Great ideas born out of desperation again have a pay-off. The winner this time is Phil Roy, a native Philadelphian and singer-songwriter whose 25 years in the music business have been filled with not-quite-filled promises by major labels in L.A., enough song placements to keep the lights on and an uncorrupted sense of artistic control.
The moment of desperation came in late 2005. He was in the state of a dual separation: Divorce was final with a label and pending with a wife; he needed a way to pay rent without hitting the road yet again.
He visited a musical instruments shop downstairs from his apartment to inquire about performing in the shop. Tops, he could get 20 people in the store which led to him hatching a plan: Cook dinner for them before the show, move the folks downstairs for the show and back up for dessert. Sell a ticket for $100.
“I was angry,” said Roy, whose spent the ‘80s and ‘90s  in L.A. and whose apartment was a communal dining room for  the artists who lived near him.  “I didn’t feel like making music, didn’t feel like traveling and I’m out looking for work.  I had always really been into culinary arts — cooking had always been a big part of my life. I thought why not try it, sent out an email and within 48 hours every seat was taken.”
It caught on – 14 people at a time. He was able to bring in an audience without touring and began work on an album that he nearly handed over to Brit indie Cooking Vinyl, a delayed deal that was canceled when Universal Music’s Decca came knocking. Decca will release his album “The Great Longing” on May 20; he began his first foray into cooking and concertizing outside Philly earlier this month.
“It was odd letting strangers in the house, but it was about putting strangers together instead of just friends,” Roy says days before heading to Grand Rapids, Mich., where chicken and songs from “The Great Longing” were the main courses for a party of 24. “Heading out, I have no idea what people’s kitchens are like. I hire two people at each location and give them a shopping list. I think I’ve got this corner of the market cornered — it’s become a cottage industry.
“I’m as serious about my cooking as I am about making a record. It’s an artform.  It’s two separate skills but I find they have a lot in common. I’m curing salmon for three days, turning it every 12 hours, braising for days. If someone is spending $100, I feel obliged to give them something as special as I can.”
He calls the tour “Moving the House” with events this month in Tampa, Fla., and San Francisco. CD release parties will be held May 19 at L.A.’s Hotel Café, in Ambler, Pa., on June 14 and Joe's Pub in New York on June 24. His New York gig goes under the header of “Naked Soul”: He will perform without microphones or amplifiers on July 25 at the Rubin Museum of Art.

"After Hours with Daniel," the HD show featuring chef Daniel Boulud hanging out with friends in restaurants after they close for the night, has added a music element that might kickstart some good conversation.
The new season on Mojo finds "Daniel" headed to South Florida and New Orleans beginning  March 16 at 9 p.m. The Miami shows have the usual collection of athletes, cooks, models and a couple of DJs.
New Orleans is, naturally, a better story. Trumpeter Irvin Mayfield will be dining at Commander’s Palace; chef John Besh's August will be host to 12 Stones lead singer Paul McCoy and trombonist Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews; attending the party at Scott Boswell's Stella! will be trumpeter/vocalist Jeremy Davenport and Spinal Tap's Harry Shearer; and Art Neville and  George Porter Jr. of the Meters will dine at Donald Link's Cochon.
Andrews and Davenport broke out their horns at  the dinners they attended.
Show is basically Boulud meeting up with a chef and planning an afterhours dinner with invited guests.
The show is a great idea but the ones shot in L.A. were a bit stilted once the party began; the non-chef, non-journalist friends seemed guarded or unsure of what to say and the quick-cut editing eliminated some of the potnetially interestign banter.
For those of us who live for dining and wine experiences, this has the potential to be the be-all, end-all show.

Great Jones Cafe is one of my favorite places in Manhattan, to the point where no Gotham visit is complete without a stop there with my buddy Keith.
The Cajun Martini is staggeringly spicy; the beer is always cold; and the Louisiana-style food is pretty damn good. Jukebox is aces, too.
Plus one of the country's greatest CD/record stores, Downtown Music Gallery, is across the street.
Tonight (Friday, July 27) Nanette is behind the bar.

Where the Smoking Gun likes to mock, we like to say "job well done." The website  takes Diana Krall to task for being specific about her taste in wine and what she recommends that concert promoters place backstage.
Krall has some wise choices on her list: Domaine Tempier, Patricia Green, Failla, Guigal and D'Arenberg, among a few others in her list of more than 60 approved producers. When she gets specific - the Shafer Firebreak and Allegrini La Grola, for example - she is merely pointing out that she likes full-bodied, new world-style red wines.
Any idiot can request Coors Light in cans; this actually took some thought. Though why she's willing to provide an inexpensive out by including Ravenswood on her list is beyond me.