52nd City: Music & Recordings

Lettuceheads!

'Tis the season of reunion. In this installment, the Lettuceheads return to action at the Tap Room. You can listen to the Lettuceheads on the radio this week, too.

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Friday, January 9th:
James Weber (Julia Sets, Xenophobe, Museum Mutters) http://www.myspace.com/themuseummutters
The Lettuceheads (members of Swing Set, David Lee and the House Rockers, Lydia's Trumpet, Three Fried Men, Aviation Club, the Painkillers)
www.thelettuceheads.com
Last to Show, First to Go www.myspace.com/lasttoshowfirsttogo

UNCONSCIOUS!: Friday, December 26

Sax player Paul Matulef confirms the good news, via electronic mail:

The Unconscious - Reunion
Friday, December 26
Lucas School House

Hip-hip-hooray!

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Hey, the Unconscious are on Myspace, too.

Improv/noise: tonight @ Lemp

This is a big-time gathering. Thanks to Eric Hall for sending along:

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Beginning at 8pm this Wednesday, November 5th at The Lemp Neighborhood
Art Center:

Thollem McDonas (piano)
Zimbabwe Nkenya (mbira)
Matt Dill (guitar)
Dave Stone (saxophone)
Mark Sarich (cello)
Jeremy Brantlinger (drums)
Nazeer Sadeeq Holmes (piano)
Eric Hall (electronics)
Max Wood (violin)
John Tamm-Buckle (laptop)
...improvising in numerous smaller combinations and permutations, to be followed by a full ensemble set at the end. This is a once-in-a-lifetime line-up designed to explore multiple approaches to spontaneous music creation and collaboration.

Nukes!

There was a point during the Nukes concert at Blueberry Hill in which I looked around and realized that within about 20-feet were members of the past St. Louis bands: Stir, the Unconscious, Pale Divine, the Stranded Lads, E.J. Quit, Corporate Humour, Black Sand Hand, the Urge, Sinister Dane, Getaway Car, Ulcer Inc., Life without Wayne, Blank Space, L.O.V.E., the Treeweasels, the Finn Brothers, Big Fun and others, I'm sure. A group like the Nukes would bring the old heads out from hibernation and it was wonderful to see those faces in one room.

The good news from the Nukes show: though the band wasn't able to make the announcement from state (more in a moment), the group will be opening for the aforementioned Pale Divine at the Pageant on Dec. 29.

The bad news, though not too bad, in its own way: after racing through a vocal-less "Going Nowhere," a good one-hour-and-change into their set, the power was cut off on the Nukes, undoubtedly due to the fact that gallons of ice and water were thrown at singer Packy Reynolds during the performance, along with a tree's-worth of paper. The stage resembled, well, a mess, by the time that the juice was cut. Admittedly, Blueberry Hill's Duck Room isn't the old Furst Rock, but there's something kinda not very rock-ish about cutting off a punk band because of excessive fun. Then again, there's something very rock-ish about the Nukes (and, more importantly, their fans) acting so crazy that the principal had to step in to restore order.

Thanks for the nostalgia trip boys, way to rip through "464" and see you over the holidays!

David Sanborn

Long interview. Embedded videos. Via Daniel Durchholz, at Beacon.

Wilco Helps Out New Roots Urban Farm

As reported by PLENTY magazine:
"...recently in St. Louis, the band donated $3,000 from poster sales to benefit New Roots Urban Farm, an 'anti-profit collective' which sells its produce at farmers' markets and Community Sponsored Agriculture programs, and helps get local children involved in community agriculture."
Rock on, guys. Meaning both literally and metaphorically. Rock on!

Dr. Dog

Dr. Dog –

Back when there use to be a band called The BaySayBoos (which I was the drummer for) Mr. Matt Pace (now of Rats and People fan) handed me a copy of Dr. Dog’s album “Easy Beat”. Mr. Pace said to me, “ my brother lives in Philadelphia and he loves this band.” I spent the next 3 years listening to that CD. “Easy Beat” is one of those records that comes along and becomes the soundtrack to a certain period of your life. Every song on that album is perfection. Simple, to the point good pop songs like bands use to make back when bands made good pop songs. My love affair ran deep with that Dr. Dog record, telling everyone who would listen that they have to buy that album. I even went so far as to try and book the band at the now closed Radio Cherokee for the sole purpose of having them perform at a small venue in a town they had yet to play. That show fell through but as fate would have it they played St. Louis the next year at Mississippi Nights opening for The Black Keys. This was one of the best shows I had ever been to at Mississippi Nights not to mention the last show I attended before it closed down. I’m sure I looked like a fool dancing around taking photos of the band performing, singing the words to all their songs while everyone on the floor wondered to themselves who is the great band playing and how does this strange guy know all their tunes? Their next show in St. Louis was at the Creepy Crawl and by then you could see the wear and tear of touring had taken a toll on The Dog but they still put on a great show promoting their album at the time “We All Belong”. And that brings us to today. You can be entertained by them two times and hear tunes from their new record “Fate”. First at Vintage Vinyl at 5pm (FREE) and then at The Blue Bird ($12/$14).

Dr. Dog at Mississippi Nights 2006
Dr. Dog at Creepy Crawl 2007

photographs by Dana Smith

Helmet: Venue Change

Dang the luck. I cannot attend this show. Ouch.

New venue, same bands. Compliments of our pal Matt McInerney:

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Helmet
LucaBrasi
Vampire Moose
Avex

Friday, July 25th

Rockstar Nightclub
8658 S. Broadway
St. Louis, MO 63111

$15 in advance | $18 day of show | Doors @ 7p | www.rockstarnightclubstl.com for more info

Smash your soapbox to splinters

I've always hated college radio; I didn't even want to go to college. My parents and I argued about it constantly. They wanted me to go, and I refused. In the end, they won, and I found myself shopping for extra-long bedsheets at Target. Oh, and the sheets had to be pink, so they'd match the comforter my roommate-to-be had purchased from Pottery Barn Teen. I can only assume Webster shredded the roommate compatibility survey I filled out at registration, because I was paired with a girl who was into musicals and color coordination.

On the first day of orientation, my mom was fitting the cotton candy-colored sheets on my extra-long mattress when one of my suitemates came to the door to introduce herself. She was wearing a Dave Matthews Band t-shirt. After she left, I glared pointedly at my parents. My nonverbal message being, "Could college be even lamer than I originally suspected?" I should say that I'm really not the kind of person who judges others based on their taste in music, and actually became close friends with the suitemate sporting the offending tee.

I was even able to overlook the Coldplay poster that hung on her dorm room wall. Chris Martin (the only member of Coldplay whose name I know) is pictured with the words "Free Trade" written in black marker on his hand, a very Eddie Vedder move! I can't stand it when bands with commercial success try to wax political. "Like, we don't just write benign pop songs. We've got substance." That's what I dislike most about college radio - that and the fact that it's like listening to cardboard.

So, when I was standing in line at 7-11 waiting to buy a 20 oz. Gulp and saw Martin's smarmy mug gracing the cover of this month's Rolling Stone , I was grossed out. It's not that I was disappointed, that I give Rolling Stone any credence. How could I? Last month, they named Kirk Hammett one of the all-time best guitar players. It's just that I figured, in 2008, people were pretty much over Martin and his boring music. Wrong! In the cover story, Rolling Stone writer Brian Hiatt actually compares Martin to Jesus Christ. Jesus multiplied fish and loaves of bread. All Chris Martin has done is clog the airwaves with crap. Not exactly an accurate comparison, if you ask me.

Read Buddyhead's hilarious take on the Chris Martin cover here.

Stipe in Times

Way back in college - we're talking the 1930's here - someone would always sit at Talayna's and talk about the time that Michael Stipe painted a fingernail on one of the restaurant's many life-size statues. I can't recall that someone, but they always went on about how Stipe grew in Collinsville (Edwardsville? see how the memory goes?) but ate at Talayna's, when he came over into the city for shows.

Why this memory hit me just now? Well, there's a story in the New York Times about R.E.M. and their current setlist, which is dipping deep into the group's history. Good idea.

Enough nostalgia for the afternoon.

Anyway, the article is herre.

Remarkably unremarkable

On June 10, Sonic Youth will release a best-of album to be sold exclusively at Starbucks. The band recorded one new song for the album and let their celebrity pals pick the rest of the tracks that appear on the comp.:

Bull in the Heather (selected by Catherine Keener)
Sugar Kane (Beck)
100% (Mike D)
Kool Thing (Radiohead)
Disappearer (Portia De Rossi )
Superstar (Diablo Cody)
Stones (Allison Anders)
Tuff Gnarl (Dave Eggers and Mike Watt)
Teenage Riot (Eddie Vedder)
Shadow of a Doubt (Michelle Williams)
Rain on Tin (Flea)
Tom Violence (Gus Van Zant)
Mary-Christ (David Cross)
World Looks Red (Chloe Sevigny)
Expressway to Yr Skull (Flaming Lips)
Slow Revolution (new track)

Steve Albini was right when he said, "Breaking up is an idea that doesn't occur to enough bands."

I bought "Sister" by Sonic Youth when I was 14; the album was released in 1987, a year after I was born. But in the end, the years between "Sister's" release and the beginning of my adolescence didn't matter at all. I loved every song on that album (some, like Lee Ranaldo's 'Pipeline/Kill Time,' a little less than others) and, using the money my parents gave me to buy lunch, quickly added the rest of Sonic Youth's discography to my record collection. I even owned Sonic Youth videos (Goo and 1991: The Year Punk Broke) and biographies, and I didn't believe Melody Maker writer Everett True when he called the members of Sonic Youth "a bunch of middle-age, middle-class jerk-offs."

But it's 2008, and Sonic Youth just doesn't know when to quit. I'm not bothered by the fact that every single member of the band is old enough to be my parent. (Ranaldo's son Coady just graduated from Washington University.) I'm bothered that a once great band, a band whose albums were monumentally important to me, has spent the last ten years creating albums that are the audio equivalents of tranquilizers: 2002's "Murray Street," 2004's "Sonic Nurse" and 2006's "Rather Ripped."

And when Sonic Youth realized its new material wasn't quite hacking it, the band dug into its vaults and began reissuing old albums, including 1988's "Daydream Nation" and 1992's "Dirty." This seems exploitative. Why would anyone be interested in paying $17 for a digitally-remastered copy of an album they already own and love in its original format? When I heard last summer that Sonic Youth would be touring and playing "Daydream Nation" in its entirety, I was full of scorn. Watching Sonic Youth rehash Daydream Nation in 2007 would be like watching a Civil War reenactment! In an article for the Chicago Reader, music writer Jessica Hopper contends, " ... it seems incredibly self-serving for Sonic Youth to be pimping their past triumphs ... We don't dare point out that they're working the underground the way a washed-up one-hit wonder works the state-fair circuit."

