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

Hatch Benedict.

Who are you

I’m the frontman for Vancouver new-wave band Sex With Strangers. We’re coming up on our 10^th anniversary together, which is remarkable given that I’m only 25 years old. We just released our sixth album, Discourse, on Northern Light Records, produced by Jason Corbett at Jacknife Sound. You can see us in captivity at the Cobalt on Saturday, November 26, as we celebrate the release of our new video for the single “WTFK”.

First concert

The Jacksons' “Victory” Tour, B.C. Place, November 16, 1984. Like many younglings back in the day I was obsessed with all things Michael Jackson, going so far as to wear a replica of his glittering white glove for the better part of Grade 5. Side effects included lonely lunch hours and a warm right hand.

When word came down that the Jacksons were coming to Vancouver, I launched a full-fledged assault on my parents, begging them to buy me a ticket. When it became evident this was not in the cards (total bullshit), I shifted my focus to a radio ticket giveaway on LG73. The contest involved sending Pepsi bottle-cap liners into the station, in the hopes they would draw your name for a pair of tickets. I drank so much fucking Pepsi in the weeks leading up to the show that I still attribute one of my love handles to that diabetes sprint. On the morning of the concert all hope seemed to be lost, when suddenly my mom raced into my bedroom and said they just announced my name on the radio. HO-LY SHIT. It was every single Christmas morning rolled into one. The show itself was everything I had hoped for and more. 

Life-changing concert

The Jesus Lizard and Six Finger Satellite at the Starfish Room, September 11, 1996. I was just starting out as a frontman in a rather suspect band called Harvey Switched, so I was soaking up inspiration wherever I could get it. Turns out I, and others, would literally soak up the inspiration when singer David Yow dropped trou and took a grand piss on the front row of the audience halfway through the set. In addition, my place off to the side of the stage made me easy prey for Yow’s tongue, which spent countless minutes in my throat throughout the show. Real danger is hard to manufacture at a show, but the JL did it effortlessly. Damn, I miss the Starfish Room.

Top three records

Girls Against Boys House of GVSB   Two words: DOUBLE BASS. Frightening to think this record is now 20 years old. Seems like only yesterday when I was stringing tennis racquets at Sport Chek, playing this record on repeat every fucking day. I could listen to Scott McLoud read soup recipes. He literally spits sex on this record. Fantastic.  

The Pixies Bossanova   Frank Black is my favourite singer, period. The vocal gymnastics he performs on this record inspire me to this day. Back in the day, I fondly remember trying to win my ex-girlfriend back by making her a mix tape that contained only one song—“Blown Away”—recorded over and over. This was everything I wanted to say to her rolled into one song, so why ruin it with another song…or effort.

Depeche Mode Violator   This album brings me back to a special time and place. My “Everybody Wants Some!!”. I was in Grade 11 at Port Moody Senior Secondary and we were competing in the B.C. Provincial Tennis Championships at UBC. The seniors on the team shepherded us juniors through the best stretch of late-night adventures, unearned victories, and parties that I can remember from high school. I don’t know how or why, but this record seemed to be playing everywhere that fortnight. #saladdays

All-time favourite video

Duran Duran "The Reflex”   A staple of Friday Night Videos on NBC, to this day I’m still not convinced that’s not a real wave washing over the audience. Plus, Nick Rhodes's sweater was just a bigger version of Michael Jackson’s glove, so I was all in. 

What’s in your fridge

Frozen turkey balls from Nesters Market. Simply microwave and serve! Maybe it’s the whopping 17 percent real turkey meat, but I can eat these pleasure pods of poultry for lunch every single day. And some weeks, I do. I like to place 12 balls in a microwavable serving dish, heat for four minutes, and then top with green salsa, cheese, and sour cream. Savour the science.

Earnest Ice Cream. If you want to get me riled up, offer to “share” a jar of Earnest Ice Cream with me. I can lay waste to two of those jars in a single sitting. Chocolate is always clutch, but the London Fog is possible the greatest dairy product ever created.

Artichokes. Artichokes are one of the ultimate food shares you can enjoy with a lover. Sure the hearts get all of the love, but you simply can’t afford to ignore the leaves when cooked properly. Steam those bad boys for 35 minutes and heat up some butter. Take a leaf, dip it in butter, and then use your teeth to pull away the veggie flesh waiting inside. Seriously, it’s like getting French-kissed by a fucking vegetable. It’s not uncommon for me to sport a quarter chub by the end of it.

You can buy Sex With Strangers' Discourse here.