Carlin Brown plays drums in Restorations and has cooked at Philadelphia’s Industry Bar, Good Dog Bar, Royal Tavern, Monk’s Cafe, and Memphis Taproom.
What was the music highlight of your year?
2013 was a busy and exciting year for just about everyone I know in music, in food, in anything really. The most memorable time in music is a no brainer. That would be Fest 12 in Gainesville, Fl. I was lucky enough to snag a job as tech for all the backlined SJC drum kits, so I was extremely busy running around the various venues. Even so, most of my band and some of my closest friends in music all piled in the Gainesville Theatre for the long haul on Saturday to see a marathon of completely different bands: Plow United, Paint it Black, Night Marchers, Braid, BoySetsFire, Dillinger Four, and more. I was also lucky enough to catch some of Ceremony, Torche, Bouncing Souls, Menzingers, Sundowner, and finally got to see Cayetana live. Every year seems to be a pretty consistent incline of fun.
Was there a moment when food and music came together in a memorable way?
Food and music came together in September. Philly friends and their dogs converged upon and took over the huge warehouse where my band practices for what was deemed “Smoked Meats Day.” Musicians and people who write and/or obsess about music all participated in smoking any and every kind of smokable food imaginable. We hooked up a PA for music listening, tapped the keg, and got the smoker going around 8:00 AM. There were so many exciting things to eat. We smoked chicken, wings, pork shoulder, seitan, almonds, chick peas, various veggies and hot peppers. There was a deep fryer so we we roasted, smoked, and deep fried coconut to make vegan bacon. And of course there was the vegan wing off. There were also regular grills for obligatory burgers and hot dogs. The highlight of the day was a whole beef brisket that smoked for fourteen plus hours only to have it still be perfectly rare in the middle. It was a marathon day of talking about life, music, and food, all while listening to music and eating food. It ran all morning, noon, and late into the night. I can’t wait for next year!