Free Grilled Cheese Is Bringing the House Back to House Party
“A party away from the party”: That’s how Steff and Nathan, a duo who are single-handedly redefining entrepreneurship, describe to me the eclectic event they have cultivated in Los Angeles over the past year. Much like the food the event takes its name from, Free Grilled Cheese is a throwback party that tingles our nostalgic nerves. Created by Steff and three others known as Nathan, Darwin and Dante, the collective is based on a simple idea with a simple name. Over the past year, it has become one of the most talked-about events in the industry, and most of this can be credited with its organic beginnings.
Part party, part food fest, part hangout sesh, Free Grilled Cheese has been taking over the Los Angeles house party scene since their inaugural event last May. And with both Skrillex and Diplo rolling through the last installment this past January, you never know who is going to show up, kick it, and nom on bomb grilled cheese. Originated out of the group’s house in Los Angeles after the success of a small get-together, Free Grilled Cheese was really just a way to get industry friends and Los Angeles collectives together for free food and a party they did not have to hate themselves for being at. On the cusp of Free Grilled Cheese’s biggest event to date, Cochedda, I chatted with them about just exactly what all the hype was about.
“Who do you know that does not like grilled cheese?” is the first thing that comes out of Nathan’s mouth. A grilled cheese sandwich is an example of an ultimate economic equalizer, one that is not far from the premise of the party itself. Focused less on financial gain and status and more on bringing people together, the series is nothing more than a simple, common ground used as a platform to unite everyone in the scene. Finding the connection between grilled cheese and electronic music is really irrelevant—spoiler: there is none—yet the party provides a low-key, laissez–faire environment for collectives and artists alike to come spin if they want to, or hang out if they don’t.
I attended the collective’s last party at the beginning of this year, and it was one for the ages. I went in with little knowledge yet high expectations, and I walked away more impressed than I have been with an event in a long time. Held at the house Gwar used to live in just off Sunset Boulevard, it had all the feelings of a great house party that could exist only in Los Angeles. Way-too-beautiful-for-life people listened to rad music from the likes of Mija and Durante, while they munched on gourmet grilled cheese that, not surprisingly, bore names that would make food pun aficionados salivate. Music-producer-turned-chef and resident grilled cheese master Dante kept the grilled cheese going all night, as high-profile DJs mixed with industry folk until the cops decided it was enough and shut down the party.
If that event was any indication of the type of debauchery that goes down at Free Grilled Cheese, there is no doubt in my mind that Cochedda will be the event of the festival weekend. “Cochedda really started out as an idea to bring all the crews together out in the desert for one massive party,” Nathan says of the premise. While wary of the difficulties in throwing an event in the desert during one of the biggest music festivals in the world, they truly did not know how much they’d bitten off until they got the ball rolling. Everything from getting permits and funding, to figuring out how to keep all the ice cold, has been keeping the group up at night.
This is not a singular effort in any way, shape or form. Over the past few years, the Los Angeles electronic music scene has quietly grown into one of the best in the world, due to an influx of forward-thinking, genre-spanning collectives. Two of these collectives that have been on board with the Free Grilled Cheese crew for the distance, and have been imperative in making this event happen, include Brownies and Lemonade and degrade.LA.
Buried within all this ritualistic, 2-in-the-morning jive is truly a party that aims for little yet brings us the most—a house party that we all want to be at. What started out as an idea to bring a bunch of different collectives together ultimately led to a ton of work that looks to be as rewarding as it is appetizing for the four aspiring grilled cheese entrepreneurs. And with rumors that MTV will be on location filming their new underground dance show, Thursday’s party should be enough inspiration to head out to the desert early for the weekend ahead.
Cochedda is happening Thursday, April 9, in Palm Desert, CA.
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