Bleu McAuley had his first (and only) brush with the mainstream back in 2003, when his shifty ode to insecurity, “Somebody Else,” found its way onto the hugely popular soundtrack to the first Spider-Man movie. The tune was also on Bleu’s second album, Redhead, a delectable slab of power-pop bombast and one of the most unjustly overlooked albums of the early 2000s. Seven years and one falling out with Columbia Records later, Bleu knows better than to go sniffing around for scraps amidst the carnage of a dying industry. Recently, he averted any future label shenanigans altogether, appealing directly to his fans for money to make his latest CD, Four (The Major Label). They responded by forking over almost $40,000 via online funding platform Kickstarter. Over the years, Bleu has found highly entertaining ways to celebrate his knob-twiddling heroes. Alpacas Orgling is the 2006 product of his Jeff Lynne-loving collective known as L.E.O. And for LoudLion, he’s recruited Rooney’s Taylor Locke, the Donnas’ Allison Robertson and some other L.A. pals to shamelessly emulate Mutt Lange. The band’s contributions to the Balls Of Fury and The Hills Have Eyes 2 soundtracks couldn’t sound any more like circa-Hysteria Def Leppard if they had spots. Bleu will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with him.
Bleu: I know: This is the second restaurant I’m listing. (And it won’t be the last food-related thing, either.) What can I say? I like good food and drink. My old bass player Max Toste is the owner and operator of Deep Ellum, an incredible bar/restaurant in Allston, Mass. (a neighborhood of greater-Boston). Every time I go I say I want to be buried there. I have sampled many a schmancy cocktail establishment (speakeasy-style “mixology” places are very popular in Los Angeles right now, and even Nashville has a world-class spot), but I have never had a better cocktail than here. They’re simply magical. I can’t even understand how one can make ingredients sing like that. They have a minimum of 10 Manhattans (my favorite drink) on the menu at any one time. The food is equally awesomeand somehow manages to fit all budgets, from sublime downscale (Hebrew National dogs and fresh chili) to the downright gourmet (coq au vin and vegan cassoulet). Just peruse the menu yourself. (I dare you not to drool.) They were voted Best Of Boston bar, bartender (for Max) and brunch this year!
Video after the jump.
