With all due respect to the other guests we’ve had on our first season of The Revue, this interview with Ian Tamblyn ranks as one of my favourites. I’ve long been a fan of his music and songwriting, and I’ve long respected him for being such a unique personality. He’s a traveller, a tour guide, a man of the world, and a musician.

Truth be told, I emailed him to ask if he’d be interested in doing this, and I expected that if I received a response at all, it would be a polite “thanks but no thanks.” He was very keen from the beginning, and very helpful throughout the planning of our session. And when he arrived at Zaphod’s to do the session, he immediately caught me off guard with a question about, of all things, wardrobe.

He held up a shirt on a hanger and said “Do you want me in this shirt here, or the one I’m wearing?” I told him what he was wearing was fine with me…and that it was the first time anyone had asked that question. He got down to business, set up his guitar, and spoke briefly with a friend of his (Rosemary) who had come along (she was visiting from the USA and tagged along for the heck of it).

When we sat down to have our on-camera chat, he was immediately friendly, open, and incredibly honest. This was the 5th session we recorded, so I was getting more comfortable in front of the camera, and I can honestly say that after a few minutes, I was completely unaware of the cameras at all. I was so engrossed in this conversation, with such an interesting person, that time just flew by.

At the end, once we wrapped up, I was thrilled to receive two wonderful compliments. First, Ian thanked me for doing so much research for the chat. And second, Rosemary came and asked me how long I’ve known Ian. I told her that I just met him…and she said “Really, it sounds like you’ve known him for years.”

A big Thank You to Ian Tamblyn for joining our little upstart gang of novice journalists for this project.