Radio Interviews

[vagus]

Had my first one last week which caught me way off guard, but I think I pulled through alright. Have two scheduled next week Mon and Wed, but man what a crazy experience.

Any advice on how to sound cool, but not cocky, proud but not arrogant, and plug the band without cheese, and genuinely not suck?

 

[sloasdaylight]

Go in wearing a clown outfit.


Beyond that I don't know.

 

[Richland123]

I do radio interviews frequently. First, relax and treat it as a conversation with the interviewer. Be prepared but don't sound like you are scripted. You might be able to go over a few things with the interviewer prior to going on the air. Pre-recorded interviews are easier since you can re-record over mistakes. Live is harder but try to do everything in one take anyway and you will get better at live interviews then. Promote your band, upcoming event, style of music, CD, what the audience can expect at a show, history of the band, band members and biography, etc. However, try to keep your answers brief and to the point and answer the interviewer's questions with a direct response and add to it. Take advantage of the airtime to market your band. The interviewer does not want to do all the talking. Speak professionally and do not stutter or keep saying, Ah, Um, And, or anything that makes you sound badly on the air. Do not speak too fast or too slow or have empty spaces or stop talking abruptly. Do not provide only yes or no answers and elaborate on your responses to the questions.

 

[vagus]

Sounds solid... I got thrown the "what are your influences?" question, which was hard because I mean, 100's 1000's of bands and musicians have some sort of influence, and I know they are looking for an answer that is more " what famous bands do you sound like?" but comparing yourself to bands like that feels weird and unnatural...

 

[Lazylion]

If it's early in the morning, don't let them make you sing live.

Also, don't do what a drummer friend of mine once did. His country band was getting interviewed live on the radio in Kentucky, and he blurted out that he hates bluegrass music. In Kentucky! Dude! Not smart! If you have a guy in your band who is prone to that kind of statement, settle it ahead of time that he is to speak as little as possible.

Accentuate the positive, don't even mention negative stuff. You love everybody.

 

[scsm]

I actually work at a Top 40 Station in a medium market and I have interviewed several bands, some famous some not so famous.

All the things people have mentioned are good, I'd also say that never have one word responses like Yes or No, always try to elaborate.

The best advice I can say is don't think you're talking to a bunch of people, you are just talking to the DJ and having a conversation. Radio is all about trying to be conversational.

 

[JohnMCA72]

Always have a plan. In particular, you should have some "message" that you want to broadcast, otherwise what's the point of doing the interview? Whatever questions you're asked, you want to steer the conversation back to your answers, not necessarily the questions asked.

Given that you already know the "answers" that you'd like to put out over the air, it's not at all unreasonable to come in with a short list of suggested questions (that naturally lead to the answers you already have prepared) to the radio host. Hosts actually like this, because unless you're somebody who's already mega-famous, they don't have much of a clue what to ask you, they've got plenty else to worry about, & it helps them out. Not to mention, it helps make sure that the interview moves along smoothly & makes everybody sound intelligent. They're interested in "good radio" & the more natural & seamless the conversation goes, the better it all sounds. I've done a lot of radio interviews & I won't go into one without a list of prepared suggestions for questions, that I already have answers ready for. Most hosts will ad lib a bit, but mostly follow what I give them. At the very least, give them a brief synopsis in advance of what you're there to talk about (new CD release, upcoming gigs, new baby - whatever it is that their listeners are going to be interested in hearing about).

Look at it this way: You want to get your message out. To make sure that it goes the way you'd like it to, you need to take at least some control of the interview. If you don't, there's no telling where it will go & it may or may not go where you want it to.

JM

 

[Billnc]

Listen to some interviews by the host before you go in. So much depends on their style, just as some people do better interviews, some radio show hosts do a better job interviewing. My worst experience is we were in the studio waiting, and the host comes into the room and without warning we were on the air. Completely off gaurd. Others are so conversational it feels like sitting around a bar. Being the bass player I usually only ever get hit with the influences question.