Sydney hip hop duo Spit Syndicate have had a absolutely huge year post the release of their third LP Sunday Gentlemen earlier this year, and will now embark upon their third national tour off the back of the album, and their biggest to date, the aptly titled ‘Money Over Bull$hit’ tour taking along DJ Joyride for 15+ date national tour commencing on Friday 13th September.
We caught up with Nick Lupi of Spit Syndicate, who had special assistance here and there from Joyride on answering some serious questions about their touring diet, food you should avoid eating before going on stage their ultimate rider.
What were your food influences when you were growing up and what kind of food did you eat at home or with your family?
I was definitely spoilt with amazing food whilst growing up, my folks both worked hard but also always went hard in the kitchen. My old man’s Italian heritage meant that Christmas Day was/is started with ravioli bolognese at 11am which is a tradition I hope to pass down for many generations. We ate food from all over the world, but I was on some wog boy shit from a pretty early age; taking a thermos full of minestrone for lunch at primary school, etc.
What are your favourite tour van/plane munchies?
As a general rule, we don’t discriminate when it comes to eating out on tour, but we’re through and through Subway aficionados. We’ve definitely missed several flights over the years because we’ve decided to stop in for a footlong en route to the airport when we clearly don’t have time for it. Our DJ Joyride rarely starts a day without 2L of iced coffee, on or off tour; which is how he earned the moniker ‘Iced Coffee Papi’. We always try hit the best pie spot in whatever town we’re at, and Yum Cha gets demolished at any opportunity too.
What type of food do you hate, and what is the most disgusting thing you’ve ever eaten?
This isn’t going to be a popular choice but I can’t fuck with canned tuna. Everyone seems way to ok with eating this shit in my opinion, it looks and smells like cat food. Like, fresh out the can Whiskers. Jimmy loves it, and I see bulk people spreading that Snappy Tom all over their crackers, but I can’t get down with it. At a road stop in Southern Thailand a few years back, I ate what I’m almost certain was rat curry. Shortly after eating it I projectile vomited for a good three days.
What type of food do you make sure to avoid before a gig or going on stage?
Anything too heavy (steaks etc) or any food that promotes gassiness. The last thing you want is to be performing while you can barely move and blaming farts on your DJ.
Imagine for a second you can request anything on your rider for your upcoming shows for Money Over Bull$hit tour. What food and drinks would you put on it?
1. Unlimited Jameson and Kraken Rum, with ginger beer and ginger ale to mix with.
2. Subway platters (but not toy ones, really good ones – lots of southwest sauce, of course)
3. A large bag of Reece’s miniatures with a pair of scissors and a bowl.
4. Really nice cheeses, with the perfect amount of crackers. That ratio is near-impossible to nail. Shouts to Raph from Jackie Onassis, his cheese game is 100.
5. Beers, in case others come backstage. I’m not into the idea of sharing the unlimited Jameson and Kraken.
6. Water. Mainly for the next day
What has been your biggest cooking disaster to date?
I made dinner for a girl once. A lovely lime chilli chicken dish. The food itself was great. I know because I had to eat it all. She was vegetarian.
What’s your favourite music venue to eat at in Australia?
It’s pretty hard to go past Republic in Hobart, they always look after bands that are playing there and the food is wild. Also wild is the 24-hour bakery down at Salamanca, one of our favourite attractions of Hobart. Special shouts to The Spotted Cow in Toowoomba, we had a pretty forgettable show there on our last tour (due to the sound, not the crowd), but the owner’s mum cooked us this massive pot of spaghetti which was a lovely gesture and pretty tasty too.
Where’s your favourite music venue to eat at in your hometown Sydney?
Bending the rules a little bit here, but Oxford Art Factory. Oporto, Hungry Jacks, Subway, Kebabs. They’ve got it all! (In close proximity)
I haven’t been there properly since the Rule brothers left, but I always thought the Thai food served at the Annandale Hotel was mega advanced.
What music do you like to play when you’re cooking?
I like to keep it pretty sexy. The general rule is, if you can’t have sex to it, why would you bother cooking to it? Normally I go with Jeremih’s Late Nights, but the new Mayer Hawthorne album is getting a lot of traction in the kitchen at the moment.
What is one meal you could not live without?
One meal? Those last supper type questions always make me feel like a parent having to choose their favourite child. It’s very, very rare that I’m not in the mood for Italian or Thai food. Jimmy’s is probably Japanese (with copious amounts of fresh ginger), and Joyride finds it pretty hard to go past a Doner Kebab (especially the Perth persuasion; with egg inside).
The Money Over Bullshit Tour with support from Joyride
Fri 13 Sep – Flinders Social, Townsville QLD
Sat 14 Sep – Union Jack Hotel, Cairns QLD
Fri 20 Sep – Barwon Club, Geelong VIC
Sat 21 Sep – The Evelyn, Melbourne VIC
Sun 22 Sep – Phoenix Youth Club, Footscray VIC (Under 18s)
Thu 26 Sep – The Armidale Club, Armidale NSW
Fri 27 Sep – Hoey Moey, Coffs Harbour NSW
Sat 28 Sep – Sol Bar Maroochydore QLD
Sat 05 Oct – Mona Vale Hotel, Mona Vale NSW
Thu 10 Oct – The Loft, Gold Coast QLD
Fri 11 Oct – Woodys Surf Shack Byron Bay NSW
Sat 12 Oct – Alhambra Lounge, Brisbane QLD (Under 18s)
Thu 17 Oct – Enigma, Adelaide SA (All Ages)
Fri 18 Oct – Amplifier, Perth WA
Sat 19 Oct – Prince of Wales, Bunbury WA
Sun 20 Oct – Newport Hotel, Fremantle WA
Fri 25 Oct – Waves, Wollongong NSW
Sat 26th Oct – Fat As Butter Festival, Newcastle
Thu 31 Oct – Zierholz, Canberra ACT
Sat 02 Nov – Hi-Fi, Sydney NSW (All Ages)