Steve Albini was right, and maybe you don't think Steve Albini's too credible, because you remember far back enough to know that he was the audio engineer for Bush's "Razorblade Suitcase." That's pretty embarrassing, but then again so is every single track on "Rather Ripped."

Soldier's Memorial : 9 p.m. : Rib America Fest

Rain, rain go away,
'Cause Night Ranger's in town today.

Nukes!

We're hearing that the Nukes will be in town later this summer, with the following lineup: vocals, Packy Reynolds; bass, Chuck Lindo; guitarist, Mike Eisenbeis; and drums, John Pessoni. The LucaBrasi/ex-Urge skinsman is the only member of the group to not hail from the "classic" Nukes lineup of yore. Look for a Duck Room date with LucaBrasi in support.

I am wadding up paper right now, in anticipation of this one.

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:

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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!

Schwag on Schwiatus?

Rambling around last night, I popped into Off Broadway. After seeing the Schwag 13 times for an article on the Deadhead group for St. Louis Magazine, I'd opted out of the act's Tuesday night tradition for a couple months. Last night was apparently the band's last set there for a while, too, ending a nearly two-decade run of Tuesday night shows around town, at Off Broadway and a handful of clubs prior to it. The group's website has no Off B shows listed after last nights. They do have multiple shows at Camp Zoe scheduled, so it appears the group's shifting further away from a St. Louis residency, opting for their self-produced festivals in '08.

In completely unrelated news, the creator of LSD has died. At 102.

Muzak

Holy colorful fliers, Batman!

Scheduled events at Euclid Records, 601 E. Lockwood, close to a fruit stand (an apple a day means one less apple in existence that day).

April 19, 2008

Noon: The Bottle Rockets

1 p.m.: Farshid Etniko

2 p.m.: Finn's Motel

3 p.m.: Rough Shop

4 p.m.: Dave Stone Trio

5 p.m.: Tight Pants Syndrome

And in psychadelic blue, pink and purple (with respective white and black text):
DJ sets throughout the day by Rob Wagoner (Ultraman/Bent), Darren Snow (KDHX), Jackie Boy, Superconductor (Euclid Records/Halo Bar) and (ohgodfood) a cookout with the fellas from HWY 61 Roadhouse.

And... there's more.
Vintage Vinyl, home of the pepto pink bumper stickers.

6610 Delmar, in the Loop. There's a Bread Company by it, right? (Food stations are my landmarks.)

Record Store Day, April 19

1:30 p.m.: Positive Nature

2:30 p.m.:The Monads

3:30 p.m.: Atlanta's Gringo Star

4:30 p.m.: F5 Records & Soulition Crew

5:30 p.m.: Theodore

Plus in-store DJ sets by:

(A whole bunch of people.)
Sorry, man, but they got a lot of people there. Check out the link, the schedule is at the bottom of the page.

The Link.

City Breathing

Marwan Kanafani, a St. Louis expat now living in Brooklyn, sends along word that his new group, City Breathing, has an album coming out.

Marwan was in a variety of STL acts in the early-mid '90s, before moving to San Francisco, where he teamed up with another STL import, Dave Simon. Their Solarcane project produced one of my favorite albums with STL ties. The new material's equally appealing.

Check some out at their Myspace page.

Download "Bus Stop"

A sharp-eyed reader sends along word that Oliver Sain's classic album "Bus Stop" is available via a soul download site. This one's a bit hard to find in the old-fashioned vinyl form, so the tech-sound and thrifty may want to visit the space for an essentiall piece of STL music.

Here's the full link:

http://funkydisposition2.blogspot.com/2008/03/oliver-sain-bus-stop-1974-abet.html

At the Bluebird

Cold weather is cold, internet suffers. No blogs, no excuse. I apologize for lack of inactivity. (AT&T of STL, thanks for taking a week to fix my internet.)

The music scene in St. Louis is great if you like jazz, I've discovered. Not so great if you like local bands, it seems. Blueberry Hill seems to bring in a variety of musical acts, but I don't like the color blue and hills make it are hard to get my bicycle up...

There used to be a lot of hole-in-the-ground places to see local bands (consisting of those dern punks!!!) that practice in garages and annoy the neighbors. There’s a few here and there. (Don't get me wrong, ya'know, I guess I'm just too picky about my venues.) My taste in music is varied; my iTunes library will suffice as enough evidence. I have a lot (too much) of punk, indie and metal music, the type of music I will always love. The type of music that was the staple of those now-extinct music venues.

Recently, I was notified of the existence of an indie/pop/r&b band which has a Webster graduate in it. That graduate is in charge of booking for a fairly new music venue called The Bluebird. (I still don't like the color blue, but birds are a-okay.) The bands that play are sometimes famous, sometimes local. I can't wait to see a show there. I want to see Gentleman Auction House, the band consisting of a few former Webster students and an alumni, but I have a birthday party to attend that day. I’ll catch a live show later.

I've listened to all that I can on the Internet, and I can say that I will be supporting them in any way I can. My first contribution is to provide a sample mp3:
http://www.tellallyourfriendspr.com/media/music/gentlemanauctionhouse/1-the_book_of_matches.mp3

My next contribution is to probably buy their CD, wherever I can find it, whenever I can find it.

And here's the tl;dr version. (Translation: Too long; Didn't read.)

Check out the The Bluebird, 2706 Olive Street, for concerts of alternative music. 18+ venue and attached to Beffa's Restaurant.

Check out Gentleman Auction House if you want to support a band of local kids (young adults?).

Frederick's Music Lounge Anniversary Show

Not too long ago there was a place called Frederick’s Music Lounge down on Chippewa in South St. Louis. On a Tuesday night you’d have to be buzzed in by the owner/bar tender Fred Friction who controlled a lock on the door from behind the bar. He’d say through the intercom “who is it?” and you’d tell him your name. Then he’d say “why should I let you in?” and you’d have to come up with something really quick. My usual answers were “I’m not allowed to keep alcohol at home” or “I NEED some STAG!” After pondering your answer he’d unlock the door and allow you to walk down the steps, pass by the indoor planted tree and belly up to the bar for a “liquid shot to the brain”. I certainly miss those days, fortunately Off Broadway hasn’t forgotten about Fredericks.

Frederick's Music Lounge Anniversary Show
Saturday, February 16th
at Off Broadway in St. Louis

with Jonathan Baer,
The Dirty 30s,
Earl, and
The Saps!

Saturday, February 16th
Show time: 9:00 PM
Doors open: 8:30 PM
At the door: $10.00
Buy in Advance!

Phone:
314.773.3363

Address:
Off Broadway
3509 Lemp Ave
Historic Cherokee Lemp District
St. Louis MO, 63118.

Fred Friction watching the Dirty 30’s at Frederick’s Music Lounge
Illustration by Dana Smith

Aviation Club Reunion!

Just plucked this off of a Myspace notice. Very, very, very exciting. The Aviation Club was one of the first groups I started seeing in clubs about, oh, two decades ago. That the show's tied into Jet Lag's online efforts only makes this one more of a can't-miss for this blogger. Yes, indeed:

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The Aviation Club (featuring Jon Ferber, of the Orbits, and Mike Burgett) will re-unite and play at Off Broadway on Friday, January 4, 2008.

The Aviation Club will perform songs that haven't been heard for 20 years.

Other guests will be announced.

The evening will celebrate the first anniversary of the archival web site www.JetLagMag.net.

The site celebrates the earliest days of the St. Louis punk and wave scene with scans of each issue of that seminal fanzine, Jet Lag Magazine.

Proceeds from the event will help to A Thousand Books send books to Peace Corps teachers.

John the Mailman
founder/former publisher
Jet Lag Magazine
314-255-9035

Out: Bert Dax's Sixth "A Very Bert Dax Christmas"

The sixth annual "A Very Bert Dax Christmas" is out, and, unlike last year, none of the tracks predict my demise. Nice. It does, as always, dole out local bands tweaking Christmas songs, or, almost as effectively, writing their own.

Here's the lineup:

1. Stella Mora, "Icicle Boy"; 2. The 75s, "Cliche Christmas Song"; 3. The Help, "All I Want for Christmas is a Billion Dollar No-Bid Contract"'; 4. Rum Drum Ramblers, "Santa Claus"; 5. Wooden Kites, "A Christmas Song for Jenny"; 6. Chico Maciunas, "Don't Buy Me Anything"; 7. Maid*Rite, "Christmas with the Devil"; 8. The Museum Mutters, "South City Girls (Like Christmas on TV)"; 9. Tape Deck Sonata, "Hockey Drinking Game on Christmas Eve"; 10. Steve Nagy, "Enoughy"; 11. 7 Shot Screamers, "Don't Be a Bitch for Christmas"; 12. Team Tomato, "Sledge Ride"; 13. Strawfoot, "Fairytale of New York."

LucaBrasi CD Release

I ran into LucaBrasi vocalist Matt McInerney yesterday, at an annual chili cookoff, where he was preparing for an afternoon band practice by fueling himself with that delicious, delightful chili. There, I was reminded of the LucaBrasi release show this week, a fact confirmed by a morning e-mail. For those not privy to Matt's chili-time promo, here're the facts:

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LucaBrasi CD Release Show!!

With Extra Special Guests:
The Feed & Ready the Cannons

Date: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 23rd (the Friday after Thanksgiving!)
Venue: THE DUCK ROOM @ BLUEBERRY HILL
Details: Doors @ 8/Show @ 9
Cover: $8

Listen to the rock:
http://www.myspace.com/lucabrasirocks
http://www.myspace.com/feedrock
http://www.myspace.com/readythecannonsmusic

Fragile, Topshooters

Fragile, Topshooters
Originally uploaded by AkitaSan.

Show-Me Blowout @ Off Broadway; Q/A with Kopper

The Show-Me Blowout is taking place this weekend at Off Broadway and we asked the organizer, Jeff "Kopper" Kopp, a couple questions about the event. What we got back is a fairly comprehensive set of answers on the project. Enjoy.

How'd this whole event come together? What was the genesis of it?

Wow, that's quite a story. OK, here goes:

I suspected there were some bands around the region that I was missing out on, and so I went on Myspace one day and clicked on the "Music" tab... from there you can do a search for bands by musical style. This was the first time I'd seen or tried out this feature, so I thought, what the hell, I'll see what kinds of bands are calling themselves "garage" around St. Louis and beyond. So I first searched for St. Louis. There were many that I'd never heard of before, and most of them were probably using the term "garage" as in "garage band" rather than "garage rock" (relating to the style of music descended from '60s rock'n'roll), as they didn't really have that raw, primitive, fuzzy sound that I've grown accustomed to. Subsequent searches around the state revealed similar results, although I surprisingly found several that not only matched my tastes in style (either "garage rock," "garage punk," or more or less just great, groovin' punk/rock'n'roll).

