SCOTT PARKER

Scott Parker is Studio Manager at 606 and Creator/Host of the Death Or Glory video series. Photo: Greg Jacobs. 

What was the food highlight of your year?

My family and I have lived in the San Fernando Valley for the past 12 years.  There’s a Mexican restaurant in our neighborhood called Salsa & Beer, which we dismissed for obvious reasons - not being on spring break in Cabo being the main one.  A couple neighbors of our’s started telling us how great the place was.  Being the only one that is half Mexican and grew up in LA, I figured they wouldn’t know good Mexican food if it burned their asses.  

My wife and I started noticing the place was always packed.  One weekend we decided to give it a try.  The wait was crazy, the service was horrible, but the chipotle sauce, spicy bean dip & potato taquitos were UNBELIEVABLE! I consider myself a “flexible” vegetarian and there’s no meat in potato taquitos, right?  Well…..only if you ignore the fact the potato to lard ratio must be pushing 50/50!   These things are like eating cheesy mashed potatoes stuffed into a Churro!  By far the best thing I put in my mouth in 2013.

What was the music highlight of your year?

My music highlight would have to be, hands down, the fact that old friends and some teenage heroes of mine where willing to sacrifice their time and participate in Death Or Glory.  Without the likes of Pat Smear, Lee Ving, Jack Grisham, Glen Matlock, and Jerry Roach my musical vocabulary would be very different.  The fact that they, and everyone else, were willing to be part of something I was trying to create still blows me away.  THANX GUYS!

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

The Foo Fighters played a surprise show at Red Balls Rock n Roll Pizza in Moorepark, CA before their shows in Mexico City at the end of the year. I’ve worked for the band for 9 years now and have seen them do a few “secret” shows, that weren’t really a secret.  This one was! Management didn’t know about it and their crew was already in Mexico City. Wiley, Lou, Vanessa and I and 3 other people from the studio loaded a minimal backline into a 10’ U-Haul and rolled up the 118 to Redballs and threw together a kick ass rock show for 200 people.  The atmosphere and pizza were great.  Half way through their set I realized they sound exactly the same whether in a stadium, arena, or a pizza place in Moorepark!

Death Or Glory

GREG JACOBS

Greg Jacobs has managed Rocket From The Crypt, Drive Like Jehu, Big Drill Car, and Supernova; worked at SST, Cruz, and Cargo Records; and photographed musicians for print, the Death or Glory web series, and an upcoming TV show. Photo by: Rinzi Ruiz

What was the food highlight of your year?

I was on my annual baseball spring training trip with some friends in Scottsdale, AZ. We had just left a day game, we were hot, drunk, and hungry.  I saw Grimaldi’s and dragged our crew of 8 there hoping to find it as good as I remembered it in NYC, knowing full well that I would be subjected to serious hazing for the rest of the trip if my suggestion failed. We ordered salads, wood-fired pizzas, beer, wine - all fantastic, all friends satisfied, and I plan to return in 2014 spring training trip.

What was the music highlight of your year?

This is tough. This year I was lucky enough to attend and photograph 2 secret shows by bands that were way too big to play the venues I saw them in: First was Rocket From The Crypt on Easter night at Bar Pink in San Diego (150 people I’d guess), next was Foo Fighters at a pizza parlor in Moorpark, CA (guessing there were around 100 people there). But I honestly think my musical highlight of 2013 was at a festival, and I hate festivals. It was a weather-shortened, 15 minute set by FLAG! I saw them at Riot Fest in Denver. They were absolutely insane! Powerful, energetic, tight, and ferocious! The wind started blowing so hard during their set that it tore the giant banners off of the PA stacks. Then the rain started. It was raining huge Colorado rain drops (I swear the rain drops are smaller in Southern California). FLAG was about 15 minutes into their set when a voice came over the loudspeaker advising everyone that the National Weather Service have issued a storm warning and to “shelter in your car until further notice.” The festival continued after a weather delay, but FLAG was done for the day. They played for 15 minutes and it was the best show I’ve seen all year. I can’t wait to see them again (maybe Ron Reyes will join them on stage now that he’s been booted from Black Flag That would be awesome).

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

When I first read this question, I went totally blank and had no idea what I would say. Now I have a few ideas. The first is not 2013-specific, but it’s MY LIFE. Before I was married, I used to think that the perfect girl for me would be a “Casbah/Keva” girl, meaning, I wanted to find a girl who would go to a dirty rock show at The Casbah with me on a Saturday night and then feel equally comfortable at brunch with my parents on Sunday (Keva Grill was a place in La Jolla for brunch). I found her!

The 2013 collision was after the Rocket From The Crypt, show with my wife and our friends Josh and Mona, standing outside of Bar Pink after the show we made a plan and left for Roberto’s #10 on El Cajon Blvd. We ordered at the window, sat outside on the circular cement table, ate burritos, rolled tacos, nachos, drank Cokes from the can, and just talked. It was just like the old days and it felt great.

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