Why are some people spiritually bankrupt and others have abundance ?

Everyone has spirit inside of them. When we were born, we all took in the same breath. I don’t think that God made a distinction between who receives spirituality and who does not. Spirituality is inherited in all of us. However, I think we all have different yearnings and callings and we have different lessons to learn. I think it’s important to know that the choice to choose spirit is available to all of us, at every moment. It’s a question of whether we exercise that choice and where we put our focus. We have the choice when we get up in the morning to either focus our attention on what we are going to get from life or how we are going to survive or we can take in our next breath, take in the gratitude, and give thanks for being alive. And that choice in itself is a spiritual action that can begin to fill us up. From then on it is a choice of how much deeper we want to know Spirit (God) and do we want to dedicate more time and energy to discover more of that. For me, it was a very deep inner calling to find the spirit within me and I made it a priority. I wanted it as much as I wanted my next breath.

Please explain the difference between wealth and being Rich?

In one of the chapters of my book, called Mummy, Are We Rich, I asked my mother one day if we were rich because I used to see people who had material abundance around me. My mother replied by saying that we were wealthy and she proceeded to describe wealth as having a spirit of generosity, having talents, being educated, having a beautiful family and having the basic necessities of life. Wealth is described as the quality of life rather than the material. Being rich, on the other hand, means that you have a lot of money. But consciousness of wealth is really being able to see the abundance that is available in our lives and then deciding how much value “being rich” holds.

Why are some people able to move forward quickly from negative situations and others are having trouble letting go?

I think negative situations create a lot of drama and so many of us are addicted to drama because if there is no drama in our lives, we feel empty and bored. On the other hand, there are people who would rather spend their time avoiding drama and embracing the positive emotions and as a result, creating positive situations. I think it is important to remember that if we find the wit to let it go, there are many positive things we could be creating instead. And God knows this planet needs more positive people who create positive actions.

Why is trust and loyalty diminishing in our current culture in both personal and professional relationships?

The more insecure we feel about the unknown factors in our lives, and there are definitely many, the more we start to mistrust ourselves and place our loyalty in outer circumstances, rather than being in integrity of our own values and holding ourselves accountable for our own outcomes.

How did you protect yourself from the  challenges of working in the entertainment industry as an actor and producer?

I think the entertainment industry is a huge set up for us to build our inner strength muscle because we are constantly being tested. For me, at some point, I had to create my own vehicles to perform and produce because I wanted to be in a leadership position and not rely on so many other people to hire me or say yes or no to a project. I became wiser in the process and let go of a lot of projects that were not working and picked up projects that had more possibility. In a sense, instead of protecting myself, I created my own reality in the entertainment industry.

Your Greek heritage has served you well. Tell me more about goddesses and Greek mythology as it applies to day to day life?

In both of my books, I talk about how the Greek archetypes of the Greek Olympians still lives as part of our every day psyche. They represent different qualities and aspects in ourselves. I found tremendous value in writing and performing them and sharing them with other people because they are a fundamental structure of our fundamental psychology. For detailed information, please refer to my two books, Conversations with Goddesses and Gods and Goddesses in Love.

Each day is a new day and with that a new challenge. How do you wake up optimistic and positive?

I don’t always wake up optimistic and positive and if you know anybody who does, would you please introduce them to me! I think that there are so many factors about how we wake up in the morning: what we ate the night before, how our dreams were, what we may be holding onto from the days or weeks before. I am very passionate about getting up and, other than having a really great cup of coffee, making God my partner and calling forth the higher power. After all, somebody is breathing me and whatever you want to call that, there is a higher power that is making my body work. And I have various techniques and tools to attempt to connect with that energy so that I can carry on throughout my day.

Explain the difference between wanting and longing? In it’s simplest terms.

Longing is something that stops you from being proactive because it makes you become lost in your own emotionality of wanting something. In other words, it is the dramatic version of wanting. Wanting gives you the opportunity and motivation to go get what you want without any added drama.

Does compassion play a big part in understanding the human condition?

Compassion helps us endure the human condition and be more at peace with it. When you see great suffering in the world, you may not understand it but I think you must be compassionate without needing to understand. I think that first we must have compassion for ourselves because then it is easier to accept our conditions, limitations, and weaknesses and then strengthen ourselves from that place.

Explain the positive impact of comforting and helping others?

It is the best mood boost you can possibly imagine. I always say that if you are down and depressed, feeling out of sorts, can’t figure out what to do next, just go help someone, anyone, anywhere! Smile at the cashier at the Market, visit ill people at the hospital, hold babies! It is the most empowering thing you can do because you activate yourself and you suddenly feel valuable.

