Anthology: Behind the Scenes

An Interview with Celino Romero

by: Casey Pukl

It’s not every day that you get to interview a super jolly classical guitarist in the middle of a soccer field, but fortunately for me, yesterday was just that day! Los Romeros, also known as The Romeros, have been dubbed the “grand masters of the guitar” for good reason. Spanning generations, this legendary family of classical guitarists is still making waves world-wide. I had the chance to catch up with Celino Romero yesterday and get the scoop on what’s on the agenda for 2012 and beyond!

CP: What have you guys all been up to lately?

CR: We just finished off 2011 with The Romeros’ first Christmas recording for Deutsche Grammophon in Germany. We had a big tour in Germany, it was a great success, and it was really great to see the family. Christmas is really big, all the kids each play a song, and it’s really big for the Romero family. Finally we have a Christmas CD out there, and it was a great success, so we’re looking forward to our first concert of the year! Since that tour, we had a little break for the holidays, and now for 2012, we’ve got a whole month in Europe planned. We’re also heading to Asia, just non-stop. It’s special because we’re kicking off 2012 with Anthology as our first concert.

CP: Excellent!

CR: We couldn’t think of a better place to be than our hometown of San Diego, well at least Lito and my hometown. My father and Pepe of course consider Spain their hometown! (Laughs)

CP: (Laughs) It’s just a little further away.

CR: Exactly, but it’s going to be a really great start. We’re really happy with what we’ve done in 2011, and we’re happy to be going into 2012. The Christmas album was so special to us, and it’s a really nice thing to have in our collection. Read the rest of this entry »

An Interview with Albert Lee

By: Casey Pukl

Albert Lee is one of the most accomplished guitarists of our time, yet also one of the least recognized. Eric Clapton called him, “The greatest guitarist in the world.” Emmylou Harris once declared Lee, “a brilliant guitar player. His sound is unmistakable—often emulated, never equalled. When Saint Peter asks me to chronicle my time down here on earth, I’ll be able to say (with pride if that’s allowed) that for a while I played rhythm guitar in a band with Albert Lee.” 

But the guitar legend remains as humble as ever. I had the chance to speak with him about his upcoming show here at Anthology tomorrow night, as well as his grueling upcoming tour schedule for 2012. This 69 year old is still hitting the road hard, and wait until you hear what’s next!

CP: What’s in store for 2012?

AL: Well, it’s more of the same, really. I work a lot in Europe with my own band, and I also work with Bill Wyman’s band in Europe. When I get back here to California, I do what I can, but this particular stint at home has been great! I’m actually home for two months this time, which is quite unusual. I’ve got a lot of gigs and sessions and all kinds of things going on, which is exactly what I wanted. I have to stay around California more. But after about a month, I’ll be going back to Europe again, and I’ll be working all over Europe with my band. I’m doing more work now than I’ve ever done.

CP: Certainly sounds like you’re keeping busy! Read the rest of this entry »

Anthology Continues to Keep It Fresh

by: Casey Pukl

Because of Executive Chef Todd Allison’s farm to table philosophy, our menu changes often.

This week, Chef Allison added a few new dishes to the menu, and I’d love to introduce you to them.

In our “small bites” category, Chef Allison has added a dish of Grilled Sausages & Mustard. This classic combo contains spicy Italian sausage, Spanish chorizo, and Allison’s housemade Sauerkraut.

In our “starters” category, we have three new noteworthy additions. The first is our Octopus Carpaccio served with shaved cucumber, radish salad, and topped with a yuzu vinaigrette. Next is an incredible dish of Sake Steamed Black Mussels cooked with ginger, mint, basil, and hearts of palm. Words cannot express how much I love this Asian inspired dish. Our third addition to the starters category is a spicy Harissa Marinated Swordfish Skewer. These skewers are topped with a balsamic glaze, and served with a traditional Sicilian relish, also known as Eggplant Caponata. The relish is made with eggplant, capers, olives, anchovies, and tomato.

We also have added two new entrees that beverage manager, Marc Canzoneri, recommends pairing with some of our latest additions to the wine cellar.

Our Pan Roasted Sea Bass is served with baby carrots, English pea quinoa, and topped with Sherry butter. Marc recommends pairing this dish with our Conundrum White Blend. Conundrum is made with five different grapes; Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscat Canelli, Viognier, and Semillon. This unique blend has elements of a buttery chardonnay, fruity notes of pineapple, peach, melon, and grapefruit, and aromas of vanilla and honeysuckle. What more could one ask for?

Lamb Chops? How about some Grilled New Zealand Lamb Chops served with sauteed fennel, fingerling potatoes, parsnip puree, and topped with a bing cherry demi-glace. Marc recommends pairing this dish with our latest Zinfandel addition— Tobin James “Ballistic” Zinfandel. This red is very fruit forward with subtle notes of cola and tobacco on the finish.

