The Untitled Interview #157 – Hopscotch Edition: Starring Jim Dempsey (The Moderate)

If there’s one thing I love, it’s going to a new festival for the first time. And this weekend yours truly shall be heading down to Raleigh for some serious festival goodness in the form of Hopscotch. With a varied, all sorts of awesome lineup, I have no doubt this weekend will be a hot diggity dog dandy. I tracked down some of the most interesting out-of-town prospects playing Hopscotch this year to get their collective take on the joy of fests.

The Moderate doesn't sound like your typical DC band, though that's probably, definitely part of their charm. Like their Hopscotch bio explains, you've got your 90s indie rubbing shoulders with classic rockisms, the resulting intermarriage of sounds being so very pleasing to the ears. Several of The Moderate make a trip home for Hopscotch, singer/axeman Jim Dempsey being one such native North Carolinian. Read on for his festival reflections.


Fuzzy Logic:
How are you getting to Hopscotch: plane, train, or automobile?

Jim Dempsey:
Three of us are heading down by car. Our bassist Kris will be taking the bus down a day early. In case you didn’t know, the Megabus rate between DC and Raleigh/Durham is $1.50 each way. In related news, Kris is smarter than the rest of us.


FL:
Inevitably, you will forget to pack:

JD:
Mascara? My heels? Nail polish? What’s a boy to…Sorry, Drew just stole the keyboard. Ummm…I’ll probably forget my contact case. It never fails. Also, not very exciting.


FL:
How many shows will you be playing?
JD: We’re playing two shows this weekend. On Saturday, we’ll have an early start for our first show – 11am. It’s an acoustic show that our good friend Kelly Reid put together at Marsh Woodwinds. Our official Hopscotch Music Festival show takes place at White Collar Crime on Saturday night – 9pm sharp. Great lineup too: The Old Ceremony, Onward Soldiers, and Jon Lindsay!

FL:
Band you're most looking forward to seeing at the festival?
JD:
There are plenty of bands down there to keep us busy running from club to club over the next few days. Personally I’m looking forward to seeing Mount Moriah, a band out of Durham. I can’t get enough of Heather McEntire’s voice and the honesty of her lyrics. That album is really beautiful.

FL:
What's the first thing you plan on doing upon arrival in Raleigh?
JD: Our drummer Drew Marks and I are both from Raleigh originally, so I’ll probably stop by both my parents’ houses to say hey. If I’m lucky, I’ll get in a visit with my sister and nephews. So…my answer is…either see my family or go to Snoopy’s for hot dogs.

FL:
What was the first festival you ever attended, either as a musician or member of the general public?
JD: We played Music on the Mountaintop in Boone, NC in 2009 and 2010. A few weekends ago, we played BiMA Fest up in Baltimore, which was a ton of fun. I was really impressed with the talent and how well run it was. Still, I think we’d all agree that playing at Hopscotch is taking things to another level. Can’t beat that!

FL:
Favorite thing about festivals?
JD:
The music never stops!

mp3: Ex Lovers, Enemies (The Moderate from The Rest Is Up To You) (from the lovely Everybody Taste)

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