BOB PENN

Bob Penn plays drums in The Jealous Sound and The Night of the Gun.

What was the food highlight of the year and why?

I recently moved to Pasadena in an apartment complex that is actually a functioning train station and across the tracks there is an awesome restaurant called The Luggage Room. When they start up their cooking fires at 5pm you can smell the delicious aroma throughout my building. You suddenly find yourself in the elevator taking a life detour to locate the goodness.

The standout favorite item on the menu for me is their brick wood-fire Avocado Festival pizza, which is thin and chewy sourdough pizza crust with super bright flavors on top, including cheese, sundried tomatoes, lemon, fresh basil, and avocado. For dessert they make these killer sea salt chocolate chip cookies that they handout complimentary at the door as you leave. You might need to bring a buddy to distract all the hot waitresses, so you can stuff your pockets with this amazing treat (not that I would ever do that). They also serve an outstanding brand of gelato, my favorite is the mint chip which tastes like a fresh mint slap to the face.

What was the music highlight of your year and why?

I’m pretty lucky, I’ve had a few highlights this year:

The Jealous Sound started the year on an awesome February tour with some great bands. For the majority of the dates we played with Balance and Composure and Daylight. It was great to watch those guys every night. They’re both very talented bands, their fans love them and so did we. 

It was also great seeing the Knapsack reunion in Los Angeles, it was nice to see friends reunite and play songs that I’ve always loved. I still remember picking up Day Three of My New Life and blasting it in my crappy Ford Taurus back in the day. I actually kept gallons of fluid in my backseat because that shit car overheated so much.

I’m lucky to be ending the year with another musical highlight: I recently had a really collaborative set of sessions with a longtime friend, but first-time bandmate Adrian Verloop. After about seven practices we created enough songs for a record. I found myself sneaking back into Studio 606 with my favorite guy to track drums with, John “Lou” Lousteau. New project is called “The Night of the Gun” and we’re set to start tracking guitars.

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

After recording drum tracks in Northridge in late November I took a break for sushi at King’s Burgers. The name obviously fooled me a bit, but seeing the sushi selection my plans suddenly changed. It was one of those moments when you just needed a quick bite to eat and ended up staying for an hour. The spicy tuna tempura roll is no fucking joke… Seriously

I also live a few miles away from Mark Trombino’s new doughnut shop Donut Friend. The dude is truly doing great things to a classic item and even the coffee is killer. It’s now a MUST visit spot here in LA and everyone is talking about it. Trombino might be completely responsible for the stretchy pants movement of 2014 and that sucks.

@thejealoussound

BLAIR SHEHAN

Blair Shehan is a founding member of Knapsack and currently fronts The Jealous Sound.

What was the food highlight of your year?

Quite a good chunk of  2012 was spent traveling america with three other grown men in a 15 passenger van. My dining choices at home in LA are spent at my usual spots, so when I”m on tour I enjoy heading out on my own for some quiet time and hopefully a great meal. It grounds me out and helps me reset from the daily grind of touring. I often comment on how this country’s highways are littered with horrible fast food and people with broken down bodies from eating it on a daily basis. I then realize I’m standing in line behind them waiting for the same food. 

When we played San Diego recently I got a great tip on a shrimp burrito so I headed out. I wound up at a place called El Zarape. They make a burrito with shrimp, some kind of Jack cheese, poblano sauce, and massive shrimp and that’s all there is to it. I came back to the club and described it as” luxurious”. Deep, rich, and totally unlike any other mexican seafood I have had… Extraordinary.

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

As far as music and food colliding, the band recieved an email offering us a free dinner at a Taiwanese noodle bar called Toki Underground before we played in DC, simply because the owner enjoyed our music. We were raggedy and tired and some free hot asian noodles sounded perfect. First off it’s not underground, it’s upstairs in a dining  room that is a cross between a Japanese pub and a treehouse. We belly up to the bar where they make Ramen and soups to order. I ordered a fried chicken in a red curry broth with noodles, a soft boiled egg, and ginger. I love all types of Ramen, but this was the hands down best I have ever had. Fantastic ambience and food in a hectic urban center. It was a generous gesture and much appreciated. Indie food community reaching out to indie music…just wonderful!