Unbinding the Heart is published by Hay Books and is available in all bookstores February 1st. For more information, visit www.unbindingtheheart.com.

Congrats on being the spokesperson for the Bon Appétit Collection. How did you get involved with HSN and Bon Appétit magazine for this endeavor?

I was lucky enough to do something with HSN and Top Chef last year and got my foot in the door with HSN. Over 100 chefs tried out for Bon Appétit and I was lucky enough to be the one who was chosen. It’s been one of the hugest honors of my life.

Tell us about the collection which includes cookware, appliances, cutlery and prep tools. What do you love about these products?

From small appliances, to pressure cookers, down to a pineapple corer, it is everything I would have done if I had designed them myself. The collaboration between BA and HSN is noticed in every single detail: from the warming button on the pressure cooker to the little latch on the immersion blender. I love everything about this line and am proud to have my name attached to it.

For someone interested in the products and cooking but not a pro, what would you recommend they start with? And if you have a recipe that say our readers (AKA me) could easily put together and impress their significant other with, please tell!

Start with good pots and pans. They are kind of like a good set of tires on a car. Keeps everything under control. Don’t skimp on good knives/pans. I absolutely love making soups and find it to be one of the most calming and relaxing things in the kitchen. If you puree it, you can’t mess it up. Here is one of my favorite soup recipes on BA, plus it’s in season. Enjoy.

So I have to ask about Top Chef. That must have been an extraordinary experience that showed off your culinary talents and made you a household name almost overnight. What was the most memorable thing that happened during that season?

Honestly, it wasn’t what happened during, but what happened after. My life got changed and turned upside down; in good and bad ways. The show put me on a national scale where I could have had 15 min of fame or made a career out of it, and thankfully I was able to make something of myself from it.

What was the most difficult thing that you had to do on Top Chef and what was the most fun?

Most difficult, the interviewing process. From the day they showed interest in me, I was given everything from a full body scan, background check, to pulling my dental records. Actually getting ON the show was the most difficult part. Most fun: Cooking and meeting new people. I definitely made some awesome friends for life.

Tell us about your restaurant in San Francisco, Brunch Drunk Love. What kind of food can people expect to see on your menu and what is the one dish they HAVE to try?

BDL is a form of expression for me; cooking and sarcasm at the same time. It gives me a form to express my culinary ability in a way I have never done before. A must try would be the pan-seared duck hash cakes with poached eggs, edemame succotash, horseradish salsa verde, and pomegranates. It’s a really well balanced dish.

You also started your 3-SUM EATS food truck. The menu consists of items that seem to have elements of breakfast and lunch like the Corn Flake Crusted Fried Chicken Sandwich. Is the food truck menu an outlet for experimentation?

It’s funny that you say that. 3-SUM EATS is a hodgepodge of everything I have seen while traveling with Top Chef. Also, people feel less guilty when eating from food trucks. Breaking boundaries in culinary arts is easier on the truck than in a restaurant. (an example being the corn flake crusted chicken sandwich).

Lastly, will we see you back on TV anytime soon with a show? Seems like a natural next step.

We have already shot 2 pilots for my own reality cooking show. Things are in the works for an amazing year!

For more information on the new Bon Appetit Culinary Collection which begins airing on HSN with Chef Ryan Scott tonight and to buy, visit HSN HERE.

Photo credit: Bob Jones

The visuals alone for “Serious Music” will get you grooving (check ‘em out here); the man behind the passionate and creative choreography is Alex Feder, otherwise known as R&B-pop artist Leonard Friend.

The former lead man for Brooklyn indie rockers The XYZ Affair relocated to L.A. a couple of years back and soon after crafted some serious sounds out of his frustration with the music business. With its pop appeal and R&B aesthetic, the crooner’s love for Michael Jackson, Prince, and hip-hop producers The Neptunes is all showcased on his debut EP Lynyrd Frynd. Friend recently spoke about his love of dance, why the switch from rock music to R&B and of course, the deal with the pink shoes.

Why the pink shoes?

I really have no idea. The original idea for Leonard Friend came to me in the shower shortly after the demise of The XYZ Affair.  The idea for the shoes came to me later that night. I guess they go hand in hand somehow.

Recently I just happen to visit PMT Dance Studios’ Facebook page and noticed their posting of your video “Serious Music,” saying you were alumni! Now, I’ve taken house-dance classes there, what classes did you take…so I can get THOSE moves? And where did your passion for dance come from?

