WARREN OAKES

Warren Oakes is co-owner of Boca Fiesta and played drums in Against Me! His new band, Sunshine State, is currently in the studio.

What was the food highlight of your year?

My food highlight was spending 6 days in Guadalajara, Mexico in early November with my business partner and buddy Jake. I really couldn’t pick out any one meal, just being immersed in such an enthusiastic food culture was amazing. The most surprising thing probably was how stoked everybody was about pizza and doughnuts. We got to see a soccer match and all the vendors are walking around selling pizza and doughnuts. There was not a single taco or churro in the whole damn stadium! We got to try home brewed pulque in a really small, off-the-grid, pulque bar. Its a strangely sour and funky and allegedly hallucinogenic potion made from the same plant mezcal is made from. I felt a little something weird in my mind, gonna have to drink more next time to truly test that claim. I also had the best torta, best tamale, best taco, best tortilla, and best tequila I’ve ever tasted. Can’t wait to go back.

What was the music highlight of your year?

My music highlight was Fest in Gainesville. I had the double pleasure of hosting rad shows at my venue and playing a very fun set with my sweet new band. So many great bands, so many nice folks. My favorite Fest so far.

Was there a moment when food and music came together in a memorable way?

I’ve managed to arrange my life in such a way that the intersection of food and music is where I spend virtually all of my time. I own a venue that is connected to a restaurant, so coming up with recipes and menu development while booking shows and running sound is what I do for a living. And playing music and eating everything is what I do for a life. Living the dream!

@bocafiesta

JOHN MURRY

MOJO called John Murry’s The Graceless Age one of the Top 10 albums of 2013.

What was the food highlight of your year?

I realized - then questioned myself for liking it - what blood or black pudding was after eating it on a number of occasions, thinking it was really good fried and seasoned sausage, in Ireland early in the year. The guys that run the label I’m on there took me to eat at a restaurant in Dublin called, appropriately and simply, Upstairs, overlooking the infamous Haypenny Bridge. They were shocked when I ordered it and then extra. I like black pudding. Who knew? It’s good to not ask what’s in your food sometimes. Or what it is, I suppose!

What was the music highlight of your year?

I don’t go to as many shows as I should when home now, but I have a family, so I think that serves as a fine excuse. All the same, watching John Grant play at the Electric Picnic festival in Europe after we’d played was a hugely emotional and awe-inspiring experience beat only by watching Bob Dylan deconstruct and recreate his own songs in real time on piano with his Grammy on the piano lid at The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. There’s still a reason others get called Dylanesque.

Was there a moment when food and music came together in a memorable way?

Though Carlos Forster said the same, nothing is quite like the vibe of The Lost Church or the attention given each show and pot pie and cookie Brian Belknap puts together. Carlos isn’t into the sweets as much as I am, I guess, but watching him play with Christine Shields and eating Brian’s amazing food was easily the food meets music highlight of my year. I can’t say enough about either he or Christine or Brian! Viva los Lost Church!

@johnmurry

SCOTT WINEGARD

Scott Winegard is chef at M.A.K.E. and plays bass in Texas Is The Reason.

What was the food highlight of your year?

As far as eating food, I had some really stellar meals and I was all over this year so I made it a plan to eat (almost) everywhere! Most memorable for many and different reasons are Le Chateaubriand in Paris, Flour + Water in San Francisco, and Luksus in Brooklyn. I also have been mostly in Venice and Santa Monica, California these days so I am finding a whole new bunch of places to eat. Working with food highlights definitely have to be either the LA Times review for M.A.K.E. or our feature in Edible Westside Magazine in LA.

What was the music highlight of your year?

Finishing the tour with Texas Is The Reason. The European tour was really special and it was super great to spend that time with those guys. We got to see a bunch of old  friends and meet new ones. The band meant so much to us and finding out it is still special for so many was really shocking and humbling. I feel very lucky that I got to be a part of all we got to do and see with the band. Every show was really amazing on it’s own and even up to the end in London. It was a perfect end. There are a bunch of photos from that night and you can see how intense it was for us knowing that it was it for us.

Was there a moment when food and music came together in a memorable way?

In January at our show in Chicago we were invited by Chef Graham Elliot to eat at his Bistro. We had an amazing meal and time. TITR went out to a lot of meals as a band but I think that was our most epic and fun for sure. Turns out he was and is a fan of TITR and other bands we hung with back in the day. It was great to meet him. As a chef, I definitely admire his work and it’s great to say I now know him. Another funny thing that I first thought of was when we were in Barcelona the bass player of the opening band introduced himself to me and said, ” You are a chef, no?” I said, “Yes I am.” So he then says that tomorrow we are going to where my brother works, Cellar Con Roca (#1 restaurant in the world). He saw that we had a day off and got reservations. Unfortunately I had to fly into Rainy Glasgow only to have a whole other kind of fun with some old friends from there. Definitely no Michelin Star grub though.

@scottwinegard

ERIK BRUNER-YANG

Erik Bruner-Yang is chef/owner of Toki Underground and Maketto in Washington D.C.

