Sometimes the toughest interviews are also the best.

Tom Scott is always unfiltered. That's why I spent a long time avoiding him.

Kia ora.

Over my many years as a journalist, I would have turned down as many interviews as I’ve accepted. Sometimes it’s because I have no interest in or connection with an artist. For others, it’s simply because I’m just one person with one newsletter and I don’t have time to do everything I’d like to do. But, until recently, there’s been another reason I may have rejected an interview opportunity: because I’m scared.

Once The Mint Chicks kidnapped a Rip It Up journalist, it was a hard pass from me. When a colleague told me how Ben Harper had analysed and critiqued each of their questions before answering them, I couldn’t do it. I didn’t interview Maynard James Keenan for years because someone told me you weren’t allowed to look him in the eye. That turned out to be a joke. I’ve talked to him too many times to count. The last time, it was about basil.