Joe and I met back in 2006, when he reached out to Ben (Week 1) to make some music together. Joe is a producer, singer, guitarist and keyboard player who performs under the alias Captain Midnite. He provided my first solo album with a few beats and by the end of 2007 we had started a rap group along with Seattle rapper Kublakai. That group was called The Let Go, and we toured the country three times, charted on CMJ's college radio charts, licensed a song to MTV's The City, signed a record deal in Japan and released two albums domestically on our own. And we broke up.
Joe was always a pleasure to work with because he is so level-headed and even keel. Large shocker here: I was the wild card in the group, always flying off the handle and doing dramatic things. But Joe and I had natural chemistry, being opposite personality types. So we continued to work together, via live show performances, and he was one of the original members of my backing band Worst Animal. As schedules for 2/3 of the musicians in the band conflicted too greatly with the frequency I book local shows, Joe focused on his solo material and working with Atlanta rapper Kyle Lucas and I replaced him on the keys with Kjell Nelson.
Despite suffering through two band break-ups, Joe and I retain a good relationship and often council each other for musical advice. He also has beats on both my forthcoming Bad Tattoos Volume Two EP and A Good Tattoo LP. We are never short of something to tell or say to one another, but it generally revolves around music. So, he and I agreed to not dominate the night with rap talk too much and take our ladies out to see the new Snow White movie after dinner. All four of us were stoked about the plan. Especially because Snow White and the Huntsman looks pretty BAD ASS.
With the movie factored in, the date was already set to be a unique one. But I had no idea just how unique it would get. Being it was June 1st, our new roommate Aaron (Week 4) had moved his belongings into our basement and was looming around the house. At first he was being discrete, because of the possible fifth wheel factor, but Aaron has toured with Joe and I a few times, and we ushered him out into the common room to be part of our discussions. We all know each other well and it didn't make sense to isolate him from the party.
He had already eaten, so he didn't partake in the dinner portion of the date, which was Phad Thai. I have never made that before, but I knew it was one of Joe's favorite meals, so I surprised him with it. I didn't know much about it at all, so I ended up combining a few recipes I found and varying it to fit something I thought sounded good. From what I read, it is a common street food sold out of carts in Bangkok. And it commonly contained tofu which I never consume. So my first change was swapping in chicken for the protein ingredient of the dish. The necessary ingredients to make it legit are rice noodles and eggs, as well as peanuts, fish oil, vegi oil and tamarind paste. What I opted in, since the accompanying parts seemed optional, was onions, shallots, Chinese snap peas and diced carrots. I also chose to go with fleshly sliced garlic cloves over minced, and omit the crushed red pepper flakes cause the wifey doesn't do spicy.
I will admit, I was very unfamiliar with this dish, recipe and cooking process. And it turned out pretty awesome! I approached it with no fear, just cooked it how I felt it should be done and it turned out great. It may have been the first course that Erica completely finished (to be fair, my portions are usually way larger than necessary). But, as we finished, an unexpected visitor stopped by. For Aaron.
It was his bandmate from Slow Dance Rudy, who was dropping off some flyers for an upcoming show. Rudy and Aaron have a wild stage show, and they are playing with my band at the Crocodile on Friday, June 15th. Make sure to order your tickets BY CLICKING HERE.
Rudy had his girlfriend Regan waiting in the car, so we urged him to grab her and come in and chat for a bit. Rudy has also toured with Joe and I before, and he is a riot to have around. It turned into a very fluid evening of socializing, we just kind of rolled with whatever was happening.
The conversation with Joe, Christina, Erica, Aaron, Rudy, Regan and I turned into a round robin of Table Topics. And, if I was being modest, I must say, I was working the crowd pretty well. I flirted with unveiling some of the standup comedy routine I've been working on, but decided against it. That must wait. But I certainly put Rudy and Regan on the spot for getting them over another time for a dinner date, and they accepted! Erica and I are super excited for that dinner, because we had a great time with them in their short visit.
As Rudy and Regan made an exit, Joe and I went over to the stereo to review some new songs I am working on. While discussing his current project, which is electronic, I mentioned that my buddy Cameron, who also makes electronic music, just moved in a house a few blocks away. Cameron releases music under the alias Big Chocolate and Joe had heard of him. We decided the more the merrier, so I called Cam up and asked if he wanted to join the five of us to see the movie. Cam and his totally rad roommate Stacey decided to come with, and the DD was suddenly a 7-person mob on a mission.
Mob mentality took us all the way up North to the Cinebarre, a magical theater that serves alcohol. The theater also cards every patron, and, magically, not all of our crew was carrying identification. On a night out with dudes who call themselves Captain Midnite and Big Chocolate, and neither one of them were my 6"8" black roommate, weirder stuff has happened. So it was off to the Thorton Place Theater in Northgate and the 11:20pm showing of Snow White.
45 minutes in, Cam and Aaron walked out. Their judgments were in: it sucked. However, I stuck out the entire 2 hours of whimsical special effects and I am ready to make a bolder statement. As far as what type of movie it was, I enjoyed Snow White and the Huntsman better than Lord of the Rings. That's my opinion. It is that style of movie, and if you like that, you will like it. I know legions of nerds that back up that crappy midget tale are going to jump down my throat for trashing their craptacular 37-hour triology, but I don't care. Because that will expose the nerds lurking my blog. Let me give you nerds a fair warning: A DOUBLE DATE HAS NO PLACE FOR A NERD. YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE, NERDS.
Continuing our nerdless streak, next week Erica and I are hosting one of the coolest couples we know, Austin and Kristin. If things go to par for them, it will be one crazy night of partying. Stay TUNED.
No comments:
Post a Comment