Stay tuned here for more updates, as we’ve got a ton of new wines and dishes coming your way in the next few weeks! While you’re salivating over the menu features, how about heading over to our calendar to pick out which shows you’ll come in for! We’ve also got an awesome playlist to preview some of our upcoming singer/songwriters, and as always, remember that Spotify is free!

Anthology’s Upcoming Shows

Spotify Preview of Upcoming Singer/Songwriters

An Interview with Chuck Loeb

by: Casey Pukl

Guitarist, producer, writer, and all-around smooth jazz powerhouse, Chuck Loeb, is taking a new direction. Inspired by his earliest influences in more straight-ahead jazz and bebop, Loeb’s latest solo release, Plain ‘n’ Simple, takes a trip back to the organ trios of the 60′s. I had the chance to speak with Chuck about everything from his current position in Fourplay to his formal music education, and even his most recent decision to start his own record label.

CP: What have you been up to lately?

CL: There have been quite a variety of things happening in the last two years. I’ll be coming into Anthology this time around with an organ based project from my CD called, Plain ‘n’ Simple. I did a whole bunch of touring with the same kind of band last summer in Europe. The CD came out in July and I was on tour in Europe doing the music from this project. Actually, let me back up a little bit. My other project that I’ve been involved with for the last two years is playing with Fourplay with Bob James and Nathan East, a native San Diegan by the way, and Harvey Mason. Actually, the last time I was at Anthology was with Fourplay. So in between all of that time, although I had this CD out in July, I was touring with Fourplay so much that I hadn’t really had a chance to go out in the states with the organ project. Read the rest of this entry »

An Interview with Halle Petro of Halle & The Jilt

by: Casey Pukl

I have to admit, I really admire people who do crazy things. I love hearing stories of people who aren’t afraid to sky dive or make a big career change. Insert Halle Petro’s story here. The Brooklyn based singer/songwriter released her debut album in February 2011, quit her cushy job on Wall Street in July, and hasn’t looked back since. She’s gearing up for her west coast tour with guitarist Michael Gomez, and already thinking about her next record! I had a chance to chat with Halle on the phone this week, and I think you’ll all enjoy her immeasurable spirit and dedication to her music.

CP: I know you’ve had a pretty crazy road to get to where you are, so I guess let’s start from the beginning!

HP: A very good place to start (laughs)! I moved to New York right after I graduated from college, and I did theater primarily— off Broadway and regional primarily. I was doing a lot of Broadway auditions, and I just did one show, and then there were some lapses between the next couple of jobs, and I was just kind of getting bored. The business end of things can kind of make you lose your love for what you’re doing.

I just wanted to start having fun singing and making music again, so I put together a band just to do cover songs on the upper west side of Manhattan. I had met with a friend of mine who was a singer/songwriter who told me that if I had an original piece, I should really just do it. So I told her that I did have one, but I didn’t know if it was any good, but eventually with her encouragement, we wound up doing the piece. It went over really well, and so I was like, ‘Well, I’ve actually got a bunch more!’ Before we knew it, the show was all original music.

And then shortly after that, I said, ‘I want to make a record.’ So I started figuring out what I had to do to make it happen. Read the rest of this entry »

An Interview with Richie Furay

by: Casey Pukl

It’s tough not to like Richie Furay. He’s super easy to talk to, upbeat, and has had a pretty interesting journey in music. While he found success with Buffalo Springfield and Poco early in his career, he later took a hiatus from his music to focus on his family and himself. Wondering whether or not he’d ever find his way back to music, he eventually returned with a new passion for his family, religion, and the guitar. Furay is now fresh off of a Buffalo Springfield reunion tour, and he’s gearing up for another set of dates with his latest project, The Richie Furay Band. Not only is the band fun for the great music they play, but the band also includes Furay’s daughter, Jesse, as well as his partner Scott Sellen’s son. Furay is extremely proud of his latest venture, and I hope you enjoy hearing about is as much as I did.

CP: I’ve been listening to your latest record, Alive, and I’ve got to say, it’s a super fun album.

RF: Thank you! It covers almost forty years of music! (Laughs)

CP: That’s so awesome. I can’t wait to dig into all of that, but I’d love to start off with what you’ve been up to recently. I know you just wrapped up a Buffalo Springfield reunion tour. What was that like for you? Read the rest of this entry »

An Interview with Geoff Tate of Queensrÿche

by: Casey Pukl

If you’re anything like me, you’ll understand why today’s interview is barely edited (except for the part where I bared my sister’s Queensrÿche-loving soul to Geoff Tate). Some people are just interesting. They are the people that you can listen to for days and never get bored. Geoff Tate is one of those people. If you’ve ever listened to Queensrÿche, you could probably predict that Tate is someone with a lot of ideas, opinions, and knowledge; but listening to him speak about wine, writing, staying current, and what inspires him is just plain interesting.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Geoff last week to close out my Friday. Immediately following, I headed home and spent no less than three hours researching winemaking and all of the regions on the west coast that I need to visit while listening to Operation: Mindcrime II and American Soldier with new ears. I hope that this interview inspires you all to do the same.

