CHRISTIAN HAYES
FOOD.
"I can't quite summon up memories that are so tangible the way my food memories were growing up. I can remember little snapshots of baseball games and childhood events - but the food - the food I can actually still smell, see, feel. It's nuts. I can remember waking up to the smell of my great grandmother's fried dough early in the morning, opening the mason jar of her strawberry rhubarb jam and spreading it on. I can remember the odd and sweet nuances of the jam, and how it destroyed my typical perception of what jam was, having been raised by Smuckers."
"I can recall my great grandfather's pickles, sitting in the dirty work shed amongst rusty, ancient tools, the strange pale green liquid with strange things floating. I remember the sharp, intense flavors"
"I remember the first time my father brought home some tuna - but it was smoked tuna. I had never experienced, let alone heard of, a food that was flavored by literal smoke. My mind was blown and my little tongue was hooked. I fell in love with it."
"My father was a commercial fisherman in Maine, so I grew up around that lifestyle. Despite the way his long black socks, after returning home from work, would stink up the entire first floor of our home with a flood of fumes reminiscent of a pile of bait, I still enjoyed seafood. I was the kid who would crank open a tin of kipper snacks and house it with some Saltines. I loved it."
"My relationship with food and cooking started at a young age - out of necessity, in a way. Throughout a few key periods of my life I was handed the responsibility to cook at home. One such period saw my single-mother sick with stage four cancer, and fighting through chemotherapy - which of course put us kids in the position to figure out a few things for self sustainability. Pastas were usually our go to."
"When my mother returned to the work force after recovering from cancer, we would again find ourselves preparing meals. Roasting chicken, cooking ravioli, making dinners on the fly - these things were learned as a 13 year old boy, and I loved it."
"Later, of course, came the turn and burn sports bars, the long doubles slinging pastas, seafoods, and meats at the neighborhood steak house, the tempura covered nights slinging dim-sum boards after running lunch all day. The blue collar aspect appealed to me, and a love of the industry blossomed."
"In 2009 my wife and I launched Dandelion Catering and never looked back."
MUSIC.
"Hayes began writing and recording material in 1996, and after years of shows released his solo debut, 'Silenced Awkward', on his own Northern Euphonix label. Subsequent touring throughout the northeast playing the college and small venue circuit followed, and Hayes would eventually evolve from his solo acoustic acts into a full band.
Hayes launched Sidecar Radio, his three-piece rock band in 2003, and over the next decade the outfit released 4 studio records and toured heavily throughout the northeast, finding themselves eventually playing the largest venues in the region, supported by commercial airplay and a rabid word of mouth following.
Their explosive live show, iron-clad work ethic and unique sound brought them enormous success for a small independent band, but alas - they played their final show in 2012.
Sidecar has reunited for hometown shows twice since their finale.
