"Well, it sort of started as an accident really," says Stiff recording artist Lene Lovich when saxophone is introduced into the conversation. "I was at art school for a while and didn't really get on with the other students, so I was always making excuses to skip off. And in the end I found out I'd made friends with a lot of theatre people."
Eventually Lene was offered a chance to appear in a mixed media show by band-leader Bob Flag, whose acquaintance she'd made when the pair of them found themselves selling old clothes side by side in a London street market. "He was a sax player and he said he'd teach me just parrot fashion."
Lene wasn't a total novice with musical instruments, it transpires. "I'd learned a few chords on guitar and tried violin, but never with much success. I think a lot of people get put off because they start off on the wrong instrument," says Lene, emphasising that she only found true happiness once she discovered the joys of sax. "I couldn't really play so I bought one of these tune-a-day books, but I never got past that first page. I never did rehearse much. I'm just not into sitting in a room, I guess.
"I started out on alto but quickly changed to tenor - partly through lack of ability," Lene adds with a self-deprecating laugh. "Tenor's a much more all-round instrument, really good for rhythm. I really loved all the old soul stuff, Stax, Motown and so on, where the sax parts are just punctuation marks really."
Pretty soon, Lene was part of an all-girl cabaret act. "But it all collapsed after a few weeks. We had this booking on the Greek island of Rhodes but it took so long to get there, travelling overland, that the trumpeter just lost her lip.
"An additional complication was that the promoter had received this picture of me doing Oriental dance and so he expected me to do that as well as play and I wasn't prepared to do that any more.
"I did some more bits and pieces including more theatre shows but for most of it I felt like I wasn't really playing at all," says Lene of the dim period between starting and becoming her present, increasingly successful self.
Cut to instrument details section: "The guy that first taught me played a Selmer Mk 6 and was very adamant about it being the best sax in the world. At the time I had an alto that was an American Martin, but I switched to a Selmer 6 as advised and stuck to it. I just like the way the keys are laid out and the actual sound of this particular sax. I've never wanted to change."
Mouth-pieces are a source of constant experiment, says Lene. "I don't like it too close because I've built up a much tougher embouchure than I had when I started: I need something I can get more of an edge into."
Her current model's a Berg-Larson, "which isn't made anymore as far as I know. They do a stainless steel one and you can get a much harder sound, but this one does give you a little bit of mellowness as well.
"Every three months or so I try one of those plastic mouthpieces but I guess you get more power with metal. Perhaps if my technique was better I'd feel differently.
"Also, with the kind of gigs we play, there's always a chance of being knocked about when people climb onstage and so on. So in that sense I'd prefer plastic; you wouldn't get quite so much of a bang that way."
Amplification? "It's difficult to find a bug that'll give you a true sax sound. There was one bug I tried that had a little piece of chewing gum that you stuck onto the reed. Barcus Berry, I think. The problem is they're very easy to break if you like to move around onstage.
"With reeds, it's very important to pick one that suits your mouthpiece and your style of playing. I've ended up settling for Rice Royal.
"Reeds are a shocking price now, and they're so fragile. When I'm buying new reeds I always ask to choose them myself because a lot of times you'll ask for a 3 and end up with something more like a 4 or a 2. You can alter them with reed clippers but it's very hit or miss. You can also use very fine sandpaper on them but I usually end up making a mess if I try and adjust a reed that way.
"So I like to pick them out myself. I don't like it if a reed's got too many heavy lines. Also I like to see a good heart, a nice even moon shape and a nice even curve."
Getting a good sax sound in the studio can be a problem, Lene agrees. "It's difficult to get a good sound. And tone is much more important to me than technique - I'm not that much into a syrupy, romantic sound from a sax - I don't particularly like Stan Getz. Junior Walker stands out for putting feeling into his playing. For me, he combines tone and technique better than anybody.
"Modern studios, they have all these EQs and things so all I can hope for is to play a bit then go back and listen to it, and just keep trying until it's right."
General playing for Lene's very black and white: "I just like to go for a very natural sound or its complete opposite, say play alongside a synthesizer, for example. And then it doesn't matter if people realise there's a sax playing along or not.
"But when I want them to know it's sax, then I really want them to know," she says emphatically.
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