Beer Stuff with David Aaron Reaume of Man Mountain

This weeks portion of Thirsty Thursdays is brought to you by Man Mountain. I sat down (made up some questions last minute and sent them via facebook) with David who (is a meme) plays bass in Man Mountain to chat about beer and music because, those things go great together duhhh.

Me_ What's your favorite song to play out of the new tunes you guys have?

DAR_ Little known fact, we are TERRIBLE at naming songs, our new song "To Be Made As New" was code named "Side Boob" for the longest time. With that being said, we have a new song tentatively called "groovy new" that we are all crazy about, it features lots of melodic tapping and some crazy whale sounds Mike was able to come up with on guitar.

Me_  When can I get my hands on the album?

DAR_ We will be heading back to Minx studio in June so we are expecting to have the full length released late summer.

Me_ When did you first realize beer was more than yellow fizzy water from a cheap can?

DAR_ At age 20 when I had my first Guinness, it changed everything for me. I guess I started at the opposite end of the beer spectrum from most but it was finally a drink I enjoyed and not something you choked down to get drunk at a party.

Me_ What are your 3 most favorite go-to styles?

DAR_ Like a good jacket, my beer has to compliment the weather. IPAs are my go-to summer beer, nut browns for the fall, stouts for the winter and session IPAs for the spring.

Me_ For your money, who is a brewery that can do no wrong?

DAR_For the buck I go with New Belgium, I always have a 12 Pack of Ranger in my fridge and at just a dollar a beer its hard to beat!

Me_ How many beers does it take for you to pick up your bass and want to twist it 'round yo head like a helicopter?

DAR_ Sadly, about 4! I once had 5 beers after a show I played with Tokyo Police Club and got kicked out of the venue for throwing a lemon into someones eye from clear across the bar.

Me_ Based on the relatively recent boom of craft beer, where do you see it in 5 years? Bigger and bigger, or leveled off?

DAR_ Sadly I think in 5 years it will SEEM bigger but most of the small independent breweries will continue to get bought up by big box breweries and sell the same crap beer but with a new label.

Me_ When taking brewery tours is it important to hydrate?

DAR_ I once heard that for every beer you drink you should drink half that much water, do I do that? Not at all. I'm really terrible at drinking water when there is a perfectly good beer right next to it, it also doesn't help that I have a personal vendetta against straws.

Me_ What's a flavor of beer in any style you'd like to see made?

DAR_Grape. Not real grape flavor or even wine but grape Kool-Aid grape.

Me_ I don't think grape is a flavor. Purple however, is a flavor. I think that's what you mean. So, how often would you say you try new beers?

DAR_ About every week. Normally when I go to the bar I'll order at least two drinks, the first will be something I've never tried and the second will be an old friend, if the first one is good I'll just stick with it and see how it mellows on the palate for awhile.

Me_ Since we're here in the Mitten, do you have a favorite Michigan brewery/beer?

DAR_ This is really hard for me because I find myself on a different side of the fence every year, last year it was Founders but this year I have really been blown away by every beer Shorts has released. I'll be heading up to Bellaire for their 11 year anniversary this weekend actually.

Me_ One last question. If Jesus ever brewed a beer, what would hebrew and what would the ABV be?

DAR_ I would hope he would brew a beer called Hoplelujah and bottle it at a cool 7.77 ABV.

Me_ Trick question David. Jesus of Nazareth, even if he were a real person, would probably not have drank or made what we know today as beer. What was "beer" back in 30 AD was more of a fermented barley drink served at room temp or above. Plus, Jesus would have totally made wine. Everybody knows that. Cheers!

50 SHADES OF CHERRY

Image courtesy of Paul Cherry's facebook page

So I woke up the other morning, Tophin' around on the internet like I always do. I check my facebook feed and find out my homie Paul Cherry has finally released his new video for his single "Cherry Time". If you don't recall, or if you're just now scoping my blogs- I put Paul Cherry's album "On Top" in my top 5 unsung records of 2014. I knew Paul was onto something radical with the direction of his music on this record, and I love his video for "Everybody's Burning Out"(you can see it in the aforementioned blog post). "Cherry Time" completely fucking blows it out of the water. It's incredibly NSFW. Just watch it, I can't waste time explaining it to you- there are no words.

...Yeah.

I can honestly totally relate to this. I feel this same way about TacoBell and those succulent Olive Garden breadsticks. I just don't think I could fuck taco bell in it's nasty turd-laden toilet stall. I'd seduce it at home!