A couple of those bands are thus included in this fest: The Rich Boys (who were originally the TV Eyes when I found them), and The Modern Primitives (who were going by the name of The Secondhands at the time). I was already familiar with bands in Springfield and Columbia (Thee Fine Lines and Monte Carlos) from seeing them at previous shows, and knew of Jeremiah Kidwell's new band in Kansas City (Pink Socks), as well as another band I found via the GaragePunk Forums message board, The Bleeding Hands. Another band I found by doing those Myspace Music searches was a band from Warrensburg called T.C Banks and the Hatchetmen. I suddenly had a pretty good list of garage (or similar) bands from all over Missouri, so I thought, what the hell, I'll try to
put together a festival and see if I can get some of the bigger-name garage rock bands from the state (thinking at the time of The Untamed Youth from Columbia - Deke Dickerson's old college garage/surf band, and The Royal Nonesuch from Springfield, part of the '80s garage/psych revival that toured extensively throughout the Midwest). I talked to my friend Bill Streeter about it and he loved the idea and encouraged me to move forward with it. So I called Steve Pohlman at Off Broadway, and he, too, thought it was a great idea, so we picked an open weekend on his schedule and I started contacting the bands to see if they wanted to play.

As it turned out, The Bleeding Hands could not do it. One of the guys in the band is a teacher or something and was going to be in Southeast Asia for the school year. That was kind of a letdown, because they were one of the bands that I was really excited about. So with them out, I had to find a replacement, and that's when I remembered a surf band from Kansas City called the Von Hodads, so I asked them if they were interested, and they were. I never could reach The Royal Nonesuch. My previous email for the band wasn't getting any response, so I gave up on them, thinking I'd just try to find someone else to headline one of the two nights... my idea then was to get The
Honkeys, since they'd just played the Rock'n'Roll Prom at the Way Out Club and have a pretty strong local following. The Untamed Youth proved to be too expensive, since only one of the band member still lives in Columbia, with Deke in L.A. now and the others elsewhere. Their guarantee was pretty steep as it would cover all of their travel expenses to come to St. Louis. I regretfully scratched them from the list and began looking for another headliner. That's when I thought of The Cripplers, who I knew never really broke up because the last I'd heard, they had stopped playing because they didn't have a practice
space anymore (this was over two years ago). I emailed Jeff Sigmon (guitar/vocals) and asked him if he could bring the band back together to play this, and he agreed so long as we didn't dub it a Cripplers "reunion" show. The Honkeys also agreed to play, but there was an issue with Jeff Positive (the guitarist, now living in Chicaco) who may or may not have to tour with some other band during October, so they couldn't get me a confirmation until August. So I waited, and in the meantime got all of my ducks in a row (picked the ten bands to play, five each night). August came and Jeff agreed to play the show,
so The Honkeys were in! But that only lasted a week. Not five or six days after telling me this, he was offered a touring gig with another Chicago band that needed a fill-in guitarist for some shows in the U.K. I guess this was an offer that he couldn't refuse, because he took it, thereby cancelling The Honkeys' appearance at the Blowout.

By the way, I got the name of this thing from Deke Dickerson's old Missouri rock'n'roll fanzine called "Show-Me Blowout" that he put out back in the late '80s/early '90s. There were only three issues of this 'zine, but they're great. I have scans of the covers of each on my Flickr account if you need them. Deke said it was cool for me to use the name of his 'zine for the name of this fest (I think he was very flattered by that, actually), and I thought it was perfect for what I wanted to do: showcase the best garage/surf/rock'n'roll bands in the state of Missouri. Anyway, once The Honkeys cancelled it left me in
kind of a bind. I didn't know where to go after that... and came really close to calling the whole thing off. Without a strong headliner one of the two nights, I feared there wouldn't be enough "pull" to get people to come out, since St. Louis can be a VERY finicky music community.

On a whim, I asked Jeff Hess about The Geargrinders. From talking to him a few years ago, I knew he was interested in putting together a new lineup for the band, which was always his brainchild, anyway. The original lineup broke up under not-so-happy circumstances, so I knew the possibility of getting all of those guys back together was pretty slim. But Jeff's most recent band (The UnMutuals) had recently split up and I knew he wasn't really doing anything musically, so I figured he might be looking for some excuse to get another band going. He was intrigued by the idea of getting a new lineup for The Geargrinders together and began thinking about who to make up the band with. Since he was already friends with Jason Edge, drummer of The Honkeys (and
Exene Cervenka's husband as well as the guitarist for her band The Original Sinners), I guess the obvious thing to do was to get the other members of The Honkeys to back him up. Cullen (bass) and Micah Edge (Jason's brother and the organ player for The Honkeys) agreed. But Jason wanted to play guitar, not drums, so Jeff had to seek out a drummer. He found one in an old friend of his from another prior band, Hippies in Flames, who originally formed in the '90s in St. Louis but had relocated to Seattle about 10 years ago. This guy's name was Ben Reagan, and he now lived in L.A., had another band going, and had also
recorded and played with classic L.A. punk band the Feederz (famous for their "Jesus Entering From the Rear" song that was included on Jello Biafra's "Let Them Eat Jellybeans" comp. LP on Alternative Tentacles from the early 1980s). Ben Wah (as he calls himself) had always bugged Jeff about wanting to be in The Geargrinders, so he agreed to do it and began flying to St. Louis to practice! So at this point, I had my other headliner. The Geargrinders' name hadn't appeared locally since 2000, after they played their last shows and
three of their songs appeared on my old regional garage/surf/rock'n'roll comp, "Landlocked & Loaded!" (TIRC Records, 2000). And Jeff's popularity locally with his KDHX radio show as well as his involvement with the Arch Rival Roller Girls (he's a Jeerleader) helped me realize that we could probably drum up some good excitement about his old band playing again, especially since they
featured several Honkeys backing him up, with one of them being a direct link to one of the nation's favorite '80s punk bands, X (Jason Edge > Exene Cervenka > X). (By the way, Jason and Exene live in a historic mansion just outside of Jefferson City now.)

Is this the dream list of bands? Did any get away from you?

Yes: As mentioned above, The Untamed Youth (Columbia), The Royal Nonesuch (Springfield), and The Bleeding Hands (Kansas City).

From what you're hearing, are there going to be some outta town folks coming in for this? I take it there will be.

I believe there will be, but it's hard to gauge. Advance ticket sales have been slim, but I'm sure we'll have a small group coming from out of town. Craig Moore (the bassist/vocalist of the '60s garage band GONN is coming in from Keokuk, Iowa for it, and he'll be joining The Nevermores and The Geargrinders on stage for a couple of songs, including The Geargrinders covering the old Gonn classic from the Nuggets box set, "Blackout of Gretely").

Do you get to enjoy the music on nights like this? Or are you consumed with making sure that things needing to get done get done?

No, I wouldn't do it if I didn't get to enjoy the music. But I'm sure I'll be busy with stuff, too. I'm a good multi-tasker, though.

Fragile: Two Shows Announced

Fragile Porcelain Mice don't play a lot of show these days. Sometimes an entire calendar will yield one, maybe two, gigs. So it's a pleasure to see that their are two shows upcoming for FPM, each of them with some interesting quirks. Pulled from the FPM site, these two notes:

------------------------------

FPM has confirmed that they will perform as part of MILLSTOCK II on Saturday, September 29, 2007 at Liederkranz Park located in Millstadt, IL. This event is outdoors and free to the public.

FPM has confirmed that they will be returning to the Playhouse at Westport Plaza in St. Louis on Thanksgiving night 2007. Please note - this is a fixed seat venue. FPM fans can obtain house seats by submitting their email addresses via the below link before Saturday, September 15. An email will be sent to you the week of September 17 providing instructions for purchasing house seats.

Adam Franklin @ Vintage V.

Okay. Last item of the day, but I've been holding this one for a bit and I'd like to help the world that Adam Franklin of the immortal Swervedriver will be at Vintage Vinyl in October. The date and time are below, along with some notes from VV PR czar Jim Utz. I cannot wait.

--------------

Former Swervedriver vocalist
Adam Franklin
www.toshackhighway.com

October 13th
5:00PM

Special afternoon set from former Swervedriver vocalist Adam Franklin

Though the music world lost the amazing Swervedriver many years ago thankfully the main voice and songwriter of the group Adam Franklin didn't throw in the towel like most of the other dead shoegazers. Free of the band dynamic and the expectations of such a loved band, Adam Franklin used this freedom to his advantage to explore various approaches to performing music again. Sometimes acoustic, sometimes with band, dabbling with electronics or stripped down to the super basics...whatever the approach beautiful and catchy pop music was the core. Finally releasing his first "proper" solo album under his own name, Adam Franklin has made an amazing record that incorporates all of the above approaches that blends the perfect amounts of rock, country and psychedelia. See Adam Franklin live at Vintage Vinyl on October 13th beginning at 5:00PM as he promotes his brand new record "Bolts Of Melody".

Some Fine Madness

Looks like a primo line-up Saturday September 9 at Lemp Arts Center (and their shows generally start after Rough Riders games ... GO ROUGH RIDERS! There's nothing I love more than hearing a newly-assembled high school marching band practicing before a game).

So, this I gotta see: the headliner is HARPTALLICA!, a Metallica tribute harp duo. Adding to the madness is the loveable but terrifying one-man band, Super Fun Yeah Yeah
Rocketship; Dank Saturday, which I know nothing about - it doesn't pop up in a search engine; and drummer Robert Fishbone. I've marched with this guy in Mardi Gras drum corps during the Grand Parade, and was rather intimidated by his percussive chops. Fishbone's an amazing guy - he makes his own instruments and even though I have watched him play more than once, I've never been able to figure out how he gets the sounds he does. He's also the guy that invented those inflatable Edvard Munch "The Scream" dolls, as well as a "Pin the Ear on Van Gogh" party game. Now, how could I make this show more appealing than it already is? The only thing that would make it totally perfect is if the Rough Riders marching band also made an appearance, but hopefully it will be possilbe to catch some of their tunes floating out of the schoolyard earlier that afternoon ...