PMT is amazing; I’ve met such wonderful people there. I’ve worked privately with the owner, Pavan Thimmaiah, for several years now, trying to hone in and create this style. I grew up being obsessed with Michael Jackson, learned how to Moonwalk as a kid, etc, but at a certain point my whole focus shifted towards the rock thing. This is basically the return to a childhood dream. Pavan is amazingly talented and imaginative; he’s really helped me turn this from an idea into reality. I cannot speak highly enough about that dude.

Tell us about Lynyrd Frynd. So you were once a rocker, now you’re crooning for the ladies, what caused the shift in sounds?

Now now, I’m an equal opportunity singer, I croon for everybody! [Laughter] I can’t say there’s any one particular thing that caused the shift. I still love rock music; I still listen to all sorts of stuff and play all sorts of stuff. But at a certain point, this got to be where my heart was, so I went with it.

I’m hoping that either “Mrs. Friend” or “The Last Gentleman” is the next single, but can you tell us what the second single might be?

I’m super glad you like those! I feel really proud of all the songs. I recently rerecorded most of “Everything For the Sake of Everything,” and I love it, so that is going to be the next single. But feel free to put “Mrs. Friend” or “The Last Gentleman” on your party mixes; it’ll be way hipper now that they’re going to be deep cuts instead of singles.

“The Year I Die” is a very strong track, full of emotions; tell me about the thought process in creating it?

That was actually one of the first songs I wrote for the record. Originally it had this slow D’Angelo kinda vibe to it and then I totally redid it with the more synthy-feel that it has now. It started with the lyrics and I took it from there. I liked the juxtaposition of having a super personal song on top of this very poppy soundscape.

How soon will fans get to see Leonard Friend in their city? Tour dates upcoming?

I hope to tour sometime in 2012, but nothing planned yet. For now keep an eye out for more music, more videos, and more random fun stuff!  I have a ton of stuff planned for this year; I’m hoping I get to all of it.

Last question: Got any New Year’s Resolutions beyond the stereotypical “eat-healthier-exercise-more-be-a-better-person-jazz”?

I’m actually trying not to make lists or think of specific things. I just want this year to be the best year of my life. I have a good feeling.

Lynyrd Frynd EP will be available on iTunes January 31, 2012.

How was your show last night at Mercury Lounge?

Johnny Lloyd: Fantastic.  Good fun.  Yeah, it was completely packed.  That was just completely mind-blowing for our first show in New York.

Is this your first U.S. tour? 

Johnny: Yeah.

What cities have you been to so far?

Johnny:  We’ve been to Boston and now we’re in New York of course.  Then we’re going to Chicago, then Toronto and Los Angeles.

What’s been your experience so far?  Has it been what you anticipated?

Johnny:  We’ve just been so busy in the last few days because we’re doing loads of press during the day and then the shows at night. It’s been fast-paced, but it’s been great.  Being in New York has really been the highlight.  It’s something we’ve always wanted to achieve. And last night was great. Just meeting all the people and putting the record out.
Dan White: I don’t think we expected more than ten or twenty people. So it was great to have a sold-out show the first time we played in New York.

What’s your fan base like in the UK?

Johnny: We play shows to about 1,400 in London. It’s getting bigger, quite quickly there.
Dan:  We have a young fan base and then we have a lot of older rockers who are sort of second time around.  It’s always varied. It’s quite nice.
Johnny:  It was kind of like that last night, but on a smaller scale. There was a couple from Austin and a huge Italian guy from Brooklyn.  It was a nice cross-section of people.  It isn’t just young girls.

When you originally formed and were first writing your songs and figuring out your whole sound, what other music did you look to for inspiration?

Johnny:  It started out with more 90’s-based stuff and early ‘70s rock and roll. So there’s a lot of R.E.M. and a lot of Rolling Stones in there. I think as soon as we had a bunch of songs written, we stopped looking to other bands for influence and became more our sound.
Dan:  We listen to a lot of stuff.  From gospel to really heavy rock.  We don’t specify too heavily.  We’re not fascists when it comes to what we put on an iPod.

Do you agree easily to the music you listen in your tour van?

Johnny:  We have joint tastes.  But we just listen to anything.  We’re pretty open.

You have an EP out right now.  Do you have plans of releasing a full LP in the near future?

Johnny:  Yeah, it’s coming out in March in America. We’re really excited about that. It’s really refreshing to me because it’s brand new to us. We realize we have to work from the bottom up, but we’re up for that.  But it’s exciting because America is such a big place and everything’s new to us.
Dan:  It’s been such a bust seeing people here who are genuinely into it because we had no idea what kind of reception we’d have.

What was it like filming the video for “We Were Children?”  Did you plan everything in advance?

