Music and Booze With Mo Mo Herms

Nikki Schultz of Los Angeles' Thunderbolt has found synergy in making music, crafting cocktails,  and activism, which all have taught her lessons in how to give herself and others emotional space. (A revelatory stint in the funeral arrangement industry brought similar wisdom.) From her start in Minneapolis dive bars and music venues to a period creating drinks in a changing Seattle, she found herself arriving in LA to not only see what it could offer her, but what she could offer it. Turns out becoming part of an award winning bar team was just the beginning. Check out her playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3gokXIdRcj6SKdfQqhLfeR?si=5cb8772588634c3e

LyAnna Sanabria is the beverage director and co-founder of the first Puerto Rican bar & restaurant in Maine: Portland's Papi. We chat about the challenge of educating people about her culture and the ingredients that come with it, playing Nick Drake in a dive bar, and how her love of Chris Cornell touches a lot of what she does. Check out the music you'd here if you went for a ride with her on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6nnEVeQMowEGDFQszeCZn3?si=a2b0f2c0356a4d01

Thomas Moore IV started out chasing $1 tips at the Superdome, and now leads the drink program at the Elysian Bar in New Orleans. Part of the Turning Tables program (which gives opportunities to black and brown bartenders), he graduated from churning out beers to becoming a mentor as well as a competitive (and winning!) bartender. He also makes his own personal soundtracks which inspire his cocktail creations - the latter of which have won notice from Tales of the Cocktail for the Elysian Bar. Check out his Bartender's Menu Mix here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/498TMPLVScvHxebPR4qUBR?si=3675a845158f4784

Claire Swenson was a regular at iconic Minneapolis dive bar and music venue Palmers and eventually wound up on the other side, serving drinks to patrons who considered her "the new guy" for several years. Claire does online radio shows (sometimes from Palmers), plays the rubber chicken in a band, and dishes on proper dive bar etiquette (on both sides of the bar) while also teaching us about the weirder side of music. Check out her special l'il music mix for us here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/56mFLfMnJVKOBWehbEPPc7?si=9b4674a87f7d49cd

Millita Gonzalez grew up in a family of music bookers & club owners, so of course she started bartending at her dad's Latin dance club as soon as she could! (Her tales of conquering high volume crowds with only a blender are amazing.) She worked her way through Nashville and NOLA, catching the fine dining bug along the way and happily mastered craft cocktails. She currently leads the program at Asheville's Little Jumbo Bar,  making playlists on the side... like this one that will keep you dancing: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2UWhpreySy1l9EAj1z73CX?si=8fd3ca9581b54cce

Adri Ramos is the bar manager at LA's Employee's Only and the founder of FLAG LA, a female led apprenticeship group to empower other women in the LA bar industry. She's a fan of moody vibes and great cocktails, and wanted to bartend so badly when she was young that she took classes before she was 21 just so she could get some practice! Her natural skills landed her in some of LA's most creative spaces and her love of music may have influenced some of her cocktail creations too. Check out her 13 hour (!) playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0UNGw8Pco1bW2mbzQoKZm0?si=1228206dd17f4b3f