Rusty from You Am I

Australia’s favourite rock band You Am I have spoiled fans this year with their recent mammoth Hi Fi Daily Double  National tour, which saw them selling out shows nationally. Now they return to a familiar stage of the Prince Bandroom (aka POW) to perform 2 special Cup Eve shows in Melbourne.

It’s been a 5-year hiatus from these traditional Cup Eve shows, the band decided it was time bring the tradition back and they will perform back to back shows in Melbourne on Sunday November 3rd and Monday November 4th.

We caught up with Rusty to chat about tour food, cooking for his bandmates, and a You Am I branded flavoured potato chips…

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 grew up in Fremantle, Western Australia in the 1970’s when it was an old-school multicultural port town. Most of my friends were either Italian or Portuguese, which allowed me to enjoy some fine Mediterranean cuisine. Even though mum was a good cook whose watermelon salad was a thing of renown, nothing could compare to Sunday lunch at my mate Gabriel Cordisco’s house. His mum was this lovely Sicilian lady who’d make the most amazing food, real Italian farm house cooking and me and Gabriel would alternate between kicking the soccer ball about, arguing about who was better – Beatles or Stones and watching his mum expertly wind out sheets of pasta. As an a nine year old I didn’t realise i was tucking into a lamb neck stew with parpadelle but I’ve never tasted one as good since, I’m glad I had a mind-blowing culinary experience at a young age.

What dish or cuisine do you most like to eat on tour and why?

Sandwiches, they are fucking every where you turn on tour. So you learn to become a platter aficionado. We love a good sandwich platter and will discuss it at length…perhaps it’s an interesting bread, a rare condiment/relish or is this egg curried? How fascinating!

What is your ideal cooking playlist? 

Depends, but I have to say nothing beats cooking some barbecue whilst my much better half plays some of her killer soul and rhythm & blues 45s –  Otis Rush “Homework”, Little Jessie “Teacher Gimme Back”, Piano Red “Get Up Mare”, Nathaniel Mayer “I Had A Dream”…it’s all good! The kind of stuff that sounds great as hickory chunks are smoking and things are starting to sizzle.

You Am I have played many festivals over the years, which festival has the best backstage catering and why?

I rarely get to the catering, a curried egg sandwich and a bottle of Sancerre will usually get me through even the most rigorous set but I have to say the tucker at Splendour this year was tremendous.

What’s the most outrageous food you’ve ever asked for on a rider?

Cigarrettes

What has been your biggest cooking disaster to date? 

I’m quite a keen cook but my early experiments when I first moved away from home weren’t always successful. Let’s just say deep frying and steak do NOT go together.

You’re having a dinner party and you can invite any musician dead or alive who would you invite and why?

It’s Tim Roger’s birthday in 2011, we are at Al Di La in Brooklyn (such a brilliant place to eat) with loved ones and friends. Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson walk in and get a place a few tables away from us. That’s my favourite dinner party either real or imagined.

Where is your favourite music venue to eat at locally and internationally and why?

Any gig that has some kick arse taco truck in the beer garden (hello Union Pool) or some killer local food like this gig in Zagreb I played with Treatment where some awesome mook was frying a local spicy sausage on some charcoal, killer!!  Locally it’s hard to go past a gig like Justin Townes Earle at Gardels. Wonderful food and music in a great space. Though a hot dog and Spencer P Jones at the Midnight Special is pretty damn special too.

As you’ve already have Brew Am I the beer, if you could create a flavor of potato chips what would it be and what would you call them?

For me something very simple, nice malt vinegar and Maldon sea salt and the chips would be called “Pith & Vinegar”.

If you were to cook brunch for the rest of the members of You Am I, what would you cook them?

Brunch hmmm…..OK….we’re having Jamaican style Curry Goat, Deep Fried Plantains, Kale and Beetroot Greens, Roti and lots of fluffy rice. We would drink Red Stripe and listen to some rocksteady records. It would be the start of a long, fun day.

You Am I Tour Dates:

Sunday November 3rd – Prince of Wales, St Kilda (18+only)

with Bittersweet Kicks & Drunk Mums

 &

Monday November 4th (Cup Eve) – Prince of Wales, St Kilda (18+only)

with Bittersweet Kicks & Drunk Mums

Limited tickets are left at: www.princebandroom.com.au

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