Music and Booze With Mo

Cristina Allen is the cofounder of Volans Tequila and it's no lie to say that she rocks! Born and raised in Mexico, she brought her love of tequila to the US when she arrived to study sound engineering. She spent 5 years in LA working the boards at such legendary venues as the Roxy and the Troubador, and moved with her husband Chad to Boise where she took the reigns at the Knitting Factory. The pandemic caused her to shift gears and soon she & Chad were devoted to their other love - tequila! They now produce additive free and small batch tequilas, and yes, she still loves heavy metal and classic rock. Check out her playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4FfZ1mddfF8OvtiWby3jXa?si=0tLY2eSSSmmVorkI7mSTzw

Ryan Abrams takes us on a little tour of the bar scene in Birmingham, Alabama, where he is a part owner as well as beverage director of the classy cocktail spot, Paper Doll. He found himself becoming charmed by hospitality and the concert scene in his hometown, and those loves led him to becoming more involved in his community. If you come to his bar on the right night, you might find yourself helping to create the playlist. Check out the playlist he shared with us here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3nEAJdsMHp65UEoUwwCz2K?si=RByilcMBR5STSZZysW-2mw

Dave Wondrich is an acclaimed spirits writer and historian - Imbibe is a cocktail classic about mixology in the US - but his journalism career actually kicked off with music. As a bassist, he played in NYC's rock clubs and cabarets at the height of the city's edgiest musical era (late 70s early 80s) before heading to LA to try and get signed with his band, A Blind Dog Stares. That didn't happen, but he did educate his bandmates about scotch along the way. Listen to his tour stories, his path to becoming a leading authority on the bar scene then and now, and some of his music! Also check out his native New Yorker playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2o5uU83DMYzNzGbUWAPGuk?si=XAJzpIP6SoyR8WPpuXepuw

Allegory in Washington D.C. has received accolades from many of the world's most prestigious organizations, and beverage and creative director Deke Dunne is just part of the reason why. We chat about this bar based on a mural featuring civil rights activist Ruby Bridges, the vibrant D.C. bar scene, and the push to make hotel bars respectable again.  Deke also gives some tips on how to sing in that Cookie Monster voice without destroying your throat, as he was a vocalist for a bunch of bands over the years (playing bass on an instrument he permanently borrowed didn't quite work out). Check out Deke's playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4tn3SzVn10MHzWAhA7CstN?si=4NjnShpPQ5W0FN3_KBPDGw

Michael Aredes, currently at NYC's award winning spot Superbueno, has long worked and championed both bar and audio culture. He has presented a seminar on the link between the two and formerly poured cocktails at James Murphy's (LCD Soundsystem) bar Nightmoves. This former Punch Bartender in Residence came from a very musical family: Michael played many instruments and sang. Now he channels that passion into amazing playlists for his queer Latino pop up, Noche Traviesa, which travels around the country. Check out one of those playlists here:  https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4nVBo0ZgROpByAp0UTYWNZ?si=8f52f3940ff04c4a

Derrick Jones drums in a couple of bands when he's not crafting wild garnishes for the immersive tropical Seattle spot Inside Passage, which lives tucked away inside legendary bar Rumba. Following in his father's footsteps, the Hawaiian native was banging on pots and pans before learning to play drums in all sorts of genres, and currently can be seen on various Seattle club and festival stages. When he isn't there, he's setting up shop not only at Inside Passage, but Rumba and Life on Mars too. He talks about the intense link between music and booze in Seattle on this episode, and picks some tunes for you to listen to as well: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4a8OoHgwX2LlCdFCHTvQ60?si=f2fde51527ec408a

Austin Forshee was a booze slinger in Kalamazoo and then found himself in Grand Rapids, Michigan as part of the opening crew of the celebrated tiki palace, Max's South Seas Hideaway. He went from muddled old fashioneds to training with the legendary Martin Cate, and now balances out all of that exotica with metal (which actually isn't all that uncommon). From banging on the drums to learning all the r(h)ums, Austin tells us how he learned to tiki and also get his Tommy Lee on. Check out his playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3NuKV8Vo8Y7wFP1KVjmj45?si=cc288188edb94e8b

Kat Bailey, one of the general managers of the Tonga Hut (LA's oldest tiki bar), started mixing tropical drinks there in 2018 after years of slinging martinis alongside wanna be actors and crafting menus for karaoke bars. A lifelong Angeleno, Kat was going to the Tonga Hut years before she actually worked there, and was a huge fan of LA's 90s alt rock scene too, as her devotion to locals the Red Hot Chili Peppers demonstrates. Check out her Tonga mix here, because it truly had a bit of everything: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3yq2g5ZhdBgoWH8GsrMUbb?si=33be0f940e04448b

Nick Elam was deep into the world of tiki long before he was even old enough to drink - carving, painting, and even designing bar menus waiting for the day he could get behind the stick himself. He also learned to play several instruments, even becoming a pretty good surf guitarist on the way. Now he can be found at Huli Huli Tiki Lounge in Powell, Ohio, brainstorming new drink ideas with his bar team and educating his patrons on the wide category of rum. He made us a pretty surftastic (and more!) playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1uYMjOZqJ2a8TkPD4BudYc?si=5ff51443db254fcf

Maria Cabrero actually started bartending as a little girl... for her family! Now she is a co-owner of Cocomama Tiki Room in Cozumel, Mexico, one of several spots she currently or previously owned, including a beach front music venue. Coming from a house full of hosts and entertainers, you could say that bartending is in her blood, as was managing bands. She trained in Italy and brought that style of service back to Mexico, while immersing herself in classic tiki cocktail books so she could offer tropical drinks in her tropical paradise. Check out her Top 10(ish) playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/41S9I1sNeQvPt08cDRW1Lm?si=6726814066ae4898

