Vacay, man. Vacay.

Bierkraft Will Save Us All

With the crisp smell of fall in the air after a weirdly short summer, many things come to mind. First and foremost: Where the hell did the summer go, anyway? But after that comes the anticipation the many, many great things about autumn in Brooklyn. The changing trees in the park, the cloudless blue skied days, breaking out the sweaters. All that good stuff. Another thing that springs to mind for me: Awesome beer. Now, I’m a year-round beer drinker, but I fell in love with good beer in the fall, discovering the dark deep maltiness of stouts and porters and then eventually moving on to rich, hoppy IPAs. A year or so after we first moved to Park Slope, a quaint little store called Bierkraft opened up just one long block away from our abode. We were struck by the old world charm of store interior: Exposed brick, antique beer signs. We were even more struck by the hundreds of beers they had for sale. Years later, Bierkraft has become an institution in Brooklyn, expanding operations to include draft systems and refillable growlers (see photo). We recently caught up with Ben Granger, one of Bierkraft’s owners and resident Brooklyn beer expert, to talk beer, ‘kraut, CO2, and all things that make you kind of gassy.

KoR: So, from what I understand, you started working at the store and were brought on as a partner soon after. Do the Scholzes (the other two owners) have a background in beer or breweries or are they just really big beer fans? And you?

Ben Granger: Richard was a home brewer and Daphne just loves the stuff. As for me, I was a Chef for 10 years before this business so I like all consumables.

How many beers, roughly, do you all carry? And how many countries of origin?

About 1200 beers, and maybe 20 countries.

That’s a lot of beer, man. So, we’ve been fans of the store since it opened, but I think the thing that really wowed me was when you all created your draft system and started carrying beers, many of which are from small breweries that don’t bottle their beer, and filling growlers. Where did that idea come from? Did Whole Foods totally rip you off?

Yes, Whole foods totally ripped us off but they don’t do it anything like the way we do it. The idea came during a session of beer drinking at the Gate one night. My friend Bobby and I were having a few and the idea just kind of happened.

I remember I had a professor in college who told me most good ideas come about over beers late at night. But how does it work, the draft system? Is it pretty much the same set-up as a bar? Kegs downstairs, taps upstairs, a bunch of pipes and hoses?

Not at all. Our Kegerators are actually all old Deli cases that have been retro-fitted and converted to be bottle fillers. We don’t have taps, really. I have ball valves and quick disconnects. The system is designed to pressure-fill bottles and nothing more. However I am in the process of a new design, which will let me pour pints as well, which will be very cool.

Beer mechanics sounds like pretty serious stuff. Now, pretty recently, you added three taps for cask beer, what some people call real ale. Can you explain what that is and how it’s different?

With cask ale the bubbles are produced naturally in the serving vessel by live yeast. The beer never comes in contact with any extraneous C02. Because the beer is not supposed to come in contact with extraneous C02, we use a pump to move it instead of pressurizing the serving vessel (the cask). The pumps are designed and built in-house as well as all of the other equipment. Because of the way I like to do things, a lot of the equipment that I need to pull off some of the things I do just doesn’t exist. So if it doesn’t exist, you have to build it.

You’re like Beer MacGyver. Beergyver? Okay, so what is the Naards? And, maybe I shouldn’t ask…but WHY is it named…the Naards?

I am sorry to hear that you out of all people have never been Naard-ed. The naards is a giant hop filter that goes between the keg and the tap. This way you can run your beer over a bed of hops right before you drink it. We don’t use it as often as I would like because hops are now very expensive. The name is interesting. I have built 2 of these filters. The first one was very cobbled together, three chambers, and not very efficient. The current one is one chamber. It’s one of my favorite pieces of equipment that I’ve built and it’s incredibly efficient. The name comes from a brewery that has one of these filters too, which they call Randall. Theirs looks like my first design, only one chamber instead of three, and not so cobbled. So when I launched the second design, I worked out all the B.S. and had it looking good. Mind you, the second looks nothing like the first. People would come in the store and say, “Hey what’s going through your Randall?” and I would tell them it’s not a Randall. I built this and it’s not made by Dogfish Head. My cellar manger Matt decided that he wanted to name it Naards because it sounded cool and afterwards fit the acronym in as Not Actually A Randall Device System. I bet you are really glad that you asked now.

