John Reis (photo: Matthew B. Thompson/KEXP)
We’ve heard some pretty interesting answers for our Death Row Dinner series, where we ask our interview subjects what they would choose for a final meal. We’ve had everything from Pentimento drummer Mike Hansen’s request for a specific kind of boxed macaroni to Mike Caldwell of The Smalls asking for waffles, pancakes and ice cream, but until now we’d never even imagined something as awesome as a Japanese Noah’s Ark of seafood. What the hell is that, you ask? Well, credit Swami John Reis of Swami Records and great San Diego bands such as Rocket from the Crypt and Hot Snakes for coming up with that one. Read on…
Reis: Well, my Death Row Dinner would change all of the time, you know? But first, and I know it’s just one of those things where I’m supposed to just tell you what I’d want for my last meal, but I just hear that I’m on death row and I want to know, what did I do? What am I in there for? What happened?
Well, we’re not going to tell you. [Laughs] It’s all about the meal. You’re going to die and you’ve got to have a final meal. That’s all that matters.
But I’m not old and decrepit? Like I have all of my teeth, so I can order whatever I want, right? Okay. Um, for my last meal… um… [long, long pause. Laughs] Oh man, there’s so many things that come to mind. Beef jerky. [Laughs]
Beef jerky? Wow, that’s a good one. You could spend some time chewing on it, maybe even buy yourself an hour or two.
Beef jerky. If you know the end is coming, you can’t even enjoy your meal. Just get some beef jerky and let’s get it over with. [Laughs] Um… I don’t know. I love Japanese food. It’s probably my favourite food out of all of the foods. But I also love Mexican food. I eat it almost every day. And I love all seafood. I enjoy all sea creatures. I like eating funky things from the ocean. Yeah, that’s what I’d do. I’d do a Japanese Noah’s Ark. Like I’d eat two of everything from the ocean.
You’re really making these guys at the prison work!
Yeah. This is not answering your question, but sometimes when I’m sick and not feeling well, I get the urge for Chinese food, which I never get the hankering for unless I’m sick. I don’t know what that means.
I really like the Japanese Noah’s Ark idea. That’s sweet. I’d join in on that.
Yeah, the Japanese Noah’s Ark. I don’t want to eat whales or dolphins, but basically any seafood that would be on a Japanese menu. The weirder the better.
Swami John Reis runs a record label called Swami Records and is in too many great bands to list right now.
No Comments