Keith Byrne of Sleep Thieves
What's on your rider?A few beers and some water. We're not a fussy band;, we're happy with whatever we're given.
What would be on your fantasy rider?A mixtape of nothing but TV themes (good ones like Casualty and The Bill). Edward Woodward's tan coat from The Equalizer. Brennans sliced pan (all heels). The Running Man on DVD. Ten bottles of Guinness extra stout.
What's your pre-gig ritual/ routine?General nervous anxiousness, Twitter, chatting, trying to calm Sorcha down.
What are your favourite and least favourite venues?Really love the Róisín Dubh in Galway, it just has its own thing going on. And also the Spirit Store in Dundalk. I really like The Village in Dublin as a venue, but it seems underused.
Who is the most famous person to have shown up at one of your gigs?Probably Al "Dreambeat" Higgins, the drummer from Le Galaxie. I mean, who else would you want at your gig? Have you seen him? I heard it's impossible to look him directly in the eyes without developing deep feelings for men.
What's your crowd-pleasing number?Twenty six – the crowd always seem pleased with it. Sometimes I randomly chant it between songs, you should see them go mental. Some of them have T-shirts with it on the front and the back. Seriously.
Chatting between songs – good or bad?We try to be as quiet as possible, I'm lucky that I don't have a microphone, I would definitely feel obliged to throw a joke in at the most intimate moment in our set.
Groupies. Would you?Not really my thing. I'm quite shy generally and would probably panic if I were offered anything beyond a hug. (Really hope my girlfriend sees this.)
What’s your best tour story?
A couple of weeks ago we started in Brighton at the Irish showcase for the Great Escape Festival, finished our set, packed our bags. One train, one plane and a taxi later and we’re at Whelan’s playing the Camden Crawl. Two gigs, two countries, one day. Brilliant.
Sleep Thieves play Dublin’s Workman’s Club on Thursday
