In addition to his performance at the sold out Splendour In The Grass over the weekend, Darwin Deez is also doing his own headline shows at the Corner Hotel in Melbourne and The Standard in Sydney.
Darwin’s current release is Songs For Imaginative People, which features the single ‘Free (The Editorial Me)’. The whole album is brilliant, hilarious & complex Darwin writes songs that will make you want to bust out your dancing shoes while also cutting to that raw, emotional nerve.
We caught up with Darwin to chat about what he eats on tour, cooking disasters and which Splendour act he would love to cook for….
What were your food influences when you were growing up and what kind of food did you eat at home or with your family?
My mom’s a health nut. she loves sautéed onions. she’s actually over saturated me on those and apple cider, which were always in the fridge throughout my childhood. the forbidden fruits like sugar cereal and fast food which I never got enough of are still hugely appealing to me and i eat lots of fast food on tour and off. sugar however I avoid because of how I’ve realized it affects my mood.
What are your favourite tour van/plane munchies?
I go through phases. beef jerky. salt and vinegar chips. club soda. psyllium seed husk*† (*see youtube “I’m a husker baby”) †not actually a food
If you could invent a candy bar or a sweet what would it be?
Hmm…I like peanut butter ice cream but not so much PB candy bars. I like dark chocolate. I would want it to be just mildly sweet and not have a lot of sugar. some chia seeds might be cool. I guess it would be a healthy candy bar.
What type of food do you make sure to avoid before a gig or going on stage?
I am hungry all the time and I don’t let my stage show get in the way of my eating whatever I want. I’ve had times where I could feel my stomach (not) digesting on stage and it was less than ideal but I can’t remember what I ate the times that it happened.
Imagine for a second you can request anything on your rider for your upcoming shows for Splendour In The Grass & your sideshows in Melbourne & Sydney. What food and drinks would you put on it?
Requesting from your heart is a mistake when it comes to riders. For an effective and satisfying rider result, you have to be familiar with the specific foods that are available and of consistently good quality in the region you’re playing. so for Australia let’s see… I always want kombucha, do you have that here?
What has been your biggest cooking disaster to date?
Well, I had a pretty good racket going baking slabs of salmon in the toaster oven for a while. I tried to make salmon and black beans for my girlfriend one night and somehow I completely messed it up, I think it just took forever and was still uncooked after 40 minutes or something. she was uncomfortable.
What food are you most looking trying that you may not had eaten last time you were in Australia?
Well, I’d like to try some more Malaysian dishes.
Where’s your favorite music venue to eat at in your hometown of Ashville?
The Grey Eagle has great gringo style Mexican foods. I love how they can serve you just roasted pork shoulder on a bed of marinated kale and not include any dairy or wheat tortillas. I find it awkward ordering Mexican without dairy. It’s not awkward at The Greagle though; it’s natural.
What music is on the Darwin Deez playing list while cooking?
My mom likes to hear indie music and so I played her some highlights from current top 40 as well as some of Pitchfork’s top 100 tracks of 2011/2012. Grizzly Bear (which she happily recognised), Souls of Mischief, Grimes, Ariel Pink, Zedd, Todd Terje, the Robin Thicke single. my aim was to inform and entertain my mom while she cooked.
If you were to cook a meal for any other artist playing Splendour In The Grass, who would it be and what would you cook?
I would cook baby back ribs for baby Haim.
Darwin Deez Tour Dates
Tuesday 30th – The Standard, Sydney
Wednesday 31st – Corner Hotel, Melbourne
