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An educational project of the Community Food Bank’s Food Resource Center

Compiler’s Notes–FOOD IS GOOD…For the Body and Soul–

Food is Good by Dennis Riley opens this CD with the upbeat sing-along message that food is important in many ways beyond its nutritional value. Whether eating alone or with family and friends, food can be a unifying factor. And in communities around the U.S.A., the spirit of unity reaches out through community food banks to help people in need.

Native Tucsonan Lalo Guerrero is the internationally recognized Father of Chicano Music. In a career that spanned decades he composed numerous corridos, boleros and humorous songs that honor his beloved Chicano culture. There’s No Tortillas, a parody of O Solo Mio, is based on a personal experience that occurred one Sunday morning. Years later, in 1997, President Bill Clinton presented Mr. Guerrero with the National Medal of Arts, our nation’s highest arts award.

The culinary contributions of an immigrant inspired this story, mostly true, in Margaret’s Famous Soup. Ron Pandy states, “This song is about my grandmother who came over from Hungary when my mom was 9 years old. After working for 7 years and gaining her citizenship, she sent for my mom to come to America.”

Set a Place For Brian by Duncan Stitt captures a day we’ll never forget and portrays one American hero who represents the sacrifices of many. This heart-wrenching song also tells of homecoming and brotherhood shared ’round the kitchen table.

Like Lalo’s song, Josie Got Her Cookin’ On by Don and Victoria Armstrong, provides bi-lingual appreciation of Mexican food terms. The spicy joys of these regional dishes are enhanced by delightful keyboard stylings reflecting a diverse southwestern cultural mix.

The late Rainer Ptacek was known as a “musician’s musician” for his original guitar and vocal technique, and electronic recording experiments. In Ain’t Givin’ Up (The New Cookin’ Blues) the subtle use of food as metaphor is a testament to his incomparable poetic sense.

Pablo wrote Guacamole for this collection and based it on his experience of growing up in Nogales, Sonora and Nogales, Arizona. It is there where the border may divide two nations, but there where the line becomes invisible when considering the migratory power of this wonderfully spicy Mexican snack and appetizer. Pablo wants you to know also that avocado, “the chocolate of all fruits…has more potassium than bananas…,” a good excuse to enjoy more of both I’d say.

Lindianne Sarno tackles the world-wide crisis in small-family farming with her poignant tale of defiance in This Time We Are Staying. In the U.S. alone, corporate farming has swallowed up over five million farms since the 1930s. Subsidies and free trade agreements have eroded the farmers’ ability to compete, forcing country folk all over this hemisphere to migrate from land worked for generations.

Keith Secola writes about getting back to the land and celebrates tasty bread varieties like piki, sopaipillas and bannock tortillas shared by fellow Native Americans. Singing for all of us, he makes the point that “…we’re all the same inside,” and will not mind, a mile-long Fry Bread line or a long line for watermellon, barbecue or ice cream…

Going back to the beginnings of jazz, rhythm ‘n’ blues and rock ‘n’ roll recordings, songwriters have used food metaphorically, to convey double meanings. In Southern Fried Lovin’ band leader Bob Malone includes some of Louisiana’s most famous Creole and Cajun dishes in his double entendre tour de force song about good lovin’.

We’ve all done The Kitchen Dance. When is there ever enough counter space, burners or the right pots for the job? The Determined Luddites have fun showing us how companions manage even in a tiny space. So get in there and do some kitchen dancing, perhaps The Mashed Potato.
Nancy McCallion, a Tucsonan of Scottish origin, wrote this tune about Haggis, the national dish of Scotland that is both beloved and reviled. Ingredients include sheep’s organs, oatmeal and spices boiled in a sheep’s stomach. The Haggis by The Mollys, details cooking plans gone awry and dubious, but humorous, attempts at a solution.

In Land of Plenty, a Border Patrol agent questions his role in homeland security and songwriter Kevin Pakulis wonders about the emotional cost of “keepin’ an eye on the land of plenty.” Both agent and migrant have families to feed, both face danger and possible death to do so, and neither realizes how powerless they are in a world increasingly dominated by corporate profit goals at the expense of human value. In 2004 the Tucson Folk Festival songwriting award went to Kevin’s Land of Plenty.

For a few years Nonie’s Restaurant in Tucson served as a focal point for Louisiana cuisine and culture. Proprietors Chris & Suzie Leonard created a New Orleans atmosphere with Mardi Gras posters and beads, music, and recipes by Chris’ grandmother Nonie – a longtime resident of the Crescent City. Grams & Krieger performed at Nonie’s every Wednesday night, where they no doubt sampled every dish and beverage mentioned in Goin’ to Nonie’s.

How did folks cope during the “dark days of slavery?” Tom Poley answers that question and more in Low Country Cookin.’ It’s been said that “necessity is the mother of invention.” Getting creative with just a few ingredients has lead to untold numbers of delicious dishes like hush puppies, and chicken bog(?), where “even the cluck” wasn’t wasted.

Patricia Morrison’s desire to be Grounded (In This Brown Earth) provides an antidote to a “white bread, white sugar, white-washed sort of world.” Digging “down in this brown earth” has its rewards when considering the pressures of modern life. While you’re at it, add some organic fertilizer, plant some seeds and enjoy the “fruit of the Arizona sun.”

The story of Bluegrass Gumbo, performed here by The Wayback Machine, is true. Songwriter Tom Woolley even includes the actual names of friends, family and his girlfriend. There’s also a universal truth here: sharing home cooked favorites, soulfully prepared, paves the way between hearts.
It has been my honor to compile this tasty collection of songs about food to benefit Tucson Community Food Bank. All songs were donated by the artists, or family members in the case of the late Rainer and the late Lalo Guerrero. Enjoy!

Michael Hyatt
Compilation Producer