Hearing about a band or artist's influences and inspirations are all well and good, but sometimes, you just want to get to the nitty-gritty in an interview - like, 'what's your favourite takeaway dish'?

Our new Q&A series sees us throwing rapidfire questions at musicians to get their most instinctive answers. There's no beating around the bush here - just honest, straightforward insights into their creative minds.

The latest in the series is Smoothboi Ezra. The Wicklow teenager, who prefers the pronouns they/them, came to light last year with their DIY indiepop songs, earning support slots to the likes of Orville Peck.

They're due to play the Eastbound Festival in Dublin later this year (rescheduled from May), so we caught up with them to get the lowdown on what they do.

What’s the music that you listened to growing up, that you still listen to today?
I grew up listening to bands like Queen, The Cure, The Killers, Kings of Leon, My Chemical Romance, Elliott Smith, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Nirvana and David Gray.

In three words, describe the minute before you walk on stage.
Zen, nervous and ready.

How do you wind down after a gig?
Eating junk food, then going to sleep.

What’s the one song you wish you’d written or recorded first?
“Say Yes” by Elliott Smith. And every song on “I Need to Start a Garden” by Haley Heynderickx.

You can only have three albums on your phone/in your house at any one time - what three would you pick for today?
Doja Cat “Hot Pink”
Snail Mail “Lush”
Pinegrove “Marigold”

Name one record, one book and one film that everyone should hear / read / see.
Record: “I Need to Start a Garden” by Haley Heynderickx.
Book: I wish I had the attention span to read a book – so no recommendations from me.
Film: “Kings of Summer”

Pick the director and lead actor(s) for a biopic about your life.
Lead actors would be Michael Cera and Jack Black. The director would have to be a cat.

You’re ordering take-away, what do you get?
Lentil Dahl and samosas.

Describe your perfect day off.
Hanging out with my friends.

Tell us, in one sentence, why we should come to your next gig.
Come to my gig, because it will be fun, I’ll be playing new music and wearing my sparkly dinosaur socks.

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