Tender, slow-cooked beef and shrimp tempura wrapped into a delightful sushi roll while listening to The Cle Elum’s latest release, It’s Okay If It Falls Apart? Sounds like a perfect pairing to me. Check out the recipe below!

Sarah Sargent Pepper and Ian Lee have been together as a couple for 13 years since 2011. They eventually started a tour bus company leasing tour buses to various bands worldwide. Sarah was playing drums, and Ian was involved in numerous bands. The tour bus business dominated their lives, keeping them on the road for seven years every day of the year. Then the pandemic brought everything to a halt, and they sat down together and began writing songs. They collaborated on all the songs and made time between various tours to head into the studio to record their music. After the pandemic, they began recording, and midway through the album, they realized they had essentially formed a band. They completed the album and started performing live. The live shows were well-received, with audiences asking for encores. An NPR local DJ event attended one of their shows with great reviews and they recently had their first major performance on August 2nd.

The Cle Elum band name is pronounced “ The “Klee el-Um” after a town in eastern Washington where Sarah camped a lot as a child, creating strong ties and fond memories. The name according to the Kittitas Native Americans, means “swift water.” Falling within the indie rock genre and blending influences from pop, power pop, punk pop, and Americana, the formation of the band was an organic process- they simply got together to write and create. As a couple, Ian and Sarah have always been collaborative, working on various art projects together, including painting and writing. Many of their musician friends contributed to the album, making it truly a creative and collaborative endeavor.

Their most notable influences include The Replacements, Guided by Voices, and Nada Surf. For Ian, Guided by Voices is the gold standard- they’re his favorite band. He admires their DIY approach, where they write their songs and release music with no strict rules, sometimes putting out as many as five albums in a year. The band’s raw, unpolished recordings, which often include mistakes, defy the conventional standard of clean, perfect masters, adding a unique character to the music. Sarah’s influences stem from classic rock, particularly the music she grew up listening to at home. Mick Fleetwood, the drummer for Fleetwood Mac, inspired Sarah with his unconventional drumming approach, which she finds unexpected and refreshing. There’s a strong connection between Ian and Sarah in their songwriting, marked by catchy pop melodies and a close collaboration with each other. Their influences also include iconic figures like Paul and Linda McCartney from Wings, Band on the Run, The White Stripes, and Elton John making their sound a blend of both modern and classic inspirations.

So what’s next for The Cle Elum? Their latest release, It’s Okay If It Falls Apart, is available now on all listening platforms. The band also plans to leverage their extensive touring experience and tour bus business to secure opening slots for gigs, aiming to tour more extensively in the fall. It’s Okay If It Falls Apart is a strong release and the band is confident it will be well-received by fans. Songs like “Handclaps and Tambourines” will have fans putting their phones on the floor and focusing on the great vibes of the song.

Looking ahead, The Cle Elum have the goal of multiple tours under their belt, with aspirations of eventually touring overseas and bringing their music beyond North America. They also hope to release several albums in the future, and they already have about two albums’ worth of material recorded in voice memos, ready for their next project. While they’re not seeking pop stardom, their goal is to establish a platform where they can continue to create and share their music. For them, music remains one of the last mediums through which humans can share ideas and experiences, and they cherish the unique connection they form with people during live performances. It’s an experience that AI can’t replicate, making live music a special and irreplaceable part of our world. They’re eager to create more connections with their audience through their music. The band believes music is the last spiritual connection we have. In a time when people feel more lost and disconnected than ever, music is the key to bringing us all back together to connected experiences. Be sure to check out their latest album, It’s Okay If It Falls Apart, available now on all listening platforms, and follow them on Instagram. Can’t wait to put my phone on the floor and listen to more music from The Cle Elum.

