Questions to interview bands with

So ... I'm not fully awake ... if this sounds like gobbledygook ... mucho apologies.

I have a website called Rock Comics (www.rock-comics.com). While the name of the site isn't really up to par with what the site is anymore (since our comics dude stopped drawing comics) ... but anyways ... that isn't the point.

My point is this - I have a series of interviews with some bands coming up - some big name, others indie.

I want to have a list of questions that I can pull from for filler questions. These can be serious or funny ... all I want are a bunch of questions that haven't been asked a zillion times. I like to keep my interviews interesting. So please ... don't suggest, "where'd you get the name from?"

So - what would you want to ask a band??

And BTW - we are always looking for content providers. If you love music (rock and rock types) and can string together a proper paragraph, please feel free to contat me.

who has the worst gas in the band

after 37 days in the van straight, do you kick out the member with the worst gas?

come on drummers aren't that hard to come by..........

Comprende ... a series of questions about farting. Done and done.

i once interviewed matthew sweet for a pulp mag and asked him, "do you think it's strange that you are able to sell x many records when your music is the absolute crap it is?"

answer - "get the fuck out of here, asshole! interview over!"

LMFAO ... brilliant. I had the same kind of experience with Avril Lavigne ... except I called her a pompous pretentious bitch ... hence why the interview was over.

Dude ... you impress me with your balls. If you want a place to write some stuff, I'd love to have ya write for us. That is ... if your writing is as sharp as the wit.

Edited to say: no - your balls don't impress me ... I meant the ... ah fuck it - you know what I meant.

[Edited on Jun 15, 2004 by abadinfluence]

I know you're not down for asking hard questions, but DO IT -- ITS THE ONLY WAY YOU'LL GET AN INTERVIEW WORTH READING. Not only that, but if the bands music is good or not they've earned some snaps if they can survive the rapid fire.

Don't stroke the band by telling them "oh your record is so great, what made you write this song, who have you been listening too". Any band who's worth giving an interview too has heard that way too many times. Also most bands don't like to be insulted either, so your goal is to walk the fine line between asking dumb questions, and keeping the interviewee willing to sit for the interview (ice breaker questions are great).

Ask them questions that YOU want to know. Like if you're not into the band, just ask them why do you suck? If you're just don't like one song the band did ask, why did you guys get all emo on track 7, it kind of blows? Just try to make a debate out of it, rather than just sending insulting blows to the person your asking the questions too.

Also if you go that route, make sure you have several reasons to back up why you think they suck or rock -- just don't flatter them with compliments.

Here's some sample questions that I liked to ask when I interviewed scene bands for this silly zine.

-- Anal, are you down? (this could lead into great talk about flavored lube, don't over do it and use your judgement).

-- What did you think of so and so's new record (just pick any suck album that they probably have heard)?
When they answer something like "I liked it, because" just point out to them that it sucked along with the various reasons of why it sucked.

-- Who are listening to these days?
If the bands mentioned mentioned all sound the same, be sure to point it out and ask why they favor bands that all sound the same.

-- Were you down with ska music back in the day?
Do some research and this could fun -- I pointed out to a modestly successful hardcore band I got to interview sometime back, that they used to be members of a ska band and showed them the url for proof. They didn't care about all the other dumb questions I asked, but this one they took offense too because it was a dirty secret.

All and all, do your homework and try to make it fun. As for me I do like to put bands on the spot a bit, but let your own personality come out in the interview too.


edit -- forgot some key words in sentences


[Edited on Jun 15, 2004 by lethholelm]

Yeah, I agree with the post above-if you inject your personality it'll make the interview interesting. From there, just try to figure out if the person (people?) you're talking to can take a joke. If they can't, there's always the possibility of questions like "So, why can't you lighten up?" which could potentially end the interview or elicit some kind of really obnoxious pompous answer that you can mock them over for the rest of the interview....if you feel the need.

If they CAN take a joke, then definitely ask crazy questions like "So, what's it gunna take for you guys to get GOOD?" if they laugh it off you'll get a cool answer, if they clam up then they're dicks.
You could also just ask random questions like "What's your favorite bug? I really like grasshoppers" and see if they stare at you. Or, if that's too crazy, something more mundane like "Tell me about your worst job".

I think the best interviews would probably be with bands you don't actually like, right?

I couldn't agree more -- back when I was cool and all down the local scene, I got to interview my fair share of bands. All of my favorite ones where with bands I thought that sucked. I think its because I didn't care what they thought of me, or if they never talked to me again.

To my surprize when I asked questions just as dumb as the ones above, a lot of them took it with a sense of humor. Most of them were actually really cool guys -- I kind of felt bad that the bands they were in sucked so bad.

On the same token, I got to interview my all time favorite bands (they're still one of my favorites some seven years later). At the time I was so concerned with what they thought of me, I loved their stuff so much I didn't want to offend them, etc ... in retrospect I think that the interview was awful

Okay -- I'm babbling, but yeah it helps a lot if you know your stuff and your NOT a fan.

Number one rule of interviewing bands: do NOT ask "how's the tour going?"

LMFAO ... thanks for the pointers guys ... however ... that wasn't quite what I was asking for. I've been interviewing bands and the like for a few years now.

I'm just wondering what questions you'd like to see a variety of different bands answer. Like ... "Anal, are you down?" (Thanks lethholelm, that was great, I'm using it.)

So ... now that we've got that cleared up ... any more suggestions for questions to ask bands. Serious or funny.

With certain bands:

Why do you suck?

Why don't you just quit and find something you're actually good at?

Did you steal your lyrics from a 4th grade poetry journal?

I can think of a million bands who need to be asked those questions...

Having interviewed a few bands here is what I like to ask....


1. go ahead and pimp your new what ever...
- really that's why they do interviews and you want to get it out of the way so you can ask other stuff

2. ask what they want the fans to know?
- you never know what your going to get, but it might be gold

3. if a band is part of a scene ask them about the scene and let them pimp their friends/ or ask them what they are listening to currently..

4. ask what they think of the current state of music and the industry
-always a good question there is lots of interesting stuff you might learn

5. always say thank you, even if they have been difficult or assholes, cause you never know who's going to remember that you thanked them

hope that helps..

Ask about file sharing.

It's a good way to learn about political slants and motivation.
ie: Are they in first for money or first for music