Tone Ranger (Alex Simon) is a composer, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and sound explorer. His music is dreamy, genre-defying, and layered, all with an electronic pulse. Whether on dance floors or at drive-in theaters, he seeks to communicate a deeper connection with the land by weaving together long-form elemental stories in film and music. By blending ambient, orchestral, and experimental tones, Tone Ranger creates a unique and beautiful desert soundscape. It’s a listening experience that invites the audience into communion with the seen and unseen worlds.
Tone Ranger just released his latest album “Confluence” so I asked him ten food questions to learn more about how his love of cooking intersects with his love of music.
What kind of person are you in the grocery store?
Sometimes focused, sometimes meandering. Usually organic. Often parsimonious.
What is the most underrated kitchen tool or ingredient?
I found the mandolin slicer to be a revelation when I discovered it a couple years ago. Also blenders for their ability to make sauces and dressings (shoutout to the stick blender!). I think smoked paprika and chipotle peppers are amazing to cook with. Anything that gives smokiness to a dish is good in my book.
What is one of your earliest childhood food memories?
One of my earliest childhood food memories was baking cookies with my grandma, eating batter off the beater and out of the bowl. Cookie dough might actually be my favorite food - far better than cookies themselves.
What is a cooking technique or a meal that you have been working to master?
Smoking meats is something I’ve gotten very into. Most barbecue I’ve endeavored to make favors using only salt and pepper, meaning most of the flavor comes from the wood. In a world of ingredients, I find that using cherry wood, hickory or mesquite is such a cool way to think about different flavors. It’s the most mystical way to cook - so elemental, so primal.
How does cooking make you feel?
Hungry! Just kidding. Cooking makes me feel empowered. I used to go to restaurants and think I could only get amazing food there - smoked meats, curries, pad thai, etc - but learning how to do it myself has made those things I love a lot more accessible (and I can usually source ingredients better). Cooking also makes me feel like I have a lot to contribute. When my wife was pregnant, I took it up in earnest and learned to cook her favorite dishes, which transitioned nicely to cooking for the family since my daughter was born.
How has having a kid changed your perspective on food?
On one hand, it has made me more conscious of the ingredients used - I want to give my daughter the best, healthiest life I can provide. However, it’s made me realize that at the end of the day, it’s more important that she is fed, and if french fries and mayo work in a pinch, then so be it. That’s the paradox of parenting in a nutshell - you learn lessons that are very hard to uphold in reality.
You recently shot a music video and did the catering yourself. What did you cook and what was it like feeding your crew?
To be clear, my wife Gabriella did the meals - salmon coconut curry, pasta bakes, big salads - and I was the snack runner. I must have gone to the grocery stores one or two dozen times in the lead up to the production and before / after shoot days. It was exhilarating and exhausting all at the same time, and ultimately rewarding to have the crew in a good mood and appreciating the food. I now know the exact layout of every snack in Trader Joes, Sam’s Club, Costco, Sprouts and Target and most importantly, where all their sparkling waters are.
Best and worst road foods to eat while you are on tour?
The best road food ever invented was the burrito. Depending on time of day, it’s a breakfast burrito or bean and cheese. Always, over everything. You can do much healthier and better - plan well with salads and the like. But nothing beats a burrito for me. The worst food isn’t really a food, but those flavoured “cappuccinos” at the gas station coffee bar were addictive for a time and likely toxic.
Do you have any rituals around food and creating music? What role does food play in your creative process?
I love to cook, and in a way, it’s another chance to be creative in a musical workday. Finding ingredients in the fridge and cupboard and throwing something coherent together to feed my family is a unique joy. There’s a self-sufficiency to cooking that aligns with how I approach music - you’re able to teach yourself a lot and the rewards for diligence are often delightful and surprising. Beyond that, if I have clients in the studio, I have a panoply of snacks on hand to keep us nourished.
Are there any food related questions your followers and fans ask that you’d like to share?
A lot of people assume I’m a vegetarian. I was for a couple years in Berkeley (wasn’t everyone?), but when I was living in Navajo Nation working at a farm in my mid-twenties, I helped butcher a sheep and that brought me back to my meat-eating ways.
Tone Ranger continues to serve up delicious soundscapes. Check out his latest experiment “Cooking with Sound” in the video above, which uses everyday objects like fossilized coral, petrified wood, and sparkling water.
You can find more of Alex at his Tone Ranger Instagram page, as well as through his recording and production space, Animalia Studios.
Who should I interview next? Send me an email at ginarae@substack.com
Lots of love,
Gina Rae
Thank you for reading Feed Me Figs!
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