 

-XOXO TOPH

Odd Side Ale's El Dankerino

A lot of people try to mimic the bold style of a west coast IPA, and few get it right. Odd Side kind of nails it. As far as I'm concerned, it's the mid-west equivalent of Pliny the Elder. Had that beer before? Think my claim is ridiculous? Suck it. I've done the taste test and they're not far from each other. Dankerino is a juicy double IPA with notes of citrus, pineapple and a nice pine bite. Just bitter enough but still smooth drinking. Packs a sly punch at 10% too. The name just seals the deal for me. It really is a "dank" beer and the artwork is great. OVER THE LINE!

My Score: 90

Beer Advocate: 89

Rate Beer: 92

BEAN FLICKER

I like my blondes like I like my coffee... tasting like coffee. Bean Flicker by Odd Side Ales is sure to blow your mind a little. It's a blonde ale so it's translucent yellow in color but when you put it in your mouth your pallet is overcome with coffee. I don't know how they did it, but I'm glad they did. They removed all the gut heavy weight of a coffee stout but left the flavor and shoved it into a sessionable, easy drinking blonde. Perfect for a summer day and easy on the alcohol. Smooth on the pallet with light carbonation. A nose of vanilla, almost brownies. Pair this beer with more of these beers. They're tasty as hell. Cheers!

Beer Advocate: 87
Rate Beer: 95
My score: 84

Music Mondays interview with Jeremy and Tony of Sycamour!

Recently the Boys from Sycamour Stopped by hq for a quick interview to talk about their recent signing to Hopeless Records and to fill us in on their recent music video! Make sure you you guys head over to TheHeartwood.com  for all things Sycamour!

Thirsty Thursdays with Dave : Founders Nitro Oatmeal Stout

Stouts on stouts on stouts. Like Guinness? Why not try Founder's Oatmeal stout! Creamy, chocolatey, roasty. Easy on the booze, but sadly this delicious treat is draft only. If you get lucky your local bar has it on a nitrous tap and this mother will come out smooth as silk. It is available year round so drink up. Pair it with life, edible nourishment and friends... and tip your god damn bartenders! -Dave

Music Mondays: Interview with Mike Reaume of Man Mountain

A few weeks ago we were able to sit down with Mike Reaume of Man Mountain and ask him a few questions. For those who don't know. Man Mountain is an up and coming Post Rock band, who is quickly gaining respect and notoriety in the Detroit Scene.

Vile: Alright Mike, Who? What? and Where? so Who and What is Man Mountain?

Mike: Man Mountain is a project that started about a year and a 1/2 ago. We play instrumental post rock ambiaent music that we have been playing mostly in the Detroit area. A lil bit more late 90's early 2000's indie instrumental type music. 

Vile: Oh really? what would you say are your major influences? 

Mike: Oh, Well id have to say American Football Caspian, Appleseed Cast, Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky, This Will Destroy You, Sigur Ros etc

Vile: How do you feel about Sigur Ros being mentioned recently in the Metro Times as being on of the top overrated bands ever? 

Mike: Oh yeah i saw that! Thats got to be a joke. I feel like they post those things in order to get a ton of click throughs for their ad revenues. Everyone is like "WHAT? THEY CANT SAY THAT ABOUT SIGUR ROS" and they are forced to read through the rest of the garbage article. it was pretty dumb. 

VILE: Agreed! So whats your favorite part of playing in the Detroit scene? 

Mike: Its actually been kind of cool. The last band we played in, we mostly played in the toledo area. The scene is pretty dead down there so its been good playing for a whole new crowd. I feel like everyone is real cool at shows. Like people actually come out to listen to our music, not get annoyed with us for playing background music while they play pool. Detroit kids seem to get it. 

Vile: Ok so what should we be looking forward to in 2014 for Man Mountain? 

Mike:  After our show at the old Miami in March we are heading into the studio to record our full length. And hopefully have everything finished for the fall of 2014. 

Vile: who are you recording with? 

Mike: we will be recording with Matt Halliday of Minx studios. He's recorded for bands like Empire Empire and Wayne Szalinski  !

Vile: alright dude, thanks for stopping by and we'll all be waiting with anticipationto hear the full length! 

Make sure you guys check out this track "Lucerna" from our dudes in Man Mountain. -Vile 

Assassins: War Of Aggression

Its here! Our brothers in  Assassins have now officially released their debut album "War Of Aggression!" If you are into sludgy riffs and solid anthemic choruses with super positive message, then you better snag up this album. War of Aggression has seriously  been playing on repeat here at Vile HQ. So go support Michigan Metal and some good dudes on their way up!

And while you are at it, check out this video the dudes made on the Die Without Hope Tour!