Chasing After the Cool Guys
Posted by Tara Kirkland on
After the incredibly awesome time we had with Darby Wilcox a few weeks ago- it seemed only fitting that we hang out with our friend Chase!
Act 1
T: I first met you when you were bartending at Bacon Brothers- it seemed like, at the time, and even now you're into creating some amazing drinks. What is one of your favorite creations?
C: One of my favorite cocktail to this day was a cocktail I created called 14 Carrots. I used an infused vodka I created of orange blossoms, orange rind, and an orange rind reduction and paired it with fresh pressed carrot juice, ginger root simple, and lemon juice. Garnished with orange oil ice cubes and corkscrew rush.
T: How did you get into that whole bartending scene?
C:My enchantment for mixology was by sheer happenstance. I fell under the tutelage of Jason Calloway, owner of Bacon Bros., durning our tenure at High Cotton. I wasn’t, and never have been, exactly interested in alcohol, per say. After I left my career and Hollywood and moved to Greenville, bartending was just what I was doing at the time and I had to find a way to infuse my creativity into what I was doing for my sanity’s sake.
T: Thinking on drinking- do you have a favorite haunt to grab drinks here in town?
C: American Grocery! Kirk (of AGR) is doing amazing things and I cannot be more pumped for Vault & Vator. Bacon Bros. has a good program, too.
T: AGR is one of our favorite places too. We can't wait to see what the creative team behind AGR does with their new venture Vault & Vator too! It's going to be in our neighborhood, and is opening soon- so we're pretty pumped here as well!
T: I know you and I share a love for supporting local- tell me some of your favorite places to grab lunch? And dinner?
C: My best friend, Stephanie Burnett, is a food writer and every week we go somewhere different to eat. Right now, DishOut is my favorite place to grab lunch. Their pita melts – there’s not a word for how good they are. I also am heavily faithful to GB&D, it is Greenville’s best kept secret. But Sweet Basil is probably my favorite restaurant overall.
Act 2
T: You seem pretty passionate about movies too. What got you into movies in the first place?
C: I have, and always been, a person who’s raison d’être has been defined by their love of cinema. Growing up, I didn’t have a lot of friends; I was this gay little art kid who grew up in an upper-class neighborhood on the outskirts of metropolitan DC. I didn’t make sense to anyone. So I found solace in the films that I watched and the characters I made my friends. It was an escape into worlds and stories I could never find in my world, growing up. It completely developed the fantastical side of my brain. From there, film and television just became the exordium of my life.
T: I know it's impossible but give me your top 5 movies?
C: Ha! I can do better. I can give you my top 10.
T: Lay 'em on me!
C: Titanic, Her, Rear Window, Short Term 12, Lost in Translation, Jeux Interdits, Contact,
The Legend of 1900, Into the Wild, and Moonlight Mile... And basically anything with Amy Adams. I am obsessed with Amy Adams. These movies are my totems – hence why I have tattoos for all of them. Those are my top ten. I have a top 50, but those consist of less caliber films that are my comfort films and repeat offenders I rather not admit that I actually like.
T: I was also thinking about how much the way we watch things has changed... with netflix, prime, hulu and all that- do you have a favorite? Or most used? And do you still enjoy going to the big screen?
C: Netflix. Amazon Prime has some good ones too, like Transparent and Red Oaks. But House of Cards is one of my all-time favorite shows. I’ve binged watched every season, at least, six times over. Claire Underwood is my spirit animal. But talk about game changers... Streaming services have changed the way we watch and distribute television series. I somewhat credit them for bringing us into the Golden Age of Television. And the theater will always be my home, though I don’t go as much as I used to. Attribute it to me slowly creeping towards my middlescence where everything annoys me: chattering, noisy eaters, sitting next to old people who smell like formaldehyde. I’ll see a big, budget spectacle at the theater - but I'd rather stream an indie from the comfort of my bed.
Act 3
This or That
Hot or cold- Cold
Blue or black- Black
Inside or outside- Outside
Facebook or Instagram- Instagram
Paperback or hardback- Hardback
Tape or record- Record
Flip flop or not- Flip Flop
Shaken or stirred- Shaken
Rocks or neat- Rocks
Sweet or sour- Sweet
Act 4
Favorites
Colour: Purple
Drink: Aloe Water
Cereal: Life Cereal
Book: The Lovely Bones
Sport: Swimming
Animal: Goats
(All of Chase's sunglasses, shirts, and vests throughout this interview are available for purchase at the Greenville, SC location.)
T: Thanks Chase!
C: Anytime.