New "Space Parlour" CD from KDHX

Popped over to the KDHX website and saw that the show "Space Parlour," hosted by Nick Acquisto, has compiled a KDHX CD, with 18 cuts. You can find ordering info there, but here's the track list, to whet your appetite:

1. Dos Dedos - Lil Possum
2. Casey Reid - Untitled
3. The Monads - The Man In Town
4. Grace Basement - Rest Of The World
5. The Hibernauts - Sleeping In Space
6. Adversary Workers - Half Passionless
7. Rats & People - Filthy Little River
8. Strawfoot - The Lord's Wrath
9. Bad Folk - Dead Trees
10. Bravo Co. - Theory of Theron
11. Adversary Workers - Stumble
12. Bug - White Lobster
13. That's My Daughter - Girl Candy
14. Dos dedos - Tiptoe Through The Pistachios
15. The Hibernauts - Go Go Go
16. Bravo Co. - Drink For That Sun
17. Casey Reid - Underbelly Limbo
18. Grace Basement - Green Machine
19. Bad Folk - Mechanical Lions
20. Strawfoot - Fiddle & Jug
21. Rats & People - Vomitting Blood
22. That's My Daughter - Butch In Springtime (Sexicolor)
23. Bug - The Police
24. The Monads - One For The Law

Vegetable Bikinis for a Cause

Last year’s Ditty Bops concert at Mad Art was smashing good fun. The gals return on Thursday, August 23rd for two shows. The promo poster is delicious! From the Mad presses...

“With voices as sweet as honey and harmonies to match, the Ditty Bops call their shows "pagan-vaudeville." Accompanied by guitar, mandolin, piano, fiddle, stand-up bass, and lots of wild costume changes, their music blends ragtime, western swing, bluegrass, and folk. Their 2007 Summer Farm Tour supports Farm Aid and local farm organizations and brings attention to sustainable agriculture. Last summer the pair rode 4,502 miles from Los Angeles to New York on their Moon Over the Freeway Bicycle Tour. The eco-friendly Ditty Bops started a Plastic Reduction Petition targeted to Stephen Johnson, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The ladies want 5,000 signatures and plan to wear nothing but plastic until they reach their goal. If they reach their goal by the time they roll into St. Louis, maybe they'll be wearing their vegetable bikinis instead of plastic.”

All the details on times, tickets, etc. can be found at the Mad Art website.

Q'n'A w/ Sir Jesse Irwin

52nd City has bestowed knighthood upon Jesse Irwin, that lovable rake from the South Side, via Desoto, MO. He's been kind enough to work out a BBQ Benefit for us at Off Broadway this Thursday night. We'll be kicking things off at 8 p.m., for an early edition of the Chippewa Chapel. Come on down!

We sent Sir Irwin a list of questions earlier today and between his day job, homework and happy hour commitments, the young feller made time for us, with these here answers to our questions about the Chapel, its new home and his recording plans:

You have some pretty ambitious goals for the Chippewa Chapel. What are you looking to do in the coming year?

We are seeking sponshorship from an unnamed beer company to promote the chapel through print and radio ads. We are coming out with chapel merch and starting an 8 p.m. free concert series featuring chapel performers. We will have our own Mardi Gras float. we are planning on getting an intern from Webster University.

How has the composition of the players changed since you began going? And since the venue moved from Frederick's?

There is less randomness than at Frederick's, but that will all come back once the word gets out. Some of the old Frederick's crowd will show up, and sometimes people that we met while traveling. There are some new faces since we've been at Off Boadway and it's good to see things growing. People fade in and out, but we almost never see anyone just once.

What's fun about playing at a set place, week-after-week, as opposed to the older system of rotating through clubs?

We have the best room in town at Off Broadway, killer sound, and all we have to do is host. That frees us up to make the changeovers smoother and make sure our guests are comfortable. When it's time to go home we don't have to haul a PA system. It's great. We are getting much bigger crowds since we've been staying put.

How's your songwriting going these days?

Slowly. I'm doing everything but writing songs. I'm having a lot of fun, though.

Any releases upcoming for you, solo or with Dock Ellis?

My new CD should be done in October. Loof for something from Dock Ellis by December

Ahleuchatistas, this Weekend

A band that creates its monkier by atom-smashing the name of a Charlie Parker tune and combining it with the term "Zapatista" is a band after my own heart. And Ahleuchatistas lives up to its name: it's half jazz, half hardcore. Conveniently, they'll be in town on the days when we are *not* having our "Sporty" B-B-Q, that is tomorrow and Sunday. See this wee review from Exclaim! if you have a knack for reading music-geek speak:

"Oh my God. These guys reinstated my love for double-kick bass drums, that’s for sure. The Ahleuchatistas are a band of math/thrash/prog/punk whatchamacallits from North Carolina that have distinct political spins (check out 'Remember Rumsfeld At Abu Ghraib' as a flash back to Mingus’s 'Remember Rockefeller At Attica') and a frantic, powerful delivery. The music definitely has its feet in the Ruins (minus the dizzyingly hilarious vocals), as well as Fantômas and the Ex but takes off from there with sheer inventiveness and fearless precision. Songs like 'Sometimes There’s A Buggy' and 'Before The Law' shift away from the relentless prog/math acrobatics into pools of free improv and reflection, while 'Shell in Ogoniland' and 'Maybe Orange' happily pummel you with under two-minute assaults. This CD also includes a rather dark rec room trio of vids, which are kind of neat and makes one see the attraction of this band live. This is happy, jumping around music!"

And a more straightforward descrip, per their label, Cuneiform Records:

Ahleuchatistas has received great reviews nationally and internationally for their last album “What You Will”. They have also been invited to play at such festivals and South By Southwest, MAC Rock, and the International Jazz Festival in Austria (impressive for an experimental rock band).

The band’s concerts in Missouri:

Friday, July 27th 2007
The Scallywag
805 Francis Street
Saint Joseph, MO 64501-1915
www.myspace.com/thescallywagmusic

Sunday, July 29th 2007
8 pm, All Ages, and $5.00
LEMP Neighborhood Arts Center
3301 Lemp Ave
St. Louis, MO 63118
For Information: 314.771.1096
www.lemp-arts.org

See you there ...

More Good Free Music

Here I go, getting all excited about a free concert a whole month out ... like Bluiett. I missed that show (not because I wanted to - I was feeling way punk on Sunday, and had to finish sleeping off a cold. To say I was bummed out was an understatement! Thanks to Andrea for the excellent recap).

Per Brett Underwood comes an announcement re: "another ass-kicker of a free show." Matt Harnish of Bunnygrunt has put together a triple-header at CBGB for July 30. With liberal quotations from Mr. Underwood:

I, Crime from Detroit: "Beyond their stick twirling and alcoholic flair, I, Crime truly is a band of songwriters, creating songs from influences as estranged and arresting as traditional olde-time, power-pop, psyche-punk, honky-tonk, '50s crooning and high-strung, straight-up rock 'n' roll. Their new brand of romantic rock will blow your ears with harsh punk urgency and your mind with excruciatingly gorgeous boy-girl harmonies. Their song, 'It Ain't Right,' reached #1 on Brown Student Radio in Providence, RI, which called their sound 'Back Sabbath meets the Marvelettes.'"

Ryan Anderson of Austin, Texas: "Ryan Anderson is recording and playing a lot in Austin now, but comes from Florida, via Savannah, Georgia. A bunch of us saw him play at Mr. [Jason] Hutto's house party last summer and I've been listening to his TRAINS TAKE AWAY OLD FRIENDS ever since. He is on an extensive tour in support of The Garden Path, which is an album set for release in July 2007 on Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records."

Bad Folk from St. Louis: "...and of course, Bad Folk is a St. Louis gem busting out of the alt-country and cow-punk entrapments to make original music with traditional instruments...and with rock-star experience from the likes of Tim Rakel, Anne Tkach, Joey Gavin, Bruk Longbottom and Adam Hesed, they deliver. They should be crammed into that front window and ready to tear through a vicious set for this one, 'cause they always are...the atomic bomb, indeed, but with better intensions than melted faces...somebody mentioned Nick Cave and Tom Waits and David Lynch, but with banjo and slide guitar...don't forget the ladies on bass and drums, sometimes saw and just get your ass out to this show."

As Mr. Underwood notes: "there's plenty of warning for this one, ninnies!" So now, I just have to stay well for the next 30 days...

(Kinda) Unconscious

Saw Mike Apirion the other night and the former Unconscious and Black Sand Hand frontman said that he'd be celebrating his birthday at the Atomic Cowboy this Sunday night, June 10. Why that's worth noting in a public blog is the fact that he's going to be playing some songs and members of the Unconscious might be dropping by to add their talents.

The group's last show was at the venue, a stripped-down, last-minute-announced affair, with a certain, hardcore contingent on-hand. We bet that the same crew gathers this Sunday evening. "Silver Tray," anyone?

(By the way: I don't believe I noted elsewhere on the blog that the Atomic Cowboy's gotten into the business of serving up fancy, highly-infused vodkas, which are found on the bar in over-the-top glassware. If you're looking for a hot bloody mary, go for the pepper-infused vodka, which has been drawing ZING! from a wealth of hot peppers for the past month. Yowzah.)

Hamiett Bluiett at Ivory Perry Park

I believe it was in the winter of 2005 that I had my mind blown at Mad Art while watching Hamiett Bluiett play alto sax. I have the flyer still, but it's buried in my filing cabinet. Doesn't matter, because the sentiment is the same. I always have my eyes open for Bluiett gigs, so I was pleased as all get-out to see that he's opening the Ivory Perry Park Concert Series on June 24 (bear with me, this is a while off, but this is how excited I am about it). I know about three or four Canadians who would beat me about the head and shoulders if they knew that St. Louisians had the chance to grab a cooler and lawn chair and see this man play in the park, for free. If I knew any Europeans they would probably beat me about the head and shoulders too. The show starts at 6pm, and for those who aren't familiar with Ivory Perry Park, it's located at 800 Belt. They have some other swell concerts lined up, including a jazz interpretation of Porgy & Bess as a cap-off to a production of that show, a collaboration between Black Rep & Union Avenue Opera, in mid-summer. For all the details on the series, you can hop on over to Union Avenue Christian Church's website.

Pavlov's Dog in Europe?

A little birdy says that a radically retooled lineup of the band is heading to Europe for touring this summer. Don't know details, but do know that legit live musicians are talking about taking the gig.

More to come. If you hear something on KSHE, please pass along word...

Get the SOUND

Our Saturday CD Release Party at The Royale was a fabulous way to whittle away a rainy Saturday afternoon. If you missed us, you can get your copy of the 52nd City SOUND issue ONLINE via Paypal at or one of these local fine establishments. We are very excited about this issue. The interview with Ornette Coleman is such a nugget and the rest of the tracks are well worth the $8 price. Eric Hall put a ton of work into the organizing local musicians for The Phil Sessions guerilla recordings. Check out the track listing and the online edition of SOUND at www.52ndcity.com.

