Baroness Frontman Reaches to Food for Escape

Obsession has its price. A few years ago, Baroness frontman John Baizley was becoming so consumed by his music that he was getting oblivious to everything else. When he wasn't on the road touring, he was curled up in his house writing, practicing or making sketches for the band's artwork. That's when he realized he needed another outlet.

"I had an interesting lifestyle, but it wasn't an accurate representation of life," Baizley tells Noisecreep. "The only two creatures I'd see during the day were my dogs. I become socially inept and quiet and awkward in too many situations to name. So I actually got a job working at a restaurant just to force myself out of the house."

Since then, Baizley has worked in numerous restaurants and was most recently working as a prep cook at a vegan establishment near his home in Savannah, Ga. Since he was busy working on Baroness' latest album, 'Blue Record,' for most of 2009, he didn't have many extra hours to put in at the restaurant, but he was still cooking up a storm at home.

"I have three passions in life -- art, music and making food," he says. "I really just cook in the house now, so I've kind of defeated my attempt to find a social outlet for myself, but I love cooking for people and having them over."

Baizley's specialties are French cooking and other international cuisines. "I'll spend Sundays making stocks, and I'm trying to teach myself Thai cooking and Indian cooking, which is proving to be a little strange to my Western hands. But it's something to keep myself challenged and keep my belly full of decent, healthy, delicious food."