P. 2
FEBRUARY 17-MARCH 3, 2014
Editors Note
The Perks of Being a Wallflower On the eve of my 33rd birthday I feel it necessary to look back at nearly a year of writing stories and interviewing people whom I felt were worthy enough to grace these pages. From musicians like DEATH and Kacey Musgraves, who won a few Grammys after our meeting mind you, to comedian Jeff Dunham and actor Jonathan Joss. And much like Mr. Joss, most of the people I’ve interPaul and (pre-Grammy winning) viewed have become friends, whether they like it or not, Kacey Musgraves because I’ve stored their numbers on my phone and enjoy showing them off from time to time. But after all these words I’ve written and stories I’ve told, the real perk of this job is getting in everywhere for free. Just kidding.
Since we’re chatting about beer in this issue, here’s a few “interesting” facts about our sudsy companion. – George Washington had his own brewhouse on the grounds of Mt. Vernon. – Egyptian pyramid workers were paid with beer. 1 gallon per day. – The oldest known recipe for beer is over 4,000 years old, made by Sumerians.
The real perk is getting a chance to hear all these stories from the people that lived them. I may live in a small town but I feel like I’ve been everywhere, man. And it’s not just the famous folks that I’ve chatted with. It’s the people I bump into at concerts or movie premieres or even just on the Internet. People that I will probably never meet in person but yet I carry their stories around with me and do my best to share them with all of you.
– Beer and marijuana are cousins. Beer’s hops are in the same family of flowering plants, such as marijuana.
But now back to work getting the next issue out because what I do after all is still work, even though it may be a little more fun than your job, it is after all, still a job.
– At any given time, 0.7% of the world is drunk. So 50 million people are drunk right now.
-Paul Gonzales Editor
editor: Paul Gonzales email: Paul@stxscene.com phone: (361)358-2550 website: stxscene.com twitter: @stxscene facebook: facebook.com/stxscene Published bi-weekly by Beeville Publishing Co.
contributors Daphne Garcia Cate Grimes Lindsey Shaffer
– Cenosillicaphobia is the fear of an empty beer glass. – The world’s longest hangover lasted 4 weeks after a Scotsman consumed 60 pints of beer.
P. 3
Film
Karen Lam: by Cate Grimes
F
rom practicing Entertainment Law to producing, writing and directing, Canada’s very own award-winning filmmaker, Karen Lam, is slashing through the bloodiest of competition. In a genre where women are often portrayed as helpless “Screamqueens,” this unique and fresh new voice in the horror flick community is instead making her female leads “queens” of the Indie screen. On horror films being a mostly male dominated field, Karen Lam said with a chuckle, “I’m not afraid of the F-word.” Meaning course.
female,
of
But it’s definitely not about any kind of manhating for her. “I consider myself a political filmmaker as well as a writer. You have to write about what’s true to you.” Lam is referring to the fact that she bases a lot of her movies on the social
issues going on around her. For example, one of her acclaimed short films is based on what’s known in Canada as the “Highway of Tears,” where a large number of young women go missing every year. She also loves comedy, proving she has the chops for it when she wrote her first black comedy in 2013, “The Meeting,” a short film about a serial killing “AA” group. “I think there’s a fine line between horror and comedy. Whether you end it with a big scream or a big laugh, the tension that builds up to that is the same. “I (usually) don’t like to combine the two. It’s
not a Reese’s peanut butter cup, (but) it’s arguable that “The Pit: A Study in Horror” is almost comedy too. “We’re using horror techniques but also telling you exactly what we’re going to do.” The film came about when co-director Lauren Marsden (a visual artist) and Lam were paired up as a sort of “blind date” by an artist collective program. “This was our love child. We both chose what drives us. For Lauren, it was about location. For me, it’s obviously about horror. So, we combined the two and came up with the idea to do a creature feature without the creature. “I’ve heard a few comments from the horror community like ‘Aargh! Why are you showing our underwear?’ basically. But I’m really proud of the techniques we use. It’s a lot of sound design, how you create that tension. To me, if you watch a horror film with the sound turned off, it’s not (nearly) as scary. But if you’ve got it cranked, turning it to “11” really helps” (Love
the Spinal Tap reference, by the way). “It’s actually really fun to watch with an audience. They jump in all the right places.”
