16 S5 Autopilot with Miki Hellerbach

At 16, Miki Hellerbach landed his first job bussing tables at Clementine, a cozy BYOB restaurant in Baltimore. It was his first real step into adulthood—and it stuck with him in more ways than one.

The staff was older, seasoned, and welcoming. They didn’t treat him like a kid. They showed him how to keep the place running, how to move with confidence in a busy room, and how to fit into a team. It was also where he discovered his love for food—not just in theory, but in taste. Clementine was the first place he realized he actually liked fish, thanks to one of the restaurant’s specials.

One night during a shift, Auto Pilot by Queens of the Stone Age came on over the speakers. It wasn’t a favorite, or something he’d sought out. It was just part of the playlist someone else had made. But something about it landed. It felt moody, grounded, and completely tied to the moment. While the other songs faded into the background, that one stayed.

At the time, Miki didn’t know much about the band. Queens of the Stone Age, formed in 1996 by Josh Homme, built their reputation on a blend of desert rock, alternative edge, and hypnotic rhythms. The song Autopilot came from their 2000 album Rated R, which helped cement their place in early-2000s rock. But for Miki, this track wasn’t about the band’s legacy. It was about a feeling—and a memory. That song lived in that restaurant. It was personal, and sacred to Clementine’s.

Years later, he still thinks about it. Not because he kept the song on repeat, but because it captured a moment in time—early independence, restaurant life, and learning who he was becoming. It also connects with the bigger theme of this podcast: how music ties us to specific memories and places. For Miki, Clementine was that place.

Now a music journalist and the host of Convo at the Spot, Miki interviews artists about their own personal connections to food and music. That show is about the moments behind the music—the places, meals, and stories that shape creativity. It mirrors what we do here, using songs as a lens to revisit defining chapters of life.

So it’s no surprise that Auto Pilot still comes up for him. It’s not the loudest or most obvious song, but it carries weight. It marks the beginning of his love for both music and food. It reminds him of the community that took him in and the shift where he first found his footing.

Some songs don’t change your life in big dramatic ways. They don’t announce themselves. They just exist in a certain space, at a certain time—and stay with you. That’s exactly what happened here.

Auto Pilot (the song)

🎧 Hear the full story of Miki Hellerbach’s episode here.

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