An Urge Summer?

A certain someone close to a particular member of The Urge - vague enough? - says that the late, lamented group will: certainly release a 20th anniversary DVD this summer; likely play a series of shows around the Midwest; and possibly entertain the notion of recording some new material.

Here's hoping. Miss those shows, I do.

Rockers for Gondolfi

Apparently, all participating bands have members living in the 20th Ward. Here's the lineup, compliments of David Early at Snowflake:

-----

fri. jan 12 7:30 pm @ typo/tin ceiling 3159 cherokee
20th ward bands band together - fundraiser -
GONDOLFI FOR ALDERMAN
-walkie talkie usa
-the adversery workers
-the beating
-bravo company
-bloodletters
please drop a $5 or $5000 cash donation at the door

Erin Bode on "The Wire"

Songs and conversation tonight on "The Wire," KDHX 88.1 fm, from 7:30 - 8:00 p.m. If you can't catch it live - what with family commitments, Unconscious songs and what-not - you can stream the show for the next month at www.kdhx.org. Songs and conversation with Erin Bode, mere hours away...

P-D Weighs in on The Nights

Kevin Johnson of the P-D weighed in today on the possibility of Mississippi Nights shuttering in the very near future and the word is... definitively maybe. At least it's nice to know that - in the case of this particular story - the paper-of-record had as much luck in getting info as a little blog. Below, we liberally cut-and-paste the MN bit of Johnon's column from today's "Get Out":

After years of talk that the closing of Mississippi Nights was imminent, it might be time to say goodbye to one of St. Louis' most historic rock clubs.

But if the talk is true, this is one club that wil be greatly missed, and we're glad it has its eyes on the future.

An Unconscious Christmas

No good deed goes unpublished and no good plan goes as... well, planned. I intentionally booked a DJ spin on Xmas night, because I'd asked around and heard that none of the old Christmas warriors (the Unconscious, the Urge, Fragile Porcelain Mice, etc.) were planning any type of Yule get-together. Proving that the best laid plans are something or another, that first mentioned group, the Unconscious, are, indeed, playing a loose reunion gig at the Atomic Cowboy on Christmas, with the club open from 9 p.m.-3 a.m. Here's hoping there's a late, late, late show, for those of us who'd like to be there but won't. Because, say, a band member said there'd be no show.

For those of you remembering the group's classic blend of rocky funkiness, please report in with your first-hand accounts, thanks.

More X-ellent X-mas music: Bert Dax

Okay, don't get the wrong idea. Just because I posted twice this week about Christmas music doesn't mean I like it. In fact, I shouldn't admit it, but I really hate it (perhaps because I got brainwashed as a kid by my psychedelic parents, who dismissed all Bing Crosby as "schmaltz"). But some of my favorite songs by St. Lou bands have been on the Bert Dax Xmas CD compilations. (Oh - and Graddaddy's "Allen Parsons in a Winter Wonderland" passes muster, too). Don't know why. Just is. So - per Brett Underwood, per Eric Hall:

"In case you wanna be one of the people who knows stuff, here is some stuff to know: This Friday and Saturday night are two CD release shows for the fifth volume of "A Very Bert Dax Christmas", which features contributions from Peanuts (Eric Hall, Nazeer Sadeeq Holmes, Jeremy Brantlinger), Precious Movements (featuring members of Phonocaptors and Walkie Talkie USA doing a remix/one-up on the Peanuts tune), Sex Pube Mario Viele, The Bureau, Monads, Rats & People, Transmitters, SkareKrau Radio, The Manillas, Mustardfish, and Learn, Artist. The CD kicks a lot of ass. Give it to your family this year and show them what the season is really about. In fact, you can come to the shows and buy past Bert Dax Christmas CDs, or pick them up from Vintage Vinyl if you can't wait. The Friday night show is at Lemmons and stars The Transmitters, Mustardfish, The Monads, and DJ Like A Light Bulb! featuring The Kaucasian Kristmas Karolers (Eric Hall, Jaime Gartelos, Jeremy Brantlinger, and Nazeer Sadeeq Holmes). The Saturday night show is at The Way Out and stars Rats & People, SkareKrau Radio, The Manillas, and Learn, Artist.
Either show will only cost you $5, or you can attend both for just $10.

Ho."

A Good Kind of Xmas Music

I am pretty sure that the only time I've seen the Dave Drebes Players is during the holidays; I have one especially fond memory of a show at the old Commonspace storefront in Grand Center, with Mary Lisa singing backup and Kurt Groetsch on bass. I'm all awash in nostalgia this season anyhow, because those weird frilly tree garlands are back in style- the ones that were big back in a time when the Heatmeiser was just a little stop-motion animation character and not a band - so to further the nostalgia (and that's a big chunk of what holidays are about anyway, si?) I may be trotting down to go see this; since it's got that other component so important this time of year, that is, it's for a good cause.

Dave Drebes Players
5th Annual Holiday Performance
Thursday, December 14th
7:00pm

$2 cover to benefit the South City Open Studio and Gallery
and the Potter's Workshop

House Concert at 3940 Cleveland, in South City.

"beautiful melodies, interest provoking lyrics, festooned and fine musicianship"

The Dave Drebes Players:
Jenna Bauer, bass
Dave Drebes, keyboard
Fred Hessel, guitar
Matt Siemer, guitar
Kraig Schnitzmeier, Drums
Jeff Smith, Drums
Butler Miller, musical direction
Brian Marston, audio production

Lights out at Mississippi Nights?

For the past few days, I keep running into extremely tied-in local scene types who are talking about this. And though I haven't seen an official announcement in local publication or website, the idea that Mississippi Nights is closing after New Year's Eve seems a good bet. Though an e-mail to the club's main employees hasn't come back with an affirmative, too many indicators suggest that the club isn't going to open door after December 31, not the least of which is a website that doesn't go past that date.

That's not a fun option to consider for many, myself included. Even though my attendance at Nights shows has slipped in recent years, with only a handful of trips to the Landing staple this year, what exists is still a memorable connection. There was a time when I could find myself at the Nights multiple times month, with so, so many memorable nights spent in the music hall, a thought that has to be true for many.

Among the national acts I can recall, simply top-of-head: Rain Parade, Souled American, the Dead Milkmen, Lush, Faith No More, Magnapop, Let's Active, Green on Red, Chris Isaak, Dramarama, Public Enemy, the Charlatans, Ani Difranco, Sonic Youth, Bob Mould, Screaming Trees, Majesty Crush, the Something Brothers, Veruca Salt, the Sounds and Tricky. It was the only place I ever saw Nirvana and Television. And was the home of the show that most sticks with me to this day, Ministry, then touring with a 10-man lineup and at the height of their impact. Hell, I even remember hearing the full-ska version of No Doubt.

Locally, too, so many bands stick out, for whatever reason: Uncle Tupelo, Small Ball Paul, Gravity Kills, Nov. 9th, the Nukes, the Stranded Lads, Ultraman, the Dazzling Killmen, Murder City Players, MU330, Enormous Richard, Tripstar, Black Sand Hand, Big Fun, Oliver Sain, Waterworks, Corporate Humour, the Finns, Blank Space, A Perfect Fit and Ulcer Inc. There were countless nights of dropping in for the Urge, the Eyes and the Unconscious. And special gigs like the Mississippi River Music Festival and the St. Louis Music Awards. Ah! The day of free admittance and free passes! Ah!

Admittedly, I have no final word to hang my hat on and, again, maybe there's something out already released or written that confirms this. Some skepticism deserves to remain until it's in writing from the club, rather than mused about on a blog.

An example: at the Royale, late last night, a musician who played the stage many times was dubious.

"I'll believe it when I see it," he said, literally slumping his head and shaking it. "I've been hearing for 20 years, 'this is the time.' Like I said, I'll believe it when I see it."

And though the current schedule doesn't have that KO-punch show that I'd like to catch before the end of the year, I feel the need to head down to the increasingly-isolated club. (After all, the MegaSino's wrecking ball has already claimed neighboring buildings to the north.) When it comes to the rumor of the club's demise: I do believe it and do, once more, want to see it.

News from Chapel

I popped by the Chippewa Chapel at Off Broadway last night, one of a surprisingly healthy number of attendees, considering the chilly temps. A couple bits of info stuck out:

The club will now host the traveling open mic once a month. On February 3, a Frederick's Music Lounge rememberance show will be celebrated, noting the (roughly) one-year passing of the venue.

Meanwhile, we overheard that the Wormwood Scrubs and two-thirds of Thee Dirty South (Bob Reuter and Marc Chechik, sans drummer John Baldus) will be touring Europe, kicking off in February. Bob Reuter in Europe... the mind reels.

Lastly, 52nd City is co-sponsoring a show on Friday, December 22, "A Very Merry Christmas Spectacular," a multi-band bill booked by Mike Tomko's Tomko Bomb Co. concern. Saw the name on a huge banner with my own eyes.

Fixture = Languid = Friday

Okay, people, it's not like we're living on the ice planet Hoth. It's cold, yes, yes. Our garages are frozen shut, sure. Some of us have even taken nasty spills, gotcha. But, at least for those of us in the South Grand neighborhood, it's time to go out and have a beer. A member of the following musical group noted that Fixture is playing at Jasoom tonight. You might not know the name, but you may very well know the players. Here's the info, straight from the source:

Esoteric, experimental and elusive, the FIXTURE instrumental trio will be appearing at Jasoom, 3210 S. Grand Ave. (across from Cheap TRX) on Friday, December 1 at 10:00 pm. Three dollars at the door.

FIXTURE is comprised of three original members of Languid, a critically-acclaimed and popular band with a long history in St. Louis. The funky, mellow and unexpected grooves served up by FIXTURE formed the core of the Languid musical experience.

Josh Kohn - guitar
Stephen Lindsley - bass
Peter von zur Muehlen - percussion

The evening will open with a solo guitar set by John Bolduan.

FIXTURE and Friends
Friday, December 1, 10:00 pm
Jasoom Revolutionary Mexican Restaurant & Cantina
3210 S. Grand Ave.

There's My Monday Night

I may've been vaguely aware of this show, but it somehow remained dim in my memory banks. Luckily, I'm on the Tone Rodent e-mail list and the band's reminded me that they'll be sharing the stage again with the Black Angels, an Austin-based band frequently hung with Velvet Underground comparisons. That's probably a too-quick and too-encompassing namedrop, but it generally does work in this case. And after gorging on Andy Warhol videos via Netflix recently, I'm needing a fix of lengthy, droning, loud and slightly freaky rock'n'roll.

