We recently had the good fortune of sponsoring MCA Day at ABGB - Austin Beer Garden Brewing. They’re an Austin institution, pumping out great beer and pizza for the last decade at a venue that never stops rocking. Their event schedule is chock full of coveted sets and worthy causes. August 4th was MCA Day, celebrating the life of Beastie Boy Adam Yauch (aka MCA). In addition to being a co-founder of one of the most celebrated rap groups of all time, Yauch was also a committed activist who supported a wide range of causes - from Tibetan independence to religious tolerance.
On this particular MCA day, ABGB hosted a Beastie Boys trivia night and raffled off a number of great products, including $450 worth of GRAV merchandise. The proceeds went to an organization MCA would be sure to support: Habitat for Humanity. HFH was founded with the mission of providing decent housing to deserving families who might otherwise never own a home. The houses are built with labor from a combination of volunteers, professionals, and members of the recipient family themselves. Once the house is finished, HFH sells it to the family with a very reasonable mortgage, and the family pays it off over time at a below-market interest rate. Those payments go into a fund that HFH uses to pay for future construction. In that way, Habitat for Humanity is an especially sustainable and impactful charitable organization, and it’s earned the admiration of many philanthropists, including President and First Lady Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter.
By the time the night was over, we’d raised over $1700 for Habitat, guzzled irresponsible quantities of ABGB’s famed Superliner IPA, ducked into the parking lot to hit one of the new beaker spoons, and learned A LOT about the Beastie Boys. If you’re looking for a great way to spend a weekend, consider volunteering at your local Habitat for Humanity. You’ll learn how to use a lot of intimidating tools, and maybe next time something in your home breaks, you’ll be able to fix it yourself. And if you live in Austin or are planning a visit, you should definitely swing by ABGB on Oltorf near South Lamar, just around the corner from MaryJae Smoke Culture, one of our favorite new pipe boutiques.
But for everyone else, there’s no reason you should miss out on all the fun, so here’s a collection of our favorite Beastie Boys trivia.
Feel free to share your own bits of Beastie knowledge in the comments section below.
- The Beastie Boys began as a hardcore punk band called The Young Aborigines. Their drummer, Kate Schellenbauch, went on to become an Emmy-winning producer on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
- Once they decided to transition to hip-hop, the Boys hired a DJ for some of their first live shows. That DJ was a young NYU student by the name of Rick Rubin. Rick went on to form a little record label called Def Jam Recordings.
- The Beastie Boys were only the 3rd rap group to be admitted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They followed Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five and Run DMC.
- While on tour for their debut hit record, License to Ill, the Beastie Boys caused a riot in Liverpool and Ad-Rock was arrested and charged with assault. That tour featured a giant motorized inflatable penis.
- Adam Yauch went on to create Oscilloscope, an independent film company that’s made such indie darlings as Dear Zachary, Wendy and Lucy, and We Need to Talk About Kevin.
- MCA cultivated inner peace through meditation. Mike D regularly practices yoga. In an interview with Gothamist, Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz revealed he keeps his cool by smoking copious amounts of weed.
