Q: Your show “Let’s Get Baked with Mat and Dave” is a popular CKDU feature and is syndicated to radio stations across the Maritimes and in BC. How did it begin?
Mat: Originally, all I wanted was a CKDU show. I thought it’d be cool to have one of those shows that just goes on and on. We came up with the musicians-cooking-talking idea about two years before we actually started recording, just thought it’d be cool to get a band we liked and ask them questions and eat something. The show now is hilariously bigger than I ever could have imagined.
Q: How big is “hilariously big”?
Dave: Well, we put about 10 hours a week into each episode, preparing, recording, editing it, getting it ready to air. It takes a lot of effort, a lot of creativity. But the response is great. Emails from Sweden, that sort of thing.
Mat: We’ve also got lots of side projects associated with the show. We put together podcasts of the show, and we’re working on assembling a Let’s Get Baked Cookbook. And we’re thinking about doing a video version.
Q: How do you stay motivated?
Dave: It actually sounds a bit cliche because it sounds so wholesome, but it’s just a great experience. The show allows us to promote local indie musicians and local food producers and a healthy way of eating—those are all good things. It’s easy to get behind.
Mat: And it’s fun. Sitting around a table, eating a meal you’ve prepared together, is great.
Q: How do you choose your recipes?
Mat: It depends. Sometimes we choose, sometimes the band chooses, sometimes the band name makes it obvious, like making dog treats with Dog Day. Buck 65 being in Paris just led naturally to us making croissants when he was on the show.
Dave: We like to make recipes that are different and challenging. It’s so cool when you’re making something that has an element of surprise involved—good or bad—so you get that “wow factor” on the radio.
Q: What’s your favourite recipe?
Mat: I really liked the gravy pie we made with Whitey Houston.
Dave: The vegan corndogs we made with BA Johnston were shockingly good.
Q: Who’s on your wish list?
Mat: It would have been awesome to have Willie Nelson on. And I’d love to get Wilco.
Dave: Weird Al Yankovic would be great. He’s vegan, and so zany, and he has all those songs about food.
Mat: Mostly we look for someone who’s putting a lot of effort into their music, because we put a lot of effort into the show.
Dave: We’d approach anyone in any genre, really. As long as they have a good attitude, it’ll be a fun show.
Visit letsgetbaked.ckdu.ca for shows, photos and recipes.
This article appears in Jun 8-14, 2006.