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copyright© mariannemeyer, 2012

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@ jammin java                                                    7-23-2012

How long before a show do you decide on the set list?

We plan on being organized and coming up with our set lists way ahead of time, but that doesn’t usually play out the way we plan it.  Most of the time we put it off until shortly before we walk on stage.

Who is responsible for choosing the songs and the running order?

I generally write the set lists and then read them out loud to Fiona and Kathryn, who give me their opinions on what needs some “tweeking,” but they usually leave the corrections up to me and wait until I reach a good result via trial and error.

The list I have was written on the back of a printed email. Set lists get written on all sorts of things – paper plates, stale pita bread and such. What’s the strangest set list in von Grey’s history?

We’ve never written a set list on a dried food product, but we have entered venues and tattooed our set lists onto our arms with the help of some lovely silver sharpies.

How much does the set list change from one show to another?

We try to switch up the set lists with each gig taking into consideration the venue and anticipated audience. We have a few staple songs, but we try to keep the others on rotation to keep things fresh.

Do you always follow the list exactly? When and why do you do something different from what’s listed?

I can’t remember the last time we played through an entire show without making last minute set list changes while onstage. We try to gauge the audience’s vibe and go off of that, whether it means that we take out some slow songs or extend a song to have a jam sesh.

The list posted [top left] is the one you gave to me, but I found another one on the floor outside the dressing room, which I think is Petra’s. [below left]  Shall I take that to mean that you each write out your own list once the songs are decided?

We are usually all in charge of writing our own set lists after the order has been decided, and if somebody fails to complete their duty, they are at our mercy and we have the power to decide whether or not to announce the songs before they commence.  We haven’t really had any major crashes with this policy, just a few surprised expressions amongst the four of us.

The set list shows 12 songs, not counting the encore cover of The Cranberries’ “Zombie,” so that’s 13.  I wasn’t counting – did you do them all?

I am pretty sure that we followed the set list from Jammin Java almost exactly other than the fact that we switched the order of When in Rome and All I Know.

Your EP has five songs on it, but  “What Am I” is not on the list.  Besides the three covers you announced - Damien Rice, Cranberries and Nickel Creek – are the other songs all yours?  Are they older than the EP or newer ones?

All of the other songs on the set list were originals, and were written before the EP, other than I Know You.  In shows where we play two sets or a longer headliner set, we usually trial one or two songs “in development” to test reception and how they are received “live.”

Do the cover songs you play change? What other artists do you cover?

We used to cover loads of artists, from Fiona Apple to Ben Harper, but Zombie, Volcano, and When In Rome are pretty much the only covers we play on a regular basis these days.

Once  “Coming for You” is released as a single and becomes the focus track, perhaps more familiar to audiences, do you think you’ll be moving it from the opening slot?


We usually start shows with Chained to You. I’m not sure what inspired us to choose Coming for You to start with that night, but it felt right, so we went with it.

Annika’s list (above) was a half sheet of standard paper, torn vertically. Petra’s (below) was a quarter page.( quarterpage.

Annika von Grey answered WGP’s email questionnaire about creating set lists for the band.