CARTER NORMAN

I stood in the empty space between the trailers and the concert on a cold winter night. The violent echo of the fans cheering, shouting, and screaming was an aggressive cacophony from just down the hill. The climax of the final song was in full swing and the fans were loving every moment of it. I stood there waiting, shivering, and admiring the kind of artist that is able to gather a crowd of this size on such a cold night and still keep them as alive and as crazed as they were. I heard her final words echo out across the roars of the crowd. Then her and the band came off stage and headed in my direction. "Finally" I muttered, I could finally meet this up and coming star No, not just a star, but an up and coming legend. I could finally learn what made her tick, what she thought of her sudden burst of success, her personal secrets. She walked past me and into her trailer. With notepad in hand I quickly scurried in behind her. This was no ordinary trailer, this was more of a castle or a palace. Leather seats, high definition TVs, huge surround sound systems, hundreds (literally hundreds) of DVDs, Blu-Rays, and CDs covered the walls. It was fairly obvious from this point out that the fame may have gone to her head. I sat down in front of her and she turned her attention to me. Her gaze was of curiosity, and partial judgement, yet I did not feel uncomfortable, her relaxed positioning and cool demeanour soothed me as I casually introduced myself to Lindsay Robin.
"Great. More interviews" was her response, blunt and almost aggressive. But she remained calm and put her feet up, although she did release a disapproving grunt.“Not a fan of all the questions?” I asked as coolly as I could, trying to get started without antagonising her.“No.” he replied, again as blunt as a hammer. I got the impression this would be a difficult interview but I persisted.“Too many of them, or just not much of a talker?” I kept my tone casual to try and get a conversation started, the serious questions would come later.“Both.” Another frank response. I just decided to get going rather than attempt to build a rapport, she clearly wouldn’t co-operate.So, what’s it like being the latest success story in the rock and punk scene?“Well, it’s a massive change that I didn’t expect, so much travelling, so many events etc. I’m always doing something. It’s a lot of work but it’s something I enjoy so I don’t mind” Her response was short, quick, and clearly rehearsed. I knew I’d have to try harder if I was going to get something out of him.What kind of impact does it have on your friends and family?She stopped and looked at me, she was caught off guard. She’d probably never had an interviewer jump to personal questions so early and wasn’t sure how to respond. But I felt a sense of respect from her, she admired that I wasn’t going to put up with her pre-rehearsed bullshit. “Hmm, well it’s certainly not been an entirely pleasant change. Managers and organisers are strict and unforgiving, especially to a new artist like me. I’m sure you understand, being normal isn’t exactly an option anymore. I’ve missed my fair share of birthdays and get-togethers due to bullshit that I don’t even understand. But I trust my crew enough to make sure we’re doing stuff that is worth it. And everyone has been very understanding of it all, this isn’t just a hobby anymore it’s a bloody career, it has to take priority”Were you ever expecting this kind of response? This kind of fame?“Umm, no not really. No one expects it, it was what I hoped for of course, but it was always a far off dream. Never considered it actually happening until… well until it actually happened”So you weren’t fully giving it your all before?“I guess not. I was always passionate of course, I have always loved rock music and always wanted to make my music the best it could be, but ultimately there is only so many hours in a day and when I had another job and family and friends to meet with it was difficult to dedicate time to a hobby. It makes me so relieved now that I can actually commit myself to my music, actually show what I can do” Her voice had softened but its passion remained, she was genuine and sincere, the grumpy and cranky girl I had introduced myself to had left, now I was talking to a zealous young musician. And it seemed the interview would go well.But what about future changes? Think there is anything to improve upon or is this the climax? The best and greatest part of your career?“I hope not” She let out a short laugh, and went silent for a moment, looking deeply into her drink to find the answer. She started talking before she returned her gaze to me. “I want to do better. I don’t trust the people who keep saying that I’m the best, ‘greatest musician of all time’ bullshit, clearly they haven’t heard that many musicians then…” She went silent again, I began to get the impression I had stumbled onto a sensitive matter. She clearly takes her music and her ability very seriously. “I think I can do better. I’ll sooner die than believe that my music is perfect” Now it was my turn to be silent. For a moment I was lost for words, this kind of seriousness was sudden, and didn’t at all fit the Rock star stereotype that I was expecting from her. I again looked around the room. Everything was so Rock’n’Roll, yet the girl in front of me juxtaposed it all. She turned out to be so emotionally invested in her music, and cared little for the attitude that fans and interviewers, such as myself, expected from her.You really do care about the music you make, don’t you?“It’s my life”Unfortunately I had to leave after this question. The life of a star is busy, constantly so, and Lindsay was already off to her next gig in mere minutes after my exit.