Behind the scenes

Meet James

jen — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 08:44:51 -0400

This is James Holland. He does the lion's share of the camera work and editing for Cooking with Rockstars, but his contribution to the show far exceeds these tasks.

It was James' brilliant idea to shoot the show in a limo to solve the problem of having enough light/time/quiet to do a video shoot near rock clubs at sound check time. In addition to the practical advantages, the limo has been a lot of fun for us and for the bands.

Geeking out with YACHT

jen — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:01:34 -0400

One of my favorite things about interviewing YACHT was that Jona Bechtolt was the first of my rockstar guests to be impressed by my Geek Cred. When I introduced my camera person (and one of my personal music gurus), Maura Johnston, as my “Web 1.0” friend, Jona responded “What, did you meet on a Web Ring?!”

Cooking Up a Storm!

jen — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 07:53:45 -0400

As you may know, I have been working for years to get a band into the kitchen to do some real cooking. The reality has been that I've only had access to touring bands between their sound check and set, which means I've been doing a lot of talking about cooking with rockstars.

I'm very excited to announce that my dry spell has ended, and now it seems that everybody wants to do some cookin'! I've already cooked with Nada Surf and Dresden Dolls and have several more (top secret) cooking episodes in the works.

You will have a crush on Annie Clark

jen — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 14:12:37 -0400

I first saw St. Vincent (her "secret" name is Annie Clark) open for John Vanderslice in Cambridge, and like just about everyone in the place, I was captivated. Sure the pretty girl can sing pretty, but what got me was what a racket she could dish out on the guitar, and how easily she swung between the extremes of ethereal and cacophonous. I became an instant fan.

SXSW Music: Day 3 Recap

jen — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 10:38:09 -0400

Boy, it gets HOT in Texas in March. In today’s 93 degree heat, with shows to see on the far sides of downtown, I learned to love the pedicab!

Today was about quality, not quantity. Many of my friends have “bands-i’ve-seen” lists as long as their arms. Not I — mostly because I was working on interviews today — but I did thoroughly enjoy every part of the day. It went something like this:

*) Chatted with some folks from Spin Magazine and Chronicle books at the hotel, and scored a coveted invite to the SPIN party.

SXSW Music: Day 2 Recap

jen — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 19:21:29 -0400

Another rockin’ day in Austin. No interviews conducted, but I did get to chat with Daniel from Nada Surf and Khaela of The Blow to set up interviews in the future when things are less chaotic. The great news is that Daniel is actually going to do some cooking on the show. I can’t wait.

My day went something like this:

Nada Surf acoustic set and nice chat with Daniel
Lunch with my friend Alison from the Chicago band Le Concorde. Ran into Tapes ‘n Tapes at the restaurant!

SXSW Music: Day 1 Recap

jen — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 10:48:07 -0400

Hello from Austin! The music festival is in full swing here, which means I’ve already walked at least 10 miles in the name of music.

Wednesday was a great success; I saw eight bands (a pretty modest number compared to some die-hards):

These New Puritans
YACHT
The Mae Shi
WHY?
The Blow
Wedding Present
Okkervil River featuring Roky Erikson
Naked Raygun

and did three(!) interviews:

These United States‘ Jesse who is into eating well and consciously (organically and locally)
YACHT — Jona and Claire are strict vegans

I'm Headin' to Austin!

jen — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 09:44:30 -0500

It’s that time of year again when I make my pilgrimage to South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas for a week of non-stop socializing, networking, learning, walking, and of course, eating!

I’ll be arriving Saturday for the Interactive Festival, which I’ve been attending since 2000. I’m looking forward to seeing all my genious internet friends and spending time with my fellow podcasters.

Introducing.... the Jenville LIMO!

jen — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 11:22:40 -0500

This week’s interview with Brooklyn duo, Matt and Kim, is the first to take place in the stylin’ Jenville limousine. I’m very excited about this new development in the Cooking with Rockstars show, for a slew of reasons.

First of all, limos are fun! And funny. And kind of rockstar. So it’s a good fit.

Tapes 'n Tapes

jen — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 11:38:35 -0500

I just posted a groovy little interview with one of my favorite indie bands, Tapes ‘n Tapes. They were on tour last spring in a kickin’ tour bus (a rare and special thing for bands of their ilk), and were kind enough to invite me and my camera person, Ellie Lee in for an interview.