Johnny:  It was planned.  We had to take the Facebook group down because it was getting a bit busy and we were worried about the police finding out.  Dan directed it.  But it was great.  It was just a ten-minute window we had and he was really shitting himself that day because all the pressure was on him.
Dan:  We had no permit so it was completely illegal. We would have gotten in a shit-load of trouble.  But luckily no one got hurt.  We put a little thing on our Facebook.  At the time we didn’t even know how many people were into the band.  But all these people turned out and all the traffic was stopped. We played as long as we could until the police started shouting at us, so we stopped.

You signed to Island Records in February. How do you feel that affected your touring and recording?

Johnny:  It changes everything, really.  You have a budget all of a sudden. Our main aim in this band from the beginning was to sign to Island Records so it took us a long time to get there.  It just feels like we have total freedom.  It’s very open discussions and they put no pressure on us in terms of videos and where we tour and all that.  It feels like we’ve found a good home there.  And all the people there are really into music so it just feels like it should be –organic rock and roll.  Not processed.  We’re not a manufactured band. We write our own songs and wear our own clothes.
Dan:  We also never take any shortcuts. People have been quick to suggest that it’s been easy for us because we’ve only been together for two years.  But in those two years, we’ve been working together every day on the band.  And as soon as we signed the record deal, we started recording our album that day. It’s been really steady everyday with working on the band.

What has this past year been like for you?

Johnny:  It’s been busy.  We joke about it being like a decade.  Even thinking that Boston was three days ago, feels like at least two weeks ago. We just finished a seven and a half hour tour of Europe, which led straight into this U.S. tour.  So it’s just been constant.  But we love it.  We recorded the album and went on tour in June, which has been great.
Dan:  We have witnessed change though.  The crowds started getting bigger and we played Reading Festival. We had no idea how many people would come, but the tent was overflowing.  And that was the first time we had hundreds of people singing our songs back at us.

Travelling all over Europe, what were some of the most interesting cities?

Jim Cratchley: Amsterdam was beautiful, architecturally.
Johnny:  Berlin.  We spent about a week there.
Dan:  We played in Switzerland and drove through the Alps down to Milan and it was stunning. We’ve seen some beautiful sites and had some awfully wild, debauched nights out [laughs].  It was disgraceful.
Johnny:  You get a day off and what do you end up doing? [laughs]
Dan:  We also met some great people.

What’s planned for 2012?

Johnny:  Just a lot of touring and trying to get as many people as we can to hear the album.

Are you coming back to the States?

Johnny: Yeah, we’ll be back here in March and April.

How did you guys originally come together as a band? I understand some of you had solo projects going on previously.

Jonathan:  Ian Burns and I went to high school together and were on the freshman football team.  And then we met Josh in college. We’ve been playing in bands since 2002 in one form or another.  I put out one [solo] record in 2006 and then a label based in Pennsylvania is putting out another solo record of mine this February too.
Joshua:  Ian and I have a side band called Old Monk and we’ve been active since 2009. We got our start in our band in college, called the Nightmare Fighters, though.

Was Nightmare Fighters’ music similar to what you play now with Plates of Cake?

Jonathan:  Actually, all of our projects have had their own kind of sound and they’ve all gone different ways.
Joshua:  It’s was a lot darker and more angular.  But it was our first attempt at being a band.

So how did you all end up in Brooklyn?

Joshua:  I’m from out east and went to college in Colorado.  And I came back here and called [Ian and Jonathan] every day and told them to move to New York.
Jonathan: Everyone basically went and lived on his couch for at least two months until we could find our own apartments.  He got like five people to move out here that way.

You just released two new songs, “As If the Choice Were Mine” and “Transit Trials,” on a vinyl 7”.  Where did you record that?  I heard you recorded your first LP in a church.

Jonathan:  For our first record, we rented this church basement and we did the basic tracks there on a bunch of old equipment that we hauled out there ourselves.  Then we finished it in our apartment.  But this latest record was done in the house that our record label, All Hands Electric, is based out of.  There’s this house, out in Gowanus, and it’s a record label, a recording studio, and a house.
Joshua: They did our album art there too.
Jonathan: Yeah, the All Hands Electric guys do our art direction for the band.

So they came up with your current album cover?

Jonathan:  That was a piece by an artist named Stan Vanderbeek.  He was a Swedish artist.  But the layout and the typography that says “Plates of Cake” was designed by Ryan Johnson who is a visual artist and also did our previous LP cover.

Do you guys have a full LP coming out soon?