CP: Thanks so much for taking some time out to talk to me this morning! I was just poking around your website, and you have a ton of stuff going on lately!

GT: Sure! Yeah, I usually have a pretty crazy schedule with events and shows and things like that.

CP: Yeah, it seems like you’ve been up to quite a bit these days!

GT: Yes, I’ve definitely had a lot of things in the works. Before we dig into this though, I have to ask how you pronounce your last name? [I’ve get asked this question in 9/10 interviews, and figured some of our loyal blog readers might be curious]. Read the rest of this entry »

An Interview with Mr. Stanley Clarke

by: Casey Pukl

When I got the word that Stanley Clarke was coming to Anthology, I did a little happy dance in my chair. Then I heard that he was coming on my birthday, and I squealed! And then, I was informed that I would be interviewing him, and I danced, paused, thought about the prospect, and almost threw up with excitement. For a solid week, I stressed about what to talk about. I have to admit that I wasn’t 100% sure exactly what I was going to ask Stanley Clarke in this interview even as I was dialing his phone number. Why? Seriously, put yourself in my shoes. Where does one start with a career that’s so diverse and accomplished? I turned to my Facebook and Twitter followers for a little guidance about what they might want to ask the most influential jazz bassist of our time (if not ever), and the majority of responses I received were either requests for him to play songs or, “Good luck with that one.” Thanks, guys.

Thankfully for me (and you), Mr. Stanley Clarke is one of those people who is just as comfortable talking about music as he is playing his bass. He has plenty of news, upcoming projects, and other thoughts and opinions that he was up for chatting about. Fortunately that makes for not only a great conversation, but also what I think is a great interview. Cozy up with your copy of School Days, and give this one a read.

CP: Let’s talk a little bit about what you’ve been up to lately! 

SC: Well, I finished up a big, big, big, humongous tour with Return to Forever. I think all together last year we did about 90 dates or something like that, maybe a little more. That was huge. We went all around the world, and that was really something. The world is still there! (Laughs)

CP: (Laughs) I certainly hope so! Read the rest of this entry »

An Interview with Sugar Blue

by: Casey Pukl

If there’s one thing that you’ve got to love about harmonica virtuoso Sugar Blue, it’s his whole-hearted dedication to the blues tradition. Raised in Harlem, NY, Blue found fame in Paris when he met the Rolling Stones in a chance encounter. Before he knew it, he was recording with one of the most famous rock bands in history, and his signature sound was the staple of one of their greatest hits, “Missing You”. But what might be even more remarkable about Sugar Blue is his dedication to having his own sound with his own band rather than being someone elses’ side man.

Decades later, he still remains one of the greatest living legends in blues. Having played with Willie Dixon, Big Walter Horton, Memphis Slim, Stan Getz, Frank Zappa and more, Blue is truly one of a kind. Take a read through my interview with him about what’s in store for 2012, and who he can’t get enough of.  Read the rest of this entry »

Not Too Sweet, Not Too Tart, Just Right

by: Casey Pukl

I’m starting to think that there’s a little too much of the color orange in my life lately. Ever since we bought new bright orange vintage armchairs for our living room, I’ve been eating oranges, carrots, cheddar cheese, buying orange pants (admittedly a bad decision), and even sporting orange nail polish on my toes (a one day only affair). This week, I’m ending my “orange obsession” with our Farm Fresh Pick of the Week. Tangerines, for all intents and purposes, are slightly sweeter baby oranges that are easier to separate into slices, but don’t underestimate how incredible they can be across a wide variety of dishes. They’re also packed with vitamin C, beta-carotene, potassium, magnesium, and B1,2,and 3! For those of you who are still sticking to your New Year’s Resolution (which at this point is an estimated 41% of you), these rich little fruits can yield big results for your waistline and overall health.

Chef Todd Allison and General Manager, Warren Phelps, have teamed up this week to give you a few ideas to take your tangerines from the grove to your plate. Chef Allison has a few lighter options to combat all of those hearty holiday meals, while Warren has recommended some great wines to go with them.

Fire Up Your Breakfast

It’s the most important meal of the day, so spice it up! One of my personal favorite options for breakfast is oatmeal with peaches, tangerines, cinnamon, and coconut flakes. Cook your steel cut oats with your peach slices until the water is absorbed. Mix in your tangerine segments at the end, then top your bowl with cinnamon, a tiny bit of brown sugar, and shredded coconut flakes. Yum!

Color Up Your Salad Read the rest of this entry »