"Do you know the difference between education and experience? Education is when you read the fine print; experience is what you get when you don't." -- Pete Seeger
Rest in peace, good sir.
Reason 37,391 To Love The Red Sox
As if more reasons were needed to love America's most facial follicle friendly major sports team... the Boston Red Sox hosted its "Dollar Beard Night" promotion during Wednesday's game against the Orioles. The team offered $1 tickets to fans who showed up wearing a beard, real or fake. MAJOR hat-tip to my hometown bearded brethren of the Boston Beard Bureau for making the trek and making themselves heard, as always.
What a team (both of them)... they just keep killing it, we dont even dare not to mention the home team's lovely #getbeard promotion... god DAMN I love that team. GO SOX!
That is all, happy Friday.
For Some, Even Facial Hair Doesn't Help
New York Jets 'quarterback' Mark Sanchez clearly didn't learn the lesson about being aware of his surroundings on the field... you of course remember the Butt Fumble against (YOUR) New England Patriots, oh that was great... this time it was on the sidelines, when Jets guard Willie Colon sneaked up behind Sanchez and slapped his ass, only slightly less hard than Sanchez slapped (retired) Jet Brandon Moore... with his FACE.
Anyway... the thing is, Sanchez was sporting a pretty bitchin handlebar stache, maybe that's what attracted his teammates so much to slap his ass, but then again... there are some people, a few sad souls, whom facial hair just doesn't help. You be the judge, click on his (ass) face for video... if you dare.
Oscar's Golden Beard Shines Bright
Forget about the falling on the way acceptance, the drug addled 'stars,' the mile a minute gibberish, the CGI bear or even Babs making people wet in the general eye area.
The Oscars last night were all about the beard. Full stop. Below is our proof, should you need it or missed it... we could go on pasting examples of fine facial hair fortitude, but thinking you agree we've made the case when the beardiest picture won top Honors, while best actor went to the dude protraying one of history's most famous beardo.
Congrats Ben, you deserve it... you've come a long way since your hairless child-face in Reindeer Games. Kudos.
We are tagging this post under Beard Ball, because frankly that's what it was at heart, just take a look at the volume...
From the scruff of Liev...
To Jennifer Aniston's +1's slightly bigger mass:
Credit: Getty
The sly smile on Bradley's hairy face:
Credit: GettyTo Paul Rudd's Monet beard:
Credit: Herald SunHugh's chivalrous facial hair follicleness:
Tommy Lee's mainstay and tenured beard:
George's Oceanic chin mane:
And finally all the way to three producers, three beards, three Oscars... a billion smiling fans:
Of course our good friends at Pop Sugar already have a poll out who wore the best beard (though a limited selection). You can vote here.
Beard Particles and Facial Hair Electrons
I've been a little (a lot) obsessed with Brooklyn's own Pearl and the Beard after meeting them and seeing them folk out for the first time... which resulted in the darling post 10Qs with Pearl and the Beard
And it's not just Jeremy's fantastically growing chin mane (which is totally awesome by the way)...
via instagram
It's also the music, and lyrics, and the sound, and stopmping, and also sighs, oh did i mention the music? So, check out the troupe's latest video below, it's for 'Prodigal Daughter.' The kid is so cute, it'll make you forget that Jeremy's beard does not make an appearance.
NOTE: Pearl and the Beard are hitting the stage at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Thursday 2/16. Click over to their site for ticketing info.
Shit Brooklyn Beards Say
"We wear pants, you know? Someone had to do that, had to go through that, wearing pants, you know? So, um, I figured, you know, I'm a fuckin' try a beard."
If we believe Jack Passion, which we do, that the epicenter of US beards is undeniably the pacific northwest... it has to be told that it is so in mass, not per capita. That title belongs to Brooklyn, period, full stop, moving on.
Case in point, see Jana Schmieding (@janaunplgd) exposé on Brooklyn Beards... which we renamed, Shit Brooklyn Beards Say.
Blood Sugar Sex Mustache
Red Hot Chili Peppers have just released their video for the first single off of 'I'm With You,' the troupe's latest album... Love it/them or hate it/them (the new guitarists is a robot, we are sure of it), what we absolutely love is the now permanent (and prominent) stache on the upper lip of front-man Anthony Kiedis. Kudos!