Jonathan:  We’re going to make a record early next year. I don’t know when it’ll come out though.  Early next year is busy with other projects. A solo record that I made a while back is coming out in February.  And they have an Old Monk LP that’s coming out on January 17^th. So in March or April, we’ll probably record another Plates of Cake album, which will be released next fall.  We’ve kind of been putting out records every fall.
Josh:  The album’s ready to go pretty much.
Jonathan:  Yeah, the songs are written, we just have to record them.

What have you been up to in this past year?

Jonathan:  We made a single and played CMJ and just played shows around New York.  We made a music video.

Where did you make your video?

Jonathan:  We made that in Colorado. The guy who made that, Pepper God, he makes really great videos. He lives out in Los Angeles and he’s a professional editor.

Pepper God?

Jonathan: Well, his real name is Josh [laughs]. But his online name is Pepper God.  He and his wife actually have their own band called Band of the World. Their videos are amazing.

So you recently played at the CMJ Music Festival.  How was that?

Jonathan:  We played at Union Pool in Williamsburg.  We played at the label showcase.  And the label has a lot of great bands so it was a fun time.

At your show tonight you’re playing with Black Forest and Little Anchor.  Have you played with either of these bands before?

Jonathan:  Gann [Matthews], who’s in Black Forest, was an original member of Plates of Cakes actually.  And we went to high school together.  He was my high school rival [laughs].  Then he became my roommate and then he became my co-worker and then we were in two bands together.  And now we’re just buddies. He put the show together.  We thought it would be fun to play one last time together before everyone stops doing stuff for Christmas.

Tell us about Brooklyn Shakedown. How did this weekly party come about?

Nutritious: We had our sights set on the venue, Bembe, for almost a year. The venue is a NYC landmark, and we just had these fun ideas for working with the vibe there. Bembe had never had a party like ours before, so it took a little convincing, but once we got going, the party people showed up.
Wilder: We needed a venue with the right vibe and wouldn’t settle for anything less. It’s a beautiful thing; to see your vision come to life week after week.

What can people expect to experience when they come to your party at Bembe?

Nutritious: Style, excitement, dancing, laughter, freaky behavior.
Wilder: I never know exactly what to expect. I love that about it.

What made you choose Williamsburg, Brooklyn as your homebase for this party?

Nutritious: It was more the idea behind our party plus the venue that attracted us… but, we just felt it. Brooklyn is our home. And now, our studio is right down the street.
Wilder: I’m smitten with Brooklyn. Brooklyn people know how to get down!

Being the longest and only weekly house party in Williamsburg, what is the secret to consistently bringing people in on a weekly basis?

Nutritious: Passion.
Wilder: Hedonism. Amazing talent.

Describe not in 5 words but with 5 songs that you believe represent Brooklyn Shakedown.

Nutritious: No way, not ever in 5 songs! This party is all about the moment… defined by playing countless amounts of rare, brand-new, and classic grooves across traditional and emerging dance genres. Plus, our guest djs bring their own unique style to the table every Wednesday. It’s living, breathing, ever-adapting.
Wilder: True. Together, with all the lovelies that come to party, we form something new and unique each and every week.

In the new book My City, My New York, author Jeryl Brunner asks the question: What do you like to do in New York City when you have free time? The people she asks this to include 300 of NYC’s most notable including actors, writers, chefs, directors, sports stars and moguls. Here, she gets luminaries like Mathew Broderick, Tina Fey, Fran Lebowitz, Woody Allen, and many more to tell us what their favorite haunts are and their rituals, capturing an intimate look at the city and highlighting the people that make it great. We had the chance to talk to Jeryl about the book and more.

What gave you the idea for this book?

The reasons are more or less, twofold. I love and am passionate about New York City. I dreamed of living here since I was a kid. From the time I was 15 or so, nearly every week I took the commuter train from Westchester County into Manhattan to take acting and dance classes (I always wanted to be an actress). New York offered a myriad of endless magical experiences (theater, museums, restaurants, you name it) and I wanted to devour them all! Then I went to college at New York University to study drama (and politics) and except for living in Hoboken for 5 years, I have been in Manhattan ever since. So I wanted to share my passion for New York City – but as seen through the eyes of others. And also, whenever I’m in a new locale, I love to ask people who live there, what would be your idea of a perfect day – if you could do anything, what would you do, eat, experience, etc. And the answers are not only informative; they also speak volumes about the person sharing the information. It’s really telling. So I love learning about someone based on what they tell me about how they spend their free time. You learn so much!

How long did it take you to put the book together ?

About 10 months or so. I mean, I’ve been thinking and dreaming about the book for years but from the time I got my deal until I turned it in, was about 10 months.

