Ed Sheeran
From a tour opening for Snow Patrol earlier this year to playing the Olympic Games Closing Ceremonies with Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason and now a sold out American headlining tour, I think it’s safe to say Ed Sheeran has had a pretty big year. Ed can pretty much do it all: beatboxing, live loops, raps, ballads. Think the album sounds amazing? After watching him live, incredible is more the word I would use. Seeing him live earlier this year was a treat and now that he is back in the states, more people have the opportunity to enjoy what I was so lucky to discover back in April. The US tour kicked off in Orlando on September 8th and will run until October 6th in Seattle. After that, he will head back overseas for a long run of shows; but if he isn’t playing in your city, don’t worry because he will be back on tour soon. Ed and I chatted earlier today about the tour, live loops, and his guitar Nigel and here is what he had to say.
Arin: What’s it like for you to come to the US for what really is your first headlining tour and have it sold out?
Ed: It’s a bit overwhelming. I’m very happy to be able to come and tour a country like America and have the demands to have people come and see me live. It’s a very humbling thing and I’m happy to be able to do it.
A: What has been one of your favorite concerts to date?
E: I played V Festival around a month ago; I headlined the third stage there. That was probably the best gig I’ve done so far.
A: What was it like for you to play the Olympic Games earlier this year?
E: Yeah, it was phenomenal! It was an experience that I’ll never get to do again, so it was very great — a very cool experience.
A: I know you do a lot of live loops in your show and they can also be heard a bit on the recorded tracks, so when did you learn how to do that and how much fun is it for you?
E: I started doing that when I was fourteen and I just think, you know, it’s a fun thing to mess about with different sounds and stuff and [also] just use the guitar and keep it solo.
A: I know crowd involvement is a huge part of your live show, so what is it like to have that energy come back to you when you’re on stage since it is just you?
E: Well I think, it just being me up there, that makes the musical element of the gig fifty-percent the crowd, so I think it’s very, very important to have them involved. It keeps them happy, I think.
A: If you had to describe your fans in one word, what would it be?
E: Loyal
A: What do you think is one of the most personal songs you play in the live set?
E: Probably a song like ‘Give Me Love,’ I’d say.
A: Which is your favorite?
E: Probably ‘Give Me Love’ again, or a song like ‘You Need Me, [I Don’t Need You],’ or something like that. ‘You Need Me’ is always a fun one to do.
A: What different have you noticed between the crowd at home and the crowd in the US?
E: I mean, all the crowds worldwide have been very similar. I think [with] the American crowd, it’s most of their first time seeing me. In England, most of my fan base has seen me two or three times; so the only difference would be [that with] the American crowd, it’s their first time seeing me.
A: In the past, you have been involved with some charity and philanthropy work; so as of right now, are there any causes that you are working with or that are close to your heart?
E: There’s obviously Crisis, which is a homeless shelter, and then there’s a children’s hospice right near where I’m from and it’s called East Anglia’s Children’s Hospice. Those two charities are probably the main thing at the moment.
A: This year has been a pretty crazy year for you with the album coming out in the US, all the touring, the Olympics etc. so what comes next once this tour wraps?
E: Another tour. I’m going to be touring for a long time and then when that’s done, I’ll put together the second album and start it all again.
A: What is your favorite moment of your concert?
E: I’ve gotta be honest and cheesy and say it, but pretty much the whole thing from start to finish. For me on stage, there’s never really a dull moment.
A: When you play ‘You Need Me, I Don’t Need You’ live, you tend to extend it and add in extra raps. Do you freestyle those or is it something you plan out ahead of time?
E: Sometimes I’ll add different stuff and it’ll be freestyle, but most of the time it’s pre-planned.
A: What made you really pursue music to begin with?
E: I just enjoyed it. It was a hobby that turned into a job.
A: Something people will see you do on occasion at a live show is the ‘tuning song,’ so has it gotten to the point yet where people will start singing it while you’re tuning your guitar and you haven’t started to sing it yet?
E: [laughs] Sometimes, sometimes. It depends where I am.
A: The iTunes music festival was a little over a week ago; so what was that like to play since, not only did you have a decent size crowd at the venue, it was live streamed for people around the world to watch and people can still see it?
E: It’s a nice thing to know that anywhere in the world people could watch that, so it wasn’t just a gig for that venue. It was a concert for the whole world, so that was quite nice.
A: Is there a certain venue that you have always wanted to play and you haven’t yet?
E: Madison Square Garden
A: What has it been like for you to have things moving so quickly this past year and not having too much time to just breathe and take it all in?
E: I think I’ve just concentrated on what the next thing is. Just achieving everything that’s put in front of me and keep moving forward.
A: I know one of your guitar’s names is Nigel, but does the other one have a name?
E: Trevor
A: How did you pick their names?
E: Um, I don’t know really. All of my guitars are called quite random names; I just think I pick out random names.
A: Is there any significance to the paw print that has sort of become attached to your name?
E: It doesn’t really have too much significance. It’s a tiger paw print and I really love cats and tigers and [that] sort of stuff.
A: Are you on your social networks a lot reading what the fans have to say?
E: When I’m in America, not so much because I haven’t really got wi-fi wherever I go; but when I have wi-fi, yeah I do read it a lot.
A: What has been one of the coolest things someone has said or done for you when you met them after a show that has stuck with you?
E: I had a girl in San Fransisco give me her eighteen month sobriety token from AA and she said my music helped her get through that, so that was quite a cool thing.
