Musician Nick Reid believes that every wooden spoon tells a story

Written By Claire Lefebvre

It’s no big surprise that a kitchen utensil that looks pretty similar to a drum stick would be Nick Reid’s favourite. It is, however, pretty interesting that he derives just as much pleasure from ‘reading the history’ of the humble wooden spoon, as he does plunging it into an intuitively created ultra-spicy curry that happens to be hotter than the deepest depths of hell.

 
 

Musician Nick Reid hasn’t been calling himself an artist for very long, despite being the drummer for the delightful Australian indie-rock outfit Cousin Tony’s Brand New Firebird for over 5 years. It wasn’t until starting his solo project Kitsch Kitchen and diving deep into it (thanks to the pandemic cancelling his band’s US South X SouthWest tour in 2020) that he began to really lean in. 

Throughout our chat, we learned that Nick’s creative practice and his relationship to food mirror each other beautifully. A big love of his is experimenting with curries and spices - simply putting on music and intuitively allowing the ingredients to guide him. He loves the idea of play and having freedom to explore in the kitchen with no expectations - and this has seeped into his music writing. When thinking about the ‘Starving Artist’ archetype, he zooms out and considers how a broader approach to how society is managed could be a profound option in supporting people to pursue more creative lives. Personally, he references his friend Jack’s song “Crumb Kitchen” - a song about being down to the crumbs in your kitchen and needing to make something out of it. Nick finds this approach is an extension of his practice, finding that giving himself parameters can often heighten his creativity.

 

A QUICK WHIP AROUND THE INGREDIENTS THAT MAKE UP NICK

  • PRONOUNS: He / Him

  • HOMETOWN: Naarm / Melbourne

  • JOB DESCRIPTION: Drummer & Producer; Teacher

Nick’s intuitive and experimental approach to food doesn’t always hit the mark though, and although travel and food have been incredibly formative for him, he’s had his fair share of hits and misses. After living in Vietnam at age 18 and then travelling extensively throughout Asia and Europe he’s mostly managed to avoid playing and losing at what we at What Artists Eat fondly call “Bowel Roulette”.

Throughout our heartfelt chat we cycle through Nick’s experiences of becoming vegetarian in his late teens, and early memories of stalking stalls at the Royal Melbourne Show searching for the hottest chilli he could find. It then comes as no surprise when Nick outs himself as a spice-bomb maniac, who loves a chilli pot so spicy that it’s considered a biohazard. The theme continues as he recalls the time he did in fact commit an act of accidental bioterrorism at his parents house, with a word of caution to all listeners: never, ever, under any circumstances burn chilli in a closed environment.

"I think that play is really important and I think we lose that a bit (the older we get in our adult lives) and I like trying to reclaim a bit of that sense of play and wonder and a bit of silliness as well and seeing where that takes you - whether that's in the kitchen or in the studio"

In terms of food personalities, Nick’s a huge fan of Shannon Martinez and Hetty McKinnon, and art-wise, has fallen in love with the work of Melbourne artist Bec Smith. He and his ‘Cousin Tony’s’ bandmates have developed an appreciation for big nasty coffees from service stations whilst on tour and even have a special name for them (language warning for that one). 

Living with his partner (composer and pianist Peter Corrigan) through numerous lockdowns in Naarm / Melbourne throughout the pandemic, Nick found cooking to be his outlet. Listen out for his explanation of why he doesn’t want to “yuck your yum” and what legendary celebrity he’d love to have over for a dinner party. If you’re lucky enough to be invited to Nick’s table, you might end up with a bowl of Lover’s Curry. He shares with us this hand-drawn and hand-written recipe, “It’s warm, cosy, comforting”, which sums up his attitude to food, and also sums up him as a person. Join us as we find out what Nick Reid eats.

 

WHAT NICK REID EATS

LOVERS CURRY

HERE’S NICK’S HAND DRAWN RECIPE - CHECK OUT THE CAUTION: HOT! AND YUM SMELLS!

photo by claire lefebvre

 
 
 

LINKS & MENTIONS

LINKS TO ARTIST INFORMATION, RESOURCES AND ANYTHING ELSE WE CHATTED ABOUT

 

HERE’S NICK’S ALBUM TECHNICOLOUR (album artwork by Claire Lefebvre)

 

INFORMATION AND TAKEAWAYS FROM OUR CHAT

  1. KITSCH KITCHEN TECHNICOLOUR EP NOW AVAILABLE https://kitschkitchen.bandcamp.com/

  2. TRAVELLING AND EATING AS A VEGETARIAN IN ASIA AND SOUTH EAST ASIA IS EASIER THAN YOU THINK

  3. ABBA STANDS FOR Agnetha, Björn, Benny, Anni-Frid

  4. DO NOT BURN CHILLI IN A CLOSED ENVIRONMENT, ESPECIALLY WITH AIR CONDITIONING OR DUCTED HEATING ON

  5. SOMETIME’S WHEN YOU’RE ON TOUR, ALL YOU’LL EAT IS FOOD THAT IS YELLOW, AND THAT’S OK

 

WE’RE A BIT TIRED AND DON’T HAVE A TRANSCRIPT OF THIS INTERVIEW FOR YOU YET. WE’RE WORKING ON IT, SO PLEASE CHECK BACK HERE SOON.

 
 
Claire Lefebvre
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