Brooke Fraser in conversation with
TONY CLAYTON-LEA
What's on your rider?Peppermint tea and cider.
What would be on your fantasy rider?A masseuse and a mini-horse!
What's the best gig you've ever been to?One of the best gigs I saw in 2010 was Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová at Largo in LA. Their performance alternated between feeling like you were being warmed by a candle and blown in the face by a gale-force wind. Amazing.
What are your favourite and least favourite venues?Largo in Los Angeles is a fave. The Hordern Pavilion in Sydney is my least fave.
Most embarrassing on-stage moment?I was playing a theatre show and we got to a pinnacle point in the set and everyone stood and was stomping and clapping. I encouraged a girl sitting in the front to stand up with everyone else and she shook her head. I said "Come on!" over the mic and was horrified when she mouthed "I can't" and I realised she was in a wheelchair. I wanted to crawl into a hole.
What's your crowd-pleasing number?Something in the Water and its accompanying dance moves seem to whip up a bit of a frenzy.
Have you a special stage wardrobe?Every night I try and reinvent the same set of clothes in new ways. I travel 11 months out of the year and have one suitcase, so that doesn't make for a whole lot of options!
Do you like to meet and greet fans after the gig?One of the best remedies for post-show depression (ie feeling like I've done a really bad job and need to find another line of work) that I've found is to do a signing session. Meeting the people who support your music and are passionate about it is a really good reality check, and even if I feel I haven't played my best show, I will feel better about the night if I can at least shake people's hands and thank them for coming.
What's the worst thing ever thrown at you?I've only ever had presents thrown at me – little handmade necklaces and flowers and such. Pretty nice!
If you could be in any other band, which one?Fleet Foxes. I'm obsessed.
Who's invited to your aftershow party?Me, clean sheets and a fluffy pillow.
Brooke Fraser plays Dublin’s Sugar Club tomorrow