Tyrannical Hirsute-ness
All praise be to Sacha Baron Cohen and his forthcoming new film The Dictator. Cohen, who plays a Middle East dictator who is very well represented in the hairy chin area... Keeping up his support of facial fortitude he started with other characters from such classics as Borat (stache) and Ali G (chin strap).
We approve this movie, without support of the actions Cohen is so capable to pretend to endorse... Tyrants are bad, beards are good. Dont blame the beard and enjoy the show!
Neil Halstead's Merry Beardmas
Neil Halstead - Home For The Season is a track that will be appearing on "This Warm December Vol. 2" which also features tunes from Jack Johnson, G. Love, Matt Costa and the rest of the Brushfire family, check it out at http://thiswarmdecember.com.
Surely, and without question, Neil is the beardiest of them all... so, enjoy this beautiful tune, and we here at Build-a-Beard hope you get home for the season, and get there with a full on beard (or mustache).
What's in YOUR Beard?
We LOVE a good comedy skit, a cute video or picture with hairy protagonist... let alone two! And more over, we LOVE knowing what happens to wind up in people's beards.
So, take some time off this friday afternoon and check our this item sent to us all the way from the great state of Minnesota. This is the first (?) in a series (?) asks the question we all want to know: What's in your beard?
NYC BMC FTW
Just like after a wedding (or an engagement... read on), the party that was the NYC Beard and Moustache Competition has left me with the inevitable feeling of "well, now what?!" The copious amount of planning that went into it, the tons of anticipation this brought on, so many nerves and butterflies filling many a stomach, the myriad of press and out-of-towners with millions upon millions of hairs filling chins and lips and descending to my hometown of Brooklyn... sadly, it's all over now... so, what do we do?!
Sob stories aside, I'm glad that my wife (and future son) gave me the opportunity to attend this monumental event... which is my long winded way of saying that I am still an expectant father and didn't get "THE Call" on Saturday, and was able to cover and partake in the festivities.
Myk O'Connor's rallying call prior to the event (as reported here) rang truer and truer as each category was moving through judging... fake beards out of the way, onto goatees, straight into freestyle, recession beards and finally... the piece de resistance, the full natural category... Myk ran the show like a smooth yet hairy operator of sorts, taking shots and quoting bearded literature sages (achem) while boosting the matchups and giving the IFC "Whisker Wars" people plenty of competitive fodder for their storylines.
That said, the one storyline that we took away from the event was the expertise that Build-a-Beard has bestowed on us, and the insane amount of information we eagerly retained through our hairy tribulations over the last few years... I, like Riss, am now an expert on beards... insanity.
To exemplify this, just look at the winners and our predictions:
- Full Beard --
- Prediction: Jack Passion (unless Mark Krayenhoff enters and brings the Brooklyn thunder)
- Result: Jack Passion wins, shocker (Mark enters Freestyle, gets bronze), Aarne Bielefeldt garners 2nd place for his gnomish effort.
- Moustache --
- Ben Davidson (unless he hasn't been working out his arm strength and loses in the run-off arm wrestling)
- Result: Ben got 2nd place (should've exercised more...), a Ned Flanders lookalike steals the stache gold.
- Goatee --
- Steve Cline (since Paul Beisser is sure to have severe jet-lag)
- Result: Steve Cline takes the local gold as expected (surprisingly, Paul went the "ZZ Top" Route).
- Freestyle --
- A German Pretzel
- Result: No Germans in attendance, so a US Born pretzel got the prize (our favorite twisted beard of the night, Jon Rice, got robbed...).
- Recession beard --
- Someone from Detroit
- Result: not sure where that guy was from... but he had a great outfit.
- Fake beard --
- A girl with a bigger bosom than beard
- Result: her fake beard was so mesmerizing I forgot to look at her bosom...
The highlight of the night for me, other than being treated as said expert by IFC production team (and even by the one and only Thom Beers himself!), was the marriage proposal that Myk surprised his fiance Karolina Gwiazda with, it was adorable... see it for yourself below:
With the cutesy formality out of the way, below are the videos of all the winners being announced... it was our pleasure to report on this for you all, both here and live on twitter/facebook... so just know, the source of all your up-to-the-minute hairy news is right here, www.Build-A-Beard.com... Major thanks to all those that showed B-a-B love at the event (and for those that didn't, surely you'll change your mind sooner than later)... to quote an IFC exec: Thank you Big Apple, you've been delicious.
