52nd City

Passings

Steve Smith and I put heads together at the Royale last night and decided to drop into the Black Thorn, to toast the recently-departed Miko Fleming. Upon entering, though, we were struck by the fact that there weren't any regulars on-hand, per se. A softball team in one corner. A couple of random drinkers in another. A modest house, all-in-all.

Behind the bar: an employee working her first shift. And: Dave Difani, the landmark's longtime owner. We ordered a round, clinked glasses, then found ourselves unsure of what to say, or do. We heard a few details, random scraps of info gleaned from conversations and phone-calls. Nothing to pass along, really, nothing that would add good thoughts to the memory of a good guy.

Miko and I ran in some of the same circles, though we weren't friends-friends, if you know what I mean. We both worked the door at the old Frederick's and laughed when we had to card one another, per management's orders. A few weeks ago, I waived that formality when he walked into the Royale, smiling. He sold me many shirts and ties during his Vintage Hab days and I recall talking about softball with him for a period; I guess we played against one another in Tower Grove Park, and it was a reference point for a bit. If there wasn't any new thing to say, we always could chat about bands or the people in those bands.

For whatever reason, I didn't go to the Thorn much over the last year, though I was in on Tuesday night. Saw Miko. Ordered a round. Exchanged a warm greeting. Ordered another round. Paid the tab and put the receipt in my wallet. Didn't think that the moment was anything but a random moment.

My sympathies go out to those who knew him so-much-better.

And my hopes are that this every-other-year-or-so storyline doesn't visit us again anytime soon.

(Link to STLtoday.com update. Link to Riverfront Times update.)

========

It might not compare with the passing of a man, but there's been word that the Alternative Music Pub, almost universally-known as AMP, has departed our Grove rounds. After the experience at Black Thorn, we decided to head over for a peek, maybe ask the bartenders what was in the club's future. Too late? Drove up, ten-ish on a Wednesday. No lights were on. No chairs were on the floor. No people to ask anything.

If true, this'd be a bit of a shot to the Grove, as AMP predated the rush of businesses to the area, a solitary magnet at the corner of Manchester and Boyle, drawing on the coolest set of people you could imagine. Though owned by a gay male couple, the bar drew every kind of person and that was a credit to the owners' personalities, to their musical tastes and to the dark, dark interior which always seemed to exude a certain ever-so-slightly-dangerous cool.

If I were to put together a personal list of the 10 best clubs I've known in St. Louis, the old AMP would make the list. I can't recall a time there when I didn't enjoy the stay. And though the new AMP never grabbed me in quite the same way, the staff was still excellent and the clientele was the best mix of St. Louis: young, old, black, white, hip, square. A club like AMP brings diverse people together. Hopefully, it'll do so again.

Maybe this departure's just a fleeting hiatus, not a permanent one. I do hope so.

Some Pro-Development Talk

Local preservation blogs are sometimes nipped for the negative vibes that can ripple through them. Certainly, there's enough bad news about our aging core of buildings to fill several blogs.

So it's nice to see/hear Michael R. Allen's piece on the Washington Avenue Apartments (nee the old Days Inn) at the KWMU site. This is a building worth celebrating in its new skin.

Crunchy Cool is Back

Jim Ousley reminds of us of an event coming up next week, in which we're a name sponsor. Win some 52nd City's! And get yourself cast in the next Crunchy Cool film.

========

We're holding a benefit concert and scouting talent for a walk-on role in our upcoming feature film, "The Bloodfest Club,” at the Lucas School House on Friday, May 23. The horror/comedy is the next exciting project from Crunchy Cool Films, the creators of the award-winning mockumentary, "Hooch & Daddy-O.” Actors and non-actors alike will be encouraged to pose for headshots at the event which will be used to make a casting

selection. Doors open at 7 p.m. and music begins promptly at 8 p.m. Tickets are $8 and can be purchased online at: http://www.lucasevents.com or in person at the Lucas School House box office (314-621-6565). The event will be hosted by the legendary Beatle Bob and include performances from
local bands Cavo, Jonathan Cour, Vijoy Rao and the Removers, and Willow. A raffle including CDs, DVDs, and Cardinals tickets will be awarded at the benefit. The event is sponsored by 52nd City, Jupiter Studios, PlaybackSTL, Slackers, St. Louis Actors’ Studio, West End Grill & Pub, and West Model & Talent Management. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the American Red Cross.

