In the early to mid nineties I was co-owner of a catering operation called Eat This Catering. For three years, I catered every concert at most venues in the Seattle area including all at the performances at the Gorge Amphitheater in Gorge Washington. Every band would fax us dressing room requirements on what is called a rider. The following are my top ten requests as well as verbal requests on the day of the show.
10. An Irish female vocalist that tore up a picture of the Pope specifically stated if she saw, tasted or smelled a piece of broccoli she would pack up the band and cancel the show.
9. A lameass LA glam-band (the lead singer now has dating reality cable show) had these requirements:
- 48 cans of bud
- 24 bottles of Heineken
- 2 cartons of Marlboro reds
- 4 lighters
- 1 Jar Adam’s peanut butter-
-12 pack of Trojan condoms
- 6 pairs of large Fruit of The Loom whitey tighties
I still wonder what the peanut butter was for.
8. A black female pop star with an entourage of 40 dancers plus her band, requested 3 full size trailers for herself: wardrobe, make-up, and personal. Meanwhile, the 40 dancers and band members had to make do with 2 trailers in the remote desert-esche setting of the Gorge Amphitheater.
7. That same pop star’s rider stated if she saw one bug, alive or dead, she would cancel the show and collect the estimated profits from the concert.
6. The same female black pop star requested that every item of food and drink had to be factory sealed along with sealed flatware, straws, and napkins. More importantly, new toilet seats had to be installed on every toilet with a sealed wrapper along with the toilet paper.
5. The Pogues (a stellar Irish/English band) had 8 band members with no food or special requirements simply two items on their rider:
-48 Large Guinness cans
- 2 bottles of Irish Whisky
I went to check on the band before the show. All 8 members were properly sitting on their chairs in a crammed dressing room. Each member had 6 cans of Guinness which they intently consumed without conversation. Next, they passed around the whiskey until it was completed. They neatly stacked all consumed products, graciously thanked me and proceeded to put on one bad ass performance.
4. A #10 can of tuna fish and a gallon of mayonnaise by a southern rock band, composed of two fueding brothers, which was used for sexual purposes in their dressing room with… or shall I say… on a bunch of groupies.
3. Dinosaur jr (one of my favorite bands):
- 1 assorted meat deli tray
- Bottle of mayo, mustard, green olives, lettuce, tomato,
- Two loaves of Wonder white bread
Seems harmless, however, the food items were not actually consumed. The Wonder bread was rolled into balls and creatively molded with the use of mayo into some sort of creature utilizing the various food items similar Jay Mascis’s (lead singer) album art. Being drunk and high at the time, I tried to save it, but a fellow drunk employee smashed it with a large saute pan during a playful argument in the wee hours of the following morning.
2. A popular east coast white hip hop/rap band’s manager desperate for marijuana offered anything for my stash. I told him I thought the band was chicken shit for not asking themselves, and it was going to take Iona Skye’s ass to get my drugs.
1. Nine Inch Nails requested many items, but these stood out:
- A large bag of unpeeled carrots
- A female mannequin accesorized with three different fitted costumes of my choosing.
You wouldn’t believe the condition and where I found that mannequin.
Notes From The Culinary Addict:
Yogism from Iyengar (Yogi Guru): “If you look at breath in the form of the respiratory system it is physical, but when the action of the breath is studied and used purposefully it becomes spiritual.”
12-step meeting quote:“It was a muslim country, but I could find booze anywhere.”
-After returning from a Parliament/Funkadelic concert Jamie stated, “It’s not so much the sex I need from women, rather constant female recognition.”
-Dinosaur Jr. new reunion album “Farm” is quite good.
I asked Greg (28) our extra special dishwasher what was his favorite part of his recent trip to Disneyland. He stated, “Jack-FUCKING-Sparrow!”
-I’m grateful when someone asks me how my day is I don’t reply, “Well, I’m almost out of here.” like others I know.
-I held Francis Bean Cobain for Kurt and Courtney Love’s nanny b/c Kurt was on stage and Courtney was nowhere to be seen while the nanny was having a moment.
-If you are a raw food chef is there a oven in the kitchen?
Search Engine Words (words that for what ever reason direct someone to this blog): lesbians plating
Present Pandora Kitchen Selection: Luna
THIS motherfucker- @culinary_addict – should write a goddamned book about his lowbrow culinary adventures: http://tinyurl.com/l7rqmk
I did worked for a rockstar caterer in atlanta from 96-98, oh, how I wished I had saved those riders. Some choice memories-
Tracy Chapman HAD to have vegan food. Then proceeded to follow it with a huge piece of coconut cake. When told it wasn’t vegan she just shrugged her shoulders.
The Aim and Flame, dog food, and medium sized depends for Ministry(taken on the bus)
Helmet, refusing to tell me they were in Helmet(at a multi band show) and instead telling me their names were crap like “jimmy page” and were in a band called “led zepplin” and maybe I’d heard of them. When I figured out who they were I informed them I was catering again for them the following month and they might want to be nice to be.
Amongst R.Kelly’s requests? A four poster bed with black satin sheets. We didn’t get into that dressing room to clean until 4am.
I got high fived by a duded thrilled to be backstage at Air Supply. I later got hugged by Air Supply.
Oh, the memories. I did see some kick ass shows though.
Fantastic post, I favorited your site so I can visit again in the near future, Thanks
Substantially, the post is really the sweetest on that precious topic. I suit in with your conclusions and also can eagerly look forward to your coming updates. Just saying thanks can not just be sufficient, for the fantastic lucidity in your writing. I definitely will at once grab your rss feed to stay abreast of any updates. Genuine work and also much success in your business efforts!
Interesting Comments This is a good blog