P.S. You can find our entire collection of photos from NYCBMC in our Hairy Pics tab, or just click here (you lazy ass).
10Qs with Pearl and the Beard
Back in late September we met up with three of the most magnificent souls in music, four counting our lovely beard loving folkster Sophie Madeleine, namely Emily Hope Price, Jeremy Styles and Jocelyn Mackenzie of Pearl and the Beard (self described as: three voices, one cello, one guitar, one glockenspiel, one melodica, several drums, one accordion, ninety-six teeth, and one soul).
This team of lovely souls, voices and laughs hit us right where it hurts, and it's been hurting SO good ever since. Not to mention the fact that they sell beards at their shows, Emily and Jocelyn went out of their way to make sure my (super) pregnant wife had a place to sit at their EP release... and trust me when i say there was NO room. Thank you again ladies.
Emily introduced me to the rest of the band as 'the guy that will make us famous'... which is laughable and humbling all at the same time... so, to try and live up to such hype, and to give back to a band that has changed the way i look at harmony, whether musically or socially (seriously)... Build-a-Beard stopped by the band's tour bus (cause we do that now) and the sublimed interview is below, and what resulted is our longest and most engaging Q&A to date.
Trust me, buy their EP, then their CD, then go see their shows... just trust me.
Remaining Black Vessel EP Tour shows:
Nov 19th Athens, OH @ Jackie O’s w/ Holy Ghost Tent Revival
Nov 20th Pittsburgh, PA @ Church of the Redeemer w/ Brad Yoder and Judith Avers
(P.S. Check this out too: Pearl and the Beard – Will Smith Medley)
EHP = Emily Hope Price JM = Jocelyn Mackenzie JS = Jeremy Styles
So, this is the chance for us to make you famous... we are honored, and humbled you think this will help your cause... either way, tell us the 'story' behind the name of your band, Pearl and the Beard.
JS: We tend to keep that a bit more vague, and open to interpretation, but as far as the Beard portion goes, when coming up with the name I was pretty obsessed with beards. They are sort of like a great butt or boobs on a man's face. I would just stare at a beard and be captivated with my lookin' balls.
You sell plush beards with a single pearl on it (a la Cindy Crawford's mole)... do they sell well? We get the feeling that people that can't grow beards FLOCK to fake ones, what say you? and where can our beardly deficient readers get their hands on it?
EHP: We made them in order to support our beardless market.
JM: Yes, and they’re actually selling quite well! They are made in America by the nimble hands of two fine young American art school graduates, our friend and former photographer Juliet Hinely, and myself. They are made by hand, individually crafted by Juliet and yours truly. They are time consuming to make, and a labor of love. The ONLY place you can get them is at a show! So come on down!
You have one beardo among you... who sometimes shaves... do you guys push him to shave or does he go willingly?
JS: In the years we’ve playing I’ve only shaved once.
EHP: No, you’ve shaved more than that!
JS: Well, maybe one more time. I shave willingly. But I like going extreme. I’ll shave when it starts driving me nuts and I start twisting it in my fingers.
JM: But you do trim, though.
JS: Yes.
You're on tour to support your new EP, what are some crazy facial hair stories you've had on the road previously. bad hair days would qualify if they are on the chin... we'll also take the weirdest facial hair style that may have attended your shows.
EHP: Well, we could talk about Franz Nicolay and his awesome moustache… but that’s it.
JM: Our friend Brandon Mastrangelo [of Burning Oak and Larcenist] had a really sick beard going for awhile.
EHP: We also talked about beards being one of the requirements of making a song a sea shanty.
JM: Yeah, between Pearl and the Beard and our friends in Larcenist (formerly known as Vessel), I think we determined that for a song to be a sea shanty, there have to be at least six guys singing at the same time, and at least four of them have to have beards (see our old Sunday Brunch Episode for more specifics... notice Jeremy's lack of a beard)
JS: Occasionally we’ll rub beards with people.
EHP: Yes, we love the occasional beard rubbing. It’s better than a brass rubbing. It leaves more of an impression.
