There’s something instantly familiar about The Feeders, but not in a way that feels like you’ve heard it all before. Their music is loud, melodic, and a little rough around the edges, balancing punk energy with power-pop hooks. As I listened to them, chatted with Sam Vicari of The Feeders, and thought about this feature, I started imagining a delicious Pane Fritto topped with creamy mascarpone whipped cream, fresh strawberries, and crunchy Oreo crumbs. It all makes perfect sense later in the feature, I promise. But first, let’s get into more about the band.
This Chicago band, consisting of Sam Vicari, John Perrin, and Alex Rackow, creates guitar-focused music that’s meant to be played loudly. Their second album, Dark Days, captures much of that energetic vibe, but beneath the guitars and melodies lies a record driven by intense, heavier emotions. This contrast really drew me into The Feeders. Their songs are both catchy and lively, yet they often stem from deeper, less cheerful feelings. After I learned about the music the trio grew up listening to, I understood their inspirations.
Smoking Popes are a particularly important piece of the puzzle. Sam, John and Alex were all fans, and their shared love for the band became one of the things they connected over as friends and musicians. For Sam, the band also shaped how he approached songwriting. Eventually, that influence led to a real-life connection. Smoking Popes’ Eli Caterer played bass on The Feeders’ first record, and John has also played with Smoking Popes. There’s something perfectly Chicago about that progression — growing up listening to a band, bonding with your own bandmates over their music, and then finding yourselves making music alongside people who helped inspire you in the first place. The list of influences doesn’t stop there. Superdrag, Fig Dish, Triple Fast Action, The Bollweevils, The Lawrence Arms, and The Hives come up regularly among the three of them, and The Muffs are another shared favorite. When you put those names together, you can start to hear pieces of The Feeders’ musical DNA: strong melodies, distorted guitars, punk energy, and songs that don’t need unnecessary fluff to make their point.
Then there’s Dark Days. The album’s title isn’t hiding behind an elaborate metaphor. Much of the record grew out of difficult moods, stressful periods, and the darker stretches most of us encounter at some point in life. What I found interesting, though, was hearing Sam talk about those heavier themes alongside the musicians he admires. He described a very grounded quality to the Chicago and Midwestern music community. These aren’t necessarily musicians trying to maintain some larger-than-life version of being in a rock band. They are individuals with careers, families, responsibilities, and lives outside of the stage, yet they still manage to create solid music.
You can grow up without abandoning what you love. You can have a job, raise a family, handle all responsibilities, and still meet friends, turn on the amps, and create together. This perspective also changed how I heard Dark Days. Despite the heaviness of some songs, the band isn’t trying to make listeners feel like outsiders. They hope The Feeders feel approachable and even comforting. Though unexpected for a loud band, comfort isn’t always quiet; sometimes it’s hearing someone put a feeling into a song or realizing others have tough days and complicated lives. Standing in a room with loud guitars can make all that feel lighter for three minutes.
Dark Days doesn’t require adulthood to disappear before the fun can start. The jobs, families, stress, exhaustion, and difficult days are still there. So are the guitars. Maybe that’s the real comfort in The Feeders. Life gets heavy. You keep living it. And every once in a while, you turn the music up really loud.
When it comes to food, one of my favorite parts of a Lhyme interview is learning what people actually like to eat. Sometimes it’s a favorite restaurant, sometimes it’s something they grew up on, and sometimes it’s just a food they love. With The Feeders, I ended up with a little bit from everyone.
John has spent so much of his life touring that food on the road has definitely shaped the way he eats. These days, he tries to be a little more mindful, but when he’s home, he loves to cook. Roasted and steamed vegetables and plenty of fruit are regulars, and a Honeycrisp apple with peanut butter has become his go-to breakfast whether he’s home or traveling. But some of his favorite foods come with much bigger memories. When John was 17, he made a steak for his then-girlfriend, now wife, using a cast-iron pan he bought specifically for the occasion. Seventeen years later, he still makes that same steak for her — using the same pan. His mom’s meatloaf is another favorite. When he first started touring and was still living at home, she would make it for him whenever he came home. And then there are Hawkins Cheezies. John loves the Canadian snack so much that stocking up on them while touring has made more than one band late getting to the border. That alone probably tells you everything you need to know about his commitment to the Cheezie. For dessert, he loves key lime pie, cherries, berries, and ice cream sandwiches. He mentioned he’s really into anything berry-related, which I kept in mind.