On her influences:
“I grew up with a lot of ’80s slasher films, which I was surprised to find out a lot of them were made by Canadian filmmakers. Also, my dad had an odd sense of humor in a good way. He took me to see “Jaws” when I was five.” This was because she simply “liked fish.” “He also used to tell me a lot of bedtime stories and fairy tales, one in which Robinson Crusoe was eaten by cannibals.” Speaking of eating things, a little personal trivia about Karen is that she enjoys fine foods. “I’d love to rent an RV one day and go on a United States BBQ tour, mainly for ribs, I think.” Well, Ms. Lam, you are always welcome in Texas. For film and for food.
It was recently brought to our attention that there is a need to help preserve a piece of iconic cinematic history... and you can help.
Change.org is holding a petition signing to get Universal Studios to make a complete and total restoration of Norman Bates’ historical home from the classic Alfred Hitchcock film “Psycho.” Bates’ house, built in 1959 and used in numerous movies, TV shows and even cartoons, has had many repairs over the years, but sadly, it has fallen into disrepair and is in desperate need of a complete overhaul.
The petition is getting closer to its goal of getting 2,500 signatures, so head over to Change.org to sign the petition and save the Psycho House.
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P. 4
FEBRUARY 17-MARCH 3, 2014
Local Flavor
starring Mark Nichols • Stefan Zurakowski • John Wilkerson written by Paul Gonzales looks like a barn sitting ing twice. But sometime amongst newly planted in the near future, it may pecan trees. be a sought-after attracIf you weren’t looking tion that’s not so easy to for it, you’d pass right miss.
by The Goliad Brewing John Wilkerson and Company without think- Mark Nichols, two of the
Beer School
Did you wake up at a stranger’s house Sunday morning with no recollection on how you got there? Find the culprit with this guide and never let it happen again. Unless, of course, that’s your thing. There are two main types of beer: lager beer and ale beer, referred to as lagers and ales. There is a third rather obscure type of beer, called a Lambic, which is made only in Belgium and is not as popu lar as lagers or ales.
Ales
bout a mile off Highway 59, down a small country road, there’s a very unassuming stretch of land with a mobile home and what
three men bringing the brew to South Texas, were looking over a huge cleared piece of land behind the beer factory when we caught up with them. “This right here is the actual brew grounds,” Wilkerson said, admiring the land. “Eventually, we’re going to have a little pavilion in the middle area. As you can see, this is a great place to sit under a tree and have a beer.” Nearby, a few men were completing the bathroom facilities while others worked on insulating some pipes jetting out of the actual brewing facility. Once the plant is fully functional, the company plans on having tours and tastings as well as live music and fun, family events. Why open up a craft beer brewery in Goliad? “Water is good,” Nichols said with a laugh. “Water’s the largest ingredient in beer. And most often the most overlooked one. “So when we started looking at sites, Goliad was important, but we had to find the right water for brewing.
Brown Ale: Brown ale beer is red to copper in color and is rather mild in flavor.
Info provided by www.thebrewbros.com.
KEG STANDS Kegs, complete with the company’s logo, wait patiently to be filled and sent out to the masses. “The water tests came back here, and it was like the Golilocks zone for brewing. It was almost absolutely perfect. In fact, we’re ‘RO’ing it down (using reverse osmoses) only 40%, and mixing the rest straight out of the ground. That puts magnesium and calcium at the dead center of optimal production of yeast cells.” “All a brewmaster does is make sweet wart. He makes sugar water. The yeast does all the work.” All the water that the Goliad Brewing Company doesn’t use for the manufacturing of the beer gets sent back out and is utilized on the land. Huge sprinklers rise out of the grounds around the new pecan trees and dirt cov-
Porter: Porter beer is darker in color and is full-bodied, with the barley flavors dominating over the mild hop flavors. They are richly flavored. Some porters even taste like chocolate.