JS: What’s a brass rubbing?
EHP: You know, like in Indiana Jones, when he rubs the thing on the thing…
JS: Oh yeah!
EHP: It totally makes a good “impression...!”
ALL: LAUGHTER!
JS: Who else had good beards?
EHP: Justin Tam [of Humble House] had a good beard for awhile…
JM: Yeah, but it was pretty under control.
JS: Oh, but don’t forget E-S Guthrie…
JM: Yeah! His hair was so long, and his beard was like down to his bellybutton or something. Then he cut it all off. I liked it long, but he still looks good. So really our answer is: we’ve only encountered incredible hair.
I gotta say all the stuff written about your band is very ethereal, very soul and depth related... hell you guys even listed Gospel as a style on your FB page... that said, if we created a religion of worshiping facial hair (i.e. theopogonology), would you write our gospels and join in on the cult, erm club?
JM: Well, only if we get really great titles.
EHP: Jeremy, you would be the King of Panda Express. I would be the Queen of Tornados and Electronic Disturbance.
JM: What would I be?
EHP: You would be Queen of Tears.
JS: I’d rather be Jeremy the Boob Grabbler.
EHP: What did I say you were before?
JM: The stupid King of Stupid Panda Stupid Express. But that doesn’t have anything to do with beards.
JS: Well, would we be in the gospels, or would we just be writing them ourselves?
EHP: I think we could write some.
JS: I personally like to keep my options open when it comes to clubs, but I’d be happy to contribute to some of the literature.
Seriously though, how would you define your style personally, there is so much in your music from strings to stomping, bells whistles, a glockenspiel, call and answer whooping (which i love) and other layers upon layers of goodies... for god's sake there are only three of you!
JS: Acoustic.
JM: Done. Answered.
JS: Other people have said we’ve created a new genre, whether I agree with that is arguable.
EHP: I’ve never heard that.
JS: I’m just saying what other people said. If you quote other people then you’re not wrong!
EHP: The newest description we got was “Andrew Lloyd Webber sitting around the campfire.” But I talked to a musical theater guy who totally disagreed with that.
JM: I don’t know. I just think we make music that we like to listen to. [Composer and multi-instrumentalist] Jim Altieri said to me once that if there’s music that you want to listen to that doesn’t exist yet, you just make it yourself. That’s what my favorite part of our sound is… we’re making music that we ourselves want to hear. You can’t go wrong with that.
What is your musical training has been? know that it couldn't all be learned on the fly...
JS: I started taking very uncomfortable guitar lessons, then I was self taught with books and covering songs. Now I just watch other guitarists on stage and learn from what they’re doing. And I’ve been singing for always.
JM: I’m a total faker. These two tricked me into learning how to play instruments, and I’m glad they did.
EHP: Jeremy and Jocelyn found me passed out on the side of the road carrying a simple clover.
JS: We replaced a forty of Colt 45 you were holding in your hand with a cello.
EHP: And they were like, “Play something!” and I was like, “Okay.”
JM: Yeah.
EHP: And I was like, “Guys, I don’t know how to play this thing!” and they were like, “That’s just fine.”
JS: Yeah and I said, “Just play like you drink.”
EHP: Yeah. What’s funny about that is I don’t drink.
We've heard some of your tracks (like Lost in Singapore) compared to classical giants like Brahms... whom are actually your inspirations and what gets your creativity flowing?
EHP: Macaroni and cheese! Only from Kraft! Also, Annie’s is great.
JM: And the box has bunnies on it.
JS: Yeah.
JM: I get inspired by everything I see! And I love They Might Be Giants. But my friends bands are the best bands I love. I can’t tell if I love their music because they are my friends or they become my friends because they write great music or both.
JS: Last night I saw this guy Jacob Augustine and he really flipped my skirt up. It’s sort of a bittersweet feeling to see a new artist that makes me feel challenged, like I need to go back to the drawing board and write something better.
EHP: I love Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, Franz Nicolay.
JM: Holy Ghost Tent Revival, Uncle Monsterface, O’Death, Emilyn Brodsky, Tatters and Rags, Dinosaur Feathers.
EHP: Anna Vogelzang
JS: Radiohead has helped me write more songs than I care to remember. Oh and bee tee dubs, Jacob Augustine has a phenomenal beard. Fudge about.
