Today’s Eat to the Beat is experimental indie-rocker Jilian Medford, aka IAN SWEET, interviewed by Lily Guthrie. Her new album, Shiverstruck, is a synth-laden confessional, reflecting on moving out of New York and back home to L.A.
Lily: Is there a food that’s banned from the van?
Jilian: There’s nothing really banned. We’re all actually meat eaters, and every once in a while someone will take out a beef jerky stick and you’re like—even that is thumbs down. But still you got to get your fuel. I would say taking shoes off is maybe more banned than food. We all got smelly ass feet.
Lily: What did you eat on the first day of your tour?
Jilian: The first day was chaotic as hell because we flew into New York and then immediately that morning had a radio show. I’m pretty sure I just drank coffee for the first half of the day, and I had a doughnut. Usually I go for a strawberry frosted with sprinkles. That was breakfast/lunch. Then I had a solo performance at the Susan Alexandra store on the Lower East Side for Polyester Magazine, and my publicist and I went over to Dimes and got a glass of Pét-Nat and shared the salmon and it was delicious. And then I had a lot of red wine after.
Lily: Craft services hero item?
Jilian: Chocolate’s number one. And then it’s a bottle of red wine and then we have the essentials. I need some kind of sweet thing because I don’t eat a lot before a show. If we’re in Europe, I love to ask for local candy so we can try something new.
Lily: 2 a.m. drive-thru order. Go.
Jilian: Funny you ask because we did that a lot. For me, it’s going to be chicken nuggets. If it’s McDonald’s we’re getting, I honestly am a Happy Meal kind of guy. So I’ll get six chicken nuggets and fries and a perfect amount of Dr. Pepper. One night, we stopped at Cook Out, which is in North Carolina, and we all got quesadillas and milkshakes. I got a Neapolitan, which is chocolate malted, vanilla, and strawberry. I’m obsessed with Neapolitan stuff.
Lily: What did you eat today?
Jilian: My dad cut up some mango for me. I’m a weird person to ask because I have such weird eating habits in general, but then on tour it’s like I’m fueled by iced coffee. Iced coffee with a splash of whole milk in it. I’m not a fancy coffee order-er. I just want to get it straight to the veins. Literally, that’s it.
Lily: Do you have a guilty pleasure road snack?
Jilian: I don’t have a ton of guilty pleasures. I used to be much more of a candy connoisseur on tour. Anywhere we were going, I’d grab something sweet. I do really love Twizzlers. At the gas station, I randomly always go for those orange crackers that have peanut butter in them. I love those. I feel like nobody else goes for that. They’re really good.
Lily: Last great meal you had and where was it?
Jilian: Oh my God. I have a funny story. So we ended the tour in Atlanta. My mom came from L.A. because she actually had to help me drive the van back to Philly. After the show, my friends from there—I made my record in Atlanta, I love it there—they were like, “We gotta go to the Clermont Lounge,” because we were staying at the hotel that’s attached. So we went with my mom and we were all starving. I asked the bouncer if there was food inside, and he said, “No, but you can order stuff here.” So I ordered a Domino’s pizza. I thought I ordered a large. Turns out it was a small. There were 10 of us, and this pizza was literally *this* big.
Everyone’s like, “What the hell?” So I ordered Domino’s again. Something was glitching with the app and I wound up ordering a medium. It was only *this* much bigger. I kept leaving the Clermont Lounge to go meet the guy to get the pizza. There were all these strippers around us and we’re eating Domino’s and they’re asking if we want lap dances. We’re like, “Sorry, we’re just hungry—We’re exhausted.” It was very dystopian-feeling, very Lynchian. It wasn’t the best meal, but it was so funny. Although that pizza really hit in the moment.
Lily: If your sound were a food, what would it be?
Jilian: Probably soft serve—a chocolate-vanilla swirl soft serve with rainbow sprinkles dripping down your hands and you’re trying to lick it up and clean it up. It’s nostalgic, comforting, and a little messy.
Don’t miss IAN SWEET on her North American tour this fall in a city near you!
Listen to IAN SWEET on:
Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube
🍒 Check out our very first Eat to the Beat with Momma
🍒 Don’t miss Olivia Tiedemann, the most rock-and-roll of chefs,
at Cherry Bombe House, 9/9. Get your tickets before they sell out.
🍒 If you love all things Neapolitan like Jilian, try Sarah Kieffer’s
recipe for Neapolitan Cookies 🤎🤍🩷
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