Matthew Mondanile of Real Estate
What's on your rider?Beer, pizza, whiskey, water, snacks. Standard stuff, I think. We just copied another band's rider.
What would be on your fantasy rider?Some sort of expensive booze that we could then resell on eBay.
What's your pre-gig ritual/ routine? US tour:Get to the venue late, hastily load in, fail to soundcheck, fail to write a set list, take the stage. Euro tour:Arrive 3-4 hours early (via swanky driver/tour manager), chiillllll, soundcheck, eat dinner, chiillllllll (almost to the point of falling asleep, sometimes past that point), write a set list, take the stage.
What are your favourite and least favourite venues?Favourite venues are ones with good sound and good vibes, or ones with bad sound but still good vibes, or both, but never good sound and bad vibes.
Who is the most famous person to have shown up at one of your gigs?I think the main guy from Entouragecame to one of our shows in NYC. Apparently his girlfriend is a fan.
Most embarrassing on-stage moment?I've played more than one show with my fly down. And Matt vomited on "stage" at a house party at SXSW this year.
What's your crowd-pleasing number?We usually get the best reaction at the beginning of Fake Blues.
Chatting between songs – good or bad?I think it's good, but we don't do much of it.
Groupies. Would you?We don't have groupies.
Do you like to meet and greet fans after the gig?Yeah, well, I mean, it's not like we leave immediately or hide backstage. I get the feeling this questionnaire is meant for a much bigger band.
Any useful stage tips?Check your fly, don't throw up.
What's the worst thing ever thrown at you?We haven't really had many things thrown at us. One time The Beets, our friends from NYC, dumped a bag of pretzels on us at a house show in North Carolina. That wasn't so bad, though – they were delicious.
If you could be in any other band, which one?I don't really know. It's an odd question. I'd be stoked to be in a band that makes lots of money, I guess. I'm pretty happy in Real Estate, though.
- In conversation with Tony Clayton-Lea. Real Estate play Crawdaddy, Dublin, on Monday
