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

Alexis Young

Who are you  

I’m Alexis Young, aka Youngblood, a singer of dark songs and a lover of feeling strange. I want you to feel soft and squishy when you hear my music like a delicious marshmallow. The band is composed of my BFFs, which includes members of Gay Nineties, Fake Shark, and Owl Skowl, so if you’re a fan of any of these bands you should come and check out one of our shows. Speaking of which, the next one is at the Rickshaw Theatre on December 3 with LEGS Δ and Savvie.  It’ll be great, I can almost guarantee.

First concert  

The first concert I ever went to was Nelly Furtado in 2000 when I was 11. I dressed the part with a floral bandana and beaded orange halter-top, but my Dad made me wear an over-sized sweater that I wasn’t allowed to take off. I kept it on as long as possible, but naturally stripped down for the encore at which point Nelly F ran side-stage to throw up because she wasn’t feeling so hot. She eventually returned to grace us all with “I’m Like a Bird (I Want to Fly Away)” probably because she knew how hot I was in my sweater. She’s a nice lady like that. 

Life-changing concert  

Honestly, I feel like most shows I saw during my ripe teenage germination period had a big effect on my spongy brain. But I will say that when I saw Gogol Bordello it was the first time I felt everything resonate through my entire body. I was covered from head to toe in sweat (mine and others) and probably peed my pants a little from jumping up and down like a maniac.  If you’ve never seen these gypsy punks it’s a show worth seeing. They were swinging from the rafters and occupying every square foot of real estate to be had on-stage.  It was the first time I remember hearing bass so loud that it made me feel things in my nether regions.

Top three records  

To preface this with saying, “Oh gosh, how do I even CHOOSE??” is like when you visit someone’s apartment and they’re always claiming it’s a mess. Alas! If I had to choose three records from my messy apartment they’d be:

Air Moon Safari This album starts out on an elevator ride to the softest cloud—it’s an absolute dream. It was my gateway record to the rest of Air’s material, which I now worship and reference at every recording session. Pretty sure when I open my mouth now at rehearsal, my band fills in the blanks with “We know, you want it to sound like Air, we get it”.  

Stars Set Yourself on Fire I may have melted the plastic on this album when I was 15. Unapologetically and heart-crushingly romantic, this album has the ability to make you feel melancholy, reflective, and a part of a community of solitary lost souls. When Amy Milan sings: “Live through this, and you won’t look back” it’s a mantra I used to get through high school and the years I spent absorbing all the information and culture I needed to feel comfortable with who I wanted to be. Nowadays, I keep living through things, but I have the ability to thoughtfully reflect back with a fondness on those years of being a sad nerd, which gave me the skin I live in today.

Patsy Cline Greatest Hits Apparently the only way I would fall asleep as a baby is if my parents played Patsy Cline, upon which I’d drift off into dreamland. Now as an adult, I appreciate the artistry and the songwriting more than ever. I’m not a fan of country by any means, but this album transcends genres. Patsy has one of the most beautiful and emotionally vulnerable voices I’ve ever heard, while each song has a great story and iconic, simple melodies. It’s perfect.

All-time favourite video  

Future Islands "Seasons" (live on The Late Show With David Letterman) It’s not technically a “music video”, but without a doubt, my favourite video is Future Islands performing on Letterman. I went through a rollercoaster of emotions when I saw it for the first time, and I think I watched it everyday for three months (or more). I will still watch it before I play a show to be inspired by the spirit animal of singer Samuel T. Herring.  

His stage presence is second only to that time Prince ripped off his shirt and tripped on a fake lamppost and fell into the crowd while on-stage with Michael Jackson and James Brown in 1983.

What’s in your fridge  

A couple of bottles of homemade kombucha that I tried to get into until I realized I’m not really good at making things. They’re currently just bottled up, so if anyone wants one, I’m sure they only get better with age…

Two or three empty pickle jars. Someone once told me that pickle juice is a great hangover cure, so after a slammin’ Friday at the Cobalt, I usually take a salty sip, much to the chagrin of my boyfriend.

Vodka-infused hot pepper jelly. Someone gave this to me. What do I put it on?