So when asked to be a guest editor for MAGNET, my initial reaction was that my inner 18-year-old self might flip out so much that I might have nary a word to say. However, I persevered and was immediately filled with some of the memories of growing up in the proverbial “sticks” in the ’90s. Starting there and moving forward to the present day, I accumulated a list of people, movies, music, food, poets and other stuff that, although not exhaustive by any extent, it gives an insight into me, my music, the band, inspirations and interests. At the very least I would hope that a few of these things may also be viewed as recommendations that could steer people toward becoming acquainted with a few new people, and things that I find dear. It goes without saying, I appreciate the opportunity to “preach from the pulpit,” so to speak and air my opinion on so many different things. Normally people only care about what I say about my music or music in general, which can get tedious. So thank you, MAGNET, for providing the platform to impose my taste on others. Really and truly, I hope someone finds something in here that they, too, can enjoy.
I am by no means an authority in anything food related, however, this place is the honest-to-goodness best pizza place I have encountered in many years of touring. There is extremely good pizza everywhere, and without a doubt its quality increases exponentially every mile you travel east from the Mississippi in the same respect, reciprocally, that the burrito quality improves while headed west from the same point. There must be some kind of equation to prove this, but I am at a loss since I merely play a wooden instrument for a living. With that being said, I need to foreshadow my love for Christian’s pizza by illustrating candidly that Portland, Ore., has bullshit pizza. I know there could be many detractors to that statement, but it needed to be said, so there it is. Our pizza here in Portland suffers from a bourgeoisie pizza syndrome. Everything must be certified organic and the experiments with said organic toppings often results in failure. I am also left, when eating the crust of locally made pizza, with a particular type of sadness. For some unknown reason, the crust, which is commonplace in New York, is absolutely under all circumstances impossible to replicate here. Not so with Christian’s in Charlottesville. The crust is like a cracker on the bottom with just enough spring and substance to compete with anything from NYC. They also use a variety of healthy toppings (I don’t know if they are organic, but secretly cross my fingers) in creative ways I’ve seen nowhere else. For instance, there’s this pizza that is avocado and feta (I think) that is insane. It manages to all still taste surprisingly authentic and incredibly fresh. Go there and try it. I could be wrong, but I will remain a customer and sing it’s praises until I find something better.
Video after the jump.