"The Bloodfest Club" is the sophomore effort from the St. Louis-based film production company, Crunchy Cool Films. Their first film, "Hooch & Daddy-O" attained nation-wide distribution from Echelon Studios and is available through Netflix, Amazon.com, and AT&T Video-On-Demand. In "The Bloodfest Club," a Chuck Norris-obsessed janitor leads a brat pack of prep school students in a
battle against alien zombies on the eve of graduation.

Previous honors for "Hooch & Daddy-O" include:
'Best Comedy' - Planet Ant Film & Video Festival (2006 – Detroit, MI), 'Audience Award' - Faux Film Festival (2006 – Portland, OR) and 'Outstanding Original Story/Screenplay' - Dixie Film Festival (2005 – Atlanta, GA).

What the critics are saying about "Hooch & Daddy-O":

"Wild! Funny! An excellent multi-purpose parody." - Film Threat
"Smart. Irreverent. A Scream!" - CBS Radio
"A wholly original, delightfully edgy debut." - Riverfront Times
"Laugh out loud funny!" - PlaybackSTL

Learn more about The Bloodfest Club at: http://www.bloodfestclub.com
Learn more about Hooch & Daddy-O at: http://www.myspace.com/hoochanddaddyo
Learn more about Crunchy Cool Films at: http://www.myspace.com/crunchycoolfilms

The Helium Tapes - "Magnolia Bloom"

David "Wraith" Dandridge was kind enough to send along word of a recent video project of his, a music video for The Helium Tapes' "Magnolia Bloom."

Here 'tis:

Mary Jo Bang

When I think of the Underwood Poetry series that ran in St. Louis for around five years around five years back, I think of the poet Mary Jo Bang. Not just because she read at the series (at the second Urbis Orbis, I believe), but because founder Kent Shaw sang her praises whenever possible.

The St. Louisan is given the Q/A treatment in the current edition of Stop Smiling Magazine, but the full interview is found online here.

Debuting: The Trade

Noticed Jason "Homey" Smith at the Royale the other day. I asked him about his new bar, The Trade, in which he's a co-owner. Apparently, the word's gotten out, a touch. A local industry veteran, Smith pointed to the RFT, where Annie Zaleski had written up a blip about the room, which you can read here.

I asked Homey a few questions about the space. While it wasn't the longest interview, it might give you an inducement to drop in, esp. if you're tooling around Midtown, as I was last night, my first visit to the new spot.

52nd: What was appealing about the room?
Smith: It just had a good, underground vibe. It reminded me of the downstairs of the Hi-Pointe, just smaller.

52nd: Definitely, people know about the Complex, so that's an interesting place to start another bar.
Smith: Yeah, it was one of the first things we thought about. It's a gay bar, but it's not just a gay bar. And everyone knows where it's at.

52nd: I imagine you'll do a lot of business after 1:30.
Smith: We do, but we want to try to have a happy hour. There're a lot of businesses right around there and we going to try the happy hour for them. But we'll probably have the later crowd. We'll cater to industry people, off work at 1:30. We'll have a late-night industry happy hour.

52nd: What's the story behind the name?
Smith: We went through a bunch of names. It's for everybody. Bartenders or electricians. We're trying to include everyone.

52nd: What's on the drinks menu?
Smith: It's kind of a drinker's bar. We don't have any drafts. We don't have a menu, but we can pretty much make any drink you want. No specials menu, or anything like that.

52nd: How will you bounce off of the Clubhouse?
Smith: I know Brandon the owner and he's going a different direction than what we're doing. It's more of a SLU crowd. But we'll work together. Howard, who owns the Complex, owns that building, too. So we're all good.

Museum Mutters: Avail. for Download

James Weber Jr., noted pinball fan, songwriter and man in possession of South City's greatest shock of hair, sends along word of his band's newest album, available for download on the world wide web.

The info:

========

Here's the g00diez

Ok kids, it's done and mastered and then de-mastered (hah!) into some
highest-of-fi 192 bit mp3 filez.

You can download the whole kit'n'caboodle right here:

http://www. mediafire. com/?wwn1ecmfjob

Enjoy in good health and good spirts and *with* good spirits. Share with your friends, your family, your enemies and your awkward, "I Don't Even Know *What* The Hell We Are" make-out budz.

We love you, all of you, each and every god damned one of you, so thanks and stuff for the last year of completely satisfying rock.

