Rooster Rhythms: 'The bitter redness of love ferments!'
"Get ready to unleash the thunderous crow of Rooster Rhythms, the electrifying new beat within Rooster Beers! We're cranking up the volume to sponsor and support Vietnam's underground music scene
like never before”, thus went the first ever statement from Rooster Rhythms, an initiative by Saigon-based Rooster Beer. “Join us as we stage-dive into the heart of the rebellion, raising horns and breaking boundaries with every riff, beer and concert! #RoosterRhythms #OurBeerYourMusic.”
In a neck of the woods where mega-corporates assume the impossible roles of culture importers (and exporters), where the consumption is rationed despite the existing amount only enough to fit the neck-space of a broken, non-rotating hourglass, where the Benjamin Button effect is sorely felt at the heart of the thriving subculture of heavy metal, Vanity asks Don Viteri a few questions.
The title is stolen from Arthur Rimbaud’s "The Drunken Boat", translated by Wallace Fowlie. Copyright © 2005 by Wallace Fowlie, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/55036/the-drunken-boat
If your ultimate beer has a sound (and loads of rhythms), what would it taste like, sensorily?
My ultimate beer would be a German Maibock, bursting with rich, malty rhythms that make you want to keep sipping and enjoying music all night long.
One of my all time favorite beers is called ‘Dead Guy Ale’ by Rogue Brewery in America. It’s a stronger beer but the taste is so delicious!
Does Rhythms in Rooster Rhythms have something to do with the fact that you play drums? And you mentioned an uncle playing music in Jungle Rot?
Rooster Rhythms is a cultivation of ideas coupled with an upbringing in a very music-oriented family. My mom was really into Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath and Dad was a drummer so I’ve always been surrounded by music. My uncles, Jon and Jimmy (who plays bass for Jungle Rot) used to babysit me, which is probably why I like heavy music so much…
Uncle Jimmy is friends with Terrance, Terrance Hobbs (of Suffocation) as they toured together and still cross paths nowadays
Don & Terrance Hobbs of Suffocation in Saigon, 27 March 2024
What was the turning point or moment when you decided to add more hops (or hope) to the underground, metal scene of Saigon? How has it been thus far, and how satisfied are you?
December 2023, when Cryptopsy returned to Saigon, marked the moment when Rooster Rhythms transitioned from an idea into reality. I recorded a podcast with Cryptopsy's singer, Matt McGachy, on his channel 'Vox & Hops titled 'Liquid Violence' – go give it a listen (right down, fellas!)
During the podcast, I mentioned the concept of Rooster Rhythms. After discussing it further with Matt and witnessing the incredible turnout for Cryptopsy, I knew it was time to launch Rooster Rhythms.
It's been an amazing first year for Rooster Rhythms! We've hosted around 11 shows featuring both local and international bands. One highlight was the Rooster Beers Birthday party, where we showcased a mix of new and established local bands to an enthusiastic crowd of 200 people.
Another highlight would be our idiosyncratic take on the beers that correspond (or twist, depending on our brain) to the headliners’ tunes (and fans’ favourites) such as Cryptopsy’s Pale of the Fathers, Suffocation’s Dark Delusions of Mortality, and, you know what, K-POP with the upcoming Korean duo Oathean x Method. Let's keep the momentum going!
How is the application of DIY, punk attitude embodied in the music you love, in beer making and supporting the scene? If not the metal scene, what is possibly the one you will go all in?
DIY and craft beer are like cousins – we've had a DIY mindset ever since we started in 2015. Rooster Beers was founded in Saigon in 2015 on that DIY mentality, with our original fermenter being a DIY 100-liter vessel (now on display at our D7 Tiem Bia Ga). Thanks to the support of customers, family, and friends, we've grown and now have over 40,000 liters of fermentation space.
Rooster Rhythms is committed to supporting the local scene in any way we can. Need a DIY stage? Sure, why not. Want to use the Rooster Beers brewery for a music video? Hell yeah, let's do it! Collaborating with bands on a beer for a concert? Absolutely. Our doors are always open to ideas and suggestions to better the scene.
If not the metal scene, country music. I think it would be funny to be a ‘cowboy’ in Vietnam.
We have seen tons of your efforts, I want to hear it from you: What subculture do you wish and/or try to embody when spearheading Rooster Rhythms?
That's a tough one! While I'm definitely immersed in the heavy metal culture, I'd love to see and hear more Street Punk or Punk Rock. There's something about those D-beats, mohawks, and studded jackets that I really miss!
Chase Mason of Gatecreeper on stage /Cre: Rooster Rhythms
What do you expect to witness in 05 years time, with all y/our possible share to such vision? The relationship between heavy music and beer consumption is re-negotiating itself in the modern context, no?
I believe the relationship between heavy music and beer will only continue to grow stronger. When you're out at a concert, you're there to have fun with friends, and enjoying a few beers is always a great way to start the night.
One of our visions is to continue creating collaboration beers with local and international bands. Rooster Rhythms aims to excite concertgoers not just about the band playing, but also about the exclusive beer brewed specifically for that event.
Is there a beer “playlist” in your head, like which beer to start and its successors until the climactic drink (like an omakase set!)
With beer, you usually start with the lightest in taste and body to heavier beers. When we’re drinking at Rooster Beers' Tiem Bia Ga, we typically begin with Ò Ó O ! ! ! – a beer you can only find at our taprooms. We enjoy a few of those while listening to punk bands like Discharge, Misfits, and Long Knife.
Next, we move on to our Blonde and throw on some nostalgic metal from the 90s and early 2000s, like In Flames, Slipknot, At The Gates, and Lamb of God.
Our Pale Ale, a 6% beer, is paired with heavier tunes from bands such as Decapitated, Nile, Jungle Rot, Bloodbath, and Cryptopsy.
When we reach the IPA stage, that's when the table starts playing new music. By this time, you're pretty buzzed, and this is usually when you’ll discover a lot of new tunes from friends.
These drinking sessions are so much fun! A fond memory from 2019 is sitting with Khang from Diarsia at a bar, where he introduced me to a lot of new bands that have since become some of my favorites. (Vanity: shout out to Diarsia and Khang, you’re next!)
What is better than a live concert with friends drinking together and having fun? Is there?
Live music, beer, and friends – what else could be better?! Whether it’s at a bar arguing over whose phone gets to play the next song or at home sharing your latest favorite tunes, there’s always a sense of camaraderie and brotherhood within the heavy metal music scene. We could be down on the beaches of Phu Quoc, and as long as there’s a speaker, rhythms, and friends, it’s always going to be a fun time.
Thank you, very much indeed!