What was the Food Highlight of Your Year?

2013 was the first year I participated in Capital Food Fight, which is DC Central Kitchen’s largest yearly fundraiser. It was the first time I have ever done any type of competitive food competition and it was just an amazing experience. The food fight was the first time I have been on stage since I stopped playing in bands back in 2009. It brought back all the nerves and excitement that I haven’t felt in a long time.

But the best part wasn’t actually the battle but it was getting to meet the students and the mentors involved with the program. DC Central Kitchen really just does some amazing things and that was really inspiring. 

What was the music highlight of your year (and why)?

Hands down the Dismemberment Plan reunion. My favorite band of all time. The first mix tape I ever got had only two bands on it. Side A was Ice of Boston EP and half of “!”. Side B was the Pharcyde. 

To me, The Dismemberment Plan is easily one of the most important indie bands of all time and a band at their age should keep on keeping on.

Was there a moment when food and music came together in a memorable way? 

I love making playlists for the restaurant. I would say 75% of the atmosphere at Toki is the music. But the best way music and food comes together for me every year is when we participate as a food component for Sweetlife Festival hosted by Sweetgreen. Since I don’t go to shows as much as I used to, I really seize the opportunity at this festival to get a year’s worth of music knowledge. I discovered Twin Shadows at Sweetlife 2012 and Haim there in 2013. 

This year Toki Underground/Maketto went ham at Sweetlife festival. We collabed with Chef Spike Gjerde and his whole Woodberry Kitchen crew and just did the craziest street dishes. We had a ramen shop, an izakaya, a shaved ice shop, and that was only half of the setup. 

tokiunderground

ERIC D. JOHNSON

Eric is the founder of Fruit Bats and co-producer of the Huichica Music Festival in Sonoma.

What was the food highlight of your year?

When I was working on Nina Persson’s record this summer, my time in Sweden coincided with the holiday Midsommar, which is the longest day of the year and a time when folks get together to eat and drink and be outside and just sort of celebrate summertime and being Swedish. We spent it with Nina’s friends and family in the Swedish countryside. There was lots of pickled fish, sausage, aquavit, and beer. Tons of flavors I recognized but a bunch of dishes I’d never tried, and the vibe and setting was amazing. Ww walked our food off on a trip to the beach in the dusky 11:30 PM light. Also worth mentioning was that I finally got around to eating at the Woodsman Tavern in Portland. It has a lot of hype and deserves every single bit of it. Not a bad dish on the menu and the trout is the best thing I’ve had in some time.

What was the music highlight of your year?

This was a year of music highlights for me personally. Lots of beginnings and endings and milestones. My own Huichica Music Festival is always special, and this year there I got to share a stage with Bob Weir (thanks to Jonathan Wilson), which was pretty incredible. I collaborated with Yellowbirds on a tour, which was lovely. I got to do the complete Last Waltz again this year in Port Chester, NY with some of the best musicians on the planet. I worked on my first three records as a producer, which is sending me off on a pretty fun new path. But most important is that after 13 years I wrapped up my band Fruit Bats. It is super bittersweet but a really beautiful thing to be able to go out with an emotional, lovey-dovey, sold out show at the Aladdin Theater in Portland. It’s been a crazy year. My favorite show I saw was Ty Segall, Shabazz Palaces, and Jessica Pratt in the Woods at Pickathon. My Favorite album was Kurt Vile’s “Wakin’ On a Pretty Daze.”

Was there a moment when food and music came together in a memorable way?

Well, it would be hard for me not to drop Huichica again as a prime example!

@fruitbatsmusic

CAROLYNN SPENCE

Carolynn Spence is the chef at Hollywood’s iconic Chateau Marmont. 

What was the food highlight of your year?

My food highlight of 2013 was in London at La Petite Maison. A brulee’d brioche pain perdu with spice ice cream. It’s not everyday I have something to eat I’d categorize as perfection. This was it. 

What was the music highlight of your year?

Music highlight for 2013 includes hitting the Redwood Bar downtown LA for a Cramps themed Lux Lives show. Lynda Kay got on stage with her band to do a set. At first I was unsure of what was going on. What surreal kind of performance is this? Then I realized the pure genius of this woman and haven’t missed a show of hers yet!

Was there a moment when food and music came together in a memorable way?

Brooks Headley, the pastry chef of Del Posto, drummed for Born Against which I used to see when I was younger hanging out in NYC.  With time I kept hearing about his fun take on desserts. Brooks and his sous chef Kim came to Bar Marmont to do a collaborative menu with my crew. For that dinner we were able to change the music, the food, and the whole vibe of the restaurant. That was certainly a highlight where food and music connected.

@terroir73

MARK TROMBINO

Mark Trombino is a producer (Blink 182) and drummer (Drive Like Jehu) who recently opened a custom donut shop in Los Angeles.

What was the food highlight of your year?

Well, I’d have to say opening up Donut Friend was the highlight of my year without a doubt.  It has been so overwhelming and crazy, but I’m loving it. And hating it.  But mostly loving it.

