Bands Like Food, Too

By Sarah Dahnke in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 26, 2007 2:13PM

The talk of the "indie rock diet" that's been tossed around the blogosphere this week is ripe with irony; any of us who have hung out with a band for even a night know that the stereotypical indie rocker replaces food with alcohol whenever given the chance. And when on tour, anything goes. A friend of ours, who happens to drum in a band coming to Chicago next week, once told us about how the band subsisted once their travel cooler was out of lunch meat but still contained bread. The answer? Dorito sandwiches! We've also heard tour stories that involved obsessions with IHOP and Panera Bread (strictly for the free wireless Internet), and we know from first-hand experience that it's more likely to find a just-opened bottle of Jim Beam in a tour van than any food item involving protein or produce.

That's why it's easy to laugh at Kara Zuaro's I Like Food, Food Tastes Good, which was released on Tuesday, containing recipes contributed by bands such as The Decemberists, The Hold Steady, Grizzly Bear, Ted Leo and The Walkmen. Most notably to Chicago rock fans, Catfish Haven supplies a Strawberry Pop Cake recipe. Further upping the "awww" factor, Zuaro writes on her Myspace blog that George's mother, who is responsible for the recipe, "has been visiting her local bookstore every week, just in case they happen to stock the book early."

While some of the recipes seem typically cheap, fast and potentially gut-wrenching (see Devendra Banhart's Africanas Ricas, consisting of bananas, graham crackers, eggs and sour cream, or Death Cab for Cutie's veggie sausage and peanut butter sandwich), others offer up semi-gourmet dishes, such as Camera Obscura and their Vegetarian Paella.

Of course, there's also a recipe for Strung Out's Rock 'N' Ramen (The secret? TWO KIND OF RAMEN!) and for some concoction dreamed up by Silkworm called Cheesy Sleazy. We must say we're relieved. If all indie rockers had turned into master chefs, who would keep the late-night burrito shacks and greasy spoon diners open around the country? Plus, without all of the cigarette/coffee breakfasts and liquid lunches, they might start feeling content and satisfied about life, songwriting would decline, indie labels would be useless, Pitchfork would fold ... You get the picture.

Book image via Amazon.com.