Anything we didn't ask, that you are DYING to share?
JM: Just that our new EP is for sale from our website www.pearlandthebeard.com and www.blackvesselep.com, through our label Family Records, and on iTunes, Amazon, etc.
JS: Sounds good!
JM: Also, when I was little I would watch Mtv and secretly wish that I could grow a beard like ZZ Top. My mom would tell me that if I really wanted to grow one I just had to wish for it and keep trying, and then I would realize my dream. Little did I know that she duped me.
Start Wearing Purple (and staches)
In honor of today's #SpiritDay (http://glaad.org/spiritday)... and in keeping with our love of all facial hair styles... we wanted to break the rules of our newly created "Beardo Of the Month" and award it to a STACHE.
Namely, to the front man of Gogol Bordello, a Gypsy punk band from (where else) Lower East Side NYC, Mr. Eugene Hütz.
To you ladies and gentlemen of the Gogol Bordello, and to your song Start Wearing Purple, kudos... you are our beardo(s) of the month! take a bow!!!
P.S. To be fair, we want to commend the whole band for their style, but more importantly for having nearly 75% of their male members for having some sorts of facial hair, KUDOS!
The Beard Song (ode to a beard) LIVE
Last night was amazing. Very cool culmination of the Sophie Madeleine bearded goodness... and just like I like it too: tender, soft, humorous, lengthy... like a good beard.
By all means you should get Sophie's record so that to bask in her musical hairiness, however watching her play live (and dedicate the last song to B-a-B) is a whole 'nother lovely experience.
The love the Sophie so kindly showed B-a-B reverberated throughout the evening; which included an EP release party for Pearl and the Beard and was also amazing in and of itself (more news on that at a later time).
We are humbled and appreciative of the transatlantic proveit from a dispatch of Rocky and Balls themselves... So, without further ado, Build-a-Beard is proud to present LIVE from NYC, The Beard Song (Ode To A Beard). Enjoy!
The Balls Perspective: Keep it hairy
Back in March, when I wrote the Q&A with Rocky and Balls, I didn't actually meet up with Sophie Madeleine and Hannah Rockcliffe to do the interview... B-a-B staffers don't get an expense account (yet) to fly transatlantic... I did the interview not in person but via the Internets. There, I said it... So, when finally having an opportunity to meet half of the duo on my own turf, aka Brooklyn, I jumped at it.
Still groggy from a crazy night in Coney Island, I stumbled to breakfast with the full intention of impressing our fair neighbor to the east, as well as her local beardo by wearing my newly acquired Rocky and Balls T-Shirt (number 2 of 50, #justsaying). Yes, I was THAT guy, but so be it, it was the right occasion... besides, my wife told me I looked very cute 'in that little T-shirt,' so there.
What followed was a great lunch with even greater people. Sophie, Sonya, Tim and I talked beards, scruff, music, Brooklyn, Lady Gaga (yes, really), relationships, England and US geography, and much much more. Distilled below are some key findings.
- To my surprise, the UK and Brooklyn facial hair scenes are very similar. Sophie wasn't going to indulge me with "Brooklyn is SO CLEARLY so much better"...
- Like me, Sophie does not listen to the radio and preferrs the countryside to the metropolis. However, very much unlike me, she does not drink coffee.
- Understandably, both Rocky's and Balls' boyfriends are beardos. More over, Sophie's beard is also her guitarist.
- On September 24th Sophie has her 2nd NYC gig. 7pm at The Living Room (154 Ludlow St.)
- Also playing that night, at 9pm, are Pearl and the Beard who aparently have fake beards for sale at the show.
- Honorable mention: Sophie and Sonya played footsies while Tim and I blabbed on about music and media.
3rd Annual Coney Island BMC Wrap Up
As you know by now (given the myriad of live postings and up to the minute results updates), El Beardo went to the 3rd Annual Coney Island Beard and Moustache Competition... presented by the lovely Joanna Firneno and the curly Donny Vomit.
Unfortunately, because my suit was at the cleaners, my suspenders lost and the briefcase back in my father in-law's possession... I was unable, or unwilling, to compete my Championship Corporate Beard. Regardless what follows is a complete recounting -- to the best of my ability, given the copious amounts of beer that surrounded the event -- of the festivities, the beardos, the staches, and overall hairy awesomeness that last night's party down on the shore came to be... and what an event it was!
