2003 Nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander Posted July 14, 2003 Report Share Posted July 14, 2003 Those of you who have performed interviews in the past, I'm going to be joining the interview staff at a jazz website, and I'm a little nervous never having done it before. I actually passed up Nicholas Payton because I didn't feel ready. Any tips you guys can offer would be appreciated. I just don't want to ask the same old questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christiern Posted July 14, 2003 Report Share Posted July 14, 2003 Any tips you guys can offer would be appreciated. I just don't want to ask the same old questions. On a TV interview that was going slow, I asked Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson if they had a roach problem at their house--it generated into a lively, loose, informative interview. My advice: do thorough research and come up with unexpected questions (preferably related to the subject(s)). Sometime dragging out a good name or incident from their past will trigger them. Mainly, the people you are interviewing should know that you know more than the average person. I have had my share of being interviewed, and the usual questions get routine ressponses from me--like, "how did Bessie really die? Throw me a curve and I'm off (in a positive way). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted July 14, 2003 Report Share Posted July 14, 2003 An important thing I learned in interviewing Eddie Higgins is that open-ended questions are best. Let the subject answer the way he wants to, let him feel that he is in some control over the interview. Also, don't pose questions in which you provide the answer, as in "X happened-was that because of Y?" The biggest thing is to get the subject to talk and the best way you can do that is to ask open-ended questions. And another thing I learned was that a good closing question is, "Is there anything you'd like to talk about that I didn't ask about?" In Higgins' case, he had been so accomodating that I probably was on the cusp of wearing out my welcome (I knew that when he asked, 'Is that it?") but I went ahead and asked that final question and it netted me one of the nicest stories and quotes of the entire 2.5 hour interview. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted July 14, 2003 Report Share Posted July 14, 2003 And another thing I learned was that a good closing question is, "Is there anything you'd like to talk about that I didn't ask about?" Excellent advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted July 14, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2003 And another thing I learned was that a good closing question is, "Is there anything you'd like to talk about that I didn't ask about?" Excellent advice. Yes, I always end my interviews with this question. (Great minds and all that, right, Dan? ) I also agree with the comments about thorough research and finding or framing questions that, by virtue of being somewhat fresh, are more likely to generate thoughtful responses. Some artists and writers who are frequently interviewed may have (understandably) some pre-programmed responses to certain inquiries, simply because they've been asked so many times about incident X or person Y. The toughest interview I've had so far was Odetta. It was a telephone interview, and we got off to a rocky start because she thought I was a print reporter and was asking her questions that were already answered in her press release... but I simply wanted her to talk a little bit about her childhood, as opposed to me reading some info off a sheet. First she became irate, then startled when she found out I was a radio interviewer--"Are we on the air?" she asked. I assured her that we weren't, and we ended up having a really good interview. But man, I was on edge for a few moments there! She's tough! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris olivarez Posted July 15, 2003 Report Share Posted July 15, 2003 Hopefully Anita won't put you through the grinder like Odetta did and hopefully she won't be one of those one word response interviews.At any rate good luck you are one lucky rascal GOM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christiern Posted July 20, 2003 Report Share Posted July 20, 2003 I'm surprised to hear that Odetta gave you a hard time. I have known her for over 40 years--she's really a very warm person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted July 21, 2003 Report Share Posted July 21, 2003 (edited) What Dan Gould said was good. Also, read through your questions, and make sure none can be answered by a simple "yes" or "no." And LISTEN to their answers. Don't be afraid to ask follow-up questions based on their answers that are not on your question list. People will tell half a story and go off on a tangent, and forget to finish the story. Give a gentle reminder to bring them back. Also, be sure to tell her exactly what it is for, send her a reminder a week before it airs, and SEND HER A COPY. You'd be amazed how frequently I'll arrange an interview for a show, and the subject will say "I did an interview for [CNN, PBS, A&E, etc) and I never got a copy." It's only polite. Edited July 21, 2003 by Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander Posted July 21, 2003 Report Share Posted July 21, 2003 I did my first interview on Sunday (with saxophonist Brian Patneaude) and it went very well (except for not having enough tape for my recorder! Doh!). I followed a lot of the advice from this thread, and I think it worked splendidly. So thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted July 21, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2003 I'm surprised to hear that Odetta gave you a hard time. I have known her for over 40 years--she's really a very warm person. Chris, She was really warm--I think it was just that I was her third interview of four in one hour, and she thought I was a print reporter asking her to confirm her press release or something. After the first minute it went swimmingly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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