It usually goes the other way around. A musician works in a kitchen to get by but dreams of becoming a troubadour. After a half-decade of establishing himself as one of the Twin Cities' best songwriters, Ben Weaver went in the opposite direction. He quit the road to go work in a kitchen.
"I hit a wall and couldn't write anything for about a year, and I knew I needed to get a job," Weaver, 31, recalled. "I wanted something I could be interested in and inspired by. Food was the obvious choice."
A year and a half after he put down his guitar and picked up a chef's knife, Weaver is back doing what he does best -- although the fact that he worked for two of the most respected foodie joints in town, the Corner Table and the Craftsman, proves he must be a decent cook, too.
His new album, "Mirepoix and Smoke" (in stores Oct. 19), is a stark but stirring collection sparked by his experiences crafting food instead of music. Not only is he passing along that inspiration on record, he's also showing it off onstage.
This Thursday, he kicks off a three-night residency at Bryant-Lake Bowl by inviting up friends from the food world to discuss where they find their inspiration, for the "Food" installment of a series dubbed "Tramping With the Pioneers." It continues next Thursday with a "Words" show featuring "Dear American Airlines" author Jonathan Miles and some of his favorite writers. The "Music" finale is Oct. 8 with the Pines as guests.
"Part of the idea was to show off the main ingredients that went into this record," Weaver said. "But I also felt like people often haven't known what to make of me. This was a way of showing off my aesthetic."
"Mirepoix" is Weaver's sixth disc and his second on the alt-country label Bloodshot Records. It's his rawest album since 2004's "Stories Under Nails," but its tones are warmer and the melodies are rich. Like all his CDs, the lyrics linger in the air and simmer like a good stew.
While he's clearly not singing pop songs, Weaver is a bit put off by the idea that he's only a dark, miserable songwriter. There are plenty of uplifting moments on "Mirepoix" to disprove this.
