“I wish I could say it was planned but I’m afraid I’m not that media savvy,” Lacy replies bashfully, blushing.
“Lacy’s actually here to pick up a few PR tips,” I tell James. “She’s getting ready to launch a book of poetry and will have some of her own promo to do soon, including an interview with Maisie.”
“I’m not super experienced with interviews and all that,” Lacy admits. “And Maisie is such a big deal! I’m pretty nervous.”
“Well, Ben here is a pro,” James says with a reassuring nod. “Now that I’ve whipped him into shape that is. He used to be a trainwreck in interviews.”
“Hey now, I wouldn’t say I was atrainwreck,” I reply as Lacy giggles next to me.
“Come on, man, that time you trashed your ex-songwriting partner live on air? Trainwreck. People still talk about it.”
“Fine, fine. Well, Lacy, if you want to learn from therealpro, James is clearly the one to talk to. Now, how about we get this show on the road?” I turn to James expectantly.
“Good call. Lesson one. Never be late,” James says to Lacy. “You’ll get a reputation as being ‘difficult’or a ‘diva’ immediately.”
“Noted,” Lacy says as we hustle after James. He leads us through the hotel’s ornate lobby, which is decorated with enormous chandeliers, vases of white lilies everywhere, and guides us to a private meeting room.
“Ben, we’ve set you up for the interviews in here,” James says, gesturing to two director’s-style chairs set up in front of a large decorative panel that has my band’s logo plastered on the back. “Lacy, feel free to hang in the comfy corner there and watch Ben work his magic,” James gestures to another corner of the room, where a couple of large couches and arm chairs are clustered around a table with snacks and drinks. “I’ll be stuck to Ben’s side, making sure he doesn’t make an ass of himself,” James adds with a wry grin.
“Youhavesaved me from putting my foot in my mouth on a couple occasions,” I admit as I settle into one of the large director’s chairs. “Who’s up first today?” I ask, looking to James expectantly.
“Josh Slater withRolling Stone,” he replies.
“Nice,” I say with a nod. I know Josh well. He’s interviewed me plenty of times over the years.
“Ready to rock?” James asks.
“And roll. Let’s do this.”
James steps out to call Josh into the room and I give Lacy, who has settled onto an armchair and is watching me nervously, a reassuring wink. I then turn my attention to the journalist as he settles into the chair across from me and turns on his phone to record our conversation.
“You want to start with an easy one or a hard one?” Josh asks with a grin.
“How about an easy one and then another easy one?”
“Come on, Ben, you know I can’t let you off the hook. I’ve got a job to do.”
“Fine, fine, have at it.”
“Okay, first: Where the hell have you been the past six months?!”
“In the countryside, enjoying some peace and quiet, and working on my music.”
“Care to say where that countryside might be located more precisely?”
“Nah, better keep that on the DL.”
“Fair enough, you don’t need stalkers in the bushes. So, the new album, when’s it going to drop?”
“I’m finishing up the material now and then we have to get into post-production. So, I’d guess we’re four to five months out from a launch.”
“Let’s make that three to four months,” James interjects hurriedly. “Your fans are ready for new stuff, Ben. Gotta deliver,” he says to me.
“No pressure, right?” I joke to Josh, who is giving me and James a knowing look. He’s witnessed plenty of these kinds of exchanges in our interviews. Managers are always butting in.
“And is this album going to deliver something different?” Josh presses on with his questions. “From what we saw on your recent livestream, it seems like it’s more down-tempo. Dare I say romantic, even?”
“Yeah, I’d say my sound has evolved a bit.”