Interview No. 130

Interview By: @The-Great-One

Today's guest has lit up the front page not too long ago. Him and his friend have been sharing their stories through animation. Whether it was through getting a haircut in El Haircut and Barbershop, to being a child in the Cub Scouts and Kindergarten. They were recently showcased on the front page with their movie Camping as a Kid. They are the underrated duo, @brewstew.

Q: How did you find Newgrounds and why did you join?

A: I was introduced to Newgrounds through a friend back in 2005. He sent me a link to the "Nuggets" series by the user Miggs. Since then, I've been coming back pretty regularly, and eventually created an account last year when I actually had some movies to contribute.

Q: brewstew is a combination of Chris Brewer and Tyler Rudolph. How did you two come to meet and form brewstew?

A: We met through my cousin back in 2007. We eventually lived together for 4 years shortly afterwards. We found out we have a lot of things in common, like being poor and wishing we were Bruce Springsteen. We originally created Brewstew to just make our friends laugh. I do the cartoons, and he does Vlogs. We're both huge stand up comedy fans, but we don't have the balls to actually go on stage. We don't care if we get humiliated on the internet, so these videos are a good alternative to stand up.

Q: When and how did you Tyler get interested in art and animation?

A: I've been interested in art since I was just a wee-lad. I can remember wanting to be a cartoonist at one point, but never really made an attempt until last year. I taught myself Flash, and now the crude, terribly-animated cartoons are a direct result.

Q: Your first movie is an interesting comedy entitled Aware Apple. Where did the idea come for this and how did you put it together?

A: That was all Brewer's idea. It was actually our third or fourth cartoon, but it was the first we submitted to Newgrounds. He came up with the concept while we were slacking off at work. I'm not sure what kind of fever dream he had to come up with it, but I thought it was funny.

Q: El Dentist would be the beginning of a series of rants and stories. This one talks about wisdom teeth and the pain from beginning to end. Is this a true story? What is fabricated for comedy and what is not?

A: This was a true story (along with all of the others) that happened to me in February 2013. It seems like everybody has an awful wisdom tooth story, so I figured I'd put in my two cents. All of it is true, I was awake through the procedure, and it did suck quite a bit. Shawn Michaels didn't really kick me in the face, but it sure felt like it. Oh, and the dentist didn't really put his foot on my head either, people always ask me if that really happened.

Q: El Haircut and Barbershop talk about two different views in the hair industry. The salons and the barbershops of the old days. What made you want to share both of these experiences and how did you go from taking moments of your personal life to the script?

A: Originally, the barbershop and El Haircut videos were going to be a single video, but I thought I had enough material to do a separate on each. Everything that you see in the video is what I've thought about while waiting for a haircut one day. Barbershops and Hair Salons are just completely different experiences and I figured comparing the two would make a good video. It’s all true. The Korean lady still cuts my hair, and the barbershop is still a 10 minute walk from my house.

Q: Stupid Jokes for Stupids is favorite by you. The writing for this is wonderful and the art and animation run with it perfect from beginning to end. It's something I didn't even think too deep about until you brought it up. What experience did you have to bring this to creation?

A: Thanks man. That all came from my day job working in the service department of a car dealership. Every damn day somebody forgets their keys, and without fail, they say, "Welp, you can't go far without these." Once you hear that 700 times, you stop fake-laughing and get very angry with that person. That's what inspired the video, along with inspiring my high blood pressure.

Q: I have been watching wrestling since I was 6-Years Old and I love the references you make to wrestling in your movies. You gave this a full movie with Front Yard Wrestling. What age did you become interested in wrestling? Most kids would have backyard wrestling though, why the front yard?

A: I think I was about 7-years-old when I started Stone Cold Stunner-ing pillows in my room. I originally was going to call it 'Backyard Wresting', but we always did it in the front yard like a bunch of animals. I think it was because we had a small audience of cars that would pass by. I don't really watch wrestling now, but I don’t think a day goes by without Brewer, or myself doing a Macho Man Randy Savage impression.