Sam’s food memories took us in a different direction. There’s a simple pasta dish that has become such a staple in his family that they call it “Vicari Linguini.” It’s linguini with a homemade red sauce made from tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. It has shown up at birthdays and is still part of his family’s Christmas meal, now joined by homemade meatballs his sister makes. His everyday lunch is much simpler — usually a mix of baby carrots, grapes, salami, string cheese, and crackers he can eat on the go. And when it comes to snacking, give him chips with guacamole or salsa, especially salsa verde, and he’s happy. Then we got to dessert. Oreos. Sam LOVES Oreos. His sister even makes an Oreo pudding that sometimes gets dyed green for St. Patrick’s Day. Brownies and anything cookie-and-cream are also in his wheelhouse.
And finally, Alex brought us right back to some food nostalgia. Growing up with German and Polish heritage meant pierogies at family gatherings, while his mom’s green bean casserole was something he always looked forward to at Thanksgiving. And remember that Pane Fritto I mentioned earlier? Here’s how we got there. Alex shared that his more recent love is some type of pasta with Arrabbiata sauce. For a while, he had a tradition of meeting his friend Kev at Marino’s in Wood Dale for lunch. Sometimes, they would have Pane Fritto for dessert. As soon as he mentioned the Pane Fritto, I knew I wanted to do something with it. But instead of simply recreating the dessert Alex remembered, I started thinking about how I could bring in some of the other things we talked about, too. That’s where John and Sam came in.
Between our conversations about berries and Oreos, the idea started coming together pretty quickly. I decided to make Pane Fritto topped with mascarpone whipped cream, fresh strawberries, and crushed Oreos. You get the warm, crispy Pane Fritto with the cool mascarpone whipped cream, fresh strawberries, and Oreo crumbs on top. There are a lot of different textures, but nothing feels overly complicated or fancy. It’s just really good. Every part of it came from my conversation with The Feeders. The Pane Fritto started with Alex and a memory of eating out with his friend. The strawberries and Oreos also gave me a way to bring John and Sam into the recipe. By the time I put everything together, I had a dessert inspired by all three of them. A conversation with a Chicago rock band led to fried bread covered in mascarpone whipped cream, strawberries, and Oreos. I’m pretty happy with where we ended up: an easy and comforting recipe for a sweet treat.
While you’re making this Pane Fritto, turn up Dark Days and let The Feeders provide the soundtrack. Be sure to stream the album wherever you listen to music, and enjoy this one the way we like to do things around here — good food, good music, and maybe have the volume turned up a little too loud. Check out the recipe below!
Pane Fritto with Mascarpone Cream, Strawberries & Oreo Crumble
Serves 4–6
Ingredients for the Pane Fritto
- 6 thick slices brioche, challah, or good-quality white Italian bread
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon pure cane sugar
- Pinch of sea salt
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, for frying
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil, for frying
- ¼ cup pure cane sugar, for finishing
Ingredients for Mascarpone Whipped Cream
- 8 oz mascarpone, cold
- 2 tablespoons whole milk, cold
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of sea salt
Toppings
- 1½ cups fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered
- Oreo cookies, roughly crushed
- Powdered sugar, optional
Directions
1. Mix mascarpone with powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk until smooth and creamy. Add milk gradually to keep it soft but not runny.
2. Whisk the eggs, milk, vanilla, sugar and salt in a shallow bowl. Set in the fridge until ready to serve.
3. Cut each slice of bread into a large rectangle or triangle. Quickly dip each piece in the egg mixture—you don’t want it saturated like very soft French toast.
4. Heat about 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet over medium heat. Fry the bread in batches for roughly 2–3 minutes per side, until deeply golden and crisp around the edges. Add more butter/oil as necessary.
5. As soon as each piece comes out of the pan, lightly sprinkle or toss it with granulated sugar. This gives you that gorgeous, slightly crunchy exterior.
6. Put 2 or 3 warm pieces of pane fritto on each plate. Add a generous dollop of cold mascarpone cream. Pile fresh strawberries over the cream and finish with roughly crushed Oreos.
7. Serve it immediately while the pane fritto is still warm. Enjoy!
