To Summit Newberry Road: Dinner with Thou

Thou are warriors of the road; when they tour, they tour hard.  Instead of taking a night off when faced with a 10 plus hour drive (from Salem to the Bay Area, for example), they forge on toward the next venue, leaving a show and driving through the dead of night.  Though tired from travel, they manage to put on highly energetic shows night after night.  I was lucky enough to catch one of these shows this past week, witnessing an electric set played to an excited crowd at the Backspace in Portland.

An inherent part of being a warrior is suffering blows.  While in Portland, a mirror on their van was broken off.  Between the time it took to repair the damage and the need to get to Salem for their show, I thought that our lunchtime engagement at the Wealth Underground Farm had fallen into jeopardy and that they would necessarily cancel.  But Thou took the incident in stride and two from the five piece, Bryan (vocals) and Andy (guitar), along with their friend, Eleanor, rallied, making the trip out to participate in the Farm to Artist project.

They arrived after dark and so the tour was brief; I pointed out the garden, which was shrouded in darkness, as we made our way indoors.  We settled in to the warmth of the living room and, without any pomp and circumstance, served ourselves food and sat down to eat.  Though the meals are primarily vegetarian and very much vegetable heavy, showcasing the variety of produce we grow at the farm, this particular meal was vegan as per request from the band.  For the meal I made a rutabaga coconut curry, roasted brussel sprouts and garbanzo beans, and rice.

The conversation was quick and to the point as Andy and Bryan needed to get to Salem for their show.  We talked about the wear and tear from their recent stints of touring, food politics and veganism as it relates to their music, and the unknown future of Thou.  Though somewhat dazed from a constant barrage of shows and and long drives, dinner was quite pleasant and Andy, Bryan, and Eleanor were gracious guests.

Thanks to Thou for participating in the Farm to Artist project against all odds.  To here more from Thou, check out their website.