I am going to preface this Wednesdays post with a statement. I know that people take their marinara seriously, and that in fact wars have been fought over less. This is no declaration of war. It is a recipe for a tasty Italian "gravy". Please do not send us hate mail. Thank you,

-THE BAG MESSENGER

When I have run through my standard repertoire of evening meals I always circle back a favorite standard, a large pot of marinara sauce. You can feed an army with a pot of sauce and some pasta, not to mention its delicious and easy to make.

- David Bloom

Ingredients

1 quart size can crushed tomatoes

1 quart size can of tomato sauce

1 small can tomato paste

1 lbs ground beef  (or sausage)

1 lbs ground pork or Italian Sausage (spicy or otherwise)

1 table spoon fresh or frozen basil

3 cloves garlic

salt & pepper

1/ 2 cup red wine

1 Table Spoon of extra virgin olive oil

Process

Cook the meat, drain the grease, and add it to a large sauce pot.

Add the tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, and paste.

Stir, and let it simmer. The longer the better (just don't burn it)

Chop the garlic, crush the basil, and throw it in. 

Spoon in the olive oil, and stir.

Pour the red wine in, and add salt & pepper to taste.

Enjoy!!

Get the simple messenger bag here. The perfect bag for a day of running around with room for life's large and small ingredients .

Will Van Zandt is a man full of stories. Son of famous folk singer Towens Van Zandt, who is as legendary for his wild antics as his song writing; Will is a bit of a legend  himself. He was once run over by a tractor trailer on the interstate in Nashville, passed up by the responding ambulance, and lived to tell about it. He is about as genuine a person as anyone could hope to meet. I have had the pleasure of knowing him for some time, and share a few crazy stories with the man myself.  This interview won't be covering any of his wild past, or give you specific insight into his fathers song writing process (sorry Townes fans). Instead we will cover WVZ's obsessive passion for crusty old spray paint cans. Perhaps this will give you more insight into his father than a world full of unreleased demo tapes. Perhaps you will learn about the hunt for Jungle Green. Either way, while "there are two kinds of music. (The Blues, and Zippity-Do-Da"- TVZ), there are many can's of spray paint yet to be unearthed.

- Case Bloom

THE BAG MESSENGER: How did you first get into collecting cans?    

Will Van Zandt:  I got into it through graffiti. Back before all the specialty paint brands were around, you were very limited as far as colors and shades. In the mid nineties krylon had discontinued a lot of their more vibrant colors. My guy Verse, who basically schooled me as far as graffiti is concerned knew about some local mom and pop hardware stores who still had a good stock of discontinued colors, so we started cleaning those out, just getting paint to use. Every now and then I would find cans that were real old, they wouldn't even spray, little off brands I had never heard of, some with crazy graphics. I would stick those on a shelve to display. Over time it was less about finding paint to use, and more about the older cans themselves.

THE BAG MESSENGER: How long have you been doing it?    

Will Van Zandt: It started in 98' so around twelve years. I slowed down for a while until I realized people were paying good money online for some of these cans. I defiantly got a second wind after that. 

THE BAG MESSENGER: How much are some of these worth?   

Will Van Zandt: In this economy no one is safe... Stuff isn't going for what it was say, five years ago. At one point it was nothing to get on ebay and see cans going for a couple hundred dollars. I've seen single cans go for close to eight hundred dollars, that's unheard of right now. Most stuff isn't even selling. Right now it's more about trades with other collectors.  

THE BAG MESSENGER: What brands are you into? What types of cans are you looking for? How many cans deep are you?  

Will Van Zandt: Probably my favorite right now are what are called picture cans. They were made by a few different brands, and basically every color has a different illustration that describes it. Also I'm into Rustoleum  stuff 1965 or older. They sent out a lot of cool advertising stuff back in the day. Giant display cans, transistor radios that look like cans, I have a gold money clip, and a company softball team jersey from the early seventies. I'm looking for 1950's "grenade and soup cans", called this because of their shape. I don't think most people would even recognize the "soup cans" as spray paint. I'm into greens, avocados, limes, and aquas. I would say i have around a thousand cans that are worth mentioning, but I'm defiantly trying to downsize. It's gotten a bit insane, so a lot of stuff is boxed up these days.  