So: Monday night, Off Broadway, 9 p.m. showtime, with Tone Rodent in the opening support slot. This doublebill was possibly my favorite show of the earlier in 2006, so I'm hoping for exactly that level of blissed-out excitement.

By the way, Off Broadway is now opening for regular hours through the week, with a 3 p.m. first call. If you're in South City and wanna sample from a 100-beer list, this could be your place.

Worth it. Worth it. GO!

It is one hour that you really should not miss. The Mad Art Radio Hour. I saw it tonight and it was highly entertaining. The Martian Hunter was played by the excellent George Malich and was a very well done skit combining the elements of old time gum-shoe detective stories with modern art hyperbole, including hilarious sarcasm about art critics. Former cop Ron Buechele expertly played an Irish police sergeant. The sound effects, executed by Eric Hall and Jeremy Brantlinger, were fantastic. The I Love Sylvia skit, a spin off of I Love Lucy, included especially fun exchanges between poets Sylvia Plath, played by Sarah Jones, and Anne Sexton, played by Soozi Hall. Doug Golden was a very convincing and bombastic Ted Hughes. What made the hour really enjoyable was the attention to detail. The room was more intimate than I’ve ever experienced it. The “applause” and “on air” signs were a great touch. Swing Set provided musical accompaniment and they were the perfect choice. All the details added up to a really special evening. Local establishments, such as Schlafly, The Royale, and Lemmons, sponsored the show and Jaime Gartelos wrote the ads and jingles, with the most memorable and entertaining being for the divorce attorneys Knight and Tomich. The entire program was very well planned out and I cannot recommend highly enough. By the end of the night I was inspired to try my hand at writing a radio show—although I’d love to see more from Gartelos and fellow writer James Foehner. Only $5 and just one hour on a Friday night. Tomorrow’s program is being recorded by KDHX and will be broadcast on Brett Underwood’s The No Show, midnight on Thanksgiving. Doors 7pm/Show 8pm. This kind of thing is really what makes St. Louis special folks. Don’t miss it. More at Mad Art.

Post-Tryptophan Rock Out

My group of pals have established an excellent Thanksgiving Day tradition: escape from the famb's house early and head to Dave & Buster's, for video games, gin & tonics, cheese fries and at the end of the night, a big ticket cash-in. Most of the appliances in my kitchen (coffee grinder, juicer, rice cooker) come from the Dave & Buster's prize center. One of my favorite Thanksgiving memories ever is the year Kurt Groetsch came with us. He won a harmonica and after saying good-night, he walked across the cold and leviathan parking lot toward his car, playing "If I Only Had a Brain" on the harp.

This year, though, I am going to be with my family in Utah for Thanksgiving. That doesn't bum me out per se; what does is that I wil be missing a huge music extravaganza because I will be far, far away from St. Louie next weekend.

The Bandwidth Collective's second annual Southside Rocks Off 2 takes place the Saturday after Thanksgiving. So, while I am mooning around Temple Square in my dad's borrowed bear-shaped earmuffs, listening to carollers singing Mormon hymns, rock 'n' roll mayhem will ensue just two blocks away from my house. For a $10 wristband you can spend the day trotting up and down South Grand, sipping martinis and listening to The Hibernauts, Candy Razor, Superfun Yeah Yeah Rocketship, the 7-Shot Screamers, Rats and People, Thee Dirty South, The Ottman, Fertilizer Bomb, Jetpack, Spiders & Cowboys, the Sex Robots, etc. etc. Plus Bill Chott (who wrote a hilarious piece for us for the "Drink" issue) will be doing improv. And there will be art. And more martinis. And lots of people I know. And at the end of Saturday day, I know I will find myself in a dirty little cowboy bar with peeling vinyl booths, drinking 3.2 beer while "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" plays over and over on the jukebox. But: you should go. And drink a REAL beer for me. And make the devil-horns sign and yell "AAAAAUUUW!" at the end of some particularly raucous music set...

PS! Note that Mr. Groetsch will be getting married this December 22. Congratulations to our dear friend.

Silversun Pickups @ Vintage Vinyl

Pulling off shows like this one is why Jim Utz is a worthy recipient of our Mystery Winner Award at our Kick Ass event last week. The Silversun Pickups album "Carnavas" might be my favorite of the year, and, since I picked it up at Vintage, I can't wait to catch them there in a few days:

------------------------------

DangerBird Records'
Silversun Pickups
www.silversunpickups.com

November 26th
3:00PM

Special Silversun Pickups acoustic performance at Vintage Vinyl

Just because the year is winding down and the tours are starting to pack up doesn't mean that Vintage Vinyl is stopping our commitment to bringing you the best free musical entertainment in St. Louis. On November 26th at 3:00PM Vintage Vinyl will be exploding with excitement not from Thanksgiving leftovers but from being able to present a very special acoustic performance with the incredible Silversun Pickups.

Making their first stop in St. Louis while on tour with Wolfmother, Silversun Pickups will be stopping at Vintage Vinyl first to perform songs from their two killer releases "Pikul" and "Carnavas". Making a rockin' wall of sound that blends the power and finesse similar to Queens Of The Stone Age or Fu Manchu with the dynamic and melodic sensibilities of The Pixies, Silversun Pickups are without a doubt one of our favorite new rock bands to come out the past couple of years and we couldn't be happier to be hosting their St. Louis debut performance. Believe the hype on this one, this is an instore you should not miss!

FPM: This Is Odd

I've been attending the annual Fragile Porcelain Mice Thanksgiving shows for some time and had a blast at last year's Pop's throwdown. The press release for their latest gig is somwehat out of left field, considering the band's sound, stageshow and energy level. At times like this, I remind myself that "change is good." And this certainly qualifies. (Dig the venue.)

----------------------------------------

The IBR Lecture Series presents,

An Evening with
FRAGILE PORCELAIN MICE

In this rare event, Scott Randall and the members of Fragile Porcelain Mice give an intimate musical performance and share first-hand stories behind some of the groups sentimental favorites, providing a document of FPM’s most enduring work: their music.

Show is all ages. Limited seating, all seats reserved.

DETAILS:

Date: Thursday, November 23, 2006
9:00 PM Showtime - Thanksgiving night

Venue: Playhouse at Westport Plaza
635 Westport Plaza
St. Louis, MO. 63146

Tickets:
· Limited seating available / all seats reserved
· Tickets available at Metrotix (314-534-1111), www.metrotix.com, or the venue box office day of show.
· Tickets: $20 (advance) / $25 (day of show)

-------------------------------------

An explanatory note from manager Chris Thomas:

Not unplugged, but it will follow more of a 'Storyteller's' thread. They'll be bringing in some guest musicians so they can play some of the songs they
rarely perform live. It will definitely be interesting, and something they
haven't done before.

Friday Night Rock @ CB's

Two If By Sea (Dance rock from Baltimore, MD; compared to Psychedelic Furs, Echo & The Bunnymen, XTC, Squeeze, etc)
http://www.twoifbysea.org/

Tone Rodent (STL Psyche rock; compared to Primal Scream, Jesus & Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, etc)
http://www.tonerodent.com/

FREE Halloween Show @ CBGB (3163 S. Grand)
Friday, October 27th
9pm

Finn's Motel, Thursday: Free Tix

On Thursday night, Euclid Records is sponsoring a "relaunch" of the store's website, with a power-pop show at the Duck Room. Playing will be The Hard Lessons, The Rug's and St. Louis' own Finn's Motel, who recently released their debut album on Scat Records.

Though I just wrote about the group for the current edition of Sauce Magazine, the band's gone through some significant lineup changes, in anticipation of a short, East Coast tour. Still in are songwriter/guitarist/vocalist Joe Theabeau and bassist Steve Scariano. New to the fold are guitarist (and Scat Records founder) Robert Griffin and drummer Peter Lang, whose resume could fill an entire page, single-spaced.

That version of the band will take the stage this Thursday, October 12, for a 21-up show. If you'd like to save on the $8 ticket ($10 at the door), we have four pairs of tickets to giveaway.

Just drop yours truly a note at: thomas @ 52ndcity.com.

See you at the show.

Veruca Salt @ Pop's

Since someone asked me to tell them how the Veruca Salt show went, I thought I'd jot down some written notes. What with this new "information sharing" technology and all.

Arriving with Fred H. at St. Louis' best concert venue, Pop's, I noticed the entire crew of AMP heading for their cars. On-hand only to see Bitch Slap Barbie, they were booking during the set of the third opening band, a nice enough neo-new wave act of no particular impact.

With the requisite half-hour break out of the way, the Verucas tooke the stage, with homegirl Louise Post surrounded by three backing musicians supplied by central casting: the cute-as-a-button bassist and harmony vocalist, a cleaned-up version of female bass mercs like Melissa auf der Maur; a lean, lanky (but short) drummer, shirtless and tatted; and a lean, lanky (but tall) second guitarist, whose theatrics would eventually transcend all sense of proportion and venue.

Alas. Picking songs from all four VS albums - the two with Nina Gordon and the two without, including the brand-new "Veruca Salt IV" - Post and company mixed-in enough of the old hits and cult faves to keep the crowd happy, as folks were nodding along to the likes of "Seether" and "Volcano Girls," while remaining respectful to the new, less time-tested material. Post even serenaded her mom with a "happy birthday," not long after telling the crowd that "fucking St. Louis fucking rocks." Nice sentiments, on both counts.

In all, a good show, and a bargain at twice the $5 ticket price.

Should also note that the crowd veered towards the 30-up crowd, though some collegians were there, too, though they couldn't have been at the shows of yore at the Hi-Pointe and Mississippi Nights... could they? It was amusing to hear conversation after conversation of people trying to place exactly when they saw the band, since the group never embraced STL as a primary concert home. Also, we commented on the fact that business at MoKaBe's and Novak's was surely way off last night, at least until 30-minutes after the final Veruca Salt cut.

Bettie Serveert @ Vintage Vinyl

Though they're on of my favorite indie acts of the early-mid-'90s (and, obviously living beyond that timeframe), I've never had the opportunity or luck to catch the Dutch band Bettie Serveert live. This despite the fact that group regularly plays St. Louis, good for about a date a year here. Gonna try to change that next month. Here's the announcement from our pals at VV, of an in-store in October:

October 7th
1:30PM

Exclusive St. Louis appearance - Bettie Serveert live at Vintage Vinyl

The instore appearances good karma keeps flowing St. Louis' way as Vintage Vinyl is extremely happy to announce that we will be hosting an exclusive St. Louis appearance with our favorite Dutch indie rockers, Bettie Serveert.

