1 From Left: Abby DeWald and Amanda Barrett
Reinoehl, Shawn
Ditty Bops
Issue #29
The touring duo finds road bliss in a well-tuned bike, a windless road, and their Summer Squash Attack Succotash
By Sheba White
Published: September 1st, 2006 | 12:00am
Listening to the Ditty Bops’ second release, Moon Over the Freeway, odds are that you’d want to leave town, too. The self-proclaimed “pagan-vaudeville” duo’s album is full of movement: whistling trains, late-night cruisers, and crowded buses breeze by to a jig-inducing banjo, a boogie-woogie piano, and a field-romping guitar. So it’s no surprise that the Ditty Bops’ Abby DeWald and Amanda Barrett decided to escape their home base of Los Angeles in a big way.
When we talked with the Ditty Bops in early June, they had left their Hollywood home a few weeks prior and were in the thick of their voyage to New York, where they arrived in August. The two are still traveling with their bassist, Ian Walker, and are followed close behind by an instrument-loaded biodiesel van, which is driven by pianist Greg Rutledge and his wife Boo. The tour concludes in late September in Flagstaff, Arizona. Along the way they will play at least one concert in every state they hit.
And though it will take four months to complete the bicycle journey, Dewald and Barrett agreed that they are contemplating touring by bike, rather than van, for the release of their future albums. “Being in a van, to me, is very draining,” Dewald said. “Sometimes it’s really hard after you’ve just been sitting in the back of a van. You’re all grumpy and all you want to do is walk around. But you can’t, because you have to go to sound check and play a show. That, to me, is actually pretty difficult.”
Because the Ditties are biking an average of 80 miles for six to eight hours a day, food is always a priority. The majority of their meals consist of energy bars. But during restaurant stops and at day’s end when they reach their hotels, they make certain to eat lots of fruits, vegetables, and some fatty foods. “Abby and I ate like pigs before this, but now it’s crazy. We’re like mega pigs,” Barrett said. “I get sooooo hungry.”
Barrett and Dewald agreed that they’ve been lucky to find excellent meals at most stops. But just like every tour, there are things you do back home that you miss. “I miss cooking already,” said Dewald, the main cook of the foodie pair, and who, along with Barrett, can be found chronicling their meals and road recipes on their tour blog (dittybops.biketour.blogspot.com). “I miss being in my own kitchen and cooking anything I want.”
Before the tour is over, Barrett and Dewald plan to pull out their cook stove, which has been buried in the van. But for now, they’re enjoying what they find along the roadside and dreaming up road recipes. Here’s their suggestion for a fast dish that can be prepared with the cook stove using produce easily found at farm stands along the route.
THE DITTY BOPS’ SUMMER SQUASH ATTACK SUCCOTASH
This makes a small side dish. If you want more or you're cooking for a lot of people, double or triple the recipe. Also, you’ll need a pan or piece of foil.
3 small-sized zucchinis, thinly sliced
1 large ear of corn, cut from cob
a few green onions
a handful of basil (or parsley works)
salt
pepper
olive oil
1. Put enough olive oil in the pan to cook the green onions for a few minutes. Then add the zucchini and the corn.
2. Cook over medium heat for about five minutes or until the zucchini’s texture is to your liking.
3. Meanwhile, chop up the basil or parsley and add it to the skillet. Cook just long enough to heat it through, then add salt and pepper to taste.
Comments
Please login to be able to comment on this article.
more