Stout: Stout beer is very similar to a porter. Stout beer is the darkest and thick est of the beers. The strong barley and hops flavors prevail in this dark beer.
ered ground which will be lush grass soon enough. “I’m not by far—and Mark isn’t either—a tree hugger,” Wilkerson added. “But we are conservationists. We do believe in giving back. Taking it out and giving it back. That’s one thing you find with a lot of breweries around here, especially here in Texas. We take a lot of pride in that. “Goliad’s a ranching community, if you think about it. We came out here, and there’s not a lot of industry, and one of the reasons we picked Goliad was the people. Another one was the water, and it also has great history.
Witbier: Witbier is a beer that is brewed with a large proportion of wheat. They often contain a sig nificant proportion of malted barley.
P. 5
Local Flavor
Lagers
That leads to great stories, and those stories are really what we’re after too. It’s one of the things we wanted to do—was have a good beer and a good story to go with it.” Wikipedia describes Craft breweries as “much smaller than large-scale corporate breweries... independently owned... such breweries are generally characterized by their emphasis on flavor and brewing technique.” Craft breweries are growing in popularity and are popping up all over the world. “It’s the only segment growing in the U.S. In fact, Bud, Miller and Coors are declining,” Nichols said. “While their percentage points don’t look like much, if you’re making 500 million barrels, and you go down 1%, that’s 1% of 500 million barrels. That’s a lot of beer.” “Then they look at the craft breweries and say, ‘Look, they’re growing 10%;’ well, that’s eating up not just that 1%, but with craft consumers, they tend to consume less liquid volume than an 18-pack or a 24-pack because it’s manly to drink 18 beers.”
“I was getting a little frustrated with the pace of things. I saw an ad on the internet for this job here, and I put it out and I got a good response. “The first interview I talked with John; then the second one I talked to John and Mark, and after a while Mark asked me, ‘Well let’s see what you can do. Brew a batch of beer and get it down NO GUTS, NO GLORY The inner workings of the brewery here.’” Nichols then got a are waiting to get used but not alcohol abused. panel together with a few One of the unique where the craft is grow- other brewmasters to try the beer, saying that he traits of craft beer is it’s ing. had brewed the batch all about the taste and “We’re revolting the actual brewing and against all that. We love himself. not so much about the flavor.” alcohol content. And that job lays “It’s been a Nichols continued, directly on Stefan “Literally, the way it’s Zurakowski’s shoulders. bit of a move, been up until prohibition, The 30-year-old brewpeople drank heartier master at the company but I’m liking beers. Since prohibition, we’ve come up with what hails from Knoxville, the weather is known as an adjunct Tennessee, and has only beer, which means been brewing for about here. Well, not they’re using sugar 10 years. But his skills extracts and other ele- far surpass his age and last week, but ments to knock as much time as a master craftsfor the most flavor out of them and man. make them as light as Zurakowski left his part.” possible for as much con- post as brew master – Stefan Zurakowski sumption as possible. at Smokey Mountain “They’ve basically Brewery to open his own “Well, I did that for taken the last generation brewery with two other and watered down our guys, but it didn’t quite a purpose. I brew with these guys, so I asked taste buds. And that’s pan out.
Pale Lager: Pale lagers have a light color and are lightbodied. They are highly carbonated and have a light taste. Mainstream examples are Coors and Budweiser.
Pilsner: A pilsner beer has a pale color like a pale lager, but is more bitter in taste. The flavors of pilsners are more distinctive than pale lagers.