What person surprised you the most with his response and what was it?

I love that Mayor Bloomberg adores eating fried chicken at Viand diner on the Upper East Side. He didn’t even hesitate. He knew his favorite thing right away! I mean the guy could go to the fanciest restaurants around town, but he picked a diner! I love that! And I am so delighted that Patricia Field picked going to Pathmark as her ultimate spot! (She loves the free parking and the fact that the store has a good variety of foods.) There’s something wonderful about that! And I love that Jason Sudeikis adores doing private room karaoke (especially with Will Forte!). He says, “one of the most fun things about this kind of karaoke is that it’s not in front of a big group of people. You don’t have a long wait. You’ll sing six or seven songs in an hour and can take chances. You can take risks. You can finally sing that Broadway song that you have always wanted to sing. I did “Look Over There” from La Cage Aux Folles and really got to belt it. My friend did songs from Shrek.”

Who was the person (who you thought not accessible) that you were most surprised that gave you an answer and what was it?

I was surprised and truly thrilled that Anthony Malkin, who owns the Empire State Building agreed to participate. And he really spoke from his heart about how it feels to go up there on a Saturday night amid all the tourists and be anonymous to them. And he also gave his sweet take on the restaurant Raoul’s. (He particularly loves to eat there during a blizzard.)

I love when he says, “I really relish those things in New York which remind me of being a teenager in my early 20s and me and my wife’s early years together in New York where we were really always going for the corners. We were going for the wonder, the excitement of what is New York City. These are my moments to step away. That’s the real magic of New York – when I step out of the business mode and slide back into the wonder-of-it-all-mode.”

Are you planning a second book about New York?

It’s funny. Even though the book is complete, I’m still collecting quotes about New York whenever I can! So I hope there will be a second edition of My City, My New York so I can add all these additional quotes. And I know that I have more books in me. I’m thinking about some nonfiction essays.

As a journalist, who was your best interview and why?

Oh, that’s a tough one. Years and years ago, when Sex and the City was somewhat new and Mr. Big was not as well, big, I interviewed Chris Noth. He was such a lovely and smart person and filled with passion and ideas. It was really a joy to talk to him.

What is your favorite part of New York or favorite things to do?

I love, love, love Central Park. I can visit nearly everyday and it’s not enough. I’m in love with water so a gorgeous pond called the Pool on the north western section of the park above 96th Street is so beautiful. It feels as if you’re in one of Monet’s paintings at Giverny. And the spot even has a wooden bridge and weeping willows. It’s so peaceful. Also, the reservoir is particularly special. It offers so many riches – the soft dirt so it’s not as jarring to walk on, the gorgeousness of the water with the buildings, as a backdrop is so dramatic and interesting. Every time I visit, it’s different, unique and beautiful to me.

You live on the Upper West Side? Why?

I have been an Upper West Sider since I moved from downtown in 2002. It’s funny, since coming to the city to attend, New York University, I mostly lived downtown. I loved it, but equate that area with my youth. When I moved to the Upper West Side, it felt like some kind of rite of passage. I love the sense of neighborhood here. The close proximity to both Central Park and Riverside Park and the river. And I really treasure that at on a whim, even as late as 7 pm, I can walk out my door and be in the theater district and see a great play. And I’m the biggest theater geek ever, so that’s paradise to me! Also, everything seems to be at my fingertips!

Jeryl Brunner’s book My City, My New York is available in bookstores everywhere, but for more information, visit  mycitymynewyork.com.

Tell us about the movie Descendants and how you got the part?

Well, the director, Alexander Payne, failed to find me fascinating enough when I met with him for Sideways. I just can’t seem to let that go. But he came to me in Toronto and said he had a script for me and in fact said he was writing it for me. I told him I would do it without even reading it. I wanted to work with him.

What was shooting In Hawaii like?

Well people drive really slow, something like 45 miles an hour, so it takes awhile to get into that rhythm. I would be behind the wheel yelling because I wanted to go 50. But what a great place to shoot a movie .

So what was different about this shoot that was different?

One of the things that was different about it was that I did not have relatives visiting me on the set everyday. When I shoot a movie in my home town of Kentucky, so many relatives show up. Cousins, many cousins I did not know I even had show up!

What do you look for in a movie project that you accept?

Most of the time I am working in places I am not so familiar with, so location is not really a factor. I look for a great script, a great director.

Hawaii turned out ok for you?

With this project, shooting in Hawaii, there is really nothing bad, no down side to that. I had not spent that much time there.

What about your clothes in the movie?

Well I told the director, wearing these khakis sky high, like up by my chin and these tropical shirts, I am not completely against khakis, but I may never get laid again!

