Insight Interview Series No.2

Introducing the amazing Robert Vincent whose debut album Life in Easy Steps has been lauded by the likes of Janice Long, Steve Wright and Graham Norton. The Liverpool singer-songwriter effortlessly fuses sounds of country, folk and rock with honest and emotionally raw lyrics, that tear your heart out one minute and make you want to stick two fingers up to the world the next. 

Although he is busy touring up and down the country, he has taken 5 minutes out of his busy schedule to give us an insight into his camping experiences and his view on the camp field clean up operation faced by many festival organisers today. 

1. Do you love your tent and what is it?

I do love my tent, it’s a nice 6 man, with a nice little porch area. Very cosy, 2 separate rooms.


2. Where is your favourite camping spot and why?

I wouldn’t say I have one favourite. But I have done quite a lot of camping in the Lake District. I’d say Keswick

3. Are you a festival-goer? If so where are we most likely to spot you over the summer?

I am a festival goer, but usually to perform. This festival season you'll spot me at a few of the smaller festivals the first of which will be the Darvel Music festival in Scotland. Looking forward to that.

4. Would it surprise you to know that 1 in 5 people leave their tent behind after each festival?

No it wouldn’t. I’ve seen some of the information on the subject. And I’ve seen the carnage after a festival.


5. Why do you think think people leave their tent and camping equipment?

I think it’s probably laziness to be fair. But you can maybe understand these days, people tend to be quite, “wiped out“, lets say after a weekend of a festival.

6. What’s your funniest camping story?

There is many a story about people waking up in the morning with tents collapsed on top of them in the night and the only thing to be seen is a pair of willies sticking out of the crumpled mess. Clearly still attached to the owner! And even the odd story of sabotage of somebody’s guide ropes and tent pegs. But my fave is waking up with a loudly moo-ing dairy cow with it's head in the tent, that was a surprise.
When I was in school, me and a bunch of friends went camping.
…In the grounds of the local country estate, one of us ended up violently ill (Drinking) and we spotted a strange character hanging about in the woods. So being 16. We all ran away. Needless to say, our tent and belongings where no longer there the next day!

7. What are your top three tracks to listen to around the campfire?

Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd.
Stand By Me - Ben E. King.
In the Army Now - Status Quo!!…..ok maybe anything by Johnny Cash.

8. Any top camping tips?

A slightly elevated area near running water is always good. Lots of water proof bags.
　
9. What do you think can be done to change people’s behaviour and to value their possessions and the environment more?

I just think more information being provided for the festival goer is always good. I’d like to think that the festivals would be at the forefront of this. I believe at Fuji Rocks in Japan, nobody drops so much as a cigarette butt. Maybe the whole litter culture needs to change. Only this morning I saw somebody drop a cigarette packet. I think the problem extends further than just festivals.

10. Is there anything festivals can be doing more of to make it easy for punters to take everything home with them?
I don’t think so, I think people are responsible for themselves. Tents can be awkward to pack up but not impossible. As I said I think its mainly, people are too tired after a long weekend to put their tent away and take the option of leaving it. Maybe more stewards to make sure people take their tent. Some kind of registering system with your ticket that correlates with your tent. Number and description, If you leave your tent, you can be contacted about it. And jolly well told off!


Robert Vincent is currently touring with The Moulettes and Marcella Detroit, check out his tour dates at www.robertvincentmusic.com/shows

HIs single The Passage is out now taken from his debut album Life in Easy Steps

Keep up to date with new releases and live dates at www.facebook.com/RobertVincentUK or www.robertvincentmusic.com

Insight Interview Series No.1

The first of our Insight Interview Series comes from Holger Jan Schmidt, from our Love Your Tent European office (he's the one on the right!)

1.    Do you love your tent and what is it?

Let's put it this way: I loved my tent. Simply, I am not the festival camping guy anymore - grew old. But when I was younger it would have been the best feeling in the world to buy a cheap tent and take it to as many festivals as possible. "See, I made ten festivals with it - that's 3 Euro per festival!"

2.    Where is your favourite camping spot and why?

Looking back it was in Spain close to Figueres - but I don't remember the village's name. We were there with about 10 people after our last year in school - I remember memorable evenings on that site!

3.    Are you a festival-goer? If so where are we most likely to spot you over the summer?

I am a festival guy. That's my job. You will be able to meet me at Pinkpop (NL), Rock Am Ring (GER), Exit Festival (SErbia), Das Fest (GER) and surely some others ...

4.    Why was it important for you to become part of the Love Your Tent movement?

I am working on the exchange of knowledge between international festivals and came to know that the abandoning-tents-problem is not a german problem nor a british one. It's international and I like to say it's more a problem of a throw-away society than of a single promoter. But: people just see their surrounding and don't know about the other hundreds of festivals with thousands of tent. But the should know and that's why such an initiative like LYT makes sense and is badly needed!

5.      Why do you think think people leave their tent and camping equipment after they have been to a festival?

Simple answer: because they can... they can afford it. They are used to dump things. They don't get punished for it and many think they payed for the disposal of everything they brought by purchasing a festival ticket.

6.    What’s your funniest camping story?

Oh, I don't have that one. My first festival camping experience (Bizarre Festival 1992) ended with a drunk guy I didn't know sleeping in my tent and puking into one of my shoes... is that funny? For me it really wasn't.

7.    What are your top three tracks to listen to around the campfire?

Prodigy – Firestarter, Billy Joel – we didn't start the fire and Twisted Sister – The fire still burns

8. Any top camping tips?
Reasonable bot not too big distance to the loos... And: take it home!

9.    What involvement do you have with festivals across Europe and are the waste issues the same as in the UK?

I am working for the European Festival Association, Yourope, run the international think-tank GO Group (Green Operations Europe) and promote the GreenEvents Europe Conference in Bonn, Germany. I am in very close contact with international festivals and as mentioned before, yes, it is a very international problem. I know it from Scandinavia, Benelux, Austria and Switzerland, Hungary, France, Portugal and Spain. Sorry to say, but that's the fact.

10.    What do you think can be done to change people’s behaviour and to value their possessions and the environment more?

Encouragement and information. Show them the alternative and make them aware of their contribution to an unbelievable amount of tents and outdoor gear, going to landfill or getting burned – thousands of tonnes and worth millions of Euros. Show them campsites that are clean and that it doesn't mean it's less fun.

11.    Is there anything festivals can be doing more of to make it easy for punters to take everything home with them?

In the first place they shouldn't bring half of their households anyway. I know festivals where people bring couches, kitchen machines etc. If it is a managable number of things to break down and take home it should be easy. Small distance to cars or shuttle busses could be something else and if people get convinced it is good not to burn the tent, this may help, too.

Holger will be presenting the Love Your Tent campaign at the 3rd International GO Group workshop in Paris on Monday 8th and Tuesday 9th April.