Mercy and Lindsay are in the band Football, Etc.
What was the food highlight of your year?
We went to an Ethiopian restaurant for the first time in our lives this year. Injera—a staple in Ethiopian cooking—was totally unlike any food I’ve had before. It’s a yeasty spongy flatbread that looks a bit like elephant skin. The spongy quality makes it great for sopping up things, and it’s quite filling. Gave me a whole new idea of what a bread could be.
What was the music highlight of your year?
Just a few weeks before we were about to head out on a UK tour last summer, we learned that Braid was set to play on the same day as our London gig. At first we were so bummed, convinced we’d lose our draw (after all, we wanted to see Braid too!). But instead, our London date for that tour turned out to be one of the best days I’ve had. The fellas from Zine and Not Heard booked us a matinee show across the street from where Braid was playing. We played a totally packed show, with people singing along and a bit of crowd surfing. Then we, along with nearly everyone else at our gig, walked across the street to see Braid play the entirety of Frame and Canvas, which was amazing. We closed out the night with some free beers courtesy of the Braid guys. It couldn’t have been better.
Was there a moment when food and music came together in a memorable way?
On our first night of tour with Annabel, we played a place in Cleveland called the Happy Dog. This hot dog shop had only two choices of dogs—vegan, or not vegan—but fifty topping options including everything from peanut butter to roasted garlic aioli. Stuffing ourselves on hot dogs and beer whilst checking out the opening bands was a nice way to kick off the tour.