Business & Tech
Lydia Lunch on Food, Fashion and Punk Rock T-Shirts
The poet and performer speaks with Silver Lake vintage expert Cesar Padilla, whose punk T-shirt collection is being exhibited at FIDM.
Lyndia Lunch knows a thing about punk rock T-shirts. She wrote the introduction to Ripped: T-shirts from the Underground, Cesar Padilla's book about his iconic collection that is now being mounted as a show at FIDM starting Thursday.
Lunch also knows a thing or two about food. She's authored a cookbook, The Need to Feed, published this year by Universe Books.
Lunch and Padilla have known each other for decades, and shared a meal or two over that time. They sat down together again for this interview:
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Cesar Padilla: As someone who has sat and dined at your table, I can honestly say you are an amazing cook! Where did you learn?
Lydia Lunch: Self taught in all the creative endeavors I express myself through. Cooking is sexy. Big knives, fire, cast iron frying pans, sticking my fingers in a gooey, bloody, sticky sweet mess that will go into your mouth, slide down your belly, and impregnate every cell of your being...who wouldn't want to engage in such good and dirty fun?
Cesar Padilla: It seems quite intuitive for you. Do you read recipes or just go by gut?
Lydia Lunch: I read recipes, rip them up and go by what the gut tells me.
Cesar Padilla: What is your favorite meal and where?
Lydia Lunch: Sister Alberta's New Orleans 1991. You were there...A charming little shack in the outback. Porch chops, collard greens, mac and cheese. Best Jukebox in the South. Picnic table covered in plastic served 10 or less guests. Had to sing for your supper. Hosted by septuagenarians Sister Alberta and Johnny, members of the Baptist choir. Velvet paintings of Martin Luther King and JFK. Magic. Pure magic.
Cesar Padilla: You've been living in Barcelona now for some years. What is your favorite dish there?
Lydia Lunch: Grilled pulpitos. Grilled baby octopus. Tiny little bundles of crunchy arms. Lots of garlic and olive oil. A sprinkle of fresh parsley. Delish.
Cesar Padilla: Is there somewhere in L.A. that you have to hit when you visit?
Lydia Lunch: Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles for the chicken livers. A delightfully over the top gastronomical perversity. Dig it.
Cesar Padilla: Food is clearly an aphrodisiac. What is your favorite course?
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Lydia Lunch: The one served in bed and shared with an insatiable lover who loves to eat. Pork butt or sausage pulled pork...with Slap Me On The Ass and Call me Sally hot sauce on the side.
Cesar Padilla: And the question we have all been dying to ask, what's your favorite cut of meat?
Lydia Lunch: The one I butcher myself.
Lydia Lunch performs Thursday, Nov. 8 at the opening for the exhibit RIPPED: Expressions from the Underground. Live bands and readings start at 6 p.m. in Grand Hope Park outside the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising at 919 S. Grand Ave. Luxuria Radio DJ Howie Pyro is MC.
RIPPED: Expressions from the Underground will be the first comprehensive museum exhibit to explore the art and influence of punk rock on design and culture. The exhibition will run until December 22, 2012 at FIDM.
