Editor’s Note: During most of my journalism career, I’ve gone “old school,” stubbornly preferring to take notes with pen and paper while interviewing music celebs. After all, I’ve got my own secret version of shorthand, I can write really fast, and a pen and paper won’t let you down like faulty technology will (unless the ink runs out). However, I eventually bit the bullet and began digitally recording some of my interviews. Here are some of my favorites, some of which were released as exclusive online content on their respective publications’ websites, and others of which aired on the radio.
KRISTA DETOR
Listen to Podcast: Click here
Read the Full Story: Click here
I led a creative writing workshop for six Ball State University journalism students in February 2010 to teach them interviewing and profile writing skills. We conducted a 30 minute interview with Bloomington, Indiana-based singer-songwriter Krista Detor, in anticipation of her 2010 album release, Chocolate Paper Suites. The article was later published in Nuvo.
LINFORD DETWEILER, OVER THE RHINE
Listen to Podcast: Click here
Read Full Story: Click here
In 2007, I was fortunate to catch up with one of my favorite songwriters for this 28 minute interview with Linford Detweiler, pianist and songwriter, for Over the Rhine. We discussed his band’s new album, The Trumpet Child, and some other music projects in the works. The article was also published in Nuvo.
TOM SHEAR, ASSEMBLAGE 23
Listen to Podcast: Click here
Read Full Story: Click here
A one man band, Assemblage 23 is still going strong five years after this Nuvo interview I was fortunate to record with the electronic musician in 2007 after being named America’s most successful EBM (electronic body music) act and debuting his maxi-single, “Binary,” at No. 21 on the Billboard Hot Singles chart.
DAVID LOWERY, CRACKER
Listen to Podcast: Click here
Read Full Story: Click here
Kerosene Hat is one of those albums from my college years I remember going back to again and again. Like an old friend, it was there for me on long, lonely road trips spent trying to forget the boy who had introduced me to its smooth, addictive alt-country odes in the first place. Cracker, who produced the album, had such a big influence on me those days that I even waited behind stage for a few hours after their Bogart’s gig in Columbus, Ohio, to meet frontman/vocalist David Lowery, who shook my hand and signed a CD. And his sly guitarist, Johnny Hickman, gave me a hug. That was during the time I was freelancing for the Impact Weekly newspaper. Little did I know that a few years later in 2007, I’d be having a half-hour phone conversation with Lowery about one my Cracker’s best albums. After his Indianapolis show, I published this review in Nuvo.
LESLIE BENSON ON INDY INTUNE
Listen to Podcast: Click here
Read Full Story: Click here
In 2012, Darrin Snider, host of the Indy In-Tune podcast in Indianapolis, Indiana, interviewed my bandmate Jason Reed Milner and I for over an hour about our new EP for The Sweetest Condition, also touching upon our favorite local bands, our dream of building a Theremin cello, and recording Irene & Reed’s Struggle, Strength, Reclamation at Sony Tree Studios in Nashville (the same Studio A where Taylor Swift and Lady Antebellum have recorded). During Show #117, we also discussed The Sweetest Condition debuting on three Top 20 spots on Indy In-Tune in August 2012.
LESLIE BENSON ON 91.9 FM WITT
Listen to Podcast: Click here
In 2011, I was interviewed, along with my music partner, Jason Reed Milner, about our band, Irene & Reed, by Noel Hopkins, host of the Indy Music Show, which aired on 91.9 FM WITT. We discussed our first album, Closer to Home, and the upcoming second album, Struggle, Strength, Reclamation.
LESLIE BENSON ON WYSO 91.3 FM
Listen to Podcast: Click here
In 2004, while I was working as the freelance music critic for the Dayton City Paper (formerly Impact Weekly), a radio host from WYSO 91.3 FM (the NPR station in Yellow Springs, Ohio operated by Antioch University) invited me to speak about a song that had “wowed” me recently. I chose “Ohio” by Over the Rhine. Not only does the song still give me chills to this day, but it speaks volumes of the heartache and loyalty Ohioans feel for their land—a truly bittersweet connection.
The Art of Storytelling by Leslie I. Benson 