THE BAG MESSENGER: What is the furthest you have gone on a trip digging?   

Will Van Zandt: With Verse I've been down into Mississippi, on all back roads. We made it to Vicksburg Miss before we ran out of room in the truck and had to turn around. Same deal in Georgia, South Carolina, Kentucky. Those are forsure some of the best come ups.  There is not really anybody else in the South doing this. It isn't like in the North East where you have a lot of guys going to the same spots competing. It was all untouched old family owned hardware stores. You know, "Grandpa opened up after the war, then my dad took over, now it's mine."  These guys don't recycle, and they don't throw stuff away. Prime digging.

THE BAG MESSENGER: Can you describe what a digging  mission might look like? How do people react when you tell them you want to dig up their old paint cans?   

Will Van Zandt:  We leave at three or four in the morning, and by the time we get to the next state the stores are starting to open up. We map it out, then hit every little town. When they start to close we get a cheap ass hotel room, and figure out where to go the next day. Most of the time you just get looked at like a psychopath, " Your looking for what!?"  I've been called a "long haired paint huffing drug addict" and told to get out of people's stores. Sometimes you come across an old man who's happy to have somebody who's actually interested in his business, and wants to show you everything upstairs, in the basement, and tell stories about the "good ole' days".  You can spend full days in a place like that. I've been in basements where cans were literally stuck up in the spaces under the floorboards.  Then his buddy over in whateverville has a store so he calls him up and sends you over. These places are far and few between now, if they even still exist. 

THE BAG MESSENGER: What other kinds of stuff do like to collect?    

Will Van Zandt: I've collected everything at some point. Stamps, coins, comics, baseball cards. If I see a shiny rock I want that shit, but there's a fine line between a collector and a hoarder, and I'm trying to cut back. I don't want to end up on A&E! 

Get the simple messenger bag here , perfect for the daily grind, and stylish enough that you can avoid looking like a "long haired paint huffing drug addict".
 

The votes are in and we have a winner! But before I go ahead and tell you who it is, and ruin the surprise, I have a short speech that more than 90% of you will scroll past.(I know this on the outset, and yet still I feel the urge to thank folks.) I really want to thank all the DJ's who submitted. We received a lot of great mixes, and enjoyed listening to them. Thanks for sharing. I would also like to thank Pipomixes and Cosmo Baker for judging. Thank you gentlemen. Also big bullhorn shouts out to everyone who voted, you too have a voice! And HEEEERE are the results!

First Place- DJ HUDSON

*Airhorn! Airhorn! Airhorn!

Second Place- DJ CHILL WINSTON

*Airhorn! Airhorn!

Third Place- DJ 45Fivan

 *Airhorn

We will also be bringing copies of the top three mixes down to Miami for Winter Music Conference to distribute at the Chung King and Tucker & Bloom event. Stay tuned for details on that!

-THE BAG MESSENGER 

THATS RIGHT! ITS MONDAY FOLKS...... HERE IS YOUR MIX 

This one is hot off the presses! DJ Marsellus Wallace, a friend of Tucker and Bloom's and uber crate digger, just did finished this nasty library funk mix. Be sure to give it a listen.

The man is seriously deep in the crates. Expect to hear some rare library gems in this one...the kind that make the fullest of record collections drool in desire. While your at it, make sure and take a gander at his blog here, its chalk full of obscure library heat, and vaults of record related insight. 

-THE BAG MESSENGER

CLICK THE THEMES LABEL FOR A PAINLESS DOWNLOAD, AND REFILL YOUR COFFEE CUP..ITS GONNA BE A LOOONG RIDE.

"Themes International was a library record label founded in 
1973 by Alan Parker. The music was specifically designed for television 
and movie scores, and was never released to the public for sale. With a 
catalog stretching from 1973 to 1985, Themes remains on the top list of 
vinyl collectors and enthusiasts around the world. The mix tape is a 
brief glimpse into this mysterious London based record label, and shares
to the world a little taste of rare English funk! Enjoy.."- Marsellus Wallace

P.S This looks like a winner.......AND

Speaking of winners, check back later today for the results of the Leisure mix contest. 

Lust for vinyl? Get the designer North To South Messenger bag here and hide your treasures from those prying eyes.