Photo by Edward Fausty
Tris McCall is a self-described “wimpy, declasse Jersey smartass” who cranks out piano pop-rock albums that sound like Steely Dan and Graham Parker hit the studio with a few bottles of whiskey and got in touch with their feelings. Years on the road have mellowed both his music and his taste for gut-wrenching road food.
His latest offering, Let the Night Fall, gets a boost from pals KaPow!, My Teenage Stride, The Overlord Community Choir, Matt Houser and Jun Takeshta. This time he’s little older, a little wiser and hella-prepared for the gastric tsunamis that wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am noshes can deliver while touring.
Tris’ hard-earned lessons serve as a cheat sheet for all low-budget indie bands preparing for their descent into the chaos of touring with nothing more than a few bucks in yo’ pocket and rumble in yo’ stomach.
DON’T overindulge in free samples from the random companies sponsoring your event; it can lead to random acts of violence. “The 2000 independent music festival in Hoboken was co-sponsored by Red Bull. I’d never heard of it. I figured it was a new soda,” Tris told UI via email.
“I drank five or six before somebody explained to me what I was doing to myself. About an hour later, I was having difficulty moving my jaw and grasping small objects. I spent about twenty minutes running around on Hudson street, smashing into lampposts. Other rockers can have their drug stories. An accidental Red Bull overdose story, though. Who has that?”
Indeed, Tris, indeed.
DO beware the deep-fried cravings that seem like an excellent idea after playing a show and sweating out several pints of water. Belgian waffles with a quart of maple syrup at 2 a.m. may be OK, but ordering “onion rings, mozzarella sticks, zucchini sticks, anything breaded and dunked in hot oil” in addition to the waffles will inevitably result in severe gastric distress.
DO give into the inevitable! That’s right, you, too, will become a fan of organic, responsibly sourced nutmeg. After several sessions of stomach cramps that an entire army of Tums failed to subdue, Tris started down the organic, healthy, fruit-and-granola-littered path so many rockers have explored of late. (See Franz Ferdinand on McDonald’s; Moby on the perils of steak; Peter Bjorn on the dangers of chain resto-feasting).
His post-show must-have is now quibebe, a butternut squash soup with zucchini, clove and nutmeg (“We’ve even invested in a nutmeg grater!”).
TOPICS: Eat to the Beat, Kathleen Willcox