The brains behind Mia Dona and Anthos dishes

“Two liters of vodka a day? That’s complete madness!” says Daniel Gallagher, lead guitarist for Cazals, conjuring 80s burnouts Guns N’ Roses as he considers the prospect of a two-year tour in support of the UK buzz band’s debut album What of Our Future. The band’s early reputation exploded with Cazalaid, its legendary -- and illegal -- all-night warehouse parties thrown in London’s Whitechapel (an attempt to generate proceeds for new instruments after all of their equipment was stolen). More recently, however, the five-piece -- Gallagher and Luca C. are on guitars, Martin Dubka plays bass, Phil Bush is the lead singer, and Warren Stubbs beats on drums -- has garnered attention for their music.

Scandinavian punk princess Ida Maria (pronounced eeh-dah) has a message for all you men out there: She likes you so much better when you’re naked, so get ready to drop trou. Hailing from Nesna, Norway (and subsequently managing her own record label of the same name), this 24-year old blue-eyed beauty just finished rocking SXSW and will soon to be shredding up at Coachella to promote her new album Fortress Round My Heart. You may recognize her hit single “Oh My God” from Gossip Girl promos. I sat down with Ida to discuss what a nice guy Perez Hilton is, what it’s like to be diagnosed with synesthesia (a neurological condition that allows her to “hear colors” and “see music”), and the number of guys she would like to see naked (pretty much all of them).

We’ve all got recession fever, but no other business is feeling the heat quite like the service industry. While most restaurateurs are agonizing at empty tables and fleeting sales, Danny Abrams -- co-owner of Smith’s and head honcho at The Mermaid Inn -- has been enjoying the perks of a flourishing eatery with a new executive chef (Doug Psaltis, formerly of Country, The French Laundry, and Mix) and a creative menu with comfort-foodie fare. Abrams tells us how he started out in the business, the ways in which the landscape of New York restaurants is changing, and why being a nice guy and an “average diner” have put him at the top of his game.

The French singer-songwriter talks sex and superstition

Green Day will soon be joining the ranks of big-ticket acts to make the jump from CD to stage, when their new musical American Idiot debuts this fall at the Berkeley Repertory Theater in California. Adapted from their Grammy-winning album of the same title, American Idiot is slated to open the theater’s 2009-2010 season, running from September 4th to October 11th. According to Green Day’s website, “the musical is a collaboration between Green Day — the Bay Area rock trio consisting of Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool — and Michael Mayer, the Tony Award-winning director of Spring Awakening.

If we have Avril Lavigne, then Australia has Gabriella Cilmi. With six ARIAs (Australian Recording Industry Association Awards) in her pouch and a fresh nomination at the BRIT awards for the 2009 International Female Solo Artist, the 17-year-old Australian pop star is poised to take the US by storm. Kicking off 2009 as one of VH1's first You Oughta Know selections has put her in the national spotlight, but that’s just another day for a girl whose debut album, Lessons to be Learned, has already soared to the top ten in several countries around the world. Confident and passionate, Gabriella made some time to speak with me about her hit single -- "Sweet On Me" -- her love for Led Zeppelin, and those inevitable comparisons to Amy Winehouse.