Q: Cub Scout Pocket Knife and Cub Scout Pinewood Derby are two movies that share your experiences in the Cub Scouts. What is the Cub Scouts and will we see more stories from your times in the Cub Scouts?

A: Cub Scouts represent the younger portion of the Boy Scouts of American. You were a Cub Scout until you were 11, which you would then crossover and become a full-fledged Boy Scout. I never made it to Boy Scout, but my 3 years as a Cub Scout was plenty for me. I could probably do a video on our Cub Scout Leader. He was this gruff ex-military guy with about 7 teeth in his entire head. He didn't molest any of us so I guess you could say he did a pretty good job.

Q: I believe that a lot of viewers relate to your movies and at least relate deeply with one movie. The one movie I relate to deeply is Dumb Dreams. Were these dreams you have had and will we see a sequel to this on more dreams... possibly nightmares?

A: This one was one of my favorites because everyone has a good dream story. Everybody has those ridiculous dreams that you wake up from and are like 'how much methamphetamine did I smoke?' The dreams I mention in the video are all dreams that I’ve had (especially the one about trying to put in my contacts that are 400x bigger than normal. I get that one like once a month). I wouldn’t be surprised if I did another dream/nightmare video in the future, they're too bizarre and fun not to talk about.

Q: Toy Guns shows a past that I remember. When did you become interested in guns and what do you think about the toy guns of today as compared to past toy guns?

A: I was a toy gun aficionado as long as I can remember. I'm 23 now and to this day, I'll be walking through a store with my girlfriend and see a sweet Nerf gun for sale ... and I'll consider breaking up with her and buying it like a weirdo. Toy guns today are way cooler than the ones I had growing up. If only I were 7 again.

Q: Eye Doctor talks about a subject that even people who have to wear glasses today don't like to talk about and that is wearing glasses as a kid. You highlighted your experiences here and when you show yourself as a kid in movies you show yourself without glasses. Why is that?

A: I really hated my glasses when I was a kid. I had the 'shift manager of Kmart' look going on, which wasn't really what I wanted. Because of that, I rarely wore them as a kid. I would have rather been blind than deal with my friends’ bullshit remarks. Now I have contacts, so there's no need to look like Daniel Radcliffe anymore.

Q: Camping as a Kid is a fun collection of stories about camping. Which parts are true and which aren't? Will we get to see more of your family in future movies? Will there be a possible Cub Scouts camping story?

A: All of the stories are true. Some are a little exaggerated, (my grandpa never kicked a bear in the face) but the core stories all really happened. I actually asked my cousin David before-hand, if it was alright to put his woods-pooping story out on the internet (which I would’ve done regardless of what he said). I'm sure my family will be in more. Particularly David, he was a strange little dude growing up. A Cub Scouts' camping story is a possibility as well, since we went camping just about every other week.

Q: One thing I have noticed is that your movies share similarities in design to explosm's Cyanide and Happiness series. Were they an inspiration or is it a coincidence?

A: They're an influence. I'm an absolutely terrible animator, so I figured why try to bullshit everyone. I'll keep the graphics simple and let the story itself do the talking. I think there is a certain charm to the crudeness, or maybe I'm just bullshitting myself. I'm getting better though! I think each video gets increasingly better, but it’s still pretty 4th-grader-ish.

Q: What can we expect from brewstew in the future?

A: As of right now, we're finishing up our second season of Happy Hour Saloon for Machinima's Happy Hour channel (of which we exclusively write and voice). If any of you are a fan of video games, check it out on Youtube. Other than that, I plan to keep on with what I'm doing. I have plenty of ideas that need to be transitioned into videos. Between work and school full-time, I don't have as much time as I'd like, but I'll still be uploading on a consistent basis. Right now, I'm working on videos based on my prior experience working for Toys R Us, and also when we had a bomb threat in my elementary school. Those should be up in the upcoming weeks along with plenty of others!

I came across brewstew when I saw their short Camping as a Kid on the front page. I was instantly hooked. Sharing their lives in the comedic format of animation is amazing to me. I remember these things as a kid and even as an adult now. Together they show that you don't have to be producing Disney or Miyazaki levels of animation to entertain people. A simple story can do just the same, and at times even better.