Posted February 15, 2012 by Megan Rondeau
In our latest series of updates from the road, our good friend Dave Melillo will be checking in with peta2 throughout the End of the World Tour with We The Kings and Mayday Parade. Check out his first blog and stay tuned for more updates to come!
Hey there,
My name is Dave, and I’m playing guitar for Anarbor on the End of the World Tour that’s kicking ass everywhere in America as we speak.
Being part of a new group, I must adjust to new cultures and customs, or at the very least, I must do my very best not to rock the boat … or in this case, the van.
What I’m getting at is, I’m a vegetarian among carnivores—a common situation that I’ve been in most of my life and something that truly doesn’t bother me. Don’t get me wrong: It takes creativity and patience to order a Mexican pizza with no meat at Taco Bell, but we all make sacrifices these days. As a vegetarian, I live off packaged nuts, Subway, and various other rabbit food while touring—all of which can be found in copious amounts throughout America. My challenge is to find a way to take advantage of the times when the rest of the group “splurges” at the steakhouse while still eating enough to feel like a man.
The first leg of this tour has taken us through the Midwest, famous for BBQ, ribs, BBQ ribs, BBQ, BBQ, and so on. Naturally, I went to several BBQ restaurants with my new team and got creative—mac and cheese with a healthy helping of jalapeños, plenty of cornbread, collard greens, and sweet-potato pie. Now mind you, I said “creative” and not “healthy” … I’m hoping as we move west that I have a chance to switch from a soul-food diet to a food-for-my-soul diet.
Little Rock, Arkansas, was surprisingly vegetarian, to say the least. The tour made our stop at the Revolution Room tonight, and I had some time to scour an overtly nonvegetarian city to find something sustainable for my type. My handy dandy iPhone told me to travel a block up from the venue to a place called 4square Cafe, which had pre-made and made-to-order vegetarian sandwiches, wraps, etc. I went with the Greek option and enjoyed that as my inner fat kid looked up the next adventure.
In between load-in and the set, I paid a wonderful woman named Tabitha to drive me around Little Rock in search of the Green Cuisine truck that was supposed to be parked on Chester and Sixth. I had no luck finding the Green Cuisine truck, but I hear it’s the standard for Mexican-inspired vegetarian food here in Downtown Little Rock. Alas, I took some photos and went to work.
The tour is headed west: Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Los Angeles, and up the West Coast. I’ll keep in touch if you don’t mind. Not in a stalker way or anything like that. But yeah. Talk to you soon!
The mild sauce, mac n cheese, fork = Baby Back Blues, Chicago
St. Louis
Little Rock River Front
Little Rock River Market
—Dave
peta2 Street Team Coordinator + lover of vegan food, cats, animal rights, Dawson's Creek, and Harry Potter.
Too long to explain here, it's long enough for a novel.
Father loves to farm, be self sustainable, loves to read, he's a antiques/vintage auctioneer, art student, and looks like mr. Rogers. My mother is a Montessori teacher and is amazing with children, all about local organic foods, loves gardening, cooking etc. my sister who is nine years older than me was into indie music and introduced me to all sorts of things at a young age. This all rubbed of on me and from that base I grew into similar things. I'm an INFJ
I love animals about as much as rock, heavy metal, tea, and coffee. Hoping to make a difference and help animals through PETA!!!
I'm tall, a geek, nacho - obsessed, I love sewing and Cath Kidston, also I'm vegetarian (wannabe vegan.)
Jersey girl now I'm all country.
Well let's just say life ain't always beautiful but it's a beautiful ride. I love all my pets and would do anything for them. I have one dog, two cats, a ferret and my babygirl shaymin,(the cutest hedgehog alive) I'm into all different kinds of music. I'm a singer myself and love art.
I want to get into marketing but not have to rely on people which have different morals and worldviews than I do to hire me. While I'm figuring this out, I want to show everyone what I believe in and spur them into action against injustices.
Life On A Tour Bus
I am Angela. When I am not helping animals I am listening to music, reading, or playing video games. My spirit animal is a fox and I love nature. What else is there to know? Want to know anything about me, need advice or anything message me :)
