After being so bereft of solid brewpubs, five worthy ones have sprung up along the expansive Northeastern Corridor of Pennsylvania sidling Route 80. In fact, a sixth pub soon to be ventured, Turkey Hill Brewing Company, had a large advertisement spotted at the Bloomsburg onramp to the tree-lined interstate highway…
Beer Trails: MARCH/APRIL 2011 BEER REVIEWS
BEER-STAINED SPRINGTIME TRAVELOGUE BEGINS AT CHELSEA PIERS
On a brisk weekday night, before heading over to nearby Highline Ballroom to catch DeVotchKa’s unique brand of Eastern European-influenced indie folk, I took the short walk over to Pier 59 for a few choice beers at Chelsea Brewing. During this March…
Interview with James Mattock from Sharks: Attacking ‘The Joys Of Living’
Growing up smack dab in England’s Bronze-aged industrial county of West Midlands, Sharks frontman James Mattock devoured a steady diet of politically motivated and feverishly frolicking ‘70s punk as a tyke. And the righteously revelatory compositions he penned thereafter make it totally apparent. Though never one to go overboard…
Interview with Tim McIlrath from Rise Against: Prophesying A Favorable ‘Endgame’
A government by and for the people cannot perish unless profiteering government-sponsored corporate entities destroy the infrastructure, dissuade the entrepreneurial spirit, endanger the environment, puppeteer unsolicited foreign wars or impose stringent rules handcuffing its own citizens. But take a look at what’s happened lately. Even the cheeriest forecasters must…
Interview with Danny Danko: Strains Of Truth
As millions of Americans get ready to toke up in celebration of 4-20, esteemed High Times cultivation editor (or whatever title he has this month as the supreme marijuana publication’s masthead is forever changing) Danny Danko has unleashed the most comprehensive examination of cannabis strains yet. Able to reach…
Interview with Stuart Braithwaite from Mogwai: Turning Away From The Light
Fertile Scottish combo, Mogwai, became a provocative ‘post-rock’ beacon in the mid-‘90s, extending upon the profound reverb-heavy shoegazing Jesus & Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine devised and the proverbial noise rock experimentalism Sonic Youth pillaged. Fronted by proficient guitarist Stuart Braithwaite, these artful punks established themselves as one…
Interview with Glenn Mercer from The Feelies: Jersey’s Best Kept Secret, Go ‘Here Before’
Marking their latest unexpected comeback, 20 years after their fourth studio album, the Feelies are like a cat with nine lives. Originally from Haledon, the Velvet Underground-nurtured outfit, led by singer-guitarists Glenn Mercer and Bill Million, scored instant left-of-the-dial radio success with 1980’s soft rock masterstroke, Crazy Rhythms. Prefiguring…
Beer Trails: High Point’s Ramstein Beers Go Beyond German Tradition
German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s timeless adage, ‘Whatever doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger,’ seems appropriate describing High Point Wheat Beer Company’s steady rise in the face of a thankfully bygone era when generic lagers ruled the roost, crowded store shelves and saturated indiscriminant guzzlers. Creating its inaugural Bavarian-styled…
Interview with Jack Sharp of Wolf People: Climb Broad ‘Steeple’
It took a high-spirited emigrating crew of youthful Australians to perfectly capture the ruggedly forceful post-Beatles rock period (1969-1973) without sounding dated, half-baked or just plain generic in the 21st century. Still in their developmental stage, Wolf People display all of the key ingredients necessary to recreate the glorious…
Interview with Nick Urata from DeVotchKa: Reaching Climax With ’100 Lovers’
Shrewd Mexicali-influenced gypsy punks, DeVotchKa, came to the fore in the year 2000 when native New Yorker, Nick Urata, a soon-to-be pedigreed Chicago musician, left the cold Midwest confines to link up with fellow Chi-town deserter, ex-bassist Jon Ellison to form an early version of his exotic band in…
