What's On Your Rider?

Mark Geary

What's on your rider?Tea and coffee – good coffee, not Nescafe-Maxwell House stuff. (There goes that endorsement deal!)

What would be on your fantasy rider?Spa hotel and massage.

What's your pre-gig ritual/ routine?I had to learn how to relax before the gig – I thought you had to hang out in the club and meet everyone before the show. Now I do the soundcheck as quick as I can, and head off, eat dinner, write a set list, and show up about 30 minutes before I'm due to go on.

What's the best gig you've been to?Radiohead in New York some years ago, for the OK Computer tour, was incredible. Watching the crowd standing in awe and shock at the band was amazing. It showed how brave a band and music can be.

And the worst?Radiohead in Malahide. It was the most shocking crowd of texting, beer-swilling louts I've ever had the misfortune to stand beside. People had spent all this money and still they stood there so disinterested and vacant. The Irish had such a reputation for being an amazing crowd, yet I looked around and they seemed so indulged. If this was the so-called boom years, then I think we're better off with some humility.

What are your favourite and least favourite venues?Whelan's and Vicar St in Dublin, Dingle in Kerry, Spirit Store in Dundalk and Róisín Dubh in Galway. I don't ever do nightclubs or wine bars. Even if the money is good you'll pay for it in blood and sweat.

Who is the most famous person to have shown up at one of your gigs?At one show in New York Lou Reed asked me ma if he could sit beside her. She moved her handbag closer to her! I do a lot of film soundtracks, so sitting with Robert De Niro talking Irish politics and good Italian restaurants was surreal.

Chatting between songs; good or bad?"Brevity is the essence of wit," I'm often told.

Have you a special stage wardrobe?Ha, ha. A crumpled ball most of the time, but I wear suits and I've been rocking a tie on stage. It shows a touch of respect and a bit of class – some people go to the shops in Ugg boots and their pyjamas!

Any useful stage tips?Oh, just the usual: be great.

• In conversation with Tony Clayton-Lea. Mark Geary plays Dundalk, Co Louth on Sunday