Kristin Hersh
What's on your rider?Water and beer.
What would be on your fantasy rider?Water, beer and avocado gelato.
What's your pre-gig routine?Fidget, argue about the set list, get lost on the way to the stage.
What's the best gig you've been to, and why? Vic Chesnutt at Primavera with his wife, Tina, on drums. It was everything the Velvet Underground should have been.
And the worst?Throwing Muses played with a band that wore loincloths and performed suggestive dances.
What are your favourite and least favourite venues?The Great American Music Hall in San Francisco is our favourite. Least favourite? I played Las Vegas solo once for a bunch of businessmen. That was pretty bad. They stared at me and ate potato chips while I played.
Who is the most famous person to have shown up at one of your gigs?Lenny Kravitz? He's famous, right? To tell the truth, we aren't always paying attention.
Most embarrassing on-stage moment?I forgot the lyrics to every song at Glastonbury once. We played 17 instrumentals (best reviews ever, by the way).
What's your crowd-pleasing number? Bright Yellow Gun.
What's the most you've ever paid for a gig ticket?I don't know that I've ever paid to get into a show. Is that tacky?
Chatting between songs – good or bad?Bad. My brain doesn't speak English so that others can understand it.
Groupies – would you?It's never come up.
Do you like to meet and greet fans after the gig?I'm very, very shy, so I don't go out there on purpose, but people talk to me while I'm breaking down my equipment. They're usually nice.
Any useful stage tips?Check the grounding on your amp before the mic has a chance to blow your lips off.
If you could be in any other band, which one?50 Foot Wave.
What's your best tour story?The one where the audience was on a mystery drug. They acted hippy-nuts throughout the set, then jumped on stage and took our equipment, carrying it outside into the pouring rain and placing it carefully on the wet sidewalk.
Kristin Hersh plays The Workman’s Club in Dublin tonight.
