The positively lovely Derry based Wonder Villains with their lovely electro-pop audio bytes were another band who had nothing better to do while preparing for Electric Picnic thank to field emails with silly questions from us.
We got a hold of Eimear, who among other things is a Springsteen fan and a painter in another life. With two festival appearance ahead of them in the form of the Electric Picnic 2012 and East Belfast Arts Festival, they are far from done with the summer.
They are fresh off the back of gigs with Cashier No9, supporting Madness at Belsonic and also appearing at Sunflower Fest among a host of gigs this summer. So Eimear was more than qualified to answer our festival questions.
What is your favorite song to play at a festival and why?
I’m really enjoying playing one of our new songs at the minute. It’s called “Baby Don’t Look So Sad”. It’s about Bruce Springsteen and when we play it I feel like Springsteen, which is great.
If you could duet with any act at a festival, who would it be?
Bruce Springsteen
If you could have anything even outrageous, what is the strangest thing you would have on a rider?
We were at a party recently that had a trampoline. I think it would be the perfect way to get psyched for stage. Although I did fall off and hurt my ankle so maybe it’s not the best idea!
Do you ever camp or do you posh it up?
We always camp the night after we play so we can enjoy the festival, but it’s no fun trying to get ready to go on stage when you wake up hungover in a tent. So we usually try to arrive fresh on the day we’re playing.
If you could pick 4 headliners for a festival who would they be?
Off the top of my head let’s go for Weezer, Springsteen, Katy Perry and Blondie
Have you ever been starstruck backstage at a festival or gig?
Yeah, we played a big gig in Derry recently and Jude Law was hosting it. Before we played, he came up and said “Hey I’m Jude”. It took everything I had not to start talking about “The Holiday”. It’s one of my favourite Christmas films., but I managed to keep cool.
Most embarrassing festival moment?
I got stuck in a pretty big puddle of mudd (lol) at Glasgowbury. I was shouting for help but no-one came. A few people just shouted “Wonder Villains” at me. I got completely covered. This is why we don’t camp the night before we’re playing!
How quickly can you pitch a tent?
I’ve been a scout for, let me count, thirteen years now so I’m a pretty experienced camper. We’ve had the same tent at every festival for the last two years so we’re getting fast. A few weeks ago we had to set up in the rain in the dark. We’ve done it all now! Top time: 5 minutes maybe.
Food wise do you have any must have festival foods?
The rest of the guys love all the weird foods at festivals. But I’m completely happy with a nice burger and chips. Although if any of the food stalls have a good pun in their name, that’s always hard to turn down.
If you could never be in a band, what job do you think you would be doing right now?
Well I have two. I would either be a professional roller-blader or a painter. I painted my granny’s living room today. You get to listen to music all day and just paint, it’s great!