Actually, I am. Very glad to hear the name’s not nut-related. Do you plan on using it again soon?

Yes, I have a bag of really stinky Simcoe Hops that are begging for a big beer.

What’s your best-selling beer or beer type?

IPA, Double IPA, Imperial IPA.

We’ve noticed some changes in the store lately. You seem to have gotten rid of a lot of the space for cheeses (which, being vegan, we’re cool with) and the real estate for some of your other non-beer products and seem to be focusing on the beer and sandwich end of things. You’ve even put in some benches and tables at the one end. What’s going on, man? Are you going tiny German beer hall on us? Should we expect braids and lederhosen?

Not so German, but we are getting our serving license so that it will be possible to drink in the store.

We’ve also noticed a lot more seasonal vegetable toppings for sandwiches. Pickled fiddlehead ferns? House-made sauerkraut? What other kind of seasonal vegetables do you all get?

I make my own ‘kraut, kimchi, and lactic pickles. If you look on the board you’ll notice that you’ll see eggplant puree sometimes, roasted squash and other things as well. In past years I have brought in stuff from my garden but this year I grew mostly flowers, hops and fruit. I’ll usually bring in whatever is good. Unfortunately there has been an issue (blight) with tomato’s this year, so no local heirlooms.

Right, our tomatoes got hit with that too. So I can get a pretty mean vegan sandwich there then? Sans tomatoes.

Sure.

So, with the hops you grow in your backyard, what do you do with them once they’ve grown? Do you press them and use an drying kiln, or use them fresh? How long have you been doing that?

I use racks in my kitchen for drying. I also use them fresh because I really really love fresh hops. I have been growing for about 4 years.

So, not to steal your thunder, but could anyone with a yard or garden box grow their own hops and just throw them in a growler of beer?

No thunder-stealing here. I didn’t invent the hop. Yes, you could grow hops in just about any yard in Brooklyn. A window box might be tough; they would probably grow the first year but not come back the second. You could definitely stuff them in your growler. But if you seriously want to grow hops you need a few establishing years to let the vines mature.

Do you all have more long-term plans for the shop you can talk about?

We don’t do the secret thing, really. Right now I’m going to start concentrating on the furniture for the back yard. I built the furniture in the main dining area and most of it’s scrap or reclaimed materials. I am going to do the same for the back yard just a different style. I think more scrap-yard-like.

Nice. It can be like the junkyard Fat Albert and the gang hung out in. Have you ever explored beer delivery? I’ve always thought the notion of the pre-war milkman leaving bottles at your doorstep was quaint. I’d totally love to wake up to a growler of beer on my stoop.

That is something that we have discussed I just don’t have the kinks worked out yet.

Wait, for serious? That rules. Any crazy home-brewing stories? Like, ones that end with “…and that’s how I blew out the windows in our apartment,” or “…that’s why the carpet smells like buttholes?”

Every brew has a crazy story. If you ask around the shop you will find out that accidents just kind of happen when I am involved.

I’ll have to follow up on that then. So, I’m personally a huge fan of India Pale Ales and Double IPAs and top-fermented, just really hoppy beers. It seems like these kind of beers are having somewhat of a heyday through the popularization of small, craft breweries. Any ideas on why this type of beer seems so popular with that select crowd? Or even why craft beers seem to be experiencing this surge in popularity?

As you’ll notice in other parts of American culture, especially food culture, when we finally get something right we tend to take it to that next level—you know, BIGGER BETTER FASTER STRONGER. The thing is that the macro breweries developed these high alpha hops so they could grow less and use more, making the beer efficient beyond belief. Then the micro’s got ahold of some of these high alpha hybrid hops, but instead of using them just for the alpha acid bitterness they used them for aroma as well. These hops have oils that blow off grapefruit, passion fruit, pine, and all sorts of other flavors. This sparked a whole new movement in the production of IPA’s . We could write a book on the American IPA, American Double IPA and the use of hops in the American craft brewery in general. In short, hops taste really f’n good and it would be a shame not to use them for all of their worth.

