Synthesizers and chili go together like . . . well, like nothing else really. The pairing is as strange as it is ridiculous, and that’s kind of the point of the Synth-Chili Cook-Off, in which four musicians will each make a chili and perform an original “sonic interpretation” of it using a synthesizer—it’s a real thing, and it’s happening Sunday at the Empty Bottle. The absurdity of the event isn’t lost on the founders, Brett Naucke (Catholic Tapes) and Beau Wanzer (Streetwalker, Mutant Beat Dance), and I’m reminded of something Naucke told me when I wrote a feature-length preview of the first Synth-Chili Cook-Off:
The fourth annual Synth-Chili Cook-Off kicks off at 7 PM on Sunday; Travis Thatcher, Michael Perkins, Diana Luck, and Ben Billington will vie for the audiences’ votes to see who will take home the prized peanut trophy and a chance to perform in next year’s cook-off. The-Drum‘s Jeremiah Meece will DJ once it all wraps up. Be sure to get there early in order to try every last chili, witness all the sets, and make an informed decision at the cook-off poll.
