Coachella Artist Alt-J’s Drummer: “I’m Quite Relaxed at Festivals”

Image Courtesy of Gabriel GreenThe recent spate of summer festival lineup announcements has warmed the hearts of music fans. Festival veterans Alt-J will once again be part of the summer festival landscape with an appearance on the second day of Coachella. Alt-J drummer Thom Green loves a lot of things about playing festivals, but one of his favorites is that they allow him to meet so many other musicians.

"We meet a lot of amazing bands, musicians and that's a huge plus for me, that whole, kind of community of bands," Green tells ABC News Radio. "You're in the same boat, you're all touring. We've made a lot of friends that way."

Alt-J has played quite a few festivals since they released their debut album, An Awesome Wave, in 2012, including Coachella 2013. The band has since graduated from the tiny text section on the lineup poster to the second line on the Coachella 2015 poster.

From his vast festival attending experience, Green has developed his own personal strategy for how best to enjoy himself.

"I have quite specific music tastes, so there [are] bands that I do like to see, but most of the time at festivals I don’t really watch other bands -- as bad as it sounds -- so I like to just wander around," Green says. "I'm quite relaxed at festivals."

Of course, one of the downsides of festivals are the scheduling conflicts, as it seems like your favorite acts always play at the same time as each other on different stages. Even as a performer, Green has felt the pain of over-lapping set times.

"I remember once playing at the same time as [rapper] Eminem in the U.K., and I was kind of annoyed because I wanted to see Eminem," he says. "I could hear him playing in my in-ear monitors, and I was like, 'Why is everybody here? Why are you not watching Eminem?'"

Alt-J will play Coachella 2015 on April 11 and April 18, along with Jack White, Belle and Sebastian, Hozier and Royal Blood. Before the festival, they will be touring North American beginning March 30 with a headlining show at New York City's Madison Square Garden.


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