Interviews

Jeffery Lewis Talks To Us About Hinterland

• 30th Mar 2010

With Hinterland Festival almost upon us, Jeffery Lewis spoke to us about how he feels about it.

Firstly, Hello… Are you excited to be part of an exhilarating festival to kick off the season in style?
Should I go for choice C? Or choice E, “all of the above”?
There's too many possible answers to this question, maybe I should try to see what some of the other acts are writing and cheat by copying from one of them.

Hinterland is all about giving home-grown and international talent a fantastic showcase opportunity in the middle of a bustling city. Why did you get involved?
For the money? I wouldn't say I'm “involved,” I'm just playing a set, all the credit should go to the organizers and music fans who are working hard behind the scenes to make all this stuff happen, all I do is show up and play some songs so I feel weird taking credit for being “involved”…

Out of all the fresh talent, who are you most looking forward to catching?
I'm a big fan of the up-and-coming Wave Pictures, but it'd be nice to also be surprised by awesome sets from bands I've never heard of.

Who would be your ideal festival date?
You!

Awww, shucks. Thanks!
Are you a V.I.P party animal or laid-back listener?
I'm a laid-back VIP party listening animal.

If you were to do a remix of a festival anthem what song would you choose?
“New Speedway Boogie” by the Grateful Dead. Best song ever about Altamont.

What is your funniest/scariest/favourite festival moment?
I think it was last year at Bestival when my band played just in the nick of time because they soon had to close down that stage due to torrents of mud rushing down the hill towards it – never a good idea to have a big festival stage at the bottom of a big slope in a thunderstorm! I think we all played in our raincoats.

Any weird rituals before you play live?
Trying to figure out what I should play.

What can we expect from your show?
I'll just be solo acoustic, so it'll be a very different sort of set from my last Hinterland appearance.

Any hot tips for the scene in 2010?
There's a band that I've heard a bit about lately called the Bundles who are probably going to be big in 2010.

Lastly, can you tell us what 2010 has in store for you?
Working on new comic books and new recordings, hoping they come out.

I hope so too!