What really warmed our heart was the 'show must go on' perspective of the organizers, competitors and judges... there were ample hiccups (4 total competitors for natural mustache? no problem, we'll make do), issues regarding facial hair standards (OH: "well that's what happens when your categories have no concrete standards, they are learning as they go...") and so on... but not to be fazed, Donny and his motley crew of characters (which also included Cowboy and World Champion Trick Roper, Chris McDaniel; Jennifer Miller, The Lady with a Beard; and sword swallower Heather Holliday).
All in all, I really enjoyed the raw debauchery of said competition... it was a welcome break from the many rules, standards, and guidelines that we've heard and seen in other competitions, even the mostly freewheeling National's in Bend earlier this summer. However, the natural category winners were B-a-B friends from National's and Magnificent Specimens (i.e. returning champ Myk O'Connor), which wholeheartedly vindicated the results and gave full credence to the event in our books.
All in all, a great job done by all... especially the styles mustache category entrants... clearly, and by far, the most fully loaded category with nearly 15 contestants in the first round alone... the Hipster stache movement was and is alive and well by the beach in Brooklyn. So, without further ado... the select awesome photos from last night are below, other can be found in the Hairy Pics tab for your hair enjoyment.
Also check out the Competition's fan page on Facebook, goodies galore.
The Crowds, Setting and Judges
Natural Mustache Finalists
Natural Beard Finalists
Sideburns Finalists
Styled Mustache Finalists
Styled Beard Finalists
Fake Female Beard Finalists
THE WINNERS! (and judges)
Rocky and Balls and Beards and Shirts
You've seen their tongue in (hairy) cheek folksy goodness... you've read their fuzzy thoughts... and now, you can wear their shirts too. Of course I am talking about The Beard Song creators themselves Rocky and Balls.
The exclusive "Ode To A Beard" T-shirt is a short run of only 50 and is available to the world. The shirts are made from 100% organic cotton, screen printed by hand with eco-friendly ink by greenteeprints.co.uk The price is £16.00, plus shipping... sizes Small and Large only.
The shirts go on sale promptly at... like, well somewhere within 2 hours, or so. In the meantime feel free to check out the reworked and in fact brand new video for The Beard Song from the duo by clicking on the bearded chin man below.
Here is the sustainably awesome design:
Prove It Coco, #PROVEIT!
So... Did you happen to catch the brand new TBS promo that aired last night for Conan O'Brien?! If not you can find it below.
Pretty neat, nifty, even cute... but also mysterious. We are starting a #conansbeardwatch at once, because we really dislike ambiguity, especially when it comes for facial hair. Now is the time to prove it Conan, and prove it you must... do it for Brookline High School, do it for me... nay, us!
So, will he? Won't he? Shouldn't he?! Well, he better! And we'll be watching... unless... they did this just to boost ratings... no way would a media personality and company ever do this to its fans, right?!
Dear Jon (Stewart)...
We love you, we always loved you, we love you even more now that you're embracing facial hair (even if in part, Go Beard or Go Home!)... but Jon... as we've noted, by way (THE) Jack Passion's bearding philosophy... Beardos need not explain their beards, nor reasoning for wearing a beard... a beard chooses you Jon, not the other way around.
That said, Jon's explanation as to why he went bearded is pretty funny:
"The truth is I'm a Japanese snow monkey. I've been hiding that from people and I can't live that lie anymore."
But... to his credit, Jon did indeed take "beard rubbing" to the next level this week, when he and Wyatt Cenac engaged in the act on 7/26... I consider this my Birthday present, thanks Jon.
Today's Word: Stache
Oh, the wonders of our online communities! Every day it's something new, hairy (and at times blue) that we borrow from our legion of hairy fans. Today, it's an inside look at how the next generation of beardos is learning about facial hair. As always, Sesame Street is quite enlightening...
We stumbled on this awesome piece by way of our good friend Eric Harvey Brown (shown in his full BTUSU glory) none other than the 2nd place winner of the Partial Beard category at the first ever National Beard and Moustache Championships... and, he even makes a cameo in this stache filled segment (check him out at around the 4:50 mark).