This year I’m trying to do a lot more features and interviews alongside my weekly listings. The plan eventually is to set up a proper website to compliment the newsletter, which means I think I have to think a bit more about how comprehensive I want my guide to be, and how to stick to my strengths.

I think keeping it as a bespoke, these-are-interesting-things-to-do newsletter focusing on independent, weird and interesting events being run for the right reasons is probably the way to go. I’d feel a bit weird about reporting on bottomless brunches for doomed hen dos.

And so, an interview with Rachel Stamp’s David Ryder Prangley. The band – more specifically, David and guitarist Will Crewdson, both still clearly reeling from the tragic early death of their drummer Robin Guy – are doing an acoustic set at Brighton’s Dalston’s on Sunday, at Laurie Black’s Bad Luck Live.

I hope this review helps them sell the thing out, as they fully deserve, as they’re a brilliant live act.

David is a really interesting man. I’m a bit rusty with interviews, and so listening back to the recording while transcriping it was even more excruciating than usual. I had to suffer through my longwinded, rambling questions, for one thing.

Through podcasts, and singing, and comedy shows, I’ve got used to my voice to the point that I actually like it nowadays. This all falls apart when I hear what I perceive as my ingratiating tone of voice while interviewing someone over the phone or in a pub, however.

You can read the interview in full here. As I said, he’s a fascinating fellow, and very kindly gave up a ludicrous anecdote about Pete Burns at the end there. I admire his optimism: a lot of people say it’s harder than ever to make a living out of music.

Prangley, judging by his answers, sees only the freedom of being able to offer one’s stuff straight to an audience without the madness, costs, and general rigmarole of being on a major label (Steve Albini’s much-quoted old screed comes to mind).

I’m not sure everyone would agree with that, especially if they’re working three jobs to pay the rent. But from the freedom aspect, I can see where he’s coming from. It reminds me of Stewart Lee figuring out that the cost of major comedy tours just weren’t worth the effort any more – he barely made a profit.

Instead, he needed to find his specific audience, and then figure out a way of making enough interest stuff to sell to that cohort of people in a manner that he and they were both comfortable with.

Rambles and ponderings, as always. I hope you enjoy the interview.