Inspired by an Annoyed David Bowie: My Solemn Oath as a Host, and an Interviewer

 

OR:

‘I, Pallas, Do Solemnly Swear . . . Never to Ask Stupid Questions.’

 

I had hoped to one day interview David Bowie . A girl can dream. Now that day will never come, but the wish was not entirely pie in the sky.
I began producing my own radio show ‘Pallas’ Dutch Invasion’ in the Spring of 2015. My initial intention was to feature successful, and also up and coming, and even underground Dutch bands. I’ve had the honor of featuring the internationally successful Dutch bands Taymir, and Birth of Joy, among others.
However, my show took a rapid and unexpected twist, and before I knew it, I was interviewing inconic musicians such as:
Jazz great- Lee Ritenour, Fee Waybill-front man of The Tubes, Tony Levin – King Crimson/ Stick Men (Official) bass and Chapman Stick player, Pat Mastelotto-King Crimson/Stick Men drummer and session player, Markus Reuter -touch guitar player of Stick Men and his solo works, and legendary Progressive Rock guitarist , Steve Hackett of Genesis, and solo works, to name a few.

Interviewing these legendary musicians is an honor as well as being a daunting undertaking. It is also a great pleasure, but not without pressure.
Preparing for an interview requires much research if it is to be done well.

I promised myself, to never ask dumb questions. I’d be damned if I were to bore my subjects, or make myself look stupid.

Viewing this compilation of interviews of ‘David Bowie Gets Annoyed’ (see Youtube link below), solidifies my commitment to research my subjects deeply, and to always go in well prepared. It’s the least I can do. It’s a sign of respect, it sets the subjects at ease, and, it hopefully makes for great journalism.

As a die-hard David Bowie fan since the age of 13, I was thrilled, when as a professional dancer, I came very close to having had the opportunity to work with him in 1987 on his Glass Spider Tour – choreographed by Toni Basil. I was one of the last two in the running for the ballerina role, but, sadly, I didn’t book the gig.

Now, with my new endeavor as a host, interviewer, and producer, I’d dared to dream, and hoped to create an opportunity to interview David Bowie perhaps for Pallas’ Dutch Invasion and elsewhere on radio and film. But sadly, that too shall never come to pass . . .

If I ever feel myself getting lazy or distracted while preparing for an interview, I’ll whip out this film of ‘David Bowie Gets Annoyed’ to remind myself to keep the bar high.

Until now, I seem to have done well, having received the following encouraging feedback:

Vicky Jenson, Director at Dreamworks Animation:
‘You project a knowlegable professional persona, worthy of interviewing these giants of music’….
‘ ….. In the interview (with Steve Hackett) Pallas’ understanding, preparation, and experience, allowed her a nimble poise and facility with her subject, putting the legendary musician at ease.

Tony Levin:
‘Thank you for not asking any trite questions!’

Lee Ritenour:
‘That’s a great question….These are hard questions!’

Steve Hackett:
‘I hope you don’t mind that we’re going off the page of your prepared questions.’
Pallas: ‘No! It’s great! Let’s keep going with the flow’

So, by virtue of writing this short piece, I wanted to make a commitment, in writing, to YOU, my dear listeners, readers, and followers, as well as to my future interview subjects.

I, Pallas, do solemnly swear, to never ask stupid or trite questions. Amen.

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This is the second of three pieces I am writing inspired David Bowie. The first from a dancer’s perspective, this one from the point of view as an interviewer, and next, will come a piece about how David Bowie, the man and artist has touched and inspired so many of us so deeply, and with such longetivity.

After writing the third piece, I think I will be able to join so many friends and colleagues, and finally allow myself to mourn his passing fully.

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This article was originally published on

January 13th, 2016 on PALLASDOTCOM

Flvto YouTube To Mp3 Converter

Today I talked with the folks at FLVTO concerning their plug in that rips audio from YouTube videos, straight to your computer, so you can add the audio to your iTunes or mp3 library, or do whatever you want to with it.

Honestly, at first I was a little upset.

Being a musician, this seems to me to be a slap in the face. Allowing anyone and everyone to steal your music from YouTube, giving the artist nothing for the time, effort, and money they spent to create the audio.
Then I realized I have used this very same type of plugin myself.

Give the interview a read, and let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment. Is this stealing from music creators, or is this a tool that could help music creators??

Tony Coke: Flvto makes a plugin that converts youtube videos to mp3 correct? What are some of the ways people could use this software? To take songs from YouTube and add to their mp3 library?

FLVTO: We provide our users with a wide range of choices depending on their preferences. Those who feel more comfortable with online converters we offer browser extensions for Safari, Firefox, IE and Chrome. Also, there’s an old-school method of copy-pasting video links into the conversion field on Flvto website. Those are great if you want quick and quality conversion on the go. However, if you are looking for an enhanced experience our free desktop apps for Windows and Mac are always here for you. They allow simultaneous downloads by batch (up to 99 files at a time), faster speed and HD quality.
Yes, the main function of a tool is taking songs from YouTube and adding them to your mp3 music collection. But you also can make use of MP4, AVI, FLV, MOV, WMV, WMA, AAC and more formats.

Tony Coke: How does the converter work and is it easy to use it?

FLVTO: It’s extremely easy to use. All you need to do is search for a YouTube video, copy its URL and paste into the conversion entry space. It will take you from a few seconds to a minute to get the converted file. The time varies depending on the video length and output format.

Tony Coke: Since Bands Rising has a large musician subscriber base, how can this type of service be utilized by artists, bands and musicians?

FLVTO: We are getting lots of feedbacks from musicians and DJs who come to YouTube to dig through unique tracks and sounds this video sharing platform is famous for. They are looking for a way to get those tunes and place them to a new beat. YouTube is indeed a great source of inspiration given the number of exclusive songs, home-shot masterpieces, mashups, bootlegs and remixes people upload for free share. With the due care and creativity to the source material, the end results can be overwhelming.
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Tony Coke: Do you feel that this is taking profits away from musicians and creators, who invest tons of hours and money into recording their music, by allowing people to rip that work for free?

FLVTO: Flvto.com was created to spead the message of Internet communism to the masses. Our goal is not to take bread away from artists, but, on the opposite, provide those who promote their music through YouTube with extra opportunities. Once the song is converted, saved and thoroughly enjoyed, the user has extra incentives to buy the entire album and make donation to this particular artist.
Musicians who see their presence on YouTube as crucial, but who are not willing to share their music for free can simply block their videos from conversion by editing video’s privacy settings.

Tony Coke: On flvto.com it lists the top 100 most converted and downloaded mp3. That’s pretty cool, do those artists get anything for making the top 100 list?

FLVTO: The main idea of the top 100 list is the ability to track the most popular songs in your country. It’s being continuously updated depending on which YouTube videos are being most converted at the moment. This way, any YouTube user who uploads a video can get “15 minutes of fame” through top 100, attract new subscribers and fans. Flvto.com is 100% free service which operates solely on advertising. We neither pay out to artists, nor accept placement fees.

Tony Coke: So there you are. What do you think? A slap in the face to musicians, or a tool no one should be without?