Amen. Do you know of any breweries that have closed or are hurting significantly from this pesky economy thing?

I know of breweries that have been caused some trouble by their states raising sin taxes on their product and taxing them harder because the state is broke. But the market drinks when it is happy and drinks when it is sad.

I know there are some purists out there who frown upon too much experimentation with beer formulas. What’s your stance? Are you into adding anything beyond hops, barley, and water? How do you think a horseradish beer would go over?

I don’t know about horseradish but I have added some weird shit to some of my beers. My friend Carl and I just brewed a 12.5% root beer with fresh cherries and honey. It is pretty good and it will get you there in a hurry. I like a balanced beer but I also love a huge hop bomb that is just piney, grapefruitty hoppy goodness from start to finish. I will try most everything at least once, and if it’s good, I’ll probably try it a few more times.

Mmmm, fancy alcoholic root beer… Any little-known breweries that we should all keep our eyes on? Not in a ‘Hey, I think they have a bomb’ way. More in a ‘Hey, THEY’RE doing some cool stuff’ way.

YES! This is a list of breweries that you should watch. Some of them are little know some of them are just known by “Beer Geeks” and some of them should just plain old be mentioned. Mikkeller, Nogno, Three Floyds, Shorts, Cigar City, Russian River, Port – Lost Abbey, Bells, Struise, Captain Lawrence, SixPoint, Ballast Point, Green Flash…I am sure there are more.

Oh, man, I love Captain Lawrence. And, yeah, 4th Avenue Pub has been carrying a good IPA by Cigar City lately. So, are there certain types of beers that our area excels at making more than others?

I find that the North East has it’s breweries that are very specialized. I think that right now, there are some fantastic barrel-aged beers from the North East as well as some really good stouts as well as some hybrid Belgo – American beers.

Alright, I don’t know if this question’s allowed, but…is there a holy grail of beers for you? Something that you had once and wish you could have again but can’t for whatever reason (Indiana Jones Nazis, sheer distance, etc.)?

I don’t know if “Holy Grail” is the best term because these 3 beers are my absolute favorites and I talk loudly enough about them, so people bring them to me for trade pretty regularly. Neither of them are available in New York, so the only way to get them is by trade or travel. Russian River – Pliny the Elder (that is a lot of people’s favorite), Port Brewing Shark Attack (I even like it aged), and Ninkozi- Tricerahops.

Any favorite bars in Brooklyn or are you one of those My Living Room is my Favorite Bar kind of guys?

Yes, my living room and my garden and The Gate.

Alright, you’ve been kidnapped by these action-movie-style terrorists, they’ve got you strapped to a crazy table and, rather than waterboard you, they give you the inhumane choice of having a six-pack of either that Bud Light Lime, old-school Zima, or the now alcohol-less Sparks forced down you. What do you choose and why?

Bud Light Lime—at least there is some “Beer” hidden in there somewhere.

Okay then, here we go: Quick Fire Round. Best beer city?

So far, Chicago but San Diego is amazing from what I hear, I just haven’t been there.

Cat or dog person?

Dog, his name is Roscoe, he likes Imperial Stouts and Doulble IPA’s, but he also likes to sniff butts, so maybe his opinion is not that important.

Hm. I’m with him on the beers, not so much on the butt-sniffing. Favorite TV show? Don’t say Cheers.

The Mighty Boosh, ATHF (Aqua Teen Hunger Force).

Favorite beer shop that’s not yours?

The Foodery. It’s in Philly.

What you’d be doing right now if it wasn’t Bierkraft?

Answer 1 involves me being independently wealthy, so I’d be a furniture- and jewelry-maker. They’re both hobbies of mine. Realistic Answer 2: I would probably be cooking somewhere, considering that I came from the restaurant industry.

Favorite thing about Park Slope?

I get to leave every night…. Noooooo, one must keep up appearances, so the real thing is the actual park. I run the park every morning before work from 40^th street to the park, around the park and then back to 40^th street. I do really love that park.

Favorite thing about Sunset Park?

I get to come home to it every night. Mexican food, Bengali food, Brooklyn China Town, my backyard.

Biggest pet peeve at work?

