Good evening, Ms. Kantner. Your mission, should you choose to accept it…Make pale ale interesting to a large group of beer geeks. I know this may seem like a strange “mission” and might not be the plot of the next Tom Cruise movie, but I did feel like Alaina created … Read more
Yes, it’s that time again folks. Spring semester beer school starts January 9th. The fall semester will be 15 weeks, with graduation on April 24th. There are still two classes; one from 5:30pm – 6:30pm and the other from 7:00pm – 8:00pm. As usual, each week, we will bring you … Read more
Cicero’s Beer School has been on break since May and while that is only two months on the calendar, it is an eternity in beer years. Finally we have reached the beer oasis of this extremely hot and dry summer and just in time, because I’m parched. Mimi and I … Read more
Kevin Lemp, the owner and founder of 4 Hands Brewing Company, practices what he preaches, and a lot of his sermons revolve around sustainability. At his new brewery he took old sprinkler heads and recycled them into clothing racks (makes me want to buy a shirt already); he transformed an … Read more
Check back for regular updates and breaking news from our man in the window. DAY ONE 6:50 AM Tim Ezell (Fox 2 News) dropped by to do an interview and cover what we are doing. You can watch the video at the link below. http://www.fox2now.com/news/morningshow/timezell/ktvi-tims-travels-lift-for-life-fundraiser-20111003,0,4837690.story 11:06 AM Happy 47th Birthday, … Read more
Cicero’s is teaming up with Lift For Life, an amazing local charity keeping kids off the street. From October 3rd through the 9th we will be hosting a benefit fundraiser to raise money for their children’s music program in St. Louis. Throughout the entire week Cicero’s new publicist, Kenny Snarzyk, … Read more
Genre slinging and coming up with a catchy, funny and notable new genre are done all too easily in the musical realm anymore – gone are the days of simply labeling some as rock, pop, country or hip-hop. However, of all the genres being bandied about one that intrigued me … Read more
It’s no short order to mix the influences of six people while creating your own unique niche and create a lasting stamp on your hometown crowd. Upon my first time ever hearing of Scarlet Tanager I was stunned; I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I heard bits and pieces … Read more
Face it: Your Monday is in desperate need of a fix-up, a face-lift, a transplant, a re-do and anything and everything in between – just so long as it doesn’t feel like a Monday anymore. Well, luckily for you Cicero’s Venue and I Went to a Show are here to help … Read more
By Eric and Mimi Griffith Multiple city tour across the nation? Check. Fans lining up in anticipation of your arrival? Check. Flashbulbs popping and video cameras rolling? Check. Signing tons of autographs? Check. Rushed in and out of venues by an entourage? Check. Stage dives? Check. This would appear to … Read more
Hearing names like “Coco”, “Poni” and “Jem” used nonchalantly, as nicknames, typically conjures up thoughts of cartoon characters or maybe roller derby players – not rock and roll musicians. Based out of Nashville, Tennesee, The Ettes have put a much sexier edge to your regular idea of punchy garage-bands. This … Read more
Upon a lazy Wikipedia or Google search of “Communipaw”, you’d find that it’s a community within Jersey City, NJ and one of America’s earliest European settlements, however, upon closer inspection Communipaw is a folk rock band from New Brunswick, New Jersey. Their quality lo-fi sound is accompanied by a contrast of fragile … Read more
Washington D.C. has a rich history in music and many alleged and self-imposed music connoisseurs are quick to spout out names like Bad Brains, Henry Rollins, and Fugazi all in one breath. However, D.C. bands strive to cast away the punk rock, emo and post-hardcore genre. U.S. Royalty is one of … Read more
By Eric and Mimi Griffith Here’s a tip…if you find Dan Kopman around town sampling Schlafly beers postpone your plans for a few minutes and soak in some knowledge. Dan will answer any question you have and I usually hang out and listen as he delves into deep discussions with … Read more
By Eric and Mimi Griffith David Zuckerman, Brewmaster for Boulder Beer, received a round of applause when he answered the question “How does the altitude effect the brewery?” with “Our brewers are high!” How high? 5,430 feet high to be exact. Mr. Zuckerman finally found a reason to make the … Read more
By Eric and Mimi Griffith Rob Mullin, Brewmaster and COO for Grand Teton Brewing Company, spent 40 hours traveling from Idaho to St. Louis so he could talk to us about beer…that’s dedication my fellow beer fans, and Cicero’s Beer School applauds him for the effort. Twenty three years ago … Read more
Intimacy during rock ’n’ roll shows isn’t easily created. Many factors play into the effect: the size of the venue, the fans and their eclectic mix of attitude and beer coursing through their veins and, most importantly, the artists on stage pouring their hearts out through song—laying it all out … Read more
It’s not that hard to imagine, really. Weeks in the making or mere hours of planning, a great night out with your best friends at the bar/game/show typically involves more than just a simple plan to catch up and have a few drinks. What you never stop to think about … Read more
It’s not that hard to imagine, really. Weeks in the making or mere hours of planning, a great night out with your best friends at the bar/game/show typically involves more than just a simple plan to catch up and have a few drinks. What you never stop to think about … Read more
You’re probably thinking that this is going to be about sugar and cooking, but contrary to your first thought, this is about love. One of my favorite movies is Rick Famuyiwa’s Brown Sugar. Released in 2002, it starred Sanaa Lathan, Taye Diggs, Queen Latifah and Mos Def. Brown Sugar told the … Read more