What was the music highlight of your year?

That’s easy: taking my niece to see Fun. at the Greek.  It was her first concert, with her favorite band, and I was stoked to be able to share that with her.  And also relieved she isn’t a Belieber. 

Was there a moment when food and music came together in a memorable way?

A few months ago I got to meet Bruce Moreland from one of my all time favorite bands, Wall of Voodoo, and give him a Walnut Voodoo donut.  That was pretty cool!

@marktrombino

GRAHAM ELLIOT

Graham Elliot is a chef, restauranteur, Masterchef judge, and Lollapalooza food curator.

What was the food highlight of your year?

Opening my first restaurant (Primary Food & Drink) outside of Chicago (Greenwich, CT).  Scary and exciting at the same time.

What was the music highlight of your year?

Morrissey putting out his autobiography 

Was there a moment when food and music came together in a memorable way?

There were many; cooking for Postal Service and Mumford & Sons at Lolla, cooking/hanging out with Knapsack and Jimmy Eat World at Graham Elliot Bistro.

@grahamelliot

TIM & ERIN ARCHULETA

Tim and Erin own Ichi Sushi in San Francisco.

What was the food highlight of your year?

Tim: Eating in Tokyo, Japan. Everything from phone booth style ramen service, to miso-marinated pig vulva, to skipping out on the lauded sushi bars of Tsukiji Market and landing in a local place having some of the best sushi of my life. 

Erin: The Blue Plate’s tried and true meatloaf with my Mom and Pops. It’s been a few years since I’ve had red meat. That meatloaf brought me back. 

What was the music highlight of your year?

The Flaming Lips show at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium here in San Francisco on Halloween. The overwhelming sensory displacement of a Flaming Lips show combined with everyone in costumes (even a mid-40s dude dressed as Miley Cyrus at the VMAs) was nothing short of a spectacle. Wayne Coyne dressed as Carrie and us, all at her miserable prom, was the ultimate way to see them — confetti canons and all. They ended the set, booming LOVE — LOVE — LOVE at the end of “A Spoonful Weighs a Ton,” sending the crowd back out washed in sound, and well, almost weirdly Flaming Lips-style hugged.  

Was there a moment when food and music came together in a memorable way?

We traveled to New Orleans for a wedding and found ourselves in Algiers, an old shipping neighborhood dating back to 1719 on the bank of the Mississippi. You get to the neighborhood by ferry, and there are only a couple of shops and the historic courthouse when you dock. We explored a little deeper, seeing old Victorian homes, banana trees growing along fences on the side of the street, bundles of flowering vines, and a real divide between well-kept homes and a poorer neighborhood heading closer to the bridges.  We waited for our pals’ courthouse ceremony in a gem of a holdover from the late 1700s, The Old Point Bar. We were waiting out a tropical storm in this relic that had survived so much more, and while we were bellied up to the bar for beers and something a little harder, we watched a crew of musicians load-in for later (wanted to beat the oncoming rain). We were sad not to be able to stay. 

Later that weekend, we were wandering in the Quarter, and stumbled upon a wedding recessional pouring into the street with the Algiers Brass Band playing the happy couple and their guests out into the night. There was something very special about the slow, sticky pace of our experience in the remote ward, and then seeing its finest playing what most folks picture New Orleans to sound like out into a gaggle of celebratory wedding guests and tourists. Somehow, we felt like we were in on the secret of how great Algiers was. Up the road, we popped into Coops Place for Creole Seafood Gumbo and Jambalaya, still charmed by the whole experience, having a local meal. Ever since returning to San Francisco, we’re plotting our way back to New Orleans. 

@ichisushi

RICK GENCARELLI

Rick Gencarelli is chef/owner at Lardo and Grassa in Portland.

What was the food highlight of your year?

The highlight in food for me was all of the amazing New England seafood I had during my two weeks on Cape Cod. I hadn’t visited in a few years so I was ready to get down! I ate my weight in lobster and steamers, Block Island swordfish, mussels and Wellfleet littlenecks! There is nothing better than watching the sunset with a cold beer, surrounded by your loved ones as you throw a fat piece of glisteningly fresh Striped Bass on the grill! I won’t be skipping next year’s trip.

What was the music highlight of your year?

The music highlight for me was by far was the Dinosaur Jr. show at The Wonder Ballroom! I’ve been a fan for many years. it was the soundtrack to my early line cooking years in Boston but I never caught them live. It was punishingly loud! I definitely lost a little hearing but it was worth it. 

Was there a moment when food and music came together in a memorable way?

Food and music come together everyday at Grassa, our new pasta joint downtown right next to Lardo. We bought a turntable that is hooked to vintage Boston Acoustics and 4 - 17” subwoofers. It sounds fantastic. I get there early in the morning, pick out a stack of vinyl, fire up a pot of coffee, and make a shitload of pasta while I watch Portland slowly come to life outside our giant windows. Total harmony.

@lardopdx