“Can I ask you a question?” That shit drives me nuts !! First off, you just asked me a question, so I guess that makes you asking me to ask me completely useless. And, what, am I gonna say no and just walk away? Seriously. 9 times out of ten that question precedes some obnoxious bullshit.

Got it. So, can I ask you a question? What music are you playing in the store lately?

The staff picks the music at the store, I don’t mind. In my truck and at home I have been playing a lot of Old Crow Medicine Show and Doc Watson.

Oh, shit! Those guys started up in my college town, Harrisonburg, VA, back when I went to school there. They played this great restaurant, The Little Grill, like, every night. Excellent. Where was I…worst beer ever?

Too dangerous- Brewers have feelings.

Last book you read?

How to use Hops and The Science of Brewing.

Last beer you drank?

You mean: What are you drinking now? Lagunitas Imperial Red but I am not finished with it and “drank” implies that I have finished it, so the last beer I “drank” was Southerntier Harvest.

We thank you for your time, Mr. Granger, and look forward to being Naarded soon. Hm. That doesn’t sound quite right…

If you haven’t already, be sure to stop by Bierkraft in Park Slope, Brooklyn—5th Avenue, between Berkley and Union—for the best beer in town. And interesting brewing accident stories if you’re lucky. Thanks to Allister McVittes for modeling our growler shot—hair, make-up, and talent management: Katie Frichtel.

Taken by Trees
I’ve been obsessed with this week’s song of the week since I heard it recently. Watch the Waves is the first off the sophomore effort by Swedish singer Victoria Bergsman, AKA—Taken by Trees. Bergsman is probably best known for her work in the band the Concretes and the one who’s not Peter Bjorn or John singing on that ever-present song from a few years back, Young Folks (remember how good?). Anyway, Bergsman took her sound in a completely new direction with this record, picking up a heading to Pakistan to record with traditional musicians native to the rural areas there and creating a total east-west smash-up. About half the record was made outside because, as Bergsman puts it, “when you take the music into a studio, the creativity and the playfulness in the music often gets lost.” Check out the National Geographic video below. Very interesting piece with Bergsman talking about how she made the album and just the relative culture shock of being in Pakistan.

This Man is Much Prettier Than You
I know we usually focus on bringing you the lesser-known artists on Music Mondays, but, anyone who knows me also likely knows that I’m a damn sucker for some straight up, saccharine-sweet pop. Which brings us to this week’s song of the week by the omni-present John Legend. I’m not a huge fan of this man’s songs on their own, but there’s no denying he’s got a sweet-ass voice. Combine that with an excellent musical reinterpretation by remix-masters RAC and you’ve got a top-notch pop song with infectious hooks and catchy beats. So I’ll say it without shame: I totally love this John Legend song. No doubt.

An Open Letter to Mighty-o Donuts

Dear Mr. and/or Ms. Mighty-o:

Last summer, while visiting a good friend of ours in Seattle, my wife and I happened, by chance, upon your donuts in a local grocery store. We’re both vegans for ethical reasons, so, needless to say, when we realized that your donuts were made sans any animal-derived ingredients, we loaded up. Now, being vegan is tough, man. Maybe you know this already, but we miss out on a lot of good stuff. Cheese is the most likely candidate for vegan kryptonite, but, right below that on the list, for me at least, are nice, cakey, awesome donuts. Don’t get me wrong. I live in New York City, arguably one of the best places for a discerning vegan to live. So I’m already spoiled. I have easy access to a bevy of superb vegetarian restaurants, can walk to cafes that sell the always superb cakes from Vegan Treats, and basically have little to no call for complaint…except in this case. I was fine before I ate your warm, soft, sweet donuts—living in blissful ignorance of the wonders that could be contained in those decadent rings of joy, placed there by whatever black magic you conjure in your kitchens. But after that fateful meeting between me and your donuts last summer, I slipped into a state of hysteria. They could barely get me on the plane back to New York. And, once back, I slept sparsely, in fitful starts and stops, plagued by odd dreams of mocking transcontinental Dali-esque donuts. It was a long, tortuous road to recovery, but, with the help of my wife, I put my life back together and was once again a whole man.

