What’s In Your Fridge is where the Straight asks interesting Vancouverites about their life-changing concerts, favourite albums, and, most importantly, what’s sitting beside the Heinz Ketchup in their custom-made Big Chill Retropolitan 20.6 cubic-foot refrigerators. 

On the grill

Carmen Bruno

Who are you

I am 1/5 of TrailerHawk, along with Rod Bruno, Don Binns, Lanny Hussey, and Don Short. We will soon be taking over the world, and the Wise Hall Saturday, January 19 where we will be playing a SOLD OUT show with guests Mississippi Live & the Dirty Dirty, and R.d. Cane. TrailerHawk is releasing a bunch of new songs this year (all being mixed now by Dave ‘Rave’ Ogilvie) along with a whole slough of other exciting things coming up, so we are going to start it all off with a seriously rocking show. 

First concert 

Charley Pride. He played at the Lynden Fair in Washington State in I want to say 1982 or '83? It’s was a giant fair that had all kinds of animals and rodeo races. The most important aspect to me at the time was the miniature horses (Shetland Ponies?). I remember that he sang ‘Is Anybody Going to San Antone’ and I shouted “can we take the little horses?!”, much to the horror and embarrassment of my parents.  

Life-changing concert

Nick Cave. This was actually fairly recent-2014 at the Orpheum. It was the first time I had ever been to a show that was so all-consuming. He had the entire audience with him every moment. So much so that as he headed into the audience stepping over chairs and people I would have been totally fine with him stepping over me, on me, whatever. Had he Charles Manson’s proclivities I have no doubt we all would have followed him to Spahn Ranch. 

Top three records

This is so hard! I grew up on mix tapes, how does this even work?! Anyway, here goes:

Pearl Jam Ten  It was one of the first tapes I bought with my own money. I remember having no idea who the band was, but it was purple, which was of absolute importance at the time. The first time I heard it it blew my mind. I didn’t know how to explain it-it had a harshness, but yet conveyed things I was feeling (There’s a bit of that vibe in the first of TrailerHawk’s upcoming singles, ‘El Camino’, which will be out on Spotify February 1). Needless to say, I immediately packed up all of my radio pop from yesteryear, stole all of my Dad’s flannel shirts, and never looked back.

Dixie Chicks Taking the Long Way  This was their first release after they had been boycotted by radio stations and campaigns had been set up to destroy their albums. What struck me is never in my life had I heard such a beautiful f#ck you. How revolutionary. I don’t know about you but if I’m going to be sent packing, I’d rather be sent packing with a beautiful f#ck you. 

Linda Ronstadt Heart Like a Wheel  So good! I assume I was literally an egg when I first heard this because I’ve been loving this since I was able to breathe. Also, Ms. Ronstadt had The Eagles as her band at the time, which makes it even cooler. It was played so often and at such high volume at my house growing up that it feels like it’s embedded in my sister and I’s DNA (it is still a midnight favourite in the garage!). There was a time when it was cranked so loud that the neighbors called my parents to tell them the kids had the stereo at a life-threatening volume-little did they know it wasn’t us kids who had it cranked! My stereo volume still can’t out do my Mom’s-it’s kind of embarrassing. 

All-time favourite video

Queen "I Want to Break Free"  This is the one most people remember because Freddie is dressed as a disgruntled housewife while vacuuming, but also includes as a buff, moustached Freddie in what appear to be leather (1984 is pre-pleather, right?) pants. A beautiful dichotomy. Somewhere in the middle he’s in some kind of cow print unitard body surfing over a sea of other unitard clad men and women and to this day it all makes me think: there are no rules?... wait... there are no rules!

What’s in your fridge

Five jars of mustard. I don’t even eat mustard for the most part, but yet there they are. I’ve been known to make odd online purchases after events such as birthday parties or weddings (cocktails may be involved) that I don’t always remember until the items arrive. Due to this I now have a beautiful set of ‘My Pillows’, the complete Kate & Allie DVD boxset (I don’t; however have a DVD player), and five jars of mustard from a food delivery order gone awry. 

A giant candy cane: which was thrown at my head at a Christmas parade-how many years ago I could not tell you. Not sure if it’s being kept for posterity or if it’s at the back of the fridge because subconsciously I can’t bring myself to re-live the trauma of seeing it hurling through the air towards my face. 

Blueberries: I could probably count the number of day in which I have not eaten blueberries in the last 10 years on one hand. It’s unhealthy, or healthy, I can’t tell anymore. If there aren’t any at home I start to panic like a chain-smoker at 3 a.m. who notices they only have half a pack left to make it until morning--I’ve done both kinds of panicking and I think the blueberry panic, for me, is worse. 

Trailerhawk plays the sold-out WISE Hall tonight.