FOLLOW THE CLE ELUM ON IG

When it comes to food, Sarah is a skilled cook and true foodie. Growing up in Seattle, Washington, fish is a central part of the Northwest culture, so she was raised on a diet rich in seafood. Smoked oysters, cracked crab, and other seafood were staple foods in her childhood, and she developed a deep love for sushi, which she could eat every day. Japanese culture is one of her favorites and is heavily influenced by the large Japanese population in the Northwest. Her go-to dishes include salmon, avocado, salmon nigiri, rainbow rolls, salmon carpaccio, miso soup, masago, and fish eggs. While Sarah enjoys raw seafood like oysters – particularly Kumamoto oysters from the Pacific- she’s not a fan of cooked fish, except grilled oysters. She recommends sticking to West Coast and East Coast oysters, especially in months ending in “BER”, when the water is colder. Sharing a dozen oysters with friends is one of her favorite pastimes. For sweets, Sarah loves black licorice, particularly Finnish or Dutch high-quality varieties.

Ian, originally from Windsor Ontario, Canada, was introduced to sushi by Sarah during their early food dates, and although he now enjoys it, he tends to stick to safer choices like California rolls. Ian is more of a meat-and-potatoes kind of person, with a love for New York-style pizza, particularly from an old favorite, Riverside Tavern in Ontario where they used to serve one of his favorites with a vinegary, mustardy barbecue sauce before permanently closing in 2023. He also loves a good burger. One of his favorite dishes is spaghetti carbonara, a recipe passed down from his father, who attended culinary school. While Ian has yet to perfect his father’s carbonara, he’s excellent at grilling steaks. When it comes to desserts, Ian prefers classic ice cream flavors like vanilla, salted caramel, and chocolate, steering clear of any fruit flavors. His favorite places to eat include Main Street Meats in Chattanooga, TN, known for the best dry-aged ribeye steak, and Niedlov’s Bakery, which offers world-class chocolate chip cookies and sandwiches. Combining both Sarah and Ian’s culinary favorites, I decided to create a unique surf and turf sushi roll combining two of their favorites with filet mignon and shrimp tempura. Check out the recipe below!

Surf and Turf Sushi Rolls

Ingredients for Beef

2 lbs of chuck roast
1 tablespoon avocado oil
4 cups of beef bone broth
1 onion, sliced
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons tomato puree
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon mustard powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for Surf and Turf Rolls

10 tempura shrimp, cooked (Trader Joe’s Tempura Shrimp is great for this recipe)
3 cups Nishiki rice (sushi rice), cooked
1/4 cup rice vinegar
6 nori sheets
2 cups slow-cooked beef, shredded
1 cup sliced red onion
1 cup sliced red and yellow bell peppers
1 cup shredded carrot
1 cup green onion
1 cup cucumber, julienned
1/2 cup cream cheese, cut into long strips
Teriyaki sauce of choice (recommend Soy Vay)

Directions

Season the chuck roast with salt, pepper, and mustard.
Heat oil and sear the chuck roast on all sides.
Place the seared beef in the slow cooker. Add sliced onions, garlic powder, tomato puree, bay leaves, and bone broth.
Cook covered on low in the slow cooker for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. Set aside to slightly cool & shred when ready to build the rolls.
Warm the rice vinegar for 30 seconds in the microwave and toss with the cooked sushi rice in a bowl. The rice will be very sticky. Cover and refrigerate to cool for about 30 minutes.
To begin making the rolls prep a small bowl with lukewarm water to prevent sticky fingers.
You can use either a Japanese non-stick sushi roll mat or a bamboo mat to make the sushi rolls. I used a Japanese non-stick sushi mat I scored from my local international market.
Place a nori sheet down on the mat with the longest slide facing towards you. Spread about 1 cup of the rice onto the mat. Leave an inch of space at the opposite end of the roll to seal after filling.
Top the rice with the shrimp, steak, and other toppings.
Roll the mat forward in the direction away from you and then apply pressure at the end to get a good wrap.
Unroll the mat and use a bit of water on your fingertips to seal the roll.
Fill a cup with water to dip the knife as you slice the rolls. Be sure to use a very sharp knife. I used an exceptionally sharp Japanese knife and dipped the knife in water between each cut to ensure a smooth slice for each roll.
Cut the roll into one-inch-thick slices.
Drizzle the rolls with teriyaki sauce. Serve and enjoy!