Then, the other day, I received an unexpected call. Our friend from Seattle, Patrick, had placed in the care of his visiting cousin from New York one dozen Mighty-o Donuts to be delivered to and consumed by me. It was all too much. How could I once again introduce to my poor mouth something so very treasured and yet so very irreplaceable? But there was no way I could deny the allure of your fine products, gems of the baking world and, once again, my Achilles heel. As I write this, I have just finished consuming the fifth donut—a lovely lemon poppyseed—leaving me with a mere seven. I plead with you: You must open an east coast Mighty-o Donuts in New York before I finish that last donut…preferably in or near Park Slope, Brooklyn. My life depends on it.

Sincerely,

Troy Farmer

Brooklyn, NY

Picture it: You’re up on a stage in front of a crowd of people when one of them shouts out a word at you and you’re expected to create an entire musical on the spot. And make it funny. Sound like a terrible nightmare to you? Yeah, it does to me too. But that’s what the musical-improv-comedy duo of Eliza Skinner and Glennis McMurray—AKA, I Eat Pandas—do every time they have a performance. And, somehow, they make it look easy. More importantly, they make it INSANELY funny. We caught up with Eliza Skinner (dark hair, no mustache) to find out where the funny comes from in anticipation of this Wednesday’s show at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade.

KoR: Okay, so, we’ll start at the obvious place: What’s with the name? Are either of you actual pandavores? That seems….entirely terrible. And not very smart, really, given the economy and lack of convenience.

ES: Ha, no we are not Pandavores, although I like the term! We had to come up with a name for this little improv competition we were in, and we had no plans to take the group any further, so when I said “what about ‘I Eat Pandas’?” Glennis and Travis Ploeger (our original musician and 3rd member) said “Why not!” Five years later…maybe we should have thought about it more. Nah.

Were any other names in the running?

Not that I remember. It was just that simple.

Efficient comedy. Excellent. We totally like your logo, by the way. That panda looks PSYCHED to be eaten. Like the pigs on all those BBQ joint signs in the south that are like “I’m gonna eat my friend! Yeehaw!”

You think he looks psyched? I think he looks a little worried, but resigned. Either way, we love it too. It was done by our friend David William.

Oh wait! You might be referring to our old logo, which DID look super psyched to have a fork sticking out of it’s head. That one is by Dyna Moe, now of “Madmen Yourself” fame.

Oh, yeah. Totally thinking of that one. So, how did you and Glennis meet? Was it some sort of awesome movie-like scene, where you lock eyes across a crowded improv class, end up getting dinner, she gets all upset and calls the relationship off when you profess a love for Carrot Top, and then you end up holding a boombox playing Bill Cosby’s “Himself” under her window?

Yes. Exactly. Did I tell you that story already?

No, I was coaching an improv group that Glennis was in and she just seemed to have a sensibility I could relate to – and was clearly very talented. I thought it would be fun to play with her, so when Travis suggested we put together a group for this 3-person improv competition, I suggested her.

I like my version better. You should go with that. So, I know you regularly collaborate with a piano player, who seems great, but have you all ever considered expanding the group beyond a duo, or do you think that’s part of the appeal for audiences and you two as contributors?

We are very protective of what we do, and so much of it comes out of the relationship between the two of us. Our work is really this thing – this ball of energy that comes out of the focus between the two of us. I think… I don’t know, man, basically it’s magic and you don’t wanna fuck with magic. Plus we have other groups where we work with more people – if I want to do a show with a bunch of people, I do one with Baby Wants Candy.

And yeah, Frank Spitznagel, who usually plays piano for us, is a genius and a big part of what I Eat Pandas is too, but he is so in demand that we have to work with other people occasionally. Usually those people are Ari Scott or Jody Shelton, both amazing singer-songwriters in their own right. We have been very lucky to work with the musicians we have worked with.

Alright, now, honestly, how the hell do you practice for an I Eat Pandas show? Given your shows’ premise—that the audience gives you a phrase or subject matter, and then you stage three completely improvised acts of a musical—it seems entirely impossible to prepare yourself. Do you have some sort of time-stopping device that allows for seemingly instant song-writing? Cyborg mind link with Glennis?

