What’s On Your Plate: Peel Dream Magazine

Welcome to ‘What’s On Your Plate’, where we ask artists not just what they’re working on, but what they’re actually feeding themselves – physically and metaphorically – while they do it. 

Interview with Joseph Stevens. Press Images by Vice Cooler. Written by Heather Hawke. 

For Joe Stevens – the multi-instrumentalist and mastermind behind Peel Dream Magazine – there’s a certain kind of quiet that settles in after the tour van is unpacked, the merch boxes stacked, and the adrenaline finally drains out. That quiet currently smells like stock simmering on the stovetop, sounds like half-written melodies, and looks a lot like two Chihuahua mutt rescues (Ari and Sal) underfoot while he stirs the next phase of his creative life.

Joe is in what he calls a “lull,” though it’s the kind most creatives would happily take: fresh off tour, scoring a documentary, sketching out new Peel Dream Magazine songs, and slowly gathering what he lovingly refers to as his “acorns” for the band’s next record. If it all sounds a little like a long-simmering Boeuf Bourguignon, that’s no accident – for Joe, cooking and composing live in the same part of the brain, each one seasoning the other.

Since emerging from New York City’s DIY underground with 2018’s Modern Meta Physic, Peel Dream Magazine has built a world of glowing, genre-blurring pop that drifts between drone, shoegaze, folk, and minimalist symphonics. Now based in Los Angeles, the band’s newest album, 2024’s Rose Main Reading Room, weaves personal stories through the towering landmarks of New York – Grand Central, the Museum of Natural History – and the natural world that hums beneath them.

In other words: it’s music that feels like comfort food for a curious, restless heart. So as Joe toggles between the “grandiose insanity” of tour mode and the miniature domestic rituals of home (cooking eggs, broiling Yukon gold potatoes, writing songs in his head while the onions char) we sat down to find out what’s really on his plate right now, and how those slow, savory processes are shaping the next chapter of Peel Dream Magazine.

What’s on your plate right now, both in terms of work and life?

Things are kind of in a lull right now. I got back from tour about a month ago and since then I’ve been working on a documentary I’m scoring and doing a bit of songwriting as well. I’m collecting my acorns to start thinking about the next Peel Dream Magazine record and just hanging out with my wife and my dogs. We have two Chihuahua mut rescues named Ari and Sal. I oscillate between these two extremely different modes – one being “tour mode” which is really this insane grandiose thing (I de facto tour manage, etc), and the other being “home mode” which is very domestic and miniature in scope. I’m a freelance composer, and in addition to doing film stuff, I’ve worked on custom music for ads as well as podcasts and things like that. 

If your current workload or creative project were a meal, what would it be and why?

I would say between the documentary and the new PDM songs I’m working on it is kind of like a Boeuf Bourguignan – where I’m prepping all of these things separately and cooking it all very slowly. I won’t have any idea on how it all turns out for a long time because it takes months, maybe even more, to complete. But I have ideas and flavors in mind, and a recipe, and hope that it could all turn out tasty. 

How does food play a role in your creative process or daily routine?

I love food and cooking. I’ve worked in restaurants forever, including a few jobs in the kitchen. I cook every day and sometimes prep dishes that we freeze as well. Cooking wakes me up and helps me get ready for the day, even if it’s just making some eggs or oatmeal. It definitely stimulates the same part of my brain as music does, and sometimes when I’m making something more involved, I actually work tunes out in my head while I cook. It generates crazy amounts of creative energy for me. 

Is there a specific meal or dish that represents this chapter of your life?

Haha, I don’t know. That might be a little too metaphorical for me. Maybe a Thai crispy rice salad because it packs some sweet and spicy surprises.

How do you balance your creative work with self-care (including meals, rest, and downtime)?

A lot of the work I do is simultaneously “hard” but also fun and joyous, so I’m ridiculously lucky to get to do creative work. When I’m under a deadline for freelance stuff, it can get a little crazy, but in general, I actually need to keep the vibe pretty chill as a matter of necessity. It’s pretty hard to just wake up at 6am, chug a coffee, and then just sit down and write music. I have to cozy up to it and be centered. Almost like foreplay, I have to get in the mood and access this part of my brain that is frivolous and fun. Cooking definitely is a big part of that for me. Sometimes I just take a nice bath, or a walk. In the back of my mind, I’m secretly stressed about making sure I get the thing done in time, etc, but I am constantly tricking myself into feeling calm and creative because that’s where the work is generated from. I do really love eating too. Not just cooking. It definitely is a big part of that dalliance that I’m describing. When it comes to actually recording and mixing something for Peel Dream Magazine – when I’m really in the thick of it, I don’t really need to worry about balancing it out with any self-care stuff because it just takes on a life of its own. I’m just going hard, and everything is fine because that’s so deeply gratifying for me.

Is there a recipe or food tradition you’ve created during a particularly transformative time in your life?

This is probably not the type of answer you might be looking for, but a food tradition that I created in a “transformative time” in my life was all the kitchen etiquette stuff I learned when I was in my early 20s working as a dishwasher and line cook. From grocery shopping, to prep, how I clean up while I go as I’m cooking, it’s all part of this regimented way of maintaining order in the kitchen that I love. That was a transformative time for a lot of reasons, but it was right when I moved to NY and I really threw myself into that work and lifestyle. Regarding a specific food recipe I do, I make a home fries thing that is riffing off these potatoes they served at a restaurant I served at in Brooklyn called Allswell. I cut up Yukon potatoes and boil them, then I coat them in oil and broil them alongside white onion and hot peppers until they are just starting to get charred. I usually make a big batch and heat them up for breakfast and they’re awesome with tons of ketchup. It’s not like this crazy unique thing that I make, but I do it a lot, and mine have a specific quality I like because I boil the potatoes extra-long, bringing out more starch and it makes them creamier/crispier at the same time.