A Quickie With Joan As Policewoman

Where are you now and what are you doing?
I am having my second strong cup of coffee in Brooklyn in my apartment and I fly out today to start my tour. I’m practically finished packing. I’ll be excited when I’m on the plane and the packing and the leaving part is done!

First record you ever bought?
Axis: Bold as Love by Jimi Hendrix. I bought it at the Salvation Army for 25 cents. I was probably 10. I got it because of the record cover. I saw it and thought, ‘That’s what I want. Pscyhedelic!’

First gig you went to?
The first gig I ever went to was at an all-ages punk club round the corner from my house where I saw Black Flag. They were the first band I ever saw and it changed my life, forever. It was the loudest, most energetic, obliterating music I ever heard. I was a slave to rock’n’roll from then on.

Most embarrassing thing you’ve done while drunk?
Oh God! Do you have a year? So many to choose from! My mind just got completely over-run with horrific memories. Well, basically just going up to anyone and telling them I love them without knowing them. That’s probably not the most embarrassing, but that is all I’m gonna say!

Favourite Spinal Tap moment?
Pretty much every night I get lost trying to find the stage! That’s like a couple times a week experience where I know the stage is nearby but I can’t find it and I’m stuck in some labyrinth of hallways. That Spinal Tap moment is really from real life.

What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?
I had a lot of demeaning jobs but I think it may have been my first job working as a busser in a restaurant. The reason it was so bad was because the owner was a cokehead. You never knew what you would get with him, either he came in and he was a perfectly nice person or he was a raging maniac!

Most shaggable rock star?
They’re all dead! But alive Andre 3000. There is no one more attractive than him! I’m not even sure how he is really existing and sometimes I think he might be just a hologram that was just formed by other humans.

What song would you like played at your funeral?
That is an easy answer, it is ‘How I Got Over’ by the awesome soul singer Mahalia Jackson.

Joan As Policewoman plays the Liss Ard Festival on Sunday August 5 in Cork.