How have you changed over the years as both an actor and director?

The older you get the less judgmental you get.

In this movie, as it unfolds, he seems to grow as a human being by the end?

At the end of the movie you realize even though his wife had cheated on him, he just was not there. In fact, he was never there for her or their kids.

How have you changed as a human being over the years?

I found as I get older, you start thinking that maybe you had been making issues bigger than they were. For example, things you thought were a certain way, well, as the years pass you find you were just plain wrong.

The Descendants opens in theaters November 18th.

You mentioned you never thought it would be so hard to have a food truck here. What are some of your major challenges?

Clearly the top three things would be weather; the police who we have a lot of respect for; and the other vendors. We don’t have as many issues now as we once did but certainly going to a new corner always presents challenges. New York is very territorial and they see a big truck come by and they don’t recognize that this truck attracts people. If someone has a cookie they might also have a hot dog that precedes that. We have had issues with jewelry vendors who ultimately told us that we were the best thing that ever happened to their street and that we attracted people.

What are your culinary backgrounds?

My culinary background exists to the extent that I eat every day, three meals a day, sometimes less, sometimes more. I have no culinary background. Samira’s culinary background is from her time spent around her mom who is a fantastic baker who worked as a consultant at the former Persian Room at the Plaza Hotel. But neither one of us have what you would call an official or real culinary background. Some of the recipes come from Samira’s mom and a variety of different places.

What’s your biggest selling item?

I would say our macarella, it’s a creation we came up with on a rainy day. It’s a coconut macaroon stuffed with Nutella. Whoopie pies are huge, some of the specialty items that we are making for our special events, our cake pops and our brownies are delicious.

I noticed your truck was named Chopper after your lab. For all those animal lovers, do you think you would consider doing treats for animals?

We have talked incessantly about that, we have always wanted to put a bowl of water outside and bake some dog biscuits, especially on the weekends absolutely, people come by with dogs. There are few things to me that I’m as passionate about as animals, especially dogs. I love dogs very much.

Who gets to drive the truck?

I put my time in driving the truck, it’s not fun. Neither of us drive any more. Our work days are generally 16 to 18 hour days running this business and booking events. The events are very sophisticated, they are not “hey what time are you going to bring the truck there?” They are very detail oriented. It’s about what the brand and client is trying to achieve. I can serve thousands of people on the street every day. What does the brand get out of it? Once they’ve had that cupcake that says Saks 5th Avenue, then there’s no brand recognition, there’s gotta be a tie in and way of associating that guest with Saks 5th Avenue or Ugg. We’re doing a lot more sophisticated things with social media now.

Since you are branching out so much into promotions, who would you consider to be your competitor?

That’s a great question. Whether it’s my ego speaking or the reality of it, nobody does a fraction of the events that we do. However in this world, especially where price is very important, anybody can be a competitor because people don’t appreciate value and see what we can bring to the table. There’s a lot of projects we turn down, maybe we’re silly about that, we have certain criteria and only want to work with brands that understand us. We do a bunch of weddings, a fair amount of bat mitzvahs, a lot of movie shoots, so those we understand that the budgets are very different but we really provide a lot more than a great truck and great food.

What is next for your company?

There’s no doubt with the city cracking down on trucks, I don’t know where we are going to go. My feeling is it’s going to remain challenging for a substantial period of time. I do want to have more of a street business and I’m certain we will eventually do carts.  But for us the event and promotion business is key, we offer services that I don’t think any other business can. They can offer similar but not to the depth and breadth that we can. There are excellent trucks out there and some good entrepreneurs, and extensive culinary backgrounds but no one that can boast the corporate experience that we have. That’s why people partner with us, because they know it’s going to be a different experience than if they just hire a food truck. Some people, that’s all they want and that’s okay – some people want Starbucks and some people want something more exotic. And in a great city like this you run the gamut of A to Z.

Do you have any particular food blogs or food shows that you stay on top of?

Serious Eats, Midtown Lunch is really in tune with the trucks, I try to steal bits and pieces of things but I wish I had more time. I work more now for less but it’s a classic business story of building a brand and business and expecting that it will one day prosper like it should with hard work and good quality. The events that we do are huge but what I can make in one event, it would take me a month to make on this truck. And that’s not even considering big events. If it was just this truck we would have been out of this business a long time ago. We do everything for our clients including wrapping this truck, hiring a rabbi, getting snow machines.

What was your favorite event that you did?

