James Petralli from White Denim
What's on your rider?Tube socks, towels, crisps, hummus, Irish whiskey, chili's baby back ribs, bbq sauce, bananas, milk, and lemonade.
What would be on your fantasy rider?Fudge.
What's your pre-gig routine?A good Scrubs (the TV show). A sing-it-loud-and-clear to warm up the vocal tubes. Slam dance to Prodigy's Firestarter. Phone calls. Shed a few tears for the seal babies. Pray hard. Racquetball. Mayonnaise. No – no mayonnaise. Cool it now. You'd better stop. Before you lose control.
How do you get to the gig?Tre, who is the best imaginable tour manager in the world, drops us off in the sprinter van.
Whats the best gig you've been to?Phish at the Omniplex in Farfatoga, Wisconsin, 1999. The solos were hot. The grooves were the crunchiest.
And the worst?Phish at the Cheesebop Factory the following night. I just wasnt feeling it. Everything started to sound the same at a certain point. I mean, don't get me wrong, it was still crunchy and all – I just wasn't in the mood to dance that night. Or something.
Ecologically speaking, are you closer to Radiohead or Motörhead?I don't understand this question really. Wait, I just dictionaried "ecologically", and I am going to have to say Radiohead.
Who is the most famous person to have shown up at one of your gigs?I'm not sure. I don't wear my glasses when we play, so I can never see any faces in the crowd. Jay Z was at Glastonbury last year, though, so maybe he got up early to watch us jam. Maybe.
What's your crowd-pleasing number?We do this cute-is- what-we-aim-for medley that seems to really get the crowd back on our side late in the set.
Chatting between songs - good or bad?Bad. Horrible, actually. My chatter is more ridiculous than the answers I am providing you with for this interview.
Groupies – would you?No. I am happily married.
How many roadies does it take to change your lightbulbs?It is just the three of us and our tour manager. She is the equivalent of three roadies at least.
What's the worst thing ever thrown at you?A balloon full of urine.
In conversation with Tony Clayton-Lea. White Denim play The Academy 2, Dublin tonight (Friday)