On tour promoting the brand new acoustic disc "Bare Stripped Naked", Bettie Serveert are on tour and without a proper club show in St. Louis. Unable to grasp the idea of passing through St. Louis without stopping, Minty Fresh Records and the band decided a free instore performance at Vintage Vinyl was a perfect solution for everyone.

Having captured the hearts of American indie rockers in 1992 with their brilliant debut "Palomine", Bettie Serveert has regained their positive commercial and critical momentum which has arced perfectly with them releasing some of the best music of their career as well.

Catch Bettie Serveert's only 2006 appearance in St. Louis on October 7th beginning at 1:30PM. Since there is no club gig later that night expect the unexpected as the band will be performing electric and acoustic.

She Wants Revenge

Thought the thought still confuses me, my favorite concert venue in town may be Pop's, the longstanding bastion of all-night carousing, located on that hideous Sauget parking lot, 'twixt two randy grindhouses and across the way from puff-puff-puffing smokestacks. Ah, Pop's, full of connotations for the oldsters, who remember the place as solely a waystation of the night, a place of brawls and beer and (cover)bands.

Last night, Pop's played host to She Wants Revenge, an LA group of dubious lineage, who have, critics are correct, perfectly co-opted the look-and-feel of bands old (Joy Division) and new (Interpol). There's nothing particularly original about She Wants Revenge, but damned if the act hasn't mastered the aggregated sound. Forgive me, but: they rock.

There were two notable things about the show, and I simply must pass them along.

First (well, second). At the end of the show, singer/guitarist Justin Warfield gave the most hilarious, "please don't make us play here" request I'd ever heard at a venue, all but begging for a date on the other side of the river, away from the industrial plants, pavement and stripbars. He said the comments meant no offense to the room, but the guess here is that management won't be booking the group back for show #3 any time soon. If brat-tish, it was very, very funny.

Second (second). You can go to many, many shows in St. Louis and unless you're a fan of jam bands, you can go to many, many shows without seeing people dance. She Wants Revenge was able to coax virtually everyone in the room to the foot of the stage by show's end, with, literally, 70-odd-% of the venue's audience in motion. Damndest thing I've ever seen.

Next Monday, Veruca Salt. See you back at... hmm... Pop's.

Bob Kuban's Teen Town

Everybody loves a South City parish picnic, at least until the fighting starts and the darned thing gets shut down. Based on a coupld drop in's, it's safe to say that the St. James the Greater picnic on the City's west side usually draws a pretty good crowd, with a fine junk sale and without some of the side scuffles. And that picnic's reputation should only grow this Friday night, when the regular run of the event (6-11 p.m.) will be augmented by the appearance of Bob Kuban from 7-10.

The veteran area bandleader will be playing the same gym that he called home for a good chunk of the 1960s, performing for a crowd that certainly will date back to that time period, as well.

For anyone who missed the bobby-sox era, this opportunity is just too much to pass up. Too much.

Bring a few bucks, a wry grin and a camera.

BR549 Frontman @... Foley's?

A songwriter, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist with the popular Americana band BR549, Chris Scruggs is coming to St. Louis on a solo stop, Saturday, September 23. That wouldn't seem the most notable thing in the world - bands and musicians frequently tour, after all - save for the fact that he's playing off-the-beaten-path, at a corner bar in Maplewood, Foley's Irish Pub.

Found out about this while socializing at Foley's the other night. (Just wrote the place up for insidestl.com.)

You can get info on Scruggs at his website: www.chrisscruggs.com.

Sayonara, Hi-Pointe

A conversation's broken out at the Garagepunk.com forums re: the coming demise of the Hi-Pointe Cafe. This seems well beyond the idle musings phase, since longtime booker/manager/proprietor Lisa Andris chimes in, at length, on the topic.

Like the second poster in the thread, I haven't been to the Hi-Pointe as much in recent years, but it's strange to think of think of that corner of the City without the place.

Seems that September 3 is closing night.

Time for a beer in west City...

Walkie Talkie U.S.A.

On Tuesday, Off Broadway will play host to what should be considered the most interesting, local rock debut of the year. In the middle slot of a three-band bill (along with Sex Robots and Bunnygrunt), Walkie Talkie U.S.A. will deliver songs from a recorded, but still mixing, CD that involves some of the finest rock talent in town.

Walkie Talkie U.S.A. is: Jason Hutto (guitars, songwriting, lead vocals); Bryan Hoskins (guitars, vocals); Jordan Heimburger (bass); Jimmy Griffin (guitars, vocals); and Merv Schrock (drums, vocals). To list all of their past-and-present endeavors would take a chunk of space, but suffice to say, this is a veteran and versatile group.

If you're into the rock and don't have plans on Tuesday, this is almost a must-see.

For downloadable preview cuts: www.myspace.com/walkietalkieusa.

Monday, CBGB

James Weber, formerly of The Julia Sets, is debuting a new band, this Monday at South Grand's CBGB. Weber, a contributor to the new print issue of 52ndcity.com writes in with a bit of info on James Will & the Engines of Creation, his latest project:

Well, lesse. I've spent the last 2 years writing some tunes but not doing much of anything with them. About 2 months ago I took some hesitant steps towards putting a rhythm section together, which fell apart 1 practice in. My friend Matt Harnish suckered me into booking a show, and I had no band. Panic set in. These 2 young punk guys got a hold of my demos and out of nowhere emailed me saying, "Hey. We already learned your songs. Let's play this show!" So we got together for a practice or two, things clicked, and now I'm jumping outta my shoes to take these songs up in front of folks. It's at CBGB's with a great band from Canada called Lake Holiday on the 17th of July. Should be a blast (from the past?) and as far as any plans past that, we'll see how this one goes, eh? I'm excited to play in a way I haven't been in years. Hope you make it!

Mangia: New Art, Music on Tuesday

This coming Tuesday, July 11, Mangia will host the "Womb Boom Benefit," to raise funds for the costs associated with the preganancy of local musician Angela Ganter. (I have no idea how to truly phrase that line properly; hope that was sufficient and accurate, really!) Playing at Mangia will be Maid Rite and Celia. Donations will be accepted at the door.

Also, photographer David Garcia will be hosting a reception of his work in the space, the first time the artwork will be changed out in the new dining room. Garcia's work is seen on the frontpage of 52nd City currently.

"Everything Alternative"

This note is admittedly coming from a shame-faced fan of Korn and Linkin Park, but... 105.7 the Point has gotten a lot better in the last month, with the addition of the "shuffle" format that stations all over the country are adopting to counteract the iPod phenomenon. Opening up the playlist, which had been in the typical radio range of 50-100 songs played ad nauseum, the rock station has widened its rotation to include some acts and tracks that had been out of favor. In recent days, I've heard little-heard cuts from Fugazi and Faith No More, as well as KSHE faves like Metallica and Guns n' Roses. Admittedly, the station's "alternative" definition doesn't include something really outre like Gogol Bordello, but it's moving in a more-listenable direction.

Again, even this new mixutre isn't going to be to everyone's taste, but as someone who shies away from KDHX during the shows devoted to Eskimo music, it's a nice thought that some rock beyond Creed and Coldplay are avialable via the local dial.

Now if they'd just play some Sleater Kinney...

Greetings to Finn's Motel

As bemused, let's say, as I am to admit this, I ran across music from the band Finn's Motel on Myspace earlier today and I'm completing digging the four cuts loaded on there. Classic power-pop, written by Joe Thebeau, long the leader of area groups like the Finns, the Finn Brothers and A-OK. Find them here.

Also, we asked Joe for a shorthand version of the group's story and here're the words directly from the group's creator:

Finn's Motel. Where to start? It's been a long time in the making.

How will it turn out? It's anybody's guess.

98, 25, 24

The new issue of Paste Magazine lists the "100 Best Living Songwriters" and our town's well-represented. Though I feel like I'm stealing from the Diatriber in evenlisting this... Jay Farrar checks in at #98, Chuck Berry's at #25 and #24 belongs to Jeff Tweedy. Write you own Tupelo reference or "how could Chuck lose to Jeff" comments below.

By the by, if you've not picked up Paste, it's a solid music mag, along the lines of classy UK journals like Q and Mojo. Each issue's got a CD of new music and every-other's got a DVD with music vids and previews of films. Well worth picking one up, even when they're not going with a themed issue like the current, June/July imprint.

Short-Wave Radios & Percussion

Jon Mueller and Jim Schoenecker are playing tonight at the Lemp Arts Center with Brain Transplant & Joe Ragliani.

I can't go, but want to, because these are the guys who organized a concert in an abandoned railway station in Chicago. They sent anonymous invites through the mail, with train tickets inside. So you boarded the train without knowing what would happen. When all the passengers disembarked, the band started to play.

I think Hakim Bey would agree that the world needs more of this sort of thing...

I don't think the setup tonight will quite that elaborate, but I do know that Shoendecker sometimes plays a shortwave radio.

Rock N Roll

A few little notes.

The Rock N Roll Craft Show is returning. Detials at: http://www.bgb.org/RRCS/. I feel as if about 23 people have mentioned this to me recently and I'm wanting to keep the circle moving.

Mike Jost, formerly of the local act Seven and brother of Urge alum Jerry Jost, has been tabbed as the drummer of Helmet, who probably fall in that "semi-legendary" category. Unfortunately, the band's website doesn't have much information on his arrival, but several folks close to him have confirmed his joining the act, with recording and live dates already commencing.

Guitarist Jimmy Griffin - of Tiny Cows and formerly of Kingofthehill - is featured in a new ad from Jack Daniels, which captures him in full rock pose glory, overlaid with the company's logo. The ad's a two-page spread in the current, 1,000th issue of "Rolling Stone."

It's not exactly rockin', but there's one week left of the Ancora Il Piu Estinso showcase at Dunaway Books. Some pics are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/51252573@N00/

Thee Dirty South @ Tap Room

Thee Dirty South - yo, gotta love the Thee - is playing at the Tap Room tomorrow night, with another local three-piece, The Vultures. If you're not familiar with The, er, Thee Dirty South, the group includes guitarist Bob Reuter on vocals, drummer John Baldus on drums and guitarist on Marc Chechik on why-the-heck-has-he-never-sounded-this-good-before?-lead-guitar. Whatever mojo these three have working together, well, it's working.

And if you're really unfamiliar with the group and don't like laying down your US Green on acts you haven't heard, well:

1. This is a no cover show. As in free.

2. There're songs to check at: http://www.myspace.com/theedirtysouth. Four of them, one better than the next.

Enjoy as you see fit.

Twin Cats

I can count, on one hand, the amount of times I've been out, seen a jam band, and determined that I'd absolutely go see them again. Everything that people usually hold up against the jam groups - the noodling, the lack of songcraft, the audience - are ideas that I share. Confession over.