By Eric and Mimi Griffith Thanks to Charleville Brewing Company you can enjoy a serving of your favorite Valentine’s treat in a glass at the bar. Who says romance is dead? More details on the beer later, but first let me get you up to speed on what you missed. … Read more
By Eric and Mimi Griffith Mimi and I just found another reason to stop procrastinating on our pub crawl across the British Isles. The Angel & White Horse is a pub in Yorkshire next to the Samuel Smith Brewery. After tonight’s class, I’ve already played out the scene in … Read more
A night of lasts…and firsts? Legend and history typically precede folk heroes—being on the minds of others and spoken of in a high, almost mythical, regard in popular culture and conscience. For the past few years, Corey Goodman’s one-man “band” creation Superfun Yeah Yeah Rocketship has been the St. Louis metro-area’s rock ’n’ … Read more
From The Honorary Title’s Doghouse Records debut, Anything Else but the Truth, I was hooked. The music was kind of emo, kind of singer-songwriter, kind of rock…good, but it was the voice that made me a believer. Jarrod Gorbel had this plaintive, yearning yet otherwise nearly emotionless voice, rich and full, … Read more
This never ceases to make me laugh. Listening to the entire 1970s-1980s Journey catalog yesterday made me want to dig it up and share. Enjoy. What Would Journey Do? You’ve all seen the “W.W.J.D.” bracelets and T-shirts that remind teens and adults alike about a good rule of thumb for living … Read more
By Eric and Mimi Griffith I have to be honest with you, more than once I have walked past bottles of Augusta Farmhouse Ales on the shelves at my local bottle shop and thought, “maybe next time.” So when I saw them at beer school this week, my “next time” … Read more
1967 was very good to me: The St. Louis Blues were one of six teams added to the National Hockey League, Disney’s The Jungle Book was released, and then there’s music. While hockey is one of my near and dear loves and I have many fond childhood memories of Mowgli and … Read more
Have you ever thought about it? I mean, really thought about it? Take a moment and consider. What song would be playing at your birth? Would it be the first song you ever heard? (If so, mine would have to be something by Glen Campbell; my dad was a big … Read more
By Eric and Mimi Griffith Six weeks is a long time to go without Beer School. Mimi and I passed the time by attempting to homebrew and by tasting as many winter seasonal beers as we could get our hands on. But it is just not the same…we need our … Read more
Cicero’s understands that when it come to beer, most people’s favorite is the latest and greatest new beer. Very few beer lovers drink the same beer over and over again. Sure, you might go back to an old standard, but you always try the latest beer first. For that reason, … Read more
By Eric and Mimi Griffith When we tell people we are graduating, their first reaction is always, “Congratulations!” Once they find out we’re graduating from beer school they usually smile and chuckle like it is some kind of joke. But at Cicero’s Beer School graduation we get to drink free … Read more
It’s not like Julianna Barwick needs to wrestle with lyrics. While other artists may have a hard time coming up with the right words to fit the mood of a song, her intensely beautiful music conveys deep meaning and emotions without the use of definable lyrics. Where conventional lyrical structure … Read more
Cicero’s understands that when it come to beer, most people’s favorite is the latest and greatest new beer. Very few beer lovers drink the same beer over and over again. Sure, you might go back to an old standard, but you always try the latest beer first. For that reason, … Read more
Though we think we send a pretty detailed list of instructions upon confirming a show, Andy’s Bar in Denton, Texas, sends out more. Some of these are what you’d expect—load in/load out, pay, blackout dates—while others bear reposting. You don’t have to be in a band to appreciate the venue’s … Read more
by Eric Griffith and Mimi Griffith Have you ever gone to your local beer shop and reserved a bottle of beer in advance of the release date? Have you ever toasted the New Year with a champagne flute full of beer? Have you ever brought a $20 bottle of beer … Read more
Three and a half years ago, Kansas City emo-pop outfit Josephine Collective released their debut EP Living on Warner Bros. Records. They played the Warped Tour. All looked bright. Of course, you know how this part of the story ends. The young band receives no support from the label; the … Read more
Let’s face it: Music’s a hard business. Whether you’re a band plugging away, making the best music that you can, or a booking agent trying to put all the pieces together, it’s still an uphill battle to get people out and to get recognized. If we were to think rationally, … Read more
by Eric Griffith and Mimi Griffith This week’s class was structured a little differently in that the line-up was not from a single brewery or all one particular style of beer, but rather was a hand picked selection of brews from the large stable of beers at Missouri Beverage. Jim McGinn … Read more
by Eric Griffith and Mimi Griffith I know what you’re thinking…”Real men don’t drink cider!” But you would be wrong. In fact most men, including our founding fathers, drank plenty of cider during the American Revolution and beyond. These men were not hiding in their homes sipping the tart stuff; … Read more
by Eric Griffith and Mimi Griffith I had a déjà vu moment when we walked in to Cicero’s beer school this week. Karen King was standing on stage and I was fairly certain that she had already taught our class earlier this semester. If you have participated in any Goose … Read more
A smile drew across my face while standing in line for Cicero’s Beer School this week. I recognized the bucking elephant on Karen’s jacket as the label for Odell’s IPA and at that moment I knew we were in for some good beer. Not that you should ever judge a beer … Read more
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