Gut Reaction: MMJ’s Patrick Hallahan

[NoVa_NoLa]

http://villevoiceeats.com/2008/11/26/gut-reaction-mmjs-patrick-hallahan/

Happy Thanksgiving! Here's another Gut Reaction with local writer Cindy Lamb, who wanted to know about the dining habits of Patrick Hallahan, the Louisville-born drummer for My Morning Jacket.  Here's what she discovered:  

Thoughts of home and all the trimmings while on tour can be bittersweet for the emotional appetite. What this one Louisville boy has to say about sharing and preparing meals at home and on the road is well, food for thought.

Thunderous drumming — be it ancient, state of the art or summoning John Bonham from the afterlife, Patrick Hallahan supplies the tribal, life-affirming heart for My Morning Jacket's mesmerizing works of sound.

Front man Jim James scales a rock solid wall pounded out by Hallahan with the psychedelic grace of a shape shifter. The two are in sync as band mates as well as old friends and the connection is nothing less than magic.

With their current album, Evil Urges, carving a niche through the rock and alternative charts, My Morning Jacket still escapes category. To define the group's body of music as one style is as futile as chasing spilled mercury across a classroom floor. (If you're old enough to remember science labs back in the day, teachers letting students play with cups of quicksilver...but don't get me started.) So, just trust me, or anyone who is a fan of  Neil Young, Led Zeppelin, Slint or even Prince, that My Morning Jacket is hard to pin down. And why bother? You could be listening.

Patrick is a dyed-in-the-wool Louisville and family man. Clan Hallahan are tight-knit, supportive and can take up some space at a local MMJ performance. Putting some substantial ripples in the gene pool are Patrick's young cousins, Jackson and Corey, both exhibiting natural talent at drums and guitar, respectfully and are avid participants at Louisville School of Rock.

Jackson's instructor Neil Lucas at Willis School of Music has a lot to say about the student he's had for three years, starting when he turned ten.

"From what I've seen, is a hard hitter with tons of finesse which means he's more than likely put in years of practice and pays attention to detail."

Sounds familiar.

Taking visual stock of MMJ on the live stage, one can barely make out human figures and instruments as they are lost in swirling fog and bathed in a surreal light.  The rise and fall of guitars and hair occasionally break through the high tech nova. Outside of live concert photography, a recent studio session revealed a royal western style Dutch Masters sensibility. Not to mention that everyone is standing still.

Once out from behind the drums, Patrick Hallahan is revealed to be a tree of a man. He looks like he sounds – powerful, thick and esoteric.

With enough follicle glory to boost personal stock in Roto Rooter, Patrick falls into the rhythm of the song as wall of drumming hair windmills and hammering arms, with each memorable concert.

Many fans and bloggers from outside Louisville have a hard time hearing of how local folks used to catch Jim strumming solo at the Rudyard Kipling or remembering the kind barista, Patrick, who used to tap out time for a flawless cappuccino with his toe at Heine Bros in the Highlands.

The roar of those concerts is just an echo as of this moment. Misjudging a step into darkness, then plunging from the stage in Iowa earlier this fall, Jim James received traumatic injuries to his torso.  The unfortunate event pulled muscles as well as the plug on the remaining tour. A short while later the European tour was put on hold. Recovery is imminent but slow and nothing to take on the road. However, this won't keep the band from honoring the Chicago shows in December as well as New Year's Eve in Madison Square Garden.

Get ready to savor our guest's response to questions about Louisville cuisine, Kentucky favorites that graced his childhood table and now miss or share while on the road, in the sky and far from a home-cooked meal.

With Seattle in their rear-view mirror, MMJ was on its way to the ill-fated Iowa City concert where Jim was injured when Patrick took on the task of completing the Gut Reaction interview.

Cindy Lamb: What are you eating, if anything, right now? Are you a good cook?

Patrick Hallahan: I'm really not eating anything at the moment, just drinking some raw Kombucha.  I wish I was eating my dad's pulled pork bbq.... it's the best thing in the world.  Am I a good cook?  Hmmm, some would debate both sides of that question.