Cyborg mind link, yeah. That’s that magic-ball thingy. We spend a lot of time together and we talk a lot, so we know each other really well. We also just like each other, so we like to surprise each other on stage and make each other laugh. The songwriting takes a little more skill, and a lifetime of being steeped in musical theater. Mostly we just pretend like we know what we’re doing – if you do that hard enough, people believe you.

We do enough shows now that we don’t really practice, but when we did it was more like training for a sport – you run drills and sharpen your skills so when you’re on the court you know what to do.

I’m totally picturing a Rocky-style montage of you and Glennis running comedy drills now. So, anyone who’s attended one of your performances knows you’ve got an amazing voice. Do you ever use it for non-comedy purposes? You know, not including superb college bands…

My singing voice? Nope. Comedy only. I Eat Pandas, Baby Wants Candy, weird fringe musicals, and parody songs for College Humor and E! I’d be totally down to do some dramatic musical theater, but no one wants to hear it!

Both Glennis and I do voice over work, though, so that might sort of count.

That sort of counts. What is Pop Tudors? I’m not really too familiar with the actual show, Tudors, but, just judging from the subway posters, it looks all the way rad.

Pop Tudors was a series of promos/recaps that we did for Showtime for the last season of The Tudors. We watched the whole season before it aired (which wasn’t really full of spoilers, since it’s actual history), wrote up some jokes and shot all 10 episodes in a day. They put them on TV and all around the Internet.

The Tudors is pretty rad – it’s history, but porn-ier. Oh, and lots of disease and blood-letting! Good stuff.

Can you talk a little about how you originally got involved with Upright Citizens Brigade? You introduced us to them when we moved to New York and they really seem to have a hand in nearly everything funny in the city.

My first contact with the UCB was in a show called “Made Up Musical” – which was another improvised musical – way back in 2001. The guy who was putting the show together, John O’Donnell, had seen me perform short-form improv at a craphole called “Chicago City Limits” and asked me to do the show. It went well, and I was asked to be in KILLGORE!! – the theater’s annual Halloween show, with people like Horatio Sanz, Rob Riggle, and Jack McBrayer. It was pretty great. That will make you want to stick around a theater for 7 or 8 years.

I bet. Those dudes are funny. So, I know you both split time professionally between NYC and LA, which seems to be the way of things for people in the comedy game. I feel like most people get their start in NYC or Chicago making a name for themselves with the goal of eventually getting into TV or the movies on the West Coast. Is that a totally skewed generalization?

Nope – you got it. NYC and Chicago are so competitive you either give up or get crushed into a talent diamond. LA is too easy – if you go there first without a lot of direction and self-knowledge, you can get lost.

What do you like about LA?

Work. That is where the work is. There used to be more of it in New York, but it’s all slowly migrated over the past few years. Now we just have Law & Order, 30 Rock, SNL and Fallon…. Thank god for NBC and Comedy Central, or else there would be nothing here but Ugly Betty.

Oh, and there are beaches & great fish tacos. And I like that people actually listen to the radio there. I love the radio.

Say something you hate about LA, for all of those New-York-or-nothing types.

Traffic & skanks. The traffic there can make you want to pull your eyes out of your head, and like 80% of the women look like total Rock Of Love skanks.

High five. So, you’ve been in Astoria, Queens for, like, nine years now. First off, way to be neighborhood-loyal. For those of us who don’t spend a ton of time there, what do you like about it?

It is cheap and the apartments are bigger. Like people from other cities can come to my apartment and not be shocked at it’s size. Plus there are tons of great restaurants, and I have lots of friends nearby. It’s so easy to live here. It might not be cool, but it is very easy and I care more about that.

Okay, if you were given a massive Hollywood budget and unlimited choice of cast members, what kind of movie would you create? What would be the general story? You know, without giving it all away.

I have a romantic comedy that I am writing now about a punk rock music-writer girl and a cheesey boy-band guy, so I’d take your money and quit my health-insurance-providing dayjob and finish that. Or…hmm…MASSIVE budget you say?… Freddy Vs. Dinosaur.

Dinosaur would TOTALLY win. Um, any SUPER embarrassing stories about a performance you’ve given?

I don’t have any good ones, but Glennis burst a blood vessel in her eye in the middle of one of our shows! That wasn’t really embarrassing, but it was exciting in a terrifying way.

