Years after Pluto, John Ounpuu returns as EFTM
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
John Ounpuu
WHO ARE YOU
Back in the ’90s I was in a Vancouverbased band called Pluto. We had songs on the radio and drove around in a van a lot. When the brand broke up I mostly stepped away from doing music. And stayed that way for the last 20 years or so. But that’s changing now and I couldn’t be happier about it. I’m releasing a new EP as Earth From The Moon on the 3rd of June. It’s called Momentum. I hope you like it.
FIRST CONCERT
I saw Robert Plant at the Pacific Coliseum when I was 14 years old. This was in October of 1983. He would have been supporting his second solo album, Principle of Moments. There are a couple of songs on the record that I still love. “Big Log” is great.
At that point I had been a huge Zeppelin head for a few years, so it was a real thrill to see him in the flesh. My friend Ron and I woke up early and lined up at the Ticketmaster in the mall to buy tickets. We got seats right up front on the floor—which we ended up standing on top of all night as we craned our wee necks for a glimpse of those famous curly locks. Phil Collins played drums on that
tour and I remember him coming out from behind his kit to play the vibes part on “Big Log”. They sold printed programs and I know I bought one. I wonder what happened to it.
LIFE-CHANGING CONCERT
When Pluto was signed to Virgin we got invited to this industry showcase event in Vancouver. This was 1997. It was in this weird club in the Plaza of Nations. The 86 Street Music Hall. It was put on by EMI to showcase two upcoming releases. One was the first Foo Fighters record. Dave and the boys did a solid job. And the other was OK Computer. This was a couple of months before it came out. All of the jaded music-business types hung back and played it cool so I ended up right in front of this small stage hearing this music for the first time. Watching Radiohead play that album in its entirety. It was just jawdropping. So inspiring. But also it kind of made me want to give up entirely.
TOP THREE RECORDS
The Beatles, Revolver It all goes back to the Beatles for me. I’ve been obsessed since I was a kid. There are things I love about all of their records, but to me Revolver is just a perfect thing. The peak of their mid period. Fantastic songwriting. Hooks for days. Great energy. Great playing. Hints of psychedelia creeping in around the edges. It’s got it all. It’s the template.
New Order, Power, Corruption & Lies I played this tape in my Walkman until it wore out. As an angsty teenager trudging through the Vancouver rain and waiting for a bus back to the burbs, there was no better soundtrack (though the Smiths came very close). It’s dark and moody music in places, but there’s a lot more to it than that. You can dance to it. “Your Silent Face” might be my favourite song ever. It’s the reason I own a melodica (which appears on the EP).
Teenage Fanclub, Bandwagonesque When this came out in 1991, I was listening to a lot of noisy guitar music. Dinosaur Jr. and things like that. I heard this album and suddenly I could see a clear line between modern music and the Beatles. The band felt like kindred spirits to me. They made me want to write my own music. They made it seem possible and exciting. Pound for pound, their album Songs From Northern Britain may be stronger. But this is one where I fell in love.
ALL-TIME FAVOURITE VIDEO
Dijon, “Big Mike’s” I have been obsessed with this video lately. It’s not a typical music vid in that it’s a live performance that’s been staged and captured. Dijon is such a talented artist and he’s really just getting started. The version of this song on the record is great. But there is something really magic about this video. It captures, better than almost anything I’ve seen, the sheer joy of creating music. That joy is what drew me back to music after 20 years. It’s a powerful thing. If you want to understand that power, watch this video.
WHAT’S IN YOUR FRIDGE?
Too many avocados. I love guacamole deeply and I am not afraid to admit it. There’s actually a balloon on the cover of my EP that’s kind of shaped like an avocado. I just realized that while writing this.
Frozen salmon poke from Costco. It’s not the most amazing poke you’ll ever have but damn is it convenient. Pull an individual portion out of the freezer to defrost and you’ve got a bowl of happy to look forward to. The avocados come in handy here as well.
Amarena cherries in syrup. Some of your finer cocktail bars will put these in an Old Fashioned. So you get to enjoy the tasty cocktail and then you get to enjoy the tasty cherry after. A double win. You fish it out of the ice cubes and it’s like a prize you just won. Eventually I started asking bartenders to plop a few on a side plate for me to nibble on. I was hooked. The texture of these things is amazing. Firm but also tender. I once tried an amarena cherry gelato at Bella Gelateria. It was tremendous.