Michael Stelzner made the pandemic move to Cincinnati and started working at Tiki Tiki Bang Bang. Now he owns the place! A Bay Area kid born with a love of tiki culture and music, he worshipped the Beatles just as much as My Chemical Romance and his parents took him to legendary SF tiki bars as soon as he was legal. He did a stint at Omaha's Laka Lono Rum Club as well as a spot in Lincoln considered for a James Beard award, which made him put aside playing in pop punk bands for a bit. He discusses bringing tiki back to Cincinnati,  DJing emo nights, LGBTiki, and more on this episode. Check out his playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4X9NuxAxDZ20ENEHJEBNsB?si=47a19a37578749a5

Nikki Schultz of Los Angeles' Thunderbolt has found synergy in making music, crafting cocktails,  and activism, which all have taught her lessons in how to give herself and others emotional space. (A revelatory stint in the funeral arrangement industry brought similar wisdom.) From her start in Minneapolis dive bars and music venues to a period creating drinks in a changing Seattle, she found herself arriving in LA to not only see what it could offer her, but what she could offer it. Turns out becoming part of an award winning bar team was just the beginning. Check out her playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3gokXIdRcj6SKdfQqhLfeR?si=5cb8772588634c3e

LyAnna Sanabria is the beverage director and co-founder of the first Puerto Rican bar & restaurant in Maine: Portland's Papi. We chat about the challenge of educating people about her culture and the ingredients that come with it, playing Nick Drake in a dive bar, and how her love of Chris Cornell touches a lot of what she does. Check out the music you'd here if you went for a ride with her on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6nnEVeQMowEGDFQszeCZn3?si=a2b0f2c0356a4d01

Thomas Moore IV started out chasing $1 tips at the Superdome, and now leads the drink program at the Elysian Bar in New Orleans. Part of the Turning Tables program (which gives opportunities to black and brown bartenders), he graduated from churning out beers to becoming a mentor as well as a competitive (and winning!) bartender. He also makes his own personal soundtracks which inspire his cocktail creations - the latter of which have won notice from Tales of the Cocktail for the Elysian Bar. Check out his Bartender's Menu Mix here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/498TMPLVScvHxebPR4qUBR?si=3675a845158f4784

Claire Swenson was a regular at iconic Minneapolis dive bar and music venue Palmers and eventually wound up on the other side, serving drinks to patrons who considered her "the new guy" for several years. Claire does online radio shows (sometimes from Palmers), plays the rubber chicken in a band, and dishes on proper dive bar etiquette (on both sides of the bar) while also teaching us about the weirder side of music. Check out her special l'il music mix for us here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/56mFLfMnJVKOBWehbEPPc7?si=9b4674a87f7d49cd

Millita Gonzalez grew up in a family of music bookers & club owners, so of course she started bartending at her dad's Latin dance club as soon as she could! (Her tales of conquering high volume crowds with only a blender are amazing.) She worked her way through Nashville and NOLA, catching the fine dining bug along the way and happily mastered craft cocktails. She currently leads the program at Asheville's Little Jumbo Bar,  making playlists on the side... like this one that will keep you dancing: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2UWhpreySy1l9EAj1z73CX?si=8fd3ca9581b54cce

Adri Ramos is the bar manager at LA's Employee's Only and the founder of FLAG LA, a female led apprenticeship group to empower other women in the LA bar industry. She's a fan of moody vibes and great cocktails, and wanted to bartend so badly when she was young that she took classes before she was 21 just so she could get some practice! Her natural skills landed her in some of LA's most creative spaces and her love of music may have influenced some of her cocktail creations too. Check out her 13 hour (!) playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0UNGw8Pco1bW2mbzQoKZm0?si=1228206dd17f4b3f

Sebastian de la Cruz of Bangkok's Tropic City loves to create a vibe with both his cocktails and his playlists, as being a DJ has been as much a part of his life as bartending has. From his humble beginnings as a barback in Stockholm (his mom got him the job!) to being inspired by the NYC craft scene and then finding himself an expat in Thailand opening a bar in a burgeoning creative district of Bangkok, Sebastian has experienced a lot within the hospitality scene, becoming quite a musical mood maker along the way. Check out this sexy grooves playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7CWpCW9tvC7sAXcXK10dEu?si=3bd6fdb132b54a1e

Ash Murray, head bartender and main playlist maker at Meteor in Minneapolis, talks their journey through the world of coffee into the world of spirits by jumping from one top tier destination to another, finally landing in a music lover's bar owned by musicians. Not one to shy away from a challenge, they applied those mood making skills to curating tunes for the bar and helped create a cozy community along the way. Check out their playlist (don't shuffle it!) here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3xU8S5sRUSjLMttA4Uxd8T?si=b28d574e874e42bf

We're catching up with a previous guest, Nick Sinutko! He is currently a self proclaimed "mocktologist" (said very tongue in cheek) as he is leading the charge of n/a cocktails at Leucadia's Atelier Manna, and will soon also be creating drinks for skater Tony Hawk's latest enterprise, Chick and Hawk. Formerly the beverage director of San Diego's legendary Campfire, Nick is now crafting in a farm to glass style while still playing keyboards and finishing up a new album with his band Drug Hunt. (pic by Laura Arango)  His Vol. 2 playlist is here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2Q0M1hrNFeqjNyEeeBvS0J?si=59f021601e5d4be0