God…okay, quick fire round, miss. Biggest pet peeve?

Slow walkers.

Amen. Chosen super-power?

Sound wave manipulation – that can be a weapon, shield, OR flight.

Nerd. Favorite movie ever?

Dirty Dancing. Or Aliens.

I heard they were thinking of a cross-over…Unicorns vs. centaurs. Who wins?

What kind of battle? Poking – Unicorns. Wrestling or joke telling – Centaurs.

Excellent clarification. Funniest musical that’s not meant to be funny?

Starlight Express. I LOVE Starlight Express.

Coolest comic book hero/heroine?

This is a rapid fire question?! Geez…um…Elektra? Kitty Pryde? NO! Dazzler! Dazzler is the best.

Aw, I totally remember her… Best NYC bar?

I like Little Branch a lot – also Crescent and Vine in Astoria, but that’s more of a wine bar.

Fancy. In seven words at most, weirdest dream you’ve ever had?

Literally swimming with the devil.

Funniest joke ever? Or at least one you’ve heard recently?

Knock knock.

Who’s there?

Panther

Panther who?

Panther no panth – I’m going thwimming!

Catch Eliza and Glennis performing another all new, all improvised show tonight at the Upright Citizens Brigade—307 W. 26th Street. Do it!

Keep an eye out for London rapper Speech Debelle, who provides us with this week’s Song of the Week, “The Key”. She gives us a fresh, young take on hip hop, superb lyrics, and a wonderful sound—employing undeniable hooks, woodwinds, double-bass, and a jazzy sound. Plus, rapping with a british accent is always cool, man. Debut album out on Big Dada.

We’ve been on a bit of a record kick lately. Like, actual records—those giant vinyl disks. The whole slow shift to non-tangible, electronic files of music that we never get to hold or open, that don’t allow us to read along with the lyrics or marvel at the intricate cover art that’s larger than 200px x 200px—that movement’s gotten us down over the past years. Yes, it’s wildly convenient to hold your entire record collection in your pocket, but it also robs SO much from the overall sensory experience of music too. I realize I’m not alone in this and that it’s a wholly un-original thought, but that actually works to my advantage in this case as it seems many labels and artists and people behind creating music are catching on to this too. With labels like Sub Pop providing download codes for almost all of their vinyl releases and many other independent labels following suit, it’s becoming easier and easier to have your cake and eat it too. You get the nice, weighty, substantive representation of the artist and his or her music along with the much more real experience of playing the record itself, with all it’s warm crackles and depth of sound. You can’t just hit play and start listening to what would eventually be a string of, say, 6,770 songs. You have to realize when one side of the record is done and go over and flip the record in order to enjoy the rest of it. It seems minor, but it goes a long way to putting you in the moment. And then, on top of the nice record, and big beautiful art, you’ve got the MP3s to put on your iPod or whathaveyou (I swear I’ve seen people with these other, non-iPod things). It’s win-win, really. There was actually a great piece on vinyl on last week’s Soundcheck on NPR, if you’re interested.

Brooklyn has done it again—produced a superbly awesome band that I’m sure to lose my shit over. This time up to bat: The Antlers, led by the way-too-sad Peter Silberman and started as a straight-up singer-songwriter thing. Silberman’s now got some backing and widespread distribution of his band’s self-released LP, Hospice, via the always on-the-edge Frenchkiss Records. Check out the winningly tragic Two, this week’s Song of the Week, and check them out next Friday at Mercury Lounge for their record release party.

News on the Quick
Katie and I had the good fortune to attend a screening of Paul Giamatti’s new film, Cold Souls, at BAM last night. We had been hearing a lot about the movie lately and, honestly, weren’t sure what to expect. We both have mixed feelings on the whole modern mainstream surrealist film genre—movies by Gondry, Charlie Kaufman, Spike Jones—and feel like it produces hit-or-miss results, for us at least. That said, we were totally delighted. The movie hit that oh so elusive mark of being everything at once to the viewer, dancing between cleverly funny and beautifully poignant while telling a wholly original story.

Coolest. Boat. Ever.

Bloody Vegan

“Life moves pretty fast… if you don’t stop to look around once and while, you could miss it.”