Well, we’ve paired Kenny Rogers, the J. Geils Band and Guided by Voices with beer before, but this has to be the most obscure. This time we’re pairing the fine artists of eMoo Records with six beers. Wait, you haven’t heard of eMoo Records? Unless you were a small contingent of individuals around the year 2000 in Norwich, Connecticut, you most likely have never heard of eMoo.
eMoo Records was dreamed up by myself one day in math class during my junior year of high school. Although I had stamped cassette tapes with the label previously, the idea of a local scene starter was a math class daydream. Showcasing bands from the area, especially ones involving my friends and me, became a fun way to play shows (or eMoo Fests), record songs, and hang out. It lasted primarily for two years until I went to college. After a few more releases, the nano-label shuttered.
Based in Norwich, Connecticut, the six beers that we’re pairing with eMoo Records classics are all Connecticut beers. (Look for eMoo releases at some point being added to the Backyard Road Trips online store!) The only traces of eMoo online were, up to recently, just a Google maps address.
Elephant – Farewell to the Year of the Loxadanta and Firefly Hollow’s Cone Flakes- 2002
Elephant was the brainchild of Adam Morosky who has continued the trajectory of dissonant sounds of Elephant into the modern era as Timeghost, releasing, among others, “Cellular” on the much-lauded Load Records. Released while he was in high school, and Elephant’s second on eMoo Records, it was the opposite of high school bands rehashing each note of “Stairway to Heaven.” Experimental, brash at times, beautiful at others, Elephant’s symphony of cacophony resonates today as much as it did in 2001. Timeghost’s current performances mix Morosky as part man and part machine. Not far-fetched from the same performer who interpreted the Melville short story “Bartleby the Scrivener” live with hulking pieces of raw meat tied to his bare chest. Morosky is also a member of the New York-based metal band Gnaw.
For the beer, Firefly Hollow, housed in a foreboding warehouse building in Bristol, the Cone Flakes is an IIPA. The extra “I” is for imperial. Similar to Elephant, this imperial IPA may be harsh to some, but rich and flavorful to others.
Ambulance – On Call and Beer’d Brewing’s Do You Like Da Juice?- 1997
Ambulance was the first eMoo Records “signing,” back when it was called “Moo Records.” Actually, Ambulance was only me on guitar, Andrew (of Drew’s Honeybees), and Andy on pots and pans (yes pots and pans). Combine that with a looped tape of sound effects and answering machine messages and you have Ambulance. A primitive sound, which by some may be considered “challenging” and by others just plain “terrible.”
Many of Stonington, Connecticut’s Beer’d Brewing selections are heavy on the ABV. This juicy IPA is only 7% so you may need a few of them to stomach listening to this cassette tape.
Zack Lamothe and his Trip to the Farm – and Thomas Hooker Brewing’s Chocolate Truffle Stout 2007
Technically recorded after the grand collapse of eMoo Records, this album was recorded, produced, and included the musicianship of Tim Davison, my long-time pal who now runs the experimental record label Moon Villain. This indie lo-fi record combines traditional four-chord songs with snippets of interludes featuring home videos from me age 3.
One of the most accessible releases in this six-pack, it is paired with a beer that chocolate lovers would not be able to resist, the Truffle Stout from Thomas Hooker Brewing out of Bloomfield. The chocolate used here is another CT staple, Munson’s Chocolate.
Bringing Home the Beef: An eMoo Records sampler and East Rock Brewing’s Blackberry Gose – 2000
eMoo’s first “widespread” release, this album featured six artists: Flunk (my primary band), Pig Will & Pig Won’t, the Jim Wheeler Revival (co-host of the BYRT podcast!), Donald Wysoski, Mile 9, and Robert Morrison. The tracks range from indie rock to spoken word to new age, showcasing the strange range of eMoo Records. And our first release on CD! Even Robert Morrison, reading the poetry of Robert Burns was included on this eMoo sampler.
A pretty tame release from eMoo pairs with a pretty tame beer, the blackberry gose from New Haven’s East Rock Brewing. This beer has only a hint of sourness, making it quite accessible for any beer fan.
Flunk and Pig Will/Pig Won’t split – Striking Fear Into and Two Roads’ Daybreaker Blood Orange cocktail – 2000
This was supposed to be a demo before Flunk’s first album which was never fully recorded plus seven fun tracks from the side project, an “acoustic ska blues rap” group known as Pig Will/Pig Won’t. The Flunk tracks feature Tim Lawless’s indie meanderings a la Pavement or early Modest Mouse and my three-chord punkier tracks, while the mysterious Pig Will/Pig Won’t duo tackles acoustic guitar-driven ska blues rap. Intrigued? You should be.
Picking through this split album, there are some real gems in this high school demo. This is similar to the Daybreaker Blood Orange cocktail. I love Two Roads Brewing. Give me any of their standard beers or experimental concoctions from Area 2 any day. When I was given a canned cocktail from their Daybreaker line, I was a bit skeptical since to me, canned cocktails usually don’t do it for me. How wrong was I! These are refreshing, with fresh blood orange taste permeating through with literally no vodka bite.
Totally Off – Brown Bananas and Thimble Island Brewing’s Kiki – 2002
Totally Off was a folky duo, guitar, and bongos, who played a few coffeehouses with their quirky and kitschy songs. The sweetness of Brown Bananas pairs with the fruity taste of this kiwi sour ale from Branford’s Thimble Islands Brewing. Ironically, Totally Off’s singer, Stephen Kurczy is a journalist for such publications as the New York Times and recently released his first book to critical acclaim, The Quiet Zone,
Although eMoo Records may have risen and fallen (wait for the Behind the Music special on VH-1) without much fanfare (kinda like that tree falling in the forest metaphor), its legacy lives on, at least in terms of extra copies of these CDs and cassettes in my parents’ attic. The little Connecticut record label has been given a new life with a pairing with this CT six-pack. Twenty years on, it is nice to reflect on these records and the career trajectories of these friends of mine. And it doesn’t hurt to be washing it down with a few beers.
So many memories on this one
Yes! And I know these are still in heavy rotation in the CD player, too bad they’re not on Spotify…. yet.