Light Lager: American light lagers use less hops and bar ley in order to create low-calorie beers. European light lagers are lagers that are pale in color and light in taste.
Dark Lager: Dark lager beers are made with roasted hops and barley. This means they have much richer flavors and are dark in color. They are full-bodied and flavorful.
them to critique my beer and tell me all the little mistakes I made. “You know how it is; your friends are going to lie to you. These people are people that won’t lie to me. Especially me. They’re going to take every chance they get to tell me what I did wrong. “They unanimously came back and said, ‘Man, you hit the nail on the head. We couldn’t find anything wrong with it.’ So Nichols broke the news to them and said it was somebody’s job application. “They said, ‘Hire him.’ And that really solidified what we were doing and why we wanted to bring Stefan here. “This kid has serious talent. I can’t wait for you to try some of his beers. It’s going to blow your mind.” “They flew me down, and that was it,” Zurakowski recalled. “That’s the end of the story. And now I’m here. “It’s been a bit of a move, but I’m liking the weather here. Well, not last week, but for the most part,” he laughed. “It’s been pretty good
to learn this side because I’ve ran a brewery before, but I’ve never had to build one. So I’m learning a lot on that end. But it’s kind of nice that I get to set things up the way I think they should be set up, so it’s been very beneficial.” At the time of the interview, the men were just a week away from firing up the boiler and brewing their first batch, and the excitement can hardly be contained in the men as they the date draws closer. Being the southern most brewery in Texas gives them free reign to take their product to a vast majority of thirsty South Texans. Although the brewery is relatively small in the larger scale of things as far as corporate beer sellers go, they have huge plans to expand and produce more uniquely flavored beers using their location as inspiration in the near future. Until then, we can enjoy all their hard work, one glass at a time. You can check out their progress from start to present by searching for them on Facebook.
BEFORE THE BREW The fermenting vats will keep the perfect temperature for a perfect beer, even in the insanely hot Texas heat.
P. 6
FEBRUARY 17-MARCH 3, 2014
Video Games
My Pixilated Valentine W h e t h e r y o u ’ r e j u m p ing down bright green pipes or you’re a treasure hunter destroying ancient ruins, even the most hardened hero needs a little love every now and then. While not all love stories have a happy ending, they all hold a special place in our hearts. In honor of Valentine’s Day, I present my top five video game couples—now cue the music to set the mood. Watch out for spoilers ahead, you have been warned.
5. Dom & Maria Santiago (Gears of War 1 & 2) What would you do for the one that you love? After their children’s death due to the Locust, a subterranean reptilian humanoid, Maria went into a deep depression. With Dom on the front line fighting against the Locust, Maria was left alone in her grieving. One day she went on a walk and never returned. Dom spent the next several years trying to track her down, and he was finally able find her in a Locust prison. After releasing her from a containment pod, Dom hallucinated seeing a healthy and beautiful image of Maria. After a fellow soldier shook Dom back into reality, the
vision was shattered, leaving behind a tortured and severely broken woman. In his final embrace with Maria, Dom ends her suffering by shooting her. After a loud audible gasp and wiping away a tear from my eye, I was left heartbroken for Dom and his beloved Maria.
