Rock and pop are not short of music journalists who have left behind the notepad to take a punt on stardom, such as The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde and Pet Shop Boys’ Neil Tennant. But for Guitar World editor-in-chief Mike Astley-Brown, the driving force behind instrumental alt.rock project Maebe, fame was never the goal.
“I still find it a bit unsettling being on the other side,” he admits. “I’ve gone through life with so much social anxiety that in conversations I’ll be the guy who’s always asking the questions. So being an interviewer felt quite natural. But then having them put back to me, it really puts you in the perspective of other artists.”
