New Times / Art

Food for your ears

BY GLEN STARKEY

SUPERSTARS IN OUR MIDST Emmy-winning composer and multi-instrumentalist Danny Pelfrey (left) and Steve Miller Band member Kenny Lee Lewis do justice to Van Morrison’s “Moondance” at a Hospice fundraiser at Sustenance. PHOTO BY GLEN STARKEY

Take last Sunday, April 18, for instance. While you only think about yourself, Sustenance was giving back to the community by hosting The Barflyz, an awesome jazz, rock, and blues quartet fronted by Steve Miller Band member Kenny Lee Lewis. A portion of the proceeds went to Hospice Partners of San Luis Obispo County. And what an awesome time we had!

SING IT, SISTER Diane Steinberg, Kenny Lee Lewis’ wife, belts out an awesome rendition of ZZ Top’s “Sharp Dressed Man” while bass master Ken Hustad keeps time. PHOTO BY GLEN STARKEY

Pompitus of love? What the hell? Doesn’t matter. Kenny Lee’s voice is awesome, and his utility guy Danny Pelfrey, who plays flute, sax, and guitar, is ripping it up. A while later Kenny Lee’s wife Diane Steinberg, who’s been delivering the groove grease on keys, rips into ZZ Top’s “Sharp Dressed Man,” while bassist Ken Hustad slaps his upright like a back-sassing teenager. Diane’s got more soul than a shoe factory!

COME TO HIGH STREET High Street Deli workers Rachel Zarillam and Trevor Barrick (with his new tattoo) dig the show. PHOTO BY GLEN STARKEY

“Thirteen? It’s going to get worse before it gets better,” I exclaim.

HE’S UP TO SOMETHING Sustenance big cheese Seamus Finn has been slowly building a community of people drawn to his cooking studio for healthy, mostly local, sustainable food. PHOTO BY GLEN STARKEY

Then Sustenance worker Maya Andlig comes over to tell me a kid she met yesterday just got a Steve Miller Band tattoo on a dare—her dare! She told him she’d give him free Sustenance lunch for a year if he did.

Trevor Barrick shows me the fresh tat, inked onto his foot this morning. Does he regret it?

“No, not at all. It pretty much seemed like fun, and it’s obviously a conversation piece. Plus, I’ve got weirder tattoos than this,” he says, lifting the leg of his cutoff jeans to reveal a robot with an iPod face on a skateboard.

RACHAEL’S BOUNTY SLO Veg proprietor Rachael Hill will deliver baskets of locally grown produce right to your door. Call 709-2780. PHOTO BY GLEN STARKEY

Get healthy! Sustenance is located at 2033 Santa Barbara St., SLO, and serves lunch between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Buy a five-meal card for $50 or ten-meal card for $100 and you become a member. They also host cooking classes. Call 234-1691 for more information. SLO Veg is your link to local farmers. Proprietor Rachael Hill will deliver baskets of locally grown produce right to your door. Call 709-2780 to learn more.

“There’s a method to his madness,” she replies.

Speaking of Rachels, there’s Rachael Hill, and she’s got a big basket of fresh, locally grown veggies. And there’s Seamus Finn, Sustenance owner-operator. It’s a good gang of folks over here, where Seamus is building a community around good food, good friends, and today good music.

Sorry, Double Cheeseburger. It’s not me, it’s you.

Glen Starkey takes a beating and keeps on bleating. Contact him at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.