CL: What restaurants in the Louisville area do you miss?

PH: If I don't get a Jack Fry's pork chop or a Kern's Korner cheeseburger soon, I'm sure to implode.

CL: What is your favorite dish prepared by Your Mom?:

PH:  MAC AND CHEESE!!!  I'm pretty sure the woman invented the dish.  God, I need to get home.

CL: at Catholic Summer Carnivals?

PH: Fried fish sandwich or bratwurst.  Catholic summer carnivals = nuns, cold beer, and beat the dealer, and fish sandwiches/bratwursts balance things out.

CL: Favorite by your significant other?

PH: My wife, Brigid, makes a bourbon/mango chutney salmon dish that will send you upstream. A dash of love is always the best ingredient in any dish, and she heaps it on.

CL: Please shed some light on "Peanut Butter Pudding Surprise". I've come across several slang definitions of all or some of that phrase and would like your personal take.

PH: I want nothing to do with any "Peanut Butter Pudding Surprise."  I have a feeling it's something smeared, and I want no part of it.  That one is all you...

CL: What brand of peanut butter do you prefer?

PH: I know there are a lot of delicious peanut butters out there (and you know who you are), but Kroger's Natural Peanut Butter makes me really happy.  Maybe nostalgia has a stake in this...

CL: What Kentucky grub would you most enjoy sharing abroad or in other states?

PH: I always love sharing BBQ recipes with people abroad (Texas, the Carolinas, Korea, and Australia...all known for good BBQ).  But one thing that isn't necessarily Kentucky-based, but something I like to share, is the colossal southern breakfast.  This high-calorie sucker punch baffles people everywhere, but once it's explained that the meal's origin is that of energy supplement for long days of farm work, they drop their guard and pick up their fork.

CL: What food will never pass your lips and why?

PH: I'll try everything once.  WELL, maybe not lamb fries, or that body part on any other animal.

CL: What do you have stashed in the fridge of the tour bus? What will you not share?

PH: I have this Chinese chili pepper sauce that I can't live without right now.  It goes on everything.  And I'll share my food with anyone!  Food is a communal thing for me.  You want a bite?

CL: What music (or anything aural) goes best while dining for breakfast?

PH: Old Country, Sam Cooke

CL: Lunch?

PH: Digital Underground, Afro-beat, Fugazi, Talking Heads

CL: Dinner?

PH: Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald

CL: What is your ultimate morning meal?

PH: I can't bring myself to eat this on a daily basis, but my first instinct is to make/order;  2 Eggs (Scrambled), 4 Strips of bacon, 2 Biscuits w/sausage gravy, Orange Juice, Water.  And a life insurance policy.

CL: What did you last cook over an open fire?

PH: Pork tenderloin and grilled vegetables in a grill wok.

CL: Take your pick of the two, or add your own food item:

Baloney or Corndog: Corn dog
Moon Pies or Derby Pie: Derby Pie, are you kidding???
Big Red or Ale 8: Man, depends on the day.  Big Red for now
Bourbon or Beer: Bourbon...quality over quantity.
White Castle or Dizzy Whiz: White Castle (to go along with the Big Red).
Pinto or Navy: Pinto
Biscuits or Grits: Biscuits
Coffee or Tea: Tea


:)

[easy way]

I'm hungry...

[st. john]

no wonder they get miserable in england, they're starving.

[Grateful Chabo]

i'd go with the corndog over the baloney too

[The DARK]

Biscuits over grits...hmmmm  :(

[ChiefOKONO]

excellent, thank you!!!

[tomEisenbraun]

Biscuits over grits...hmmmm  :(

I'm pretty sure those biscuits are topped with heaps and heaps of sausage gravy, though.

I like this man's thinking.

I also like to imagine the entire band totally losing their shit the day Jim introduced "peanut butter pudding surprise" to them. I would pay to have that reaction on camera.

[ms. yvon]

patrick was a barista?  who knew?

i appreciate a well pulled espresso shot.