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Recipe's Ingredients
Here we have the Recipe in ample servings...show review first, interview for dessert
By Brooke Nelson
Originally published in The Daily Athenaeum, Morgantown, WV
December 4, 1997

NOTE: This interview and show took place November 26, 1997 at The Funnel, Baltimore, Md.
See photos from this show

Read the interview or skip to the show review

The interview I was lucky enough to sit down with some members of The Recipe to conduct a pre-show interview in Baltimore.

How did you guys become "The Recipe"?

     Joe: The first Party People in a Can show was in January '95 at Terrapin Station. It was just me and Mark.
     Kristen: I came from another band when Joe and I met.
     Joe: We had about five or six gigs a month. Kristen wanted to sing with us, and by that time Mark and I had scored a drummer and a bass player. Before that next school year is when we became The Recipe. We went from being this rag-tag, hand-drum show where it was crowd participation. But then all of a sudden, like 200 people were showing up and expecting to see something more than that. So, as I said, we got a drummer and a bass player, and Tommy, the conga player, he was there too. So we were gigging over the summer, and right before school we decided to go with a more accessible name, The Recipe.

Tell me about your extraordinary song writing abilities.

Kristen: It's just natural. Sometimes I have to induce weirdness, but most of the time it just comes easily. We try to pare it down and let the audience figure it out. And we don't print lyrics in the CD or anything because it creates more communication. I would much rather have somebody take that extra step and come up to me and say, "What do you say here?" because I always say, "What do you think I said?" and they say something else completely different and who knows? That might give me an idea for something new! I like other people's input too. A song just doesn't come from you, it comes from everybody else.

Personally and group wise, what are your musical influences?

Joe: My main influence is The Beatles. More so, right before Sgt. Pepper as opposed to the psychedelic Beatles, as much as I love that stuff...because I love all of that. But the stuff that is on Revolver and Rubber Soul and Help!, those three albums in particular, influence me. Something in my little six-year-old mind translated it over. I could understand what was happening; I couldn't do it, but I completely understood it.
Kristen: I always knew I was going to do this. I was influenced by Queen, Freddie Mercury and The Beatles.

How do the Baltimore and Morgantown music scenes compare?

Joe: Morgantown is in a lull this year, and we realize that. Other bands are experiencing the same lull. We are coming in and out and seeing only half the number of people we saw last year. We talked to The Joint Chiefs and The Barefeet, and they say the same thing is happening to them. Other than that, we can say Baltimore is comparable. It's easy to say it's bigger because it is.
Kristen: Both audiences kick ass. One because it's away, and the other because it's home. And I think its really cool we can have a good time in two totally different places with two totally different groups of people.

Tell me about the new album you are currently working on.

Joe: The strength of our new rhythm section will be evident. It's more dynamic, more slower tunes...
Kristen: We are growing as musicians, we're growing as friends and we're growing as family. It's changed us. I feel our songs are bigger, and my eyes are definitely a lot more open this time around.

A lot of people think The Recipe is one of the most successful bands to come out of Morgantown recently. What do you think about this?

Kristen: I wouldn't say we are one of the most successful. We are still green. We aren't even out of diapers yet.
Joe: We haven't even been a band for three years yet. Maybe with the "hippie" genre right now we are pretty big. We have done a lot of time in different markets, and our music has gotten through to many people.

The show      I'm sure if you know anything about Morgantown music, you know who The Recipe is. The Recipe's reputation for straight-up, good-old hillbilly roots-rock has spread throughout the region, from New York City (where they play several times a month) to Baltimore (where they play all the time) and Washington, D.C., and everywhere in between.
     The Recipe headlined a special Thanksgiving show at The Funnel in Baltimore, with Grinch and Juggling Suns, two other popular regional bands. I have seen The Recipe dozens of times in Morgantown and I was looking forward to seeing them play outside their home turf.
     I secured a spot in front of the stage to ensure an uninterrupted view of my favorite band. The Funnel was packed, and everyone was getting ready to see the finale of the show. No matter how many times I've seen The Recipe play, I never tire of their original and energetic dance tunes.
     The show was great. They played about 10 of my favorite songs, and I danced my ass off. I was impressed at the size of the crowd, and by how many Baltimorians loved The Recipe as much as I did.
     The Recipe has been delighting Morgantown audiences for about three years, since their beginning as Party People in a Can in 1995. In the past year or so, they have been branching out all over the place and their audience base is huge.
     The Recipe's music is some of the most catchy and danceable music I have ever heard. They play a few covers, such as Bob Dylans's Hurricane, The Grateful Dead's U.S. Blues, Janis Joplin's Piece of My Heart, Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit and the theme song to Petticoat Junction (with new words, of course!)
     They already have one album, Love Marble Hoe Down. They are currently working on a new album, as yet untitled. I understand it will contain live favorites Affected Specimen and World Swirl.
     Even though members of The Recipe are hard at work in the studio, they are still touring extensively. They're playing around the D.C. area about three times over Christmas break and are even playing a New Year's Eve show at Lithuanian Hall in Baltimore with the Gibb Droll Band.
     The band consists of seven very talented members: Joe Prichard, vocals and guitar; Kristen Wolverton, vocals; Mark Rapson, fiddle; Tom Batchelor, guitar and vocals; Tim Page, bass; Greg Lowley, drums and Tom Whelan, percussion.
     One of the band's strongest points if their use of the fiddle. Mark Rapson, a classically trained violinist who has been playing since age 10, uses his fiddle playing to add a special element to the music.
     Vocalist Kristen Wolverton is a modern day Janis Joplin. Need I say more? Her voice simply knocks my socks off. She, too, has been at it since she was a small child.
     Be on the lookout for a Recipe show near you. They give the best show in the world, and I'll tell you, if they are playing anywhere within an hour of where I am, I will be there. Also look for their new CD, which should be incredible, probably sometime this spring.