Ten minutes with Late Night Pharmacy

Late Night Pharmacy

Late Night Pharmacy are an alternative rock band from Dublin whose latest release is Can’t Sleep Without Paracetamol

The four band members answer our questions

Late Night Pharmacy in concert

What are you up to?

Fionn: I’m in work I really hope my boss doesn’t notice I’m answering these questions instead of doing my job

Oisín: Taking a break from studying uilleann pipe recording for college.

Bastiaan: Chores, mundane household stuff.

Rob: Going for an overpriced coffee

Which piece of music always sends a shiver down your spine?

Fionn: In the Backseat by Arcade Fire, when the distorted guitar comes in at the first chorus

Oisín: Telephasic Workshop by Boards of Canada

Bastiaan: Alone Tonight by Above & Beyond

Rob: The chorus of Bigger than Us by White Lies

Which musician has most influenced you?

Fionn: James Kelly

Oisín: Josh Homme

Bastiaan: Bob Dylan

Rob: Ben Howard

Late Night Pharmacy's Can't Sleep Without Paracetamol

Who would be in your ideal band?

Fionn: Yoshiko Ohara on vocals, Carlos Dengler on bass and Ben Koller on drums

Oisín: Josh Homme, Ski Mask the Slump God, Dave Brubeck, Brad Wilk

Bastiaan:Vocals by Tom Smith, songwriting by Tuomas Holopainen and beats by Carbon Based Lifeforms

Rob:Fionn, Oisín and Bastiaan But I can’t help but notice they didn't pick me. Pretty rude.

How did you get started in music?

Fionn:I started playing the violin when I was four. My mum claims that I asked for violin lessons, but that isn’t how I remember it.

Oisín: I started cello lessons at age 8. Fionn’s my older brother, and at 11 I asked him to teach me guitar. He said no, you’re learning bass and that was it. Haha!

Bastiaan: It was expected from my parents when I turned six. My first choice was the violin.

Rob:Asking for a guitar when I was about 12 and trying to play Damien Rice and Oasis songs in my room.

Where are you from in Ireland, and what are your roots?

Fionn: I’m from south Dublin

Oisín: South Dublin, up the Teer

Bastiaan: I'm Belgian, but some people mistake me for a Kerryman because I've spent many nights talking to drunks working in bars around Killarney

Rob: Not too far from Fionn and Oisín, South Dub.

What’s on your smartphone playlist at the minute?

Fionn: Rita Ora, Eric Prydz, Razihel and Tomcraft

Oisín: Blank Banshee - Gaia, Liam O’Flynn - self titled, Parcels - Day/Night

Bastiaan: Tamino, Faithless, Oscar & The Wolf

Rob: The Smiths, Fred Again, Talos, Bright Eyes

Pantomime or opera?

Fionn: I’ve never been to the opera, so it’d have to be panto by default

Oisín: Whichever one doesn’t have any of the Jedwards in it

Bastiaan: Opera

Rob: Jedward and the Giant Beanstalk, panto

What is your favourite place in Ireland?

Fionn: Mullaghmore, Co Sligo, preferably in August so that it’s warm enough for swimming.

Oisín: Three Rock Mountain

Bastiaan: Lough Leane in Killarney

Rob: Glendalough

What would be your motto?

Fionn: No matter how much you moisturise, you will never become moisture.

Oisín: Big, dirty, stinkin’ bass

Bastiaan: Live without expectations

Rob: You’ve gotta crack a few eggs to make an omelette.

Which living person do you most admire?

Fionn: The psychiatrist Scott Siskind, who has influenced the way I think more than any other person

Oisín: Rachel Reilly off Countdown

Bastiaan: My parents, for putting up with me for 18 years

Who will act you when they make a film of your life?

Fionn: I get mistaken for Prince Harry a lot, so I guess he can have the job, given that podcasting doesn’t seem to be panning out for him too well.

Oisín: Domhnall Gleeson, I pray

Bastiaan: Matthew Gray Gubler

Rob: Frankie Muniz

Bowie or Beyoncé?

Fionn: Bowie, although I can’t honestly say I’m a huge fan of either

Oisín: Bowie no question

Bastiaan: Not a fan of either

Rob: Bowie

If you weren’t a musician what other job would you be really good at?

Fionn: Music critic, considering I spend half of my waking life complaining about bands I hate.

Oisín: I really enjoy organising things, librarian maybe.

Bastiaan: Customer service, I'm very good at pretending I care about people and their first world problems.

Rob: I’d love to work in a bank.

What's the best piece of advice you've been given this year?

Fionn: Don’t put your initials on any decision if you can help it.

Oisín: Learn to code, still haven’t done it

Bastiaan: Don't go to Coppers, it ain't worth the tenner

Rob: Lie on your CV

Have you a favourite line from a song?

Fionn: Listening to music for the lyrics is like watching blue movies for the plot.

Oisín: “Fan the flames of love, a classy action suit to dance in.”

Bastiaan: “You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.”

Rob: “The club is the best place to find love and the bar is where I go.” Ed Sheeran

In terms of inanimate objects, what is your most precious possession?

Fionn: My girlfriend is from Kyrgyzstan and gave me a tumar, which is like a Kyrgyz dreamcatcher It’s the last thing I look at before I go to sleep.

Oisín: A necklace with the word grá in ogham on it

Bastiaan: Yuppienalle, IKEA's keychain mobile phone holder, best 75 cents I've ever spent

What’s the best thing about where you live?

Fionn: It’s very close to the Phoenix Park, so if I ever get an irrepressible urge to look at a deer I can satisfy it very easily.

Oisín: It’s on the foot of the Dublin mountains

Bastiaan: The restaurants, bars and live music around Rathmines

Rob: The scenic Grand Canal

and the worst?

Fionn: The deer aren’t nearly as interested in me as I am in them

Oisín: Waves of drunk teenagers going to Longitude every year

Bastiaan: The rent

Rob: The Viking splash tour goes by every 30 minutes