The Lego Salesman Who Knows Every Band in Town: Todd Hunter

You may know him as the Lego salesman fluent in Italian and Spanish, but I know him as the most knowledgeable local music expert in Champaign. My mystery guest is of course Todd Hunter. Not exactly sure where I met Todd, but I am sure it was probably at a local music show in the mid 2000's. I used to go out to a lot of shows back around that time (do any of you remember how great the music scene in Champaign was at that time?) But no matter how many I went to, I was never as big of a supporter of local music as he was. Not just a supporter, but a genuine fan of the music that was happening.

Before we get too far, let's talk about the meal. Todd doesn't have a vehicle, so when I offered to drive him anywhere in town, he chose a place that he had been wanting to go to, but it was difficult to get to without transportation. He chose 83 Vietnamese Cuisine out in Southwest Champaign. I had never had Vietnamese food before, so I was a little hesitant but as always it was nice to try something new. No idea what I was expecting, but man that was some good food and service tonight.

Todd had the Saigon Cold Cut Bánh mì. It was a sandwich loaded with every kind of pork you can think of. Todd was used to just getting roast pork, but this one was a little more authentic and gave him a chance to try all of the different pork flavors in one go. I had the Hainan Chicken and Rice. It was my first experience with Vietnamese food, so I wanted something simple. But as the owner explained the meal may seem simple at first glance it is really a meal that is much more complex and builds on each individual part until you have a glorious meal filled with flavors.

(Isn't it amazing when the chef comes out and talks to you about the meal he has prepared. The chicken was simply poached in boiling water. The water is then used to make the rice which is flavored with spices. Don't know what spices, but they were the right ones. As the owner suggested, I started off trying just the rice plain and could have easily made a meal of just that. Then I did the next step as he suggested and added some of the ginger dipping sauce to it. That was really where the meal came together. I didn't even know if I would want the ginger sauce, but I am glad he explained the order of tasting the meal and I was so happy I listened to him. The meal for me was great. I would recommend and I'm open to go back again soon. One thing to note, they close at 8, so try to get there early. They were very nice to us when we stayed late because we didn't notice the closing time, but I always feel bad when I am keeping the staff from closing things up.)

Look at this, I am already going long, and I haven't even gotten to our conversation. On the drive over we talked a little about education. Todd went to UIUC and studied Spanish and Italian. He had me guess, but I was way off. It is amazing how little you can know about someone who you have known so long. I had no idea he was trilingual (at least - didn't ask if he spoke any other languages). The other thing I guessed at was where he was from. I had a few guesses but was wrong. Before I got an answer we arrived at the restaurant, and I never got the answer. Since I don't have the correct answer, I am just going to say he is from Paris (Illinois, Texas, or France - one of them, ha.)

When we were eating, we got to talking about what I know Todd from. He is the host of WEFT Sessions and Local 901 on WEFT the radio station located in the heart of Champaign. (or would it be the ear of Champaign since you get to hear it on the radio?) Every Monday at 10pm Todd host a band doing a live session. They play music and talk a little about their band. After that, Local 901 is an hour of local music that Todd picks from the extensive local music collection. If you don't know WEFT, you should definitely give it a listen. They have been long time supporters of local music. I, of course, talked about a lot of the old music that I used to listen to: Terminus Victor, Lorenzo Goetz, The Beauty Shop, Elsinore, American Minor and Kate Hathaway. Loved them back in the day and still love the new projects that members from those bands have gone on to form.

One of the Hunterisms that I remember from way back in the day, is that if you like all music, you really aren't passionate about any music. I was very much an example of that twenty years ago. I kind of liked everything. Just going out and having fun was enough for me, but I really hadn't formed a real sense of what I liked. Since then, I have homed in on more of what I like. While Todd loves the Rock side of Indie Rock, I lean more toward the Pop, Folk, Alt Country side of things. Even though our musical preferences are different, we both can listen and appreciate other artist and types of music. (except for Taylor Swift. I think I am alone in that boat).

One of the best things about having a conversation with Todd is you always come away with interesting new music to check out. In this case, I am sitting here listening the Hathaways - The Parasol Sessions Volume One. This combo of some of the best music makers in the area took place a few years after I left Champaign for the first time, so I completely missed it. Man, this album is great so far. Looks like I will have this on repeat for a while on Spotify. Love it! Thank you for the recommendation, Todd.

Outside of music, I didn't know much about Todd, so it was nice to ask him about some of the other things that he had done in the past. He wrote music columns for local papers, he hosted a trivia night, he was a voice over actor and was a dinner theater actor for a time. All of those make a lot of sense. I could see him doing all of that. The one that took me by surprise was a Lego salesman. Back before everything was available on the internets, he would go to different stores to pick up hard to find Lego sets and sell them to people who had specific request but weren't able to find them locally. That has to be the most interesting job anyone has ever told me about. Can you imagine going around to toy stores and looking for cool Lego sets? Never even thought about that being a way to make money until he mentioned he had done it.

I don't think I can top Lego salesman, so I am going to finish up here (but continue to listen to the Hathaways album). Thank you, Todd, for going to dinner with me and picking a place that I would have never tried if it hadn't been for your suggestion.