by Native Foods Cafe
Our latest edition of Native Foodie in the Spotlight features Shelley, who you can find dining at Native Foods Cafe in Wicker Park, teaching music or performing her songs around Chicago. Check out her YouTube channel!
Where are you from?
San Jose, CA...but I've been in Chicago for 14 years, so this feels like home.
What is your sign?
Libra
What do you do for a living?
I'm a performing songwriter – I also teach guitar and kids' music at the Old Town School of Folk Music.
What do you want to be when you “grow-up”?
Louder and braver.
Do you have any pets? If so, what kind and what are their names?
Three cats – Cannibal, Monkey Goat and Boogie Spice.
What should we know about you?
I've been vegan for 10 years and vegetarian for 18. For me, being vegan is a small, definitive way to put a little less harm into the world – I can't stop wars or random gun violence, but I can choose what I put into my body. I play a lot of instruments and sing and write songs. I have 4 albums and play a lot of shows (both solo and with a band). You can take a listen at shelleymillermusic.bandcamp.com .
What is your favorite current menu item at Native Foods Café?
Oklahoma Bacon Ranch Burger. OMG...
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Favorite Native Foods’ dessert?
Chocolate Cupcakes
What are your favorite bands/ musicians?
Lately, it's been Vic Chesnutt, Low, The Low Anthem, Besnard Lakes, Sonic Youth, Gillian Welch, Modest Mouse, The Mountain Goats, Neko Case, and The Record Low.
What was your first concert ever?
Umm...I saw whoever was playing as the Beach Boys for about 10 minutes in 1985. Then Tiffany, when she played at my high school. I was kind of a late bloomer musically – I didn't start playing or going to shows until after college.
What do you do in your free time?
Bike, practice yoga, bang the heck out of some drums, go to concerts, read, take pictures, explore the city and drink way too much coffee. And garden...I'm part of a community organic garden this year...hoping I can hatch some peppers and tomatoes.
What is you favorite book and why?
Star Ledger by Lynda Hull – it's the first book of poetry I really fell in love with, and I devoured it over and over when I was 18. It's such a tangle of grit and beauty and really helped to shape what I wanted to do with words as a writer...and later a songwriter.
Chocolate or vanilla?
Chocolate
Tofu, tempeh, or seitan?
Hail seitan.
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Right on- I'm from San Jose, CA and a Libra myself!
Posted by: Jennifer Blair | 08/05/2012 at 04:51 PM