4. Juliet Starling & Nick Carlyle (Lollipop Chainsaw) Who says true love can’t survive a zombie outbreak? It certainly can for high school sweethearts Juliet and Nick. Nick is your typical jock, and Juliet is the bubbly high school cheerlead e r . Puppy love couldn’t get more cliché, except Juliet also happens to be a chainsaw-wielding zombie hunter. On her way to meet Nick at a park near the school to receive her
By Daphne Garcia birthday present, a zombie outbreak occurred, forcing Juliet to fight off massive amounts of the undead. Upon arriving at the park, Juliet discovers Nick fighting off a zombie. Unfortunately, he gets munched on. Realizing Nick will become a zombie, Juliet performs a magical ritual which allows her to sever N i c k ’ s head, while keeping his soul a n d humani t y
very m u c h alive. So, with Nick’s talking head securely fastened to her belt, the two fought their way
through endless zombie (Uncharted series) hordes. It’s cheesy, but it’s What does it take for the right kind of cheese. two people to admit they like each other? From the 3. Monkey & Trip beginning of the series, (Enslaved) Nathan (Nate) and Elena Sure, their relationship have had amazing chemstarted with a kidnap- istry together. ping, but what relationTheir relationship ship doesn’t have its prob- starts with Nate trying to lems? trick Elena into funding It all starts when Trip his latest treasure huntputs a slave headband on ing expedition. After findan unconscious Monkey. ing a key piece of treaThe headband forces sure, Nate tries ditching Monkey to obey direct Elena, but a journalist orders, and should Trip never gives up on her story, and eventually she die, Monkey dies. It sounds extreme, catches up. There is enough sexual but Trip needs Monkey’s help to make it back to tension between the two her village safely. We that you just want to yell see the relationship of ‘Kiss her already!’ which I two unlikely companions did, multiple times. start as a deal in order to But whatever happens survive and then blossom between the two, a life into something more. or death situation always Later, as the two pre- reminds them how much pare for the last battle, they truly care for each Trip disables the head- other. Nate and Elena band, which has been a have gone from flirty comdirect link between the panions to divorcees to two. Monkey immediately a couple again. It’s been tells her to turn the device a roller coaster ride of back on. That simple a relationship and worth action speaks volumes— every minute. more then a dozen roses 1. Mario & Princess or a sappy love poem in Peach (Super Mario a card.
being at the top of the list. These two have been a couple since their debut in 1981 arcade game “Donkey Kong.” This was before Mario actually had a name, and before Peach “aka Pauline” became royalty. Their story always starts the same: the princess is kidnapped, and it’s up to our hero plumber to rescue her. You would think after all these years the princess could learn to defend herself or learn to hide when the music changes, but either way Mario always goes to the end of the world, or to new planets, in order to save his lady love. Peach isn’t always in ‘damsel in distress’ mode. The two lovebirds can be seen go-karting, attending parties or playing sports together. Whatever the game is, the love between Mario and Peach never changes. Love can be found in the unlikeliest of places, and the same is true for our pixilated heroes. Love is an adventure in real life, too, not just in games.
Bros. series) 2. Nathan It is not possible to Drake & Now go forth and think of a game couple Elena Fisher without Mario and Peach game on.
It’s like a punch to the face... but in a good way.
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P. 7
Fri. Feb. 21
Sat. March 8
• Johnson Grass at the Texan: The Johnson Grass band will be kicking it Texas Country style, so make sure to show up early and get down! Don’t forget your boots. 3625 S. Staples St. in Corpus Christi.
• Pat Waters at Schroeder Hall: Pat Waters & the Chainlink Band return to the hall. Doors open at 8 p.m.; music starts at 9 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door. All ages welcome. Oh, and the Schroeder Grill will be open! 12516 FM 622 in Goliad.
• The Bright Light Social Hour at the House of Rock: The Tontons and Microphonic will be opening up the show for The Bright Light Social Hour. The doors open at 8 p.m., and it’s just $10. 511 Starr St. in Corpus Christi. •Pretty in Pink at the CC Ride-In Theater: Corpus Christi Ride-In Theater has you and your sweetheart covered for a post-Valentines love fest. Join them for John Hughes’s masterpiece: Pretty in Pink. Show kicks off at 7:30 p.m., and, as usual, it’s FREE! 1902 N. Shoreline in Corpus Christi.
Sat. Feb. 22 • 60s Soul Music Dance Party at Space 1301: 3 DJ’s spinning ’60s and early ’70s Soul/ R&B/Funk/Popcorn/ Northern Soul music.
