I set my sights on Bart Millard, lead singer of the Christian band MercyMe.
Wait...guy second from the right...
Is that Kevin Brauch from Iron Chef America?
Konichiwa.
No, it's actually keyboard player James Bryson.
But now that I think about it...couldn't Bart totally be the younger brother of Mario Batalli?
The generous Mr. Cookwell?
Anyways...
You can follow him on twitter at @bartmillard, and the band at @mercyme.
Let me break down the timeline of events for you.
It began when I decided my next interview should be Bart Millard when I heard "I Can Only Imagine" on the radio. Maybe he could give some insight on breaking into mainstream music and media while remaining delightfully Christian?
First, I sent the following tweet:
This is being passive-aggressive. A key for all fake interviewers. Write that down.
After a while, I notice that there is no response to my tweet from the day before. Sent another tweet.
This was a bit more aggressive, but I used the word "love," so it still seems nice.
Still nothing. Surprising. So later that afternoon, I sent out this tweet.
This was a new approach. Robby Shaffer is the drummer for MercyMe. I thought maybe he could be my inroad to Bart or maybe even the whole band!
After a couple hours of waiting and still getting no reply, I decided to change tactics. I thought I would go to Google, the source of all knowledge. It turns out, Robby Shaffer's real name is "Robin," not exactly a great drummer name. Superhero sidekick maybe, but drummer? But something about the name "Robin" sounded approachable. So I searched "Robin Mercy Me."
Here's where it gets interesting. Apparently there is an artist named Robin Thicke who did a cover of Marvin Gaye's "Mercy, Mercy Me." This was the number one result. I went with it. Hey, a connection is a connection. You have to explore all leads.
Write that down.
Robin Thicke looked surprisingly familiar.
There it is. Robin, as it turns out, is the son of Alan Thicke, everyone's favorite dad from "Growing Pains." Alan still does a little acting, but his big passion is now the Alan Thicke Centre for Diabetes Research.
And besides Alan Thicke, what other famous actor loves talking about diabetes?
Wilford Brimley.
Do I know Wilford Brimley? No. No I do not.
But do I know guys who have a mustache? You bet your sweet Quaker Oats I do.
I don't know this for a fact, but everything I know about guys who have a mustache leads me to believe that there is a secret club of mustachioed men who get together for cigars and brandy as they discuss how wonderful it is to be able to pull off the ol' soup strainer. There must be a secret wood paneled and velvet lined room with portraits of Burt Reynolds and Chester Arthur in every city in America. They are a brotherhood.
Write that down.
As I write this, there is a guy with a mustache sitting right next to me.
And so my first real interview begins.
Me: Excuse me, sir?
Random mustache guy: Yes?
Me: Can you ask Wilford Brimley to ask Alan Thicke to ask Robin Thicke to ask Robin Shaffer to ask Bart Millard to send me a tweet so I can interview him and the rest of MercyMe for my blog?
Random mustache guy: No. What's a blog?
Me: Its ok. Thanks anyways.
First real interview = success.
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