We'll be playing the RFT Showcase on June the 1st at the Delmar Lounge. Times to be posted yet, but we'll let y'all know.

Brewer; Wrestlers

If you just walk around and talk to enough people, blog entries write themselves. In what we'll call "people news"...

* Lori White, St. Louis reigning Queen of Omnipresence, will be given a run for the title of Most There St. Louisan with the re-arrival of Ray Brewer, who's back in the STL, after some time in Indiana. The improv comic, commercial actor and world-class roustabout was spied at both Soulard Market and the garden patio of Hammerstone's this morning; in the former case, clinging to a bag of alligator-on-a-stick. Of course. Hail, Ray.

* Little birdy tells us that... Broadway is now the block for professional underground wrestling. And we're not talking about the long-running, monthly show at the SBAC. Nope, we're talking some type of wildcat, women's only bouts at the Iron Horse (way down on South Broadway) on Tuesday nights; and at the On Broadway Bistro (way up on North Broadway) on Thursdays. Don't know the promoters, the staging, the plotlines - don't know nothin'! - but we aim to find out for you, the reader. That is our commitment to you!

New Blogs: Cinema STL, KWMU reformers

We've been tipped to the arrival of two new blogs.

========

Cinema St. Louis executive director Cliff Froehlich sends along that Friday, May 16 will see the debut of The Lens. The blog will be accessible through two sources: the St. Louis Beacon and the Cinema St. Louis homepage. Either one will send you to the site, which Froehlich hopes to populate with a variety of correspondents, many of whom date back to his days as a film critic and editor at the Riverfront Times and the Post-Dispatch.

========

In light of this week's cover story in The Riverfront Times, a new blog's been created to stimulate some changes at KWMU. The site's located at http://helpimprovekwmu.blogspot.com/. A tipster notes that comments are welcome and we're assuming that some interesting and colorful conversations will take place about station management and the oversight given by licensee UM-St. Louis.

An Explosive Interview with FPM

Explosivity, I tell you, that's the mood generated by an e-mail exchange between myself and Mark Heinz, drummer and co-founder of Fragile Porcelain Mice. The group's onstage tomorrow, at the border of Soulard, inside the Lucas School House, along with LucaBrasi. I've already called in sick to work so that I can enjoy the May 10 show, as should you.

Let's go:

========

52nd City: Fragile at the Lucas School House. Not a combo I'd have ever imagined. How'd that venue come about for this show? Will the couches be safe?

Heinz: We got together with our friends, LucaBrasi, and set it up. Everyone was into the venue, and both bands wanted to play together, so we made it happen. Beautiful thing, rock 'n roll. And I do believe the venue owner, Dan, will have the foresight to have the furniture sealed and protected before our crowd walks through the door.

52nd City: It seems as if you've been a bit more active in the last year. Am I imagining that? Or are you guys back out in the public a touch more? How many gigs a year are ideal?

Heinz: We have been poking our heads in here and there and having some fun. The stage is home. It's where you hang your hat, and as many shows as possible is ideal for any guy that truly loves what he does. We always appreciate an invitation to take the stage and do our thing for you for a while.

52nd City: What's the status of Fragile and recording? Anything in the works?

Heinz: The band has been in our secluded studio space tooling away at some very interesting new material. You put a couple of us in the room together and hit RECORD, and out comes a Fragile song. Again, the beauty of rock 'n roll. Of music and people that were apparently born to make music together.

52nd City: Any plans for additional musicians for the show? Know that you guys like to bring on some guests. Any surprises on that level? Horns? Harps?

Heinz: No additional players for this show, but you never know from show-to-show what we might whip out.

52nd City: What would be the ideal oddball gig for Fragile, at this point? Is there an opening set, a venue, or another type of opportunity that you've always wanted to do but haven't been able to do?

Heinz: I think that a very cool festival abroad would be nice, in terms of an oddball gig for us. I think it would do the band some good to "get away" for awhile together in a foreign land. Then again, I love being at home. Yes... oddball. That was the question.

52nd City: Do you feel that Fragile is helping bridge the eternal Missouri vs. Illinois divide? Where does LucaBrasi fit into this play for peace?

Heinz: What's to divide compatriots? And members of LucaBrasi are definitely our contemporaries. We've collectively been through a lot with individuals in LucaBrasi over the years, and it's good to see them out and leveling crowds together. Come to Illinois, guys!