The Visa major league soccer event was fun, a great brand, a great event. One of our favorite clients is Food Network, we have done 6 events with them, 6 different trucks. Great client, to a certain extent they put us on the map. That was the first truck that we wrapped so that was very important for us. I love my clients, they are my lifeblood. I never say no to my clients unless that is the only possible answer because somebody else will say yes. I wasn’t brought up to say no.

Samira, what’s your favorite item that you sell?

I have two favorites. One is the chocolate flourless walnut cookie, it has a great texture. I still like the pumpkin whoopie pie! I also love our coffee – it’s out of this world. We use a small roaster out of Tarrytown, New York called Coffee Labs Roaster and he’s great, he’s really amazing. The coffee is really expensive but people love our coffee.

A lot of your products are local and organic?

Not organic, but all natural. The only thing that isn’t natural is the Nutella.

For more information on The Sweetery including location times and more visit them at http://sweeterynyc.com.

I saw you had a pretty enthused crowd last week at Spike Hill during the CMJ Music Marathon.  How did you enjoy the festival?  Did you get a chance to go see other bands play?

It was great.  I saw a bunch of bands last night and saw this band Luscious and they were awesome.  I saw We Are Augustines and they just killed it.  They played Spike Hill as well.  It was nice to see a band that I really admire play the same venue as us to see how they engage the crowd.  CMJ’s great because not only are there shows going on at every single venue, but even people in the streets are playing and there’s marching bands going around.  So there isn’t a second of down time.

You site bands like the Beach Boys and the Beatles as some of your big influences.  I also hear a little new wave sound in some of your songs.  What bands have you found to be most influential to you in your song-writing?

We all listened to those bands when we were younger, but I think that with our newer stuff we’re trying to explore some new sounds.  Bands like the Beatles, we admire how they constantly put out music and they were always progressing and changing. The product I wouldn’t necessarily say sounds like anyone.  I don’t think we think in a new wave way, but maybe some of the songs come out as a little 80’s.

Where does your band name come from?

It came from an EP we were recording at the time.  It was something Tim had thought up.  We were struggling to find a name.  So someone said why don’t we just name ourselves The Canon Logic because it was already going out on the EP, so we just kind of rolled with it.

You’re based in Brooklyn now, but where are you originally from?

We’re from all around the surrounding areas.  Two of us are from central Jersey, two from the Philly area, and Zach’s from Long Island.  So we just kind of converged on Brooklyn.  We were in Philly first and that was a lot of fun, but it felt kind of small.  And then we got here and immediately stuff started taking off. It’s just a much bigger scene and atmosphere.  Philly’s scene was dying. The places we were playing at were all starting to close down.  Even the venues we were playing at that were considered good venues, people just weren’t coming to shows there.  It’s weird because there are a lot of good bands that come out of Philly, but being in Philly, the music scene doesn’t stand out as much as in Brooklyn.  Here, you just have to walk around in Williamsburg or on the Lower East Side and you can tell that people are really excited to be going to all these different shows.

I hear you just got back to New York from some touring in the Midwest.  What cities were you in and how did things go?

We played in Indianapolis, St. Louis, Chicago, Rock Island, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh.  It was cool.  We had a lot of fun shows.  We did a Daytrotter session in Rock Island and ended up spending a whole day there and playing a show at a coffee shop and staying at the coffee shop owner’s house.  It was a fun experience to get out of the city. The Midwestern hospitality thing certainly rang true. Indianapolis was our first stop.  We didn’t know what to expect, but it was probably our weirdest billing.  It was a metal bar, The Rock House.  The audience had a good time.  They appreciated it and welcomed us.  There was one guy that was really enthusiastic. A little too enthusiastic.  After every song he was like “come on, these guys are amazing!”  [Laughs]

Did you drive there all in one van?

Yeah, it was a perfect fit.  One more guitar or a backpack and we would have been finished.

Did you at least have some good music to listen to?

Our radio was stolen the day before we left.  We rigged up an iPod system, but the speakers were only in the front, so if you were driving, it was blasting and then in the back of the van you couldn’t hear it at all.

Can you describe the feel of your newest EP, Rapid Empire, a bit?

It’s a little more expansive than our last album, FM Arcade.  You can tell it comes from what we were doing on FM, but it’s a little bit bigger and meatier.  It has a solid feel throughout.  We’re proud of it and it’s fun to play.  We’re still working on new stuff too.

Are you planning on releasing a full LP anytime soon?

Yeah, soon.  As soon as we can.  We’re seven or eight songs into it. It shouldn’t take as long as the last album took, which took about a year and a half.

What’s on your agenda for this fall and winter?

We’re going to start doing some longer touring.  Plus we gotta get this record made.  So pretty much balance those two things.