Hello cherished friends and esteemed co-conspirators,
The 2021 Harvest at FEL is over as of this past Wednesday and I’m now officially unemployed. Hooray! What a whirlwind of emotions, learning, and experiences this job has been. Working with the seasons, in a new place, out of the city, and away from myself in many ways has been a very valuable experience albeit challenging, exhausting, and sometimes lonely.
Deep Harvest was 70+ hour weeks of manual labor, early wake up calls, boozy lunches, and emotional strain. We were short an intern for over a month and took on a major uptick in work. I visited Kentucky for my sisters’ wedding, fell in and lost love, and had my first foray into winemaking during all this.
This issue feels more like postcard than anything else. Just wanted to touch base, share a bunch of photos, say hi etc. I miss Los Angeles and Los Angeles friends dearly. Lots has changed, lots has been learned, and lots to be changed and learned. I’ll be spending the rest of the year house/cat sitting in Oakland and we’ll see what unfolds after.
During Harvest I made a Piquette in my kitchen. A piquette is a kind of half-wine spritzer made from basically what is garbage in the winery. I take the grape skins, seeds, and stems after a pressing, add water and sugar, and let it ferment until a little boozy and fizzy. To reflect a kind of fermented scrapbook of my summer I’m using Trousseau grape skins from FEL, and a lot of fresh apple juice from the Philo Apple Farm as the fermentation catalyst.
I’m actually pretty happy with the results! The piquette is a beautiful and evil looking experiment. The color is nice, flavor is light but obviously derived from grapes and apples. The ABV clocked in at a little over 5%! I made about 24 bottles and you might be able to cop one when I visit L.A.
Let me gush and gab about music real quick
I miss the magic of music- It’s transformative ecstasy, energizing myth, humbling reality, collective power, and endless mystery.
My friend Matt Robidoux is one of the most interesting musicians I know. He recently released at dust, a colorful, freewheeling, and intricate album of peculiar songs and themes. Matt’s music is often a well built structure with a lot of open, accessible space made for anyone to participate, both as listener or performer. I’m happy to have contributed some bassoon and cornet on the song “dinghy.”
I made two recordings with friends outside of Joshua Tree for High Desert Soundings in the fall of 2020. One is a duo with artist and musician Mike Meanstreetz, and another as a freaky quartet with guitarist Matt Robidoux, drummer Kern Haug, and electronic musician Haydeé Jiménez. Videos were shot by Yoni Shrira and sound was mastered by Nathan Corder. In the midst of a long spell without performance, this was such a privilege to see some music friends and make some gnarly sounds in such a beautiful place. See you at HDS 2021 this coming weekend
Music For Your Inbox is a subscription music and art video series headed by my friend and bandmate Cassia Streb and Jennifer Brewerse. They’ve done a really incredible job producing a year of videos featuring Los Angeles and international talent in beautiful, creative settings. Tasting Menu even did a performance in the mountains above Los Angeles for their August 2021 video in collaboration with animator JG Quintel who designed an accompanying custom print. Check out some of their previews and subscribe for some really intriguing and well produced art and music.
A few favorite listens as of late
Piano Man Breeds Love (2020) by Teeth Agency ^^ (woozy, loungy, keyboard-driven exotica instrumentals)
The Nightfly (1982) by Donald Fagan ++(supreme yacht-rock, Dad Jeans pop rockers from one half of Steely Dan)
EP (2020) by Kush Jones ++(sleek, suave, and brooding beats, moods, and vibes drawing influences from dancehall, deep house, and drum and bass)
This track^^ by John Carroll Kirby. That key change in the middle gets me every time.
So Good (2021) by Kidi Band ++ (CalArts friends making whacky folk-pop jams of satisfying vocal harmonies influenced by Ghanian percussion and polyrhythmic bliss)
The Holy Life That’s Coming (2015) by Chris Weisman (poetic, lush, beautifully private acoustic crooners from Brattleboro, VT)
In A Pause (2020) by AV Moves (spacious, serene, and emotional swathes of sound-in-color)
Stay in touch and hope to hear from you soon. Be well and stay curious.
Love,
Cody