The man whom (Ian Doyle)
What's on your rider?What rider?
What would be on your fantasy rider?Indian food, Belgian beers and a single malt whiskey.
What's your pre-gig ritual/ routine?Chain smoking and incessant guitar tuning.
What are your favourite and least favourite venues? Favourite: full ones. Least favourite: empty ones.
Most embarrassing on-stage moment?When I play solo gigs I use a loop station, which has a tendency to go wrong from time to time. Playing in the Set Theatre in Kilkenny one night, I turned it off when I shouldn't have. There was complete silence for 20 seconds or so and the audience didn't have a clue how to react. Still gives me nightmares, usually right before a show when I'm chain smoking and unnecessarily tuning my guitars.
Chatting between songs – good or bad?I tend to make people uncomfortable when I speak between songs so it's not something I do often.
How many roadies does it take to change your lightbulbs (ie, how big is your entourage)?Apart from the band, maybe my sound engineer, driver and someone to sell merch. So one!
Have you a special stage wardrobe?I have a couple of shirts I associate with playing well.
Do you like to meet and greet fans after the gig?I do. It can be fun as most of them are drunk by then.
What's the worst thing ever thrown at you?I've had nothing thrown at me as of yet apart from the odd word of abuse. I once had a hen party form a line in front of the stage and shout abuse at me for refusing to play Galway Girl.
What's your best tour story?On my last tour during my big finale, a girl called me over to the front of the stage to ask me to keep an eye on her drink while she nipped out for a fag.
In conversation with TONY CLAYTON-LEA
The Man Whom plays the Odessa Club, Dublin next Thursday
