As promoters lie awake at night in Australia at the moment wondering whether they can afford the rumoured $1 million per show asking price of Eminem, they’ll also have a fair bit of running around when it comes to meeting his outrageous rider demands if recent reports from a festival in Northern Ireland are to be believed.
Apparently, as part of his deal for appearing at Tennent’s Vital festival in Bangor, Northern Ireland, the rapper raised eccentric rider demands to a new level when he asked for a wooden pond filled with koi carp – and got what he demanded in to the bargain. Apparently a pond was constructed backstage in his closed off VIP garden and filled with the brightly coloured fish which cost up to $1000 a pop.
This is in addition for slightly more garden variety rock star demands which included a microwave, dumbbells, full-length mirror and rolling clothes racks; along with a food selection including yogurt, seedless watermelon, pretzels and an assorted vegetable tray with ranch dip.
Originally bred as a decorative fish in Japan, Koi Carp have been a favourite of Los Angeles celebrities for many years, as they are believed to have calming properties to reduce stress in their busy lives. Although Eminem’s Koi Carp fetish seems a bit 2001, it’s still good to know that rock stars are susceptible to the need to be charged though the nose to be told that some oversized goldfish swimming in a pond in the back yard will reduce your stress levels.