Sun. March 16 The DJs are DJ Rene, DJ Humble Bastard and DJ Rob. It costs just $3 to get your groove on. 1301 Ayers St. in Corpus Christi.
Wed. Feb. 26 • The Expendables at The House of Rock: Stick Figure, Seedless and High Bred Roots will be opening up the show with the doors opening at 6 p.m., and tickets are just $18. 511 Starr St. in Corpus Christi. • Amy Grant at The American Bank Center Selena Auditorium: She’s back with an all new album and ready to supercharge the contemporary Christian music genre again. Doors open at 7 p.m. 1901 N. Shoreline Blvd. in Corpus Christi.
Fri. Feb. 28 • Roofless at Aria Sky Terrace & Lounge: ROOFLESS is the biggest and only EDM rooftop party in Corpus Christi. The lineup includes Topher & Nez, DJ Benvy, Marauder, Sebris and DJ Tophat. 18 and up welcome. 326 N. Chaparral St. in Corpus Christi.
Sat. March 1 • Loretta Lynn at The American Bank Center Selena
Auditorium: The coal miner’s daughter heads back to Corpus Christi. Get your tickets now so you won’t miss out! 1901 N. Shoreline Blvd. in Corpus Christi. • JB and the Moonshine Band at Schroeder Hall: JB and his boys bring the ruckus back to Schroeder! Doors open at 8 p.m., and the music starts at 9 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door and $13 for minors. All ages welcome. 12516
FM 622 in Goliad. • Terry Bradshaw at The Victoria Fine Art Center: Yes, THAT Terry Bradshaw. He’ll be performing a 90-minute show of comedy storytelling and singing, starring one of the country’s best loved football announcers, sports legends and performers, the Steelers legendary #12. Get you tickets at VTXIFF.COM or by Calling 361-9358843. 1002 Sam Houston Dr. in Victoria.
• WWE Smackdown at The American Bank Center : The road to Wrestlemania continues to tear through Texas! Come out and see your favorite wrestlers duke it out for supremacy right before your eyes! It’s sure to be an awesome show. 1901 N. Shoreline Blvd. in Corpus Christi. Need your awesome event listed? Drop us a line at Info@stxscene. com with all the details, and we’ll be glad to gently place it on this page.
P. 8
FEBRUARY 17-MARCH 3, 2014
A little more about the Goliad Brewing Company... Mark Nichols explains their logo
“Our logo incorporates the “Bloody Arm” from Dimmitt’s Flag. Today, this flag is known as the Goliad Flag. It was raised over the Presidio on Dec. 20th, 1835, and stood for “I’d cut off my right arm before I live under tyranny.” We are looking to brand our brewery with the rich history of Goliad, making this logo a natural fit.”
Concept art for the tap handle The inspiration of the design is the Presidio La Bahia in Goliad. I want to thank our artist Mike for the great concept. Soon, it will stand proud in bar near you!
The land behind the brewery is being prepped to house a pavilion for evening tasting and live music for the entire family to come out and relax and have a good time.
getting to know Brew Master
Stefan
Zurakowski “I’ve been a homebrewer since I was 20. (He paused to think about what he said) It’s been past seven years, right? I can’t get in to trouble for that now, right? (laughs) I was in college for mechanical engineering. “I had a few good beers at that point. I was 20, so I was limited, but I had a couple of good beers at that point. I had seen the home brew kit, and that’s what I bought, the $65 kit with a friend, and we made one. It was awful, so after that one we asked what did we do wrong? “We were looking into it more and more, and then we decided we could do it again; let’s do this differently and maybe do that better, and we started making them, and they started turning out better, and all of a sudden we were making really good beer. It was fun because the first batch was so awful, and we didn’t just stop. “I got out of school, and the economy was kind of taking a crap around that point, so I didn’t get a job doing that. “I was already working at a brewpub as a server and a bartender. “I worked my way up from truck driver to brewer’s assistant to brewer then head brewer, and now we’re here.”
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