In any job there are good days and bad days. This story concerns a particularly good day at the office. To be honest, one of the best I've had.
I'll give you a little background to explain.
About five years ago I went to see Irish supergroup Snow Patrol play at Wembley Arena in London. We were there early enough to see the opening band.
I'd never heard of them. They were called Elbow. I was blown away from the opening chords of the first song and the next day I went and bought their back collection.
I've been an avid fan ever since.
So when I heard they were coming to Auckland I tapped into some record company contacts and seized the opportunity to meet the band that had broadened my musical horizons in so many ways.
To make it a little more interesting and to find out what they thought of Kiwi fare, I proposed afternoon tea at Auckland's Langham Hotel.
As soon as I sit down with lead singer Guy Garvey and guitarist Pete Turner it is obvious it is a stroke of genius.
After a day spent talking to media, the lads from Manchester are only too happy to talk about food - plus a few other subjects.
The Langham is known for its culinary offerings, and the afternoon tea is no exception.
The menu includes an impressive selection of sandwiches and savouries, apricot scones with cream and jam and an incredible array of tarts, biscuits and cakes.
Though the boys try almost everything on the plate, the creme de la creme are the kiwifruit lamingtons.
Sadly I don't have a taster as they are quickly demolished while Guy pronounces them "spongy and juicy".
Now back to the amazing Elbow.
I was surprised when their gig at the Powerstation sold out.
I had no idea their Kiwi fan base was so big, and neither did they.
"It's nice to find out that people are up for it, especially on the other side of the world," Turner says. It is their first visit to New Zealand and their sedate pace of touring means they have time to explore each city they visit. A day out on the harbour was planned, as well as a lot of eating out.
The night before they had dined at one of my favourite Auckland restaurants, Prego, and tried their first Bluff oysters.
One thing that is firmly off the agenda is any form of bungy jumping after a previous experience.
"We were recording in Peter Gabriel's studio in the countryside and there was a small village fete on," Turner says.
"They had a bungy jump set up off a crane but we could only afford for one of us to do it.
"We drew Guy's name out of the hat and all we could hear when he jumped was him screaming and swearing and all these kids in prams and their mothers looking up horrified."
The Elbow story is anything but a tale of overnight success. They have been together for 22 years, but it was well into their second decade before they gained any kind of commercial traction.
"If you look at bands where there's been a slow burn, like REM, it's worked in their favour," Turner says. "It's great having the back catalogue so those people who came on board during Seldom Seen Kid can go back and check out what we did before."
Seldom Seen Kid was the album that changed everything for Elbow. If you don't own a copy of this album, buy it. Released in 2007, it won them the coveted Mercury Music Prize, widely considered to be the top authentic music gong in the industry.
"The Mercury is judged by a panel of music experts," Garvey says. "It's not a show made for TV, it's credible and its about the album as an art form. It changed everything for us.
"After we won the Mercury we went away to just breathe and discuss what everyone's expectations were. We decided very quickly we weren't just going to make a buck.
"You want people to hear your records but we needed to make sure we are doing the right thing by our fans."
The band members are in their mid-30s with most settled with houses and families.
"In the old days we used to walk off stage with so much energy and enthusiasm but now, being established and with the level of success we have had, we can tour at a more gentlemanly pace and write at a more gentlemanly pace.
"It's become a different kind of art."
There isn't any overriding game plan, more a simple philosophy driving them all.
"When it stops being fun then we will quit," Garvey says.
Garvey and Turner are the best possible afternoon-tea guests. Interesting and interested, funny, smart, charming and seemingly without ego.
I ask them if they plan to have a few drinks while in town, live it up a little, be a bit rock 'n' roll.
"Last night when I got into my room I ordered myself a strawberry daiquiri, I just felt like something fruity and cold, I really wasn't showing off," Garvey says.
A lead singer with an ability to laugh at himself is a rare thing in the music business and perhaps more of a little bit of the reason why Elbow are so loved by their fans.
Play your music just a little bit louder this weekend. It's good for the soul.