Now, this past Friday night, a five-piece group of Indianapolis, IN, the Twin Cats, were playing to a thin crowd at Pop's Blue Moon; maybe a half-dozen people, apart from the group's girlfriends and the off-duty employees. In a lot of ways, the band encapsulated the style, with songs called "Snacks," and long, loooping jams. Alas.

At some point, though, sax player Nick Gerlach took over. Maybe it wasn't a conscious decision, but he simply asserted himself and dragged his workmanlike group in new and unique directions. Though the remainder of the group have pro chops, Gerlach's skills are so evident that you can't help but focus in on him and, sometimes, only him. During a 10-minute workout of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" (I know, I know), Gerlach just dominated the cut, sending one diminutive, male audience member into a puppet-dancing frenzy. It was a moment that you had to see to fully appreciate, but I got the sense they were capable of pulling this off on a regular basis.

Mayb it was just the night, though. Maybe the stars were aligned. It also helped to be as baked as Aunt Bernie's apple strudel. Whatever. The set worked and I have to be brave enough to say so. Confession two, over.

Check out the band's site and the Japanese anime site that almost has the same URL. Why not?

Interview: The Great Crusades

The Great Crusades will be in St. Louis, on Saturday, May 6, with an appearance at Blueberry Hill's Duck Room, along with Dana Anderson and the American Professionals. The band's new album, "Four Thirty," is out now on the German Glitterhouse label. We checked in with Brian Krumm, the band's vocalist and primary songwriter, as well as a former member of regional favorites the Suede Chain.

Our first e-interview!

KY: No to Hi-Pointe, Yes to Ireland/Morrissey

Kirsteen Young, colorful St. Louis expat that she is*, checks in with news** that she is forced to pass on this weekend's show at the Hi-Pointe (shared with the suddenly ubiquitous Typewriter Tim***), in order to play three shows as an opening act on Morrissey's tour of Ireland, a smart move in that a trio of support slots for the legendary former singer of The Smiths**** may just bring more luster and magic to anyone's career than a single gig at a venue that offers meals from a "food hole," though this little zing is certainly no knock on the Hi-Pointe, which is a venue we all love, even, assumedly, Kristeen Young, who may return to the STL in June, according to the missive sent and referenced here.*****

* Don't believe me?: then check www.kristeenyoung.com.
** Via electronic mail.
*** Note previous post about Type Tim's art show at the Baseline Gallery.
**** "Girlfriend in a Coma" still brings a tear to my eye.
***** One long sentence; too McSweeney's-esque?

April Music Bits

A few li'l things that've caught my eye/ear in the last week:

1. Those crazy youngsters in the Dirty South drummed up a Myspace page, proving that... well, even veteran acts are in on the ol' social networking. See it at: http://www.myspace.com/theedirtysouth.

2. Typewriter Tim Jordan - a fellow who really needs to go by the descriptor of "cat" - has an art show up at Baseline, which opened during this weekend's First Friday art walk. The space, which seems to sell really high-end/vaguely obtuse home furnishings, is located at 1110 Washington. He'll also be appearing this Friday, April 14 at the Hi-Pointe; though we're not exactly sure what form his set will take, DJ Leon Lamont may be invovled. Intriguing.

3. Fans of a certain era of STL rock will be enthused by a new add to the schedule of Blueberry Hill Duck Room. On May 6, the Great Crusades and the American Professionals will be playing; members of the former act were principals in the old Suede Chain, while the American Pros are headed up by longtime Nukes bassist Chuck Lindo.

4. Bummer about Brandt's, eh?

Did You Say "Smooth Jazz"?

Got a chance to see/hear Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum, recently, at a wake of all things. As always, the multi-talented performer sounded great, playing with a sort of all-star ensemble of local players, all brought together by the passing of Gaslight Square legend Miss Connie Morris. (More on this in the P-D, sometime later this week.) Even though it was a somewhat curious place to hear jazz, it made sense, with Morris' contemporaries bringing their A-game to honor her.

At the event, Jay Brandt mentioned that Peanuts would be playing at his place int he Loop later this month, with his nephew, the star of smooth jazz, Kirk Whalum. Brandt sent along this specific info, for an event that should fill his little room, and then some:

Kirk Whalum has been nominated for seven Grammys and received the Stellar Award for Best Gospel Instrumental. Kirk’s tour this spring will take him to the Blue Note in Tokyo, Japan with Dave Koz; the Playboy Jazz Festival in LA and the Hampton Jazz Festival, Hampton, VA. His 1998 release, FOR YOU, was on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Charts for 65 weeks and in the Top Ten for 53 weeks! Formerly with Warner Records and Columbia Records, Kirk has recently signed with Dave Koz’ Rendezvous Music.

There will be a $10 cover charge both nights and dinner reservations may be made by calling 314-727-3663.

R.E.D. @ Duck Room

This is bold step. The local pop/rock group Red Eyed Driver is venturing outside of the city limits - though only just - for a musical concert at the Duck Room, part of the Blueberry Hill megaplex in University City. This "gig" will take place on Saturday, Feburary 25, with the group joined by fellow yeomen in rock: Miles of Wire and the Transmitters. There will be a cover exacted by a doorperson, no doubt a modest fee. And the band will be offering their newest sound recording, "End of Restrictions," utilizing the popular compact disc format.

To familiarize yourself with the groupo spectacularo, please consult:

The bands website: www.redeyeddriver.com.

A stellar new feature story: www.saucemagazine.com/article/9.

They used to love me, but now it seems they just don't care...

World Saxophone Quartet @ the Bistro

Sometimes it's good to be simply lucky, as I happened to be when securing an eleventh-hour ticket to the World Saxophone Quartet's first performance at Jazz at the Bistro last night. Here for a four-night run, the group includes Lovejoy's Hamiet Bluiett, fellow co-foudner and STL expat Oliver Lake, and relatively newer members James Carter and Bruce Williams. The debut set of the weekend-long run was well-attended with a full house downstairs, along with old-school hipsters like Jorge Martinze and Tony Patti hugging the rail on the second floor, possibly the room's better seating option.

With Lake in town for the Black Artist Group symposia and workshops at Washington University, the group was able to string this series of dates together, bringing both new and old fans into the venue. In fact, it was amusing to hear one patron chatting up Blueitt between sets, noting a Westport Playhouse date in 1979. Though the fan was wound up about whether, or not, it was a '79 peformance, pressing the baritone sax palyer on which year was right, the unusually non-plussed Blueitt chirped, "I don't know, you tell me!"

Even though the group's set of just over an hour warmed up at points, there was a sense that this was just the initial show of many and that any of the rest of them could be the one that just goes off, levitating the veteran group and the audience to another place. Having had the fortune to catch Blueitt in five different musical settings, in four different venues, over to the past year-and-change, that possibility is always there. You can't predict when it's going to fly into outer space, but you know when you're in the middle of it.

Jazz shows and venues are rightly needled, at times, for pricing potential fans out of the house and the $25-30 ticket for this show is maybe a little uncomfortable for some. But it's not out of line for a ducat to see a legendary group, really, and last night's show indicated that this act's not content to play it safe for a supper-club room. They're there for business and bring a passionate set of standards and new material.

When you're in the presence of genius, yeah, "lucky" is the way to go. It's what you are, cost no longer a worry.

Nada Surf @ Vintage Vinyl

It might be physically impossible for someone to write about the NYC band Nada Surf without noting that the group had one quasi-novelty hit on modern rock radio - "Popular" - then wound up without a record contract within the span of the couple years. Working with European and indie labels, though, the group's soldiered on, remarkably with the same trio intact, releasing a series of winning pop-rock, replete with catchy hooks and slightly-snotty, eminently clever lyrical content.

The group's got a pricier gig at a local venue this week, but why not check out the band for free at Vintage Vinyl this evening, with a start time of roughly 6 p.m.? It'll supposedly be a "stripped-down" gig, whatever that may mean, though the group will be tying into the PA, so expect some... rock!

And if anyone happened to be lucky enough to catch them at the old Side Door with the NYC-French trio Ivy a few years back, you know they can rock a bit. Ah, memories.

See ya there, fellow geeks.

Ded Bugs Turn Japanese

DeSoto's favorite sons, the pop-punk band Ded Bugs, are currently packing their bags for a short Japanese tour. If you happen to have friends in any of the cities below, drop them a line and tell them that one of our area's finest acts are on the way. And dig these club names and sites. How very Japanese!

2/7 Tuesday @ Four Valley (Yotsuya, Japan)
http://www.fourvalley.co.jp/fv/top.html

2/8 Wednesday @ K's Dream (Chiba, Japan)
http://www.ks-dream.com/

2/9 Thursday @ Club Goodman (Akihabara, Japan)
http://www.clubgoodman.com/

2/10 Friday @ Vuenos (Shibuya, Japan)
http://www.clubasia.co.jp/clubasia_html3/vuenos/vuenos_512l.html

2/11 Saturday @ L@N (Akasaka, Japan)
http://www.explosionworks.net/lan/

2/13 Monday @ Lizard (Yokohama, Japan)
http://www.fad-music.com/club_lizard/

2/14 Tuesday @ Wall (Hatsudai, Japan)
http://www2.odn.ne.jp/wall/

BTW: If you're not familiar with the Bugs, get acquainted. They rock. Best band merch in town, too.

Creepy Crawl to Grand Center?

In a scenario that's so unlikely that it's akin to, say swine taking flight or Brian Marston leading a Metropolis event, Grand Center's seemingly picking up a live music venue. According to Wayne St. Wayne - spied while holding up the bar at Saturday's wrestling night at the SBAC - Creepy Crawl will be moving to 3524 Washington, a building that used to be Club Riviera. The new venue'll be about a block east of the Fox Theatre, just off of Leon Strauss Park, a situation that should make for some interesting passings-in-the-night, as the Fox/Powell crowd mingle with the Creepy Kids. The old Creepy space, according to the P-D's Deb Peterson, will be the new home of Gus' Fashions, sans Gus, who is rumored to be retiring.

Now, unless this is only a blurry, inaccurate memory (quite possible), I once went to the Club Riveria, when the venue was in a point of inactivity. Someone rented the room for an art show/concert. (Was Jerald Ieans showing?) A couple bands - a debuting Bent and Voice of God - played sets. The space was overrun by artists of all sorts. Someone wanted to take a poke at me, for reasons unmemorable. And there was a woman wandering through the crowd, cradling a baby kangaroo in a blanket. Perhaps that's tangental to the possible "news" above, but somehow, talking to Wayne St. Wayne seems to bring up odd recollections.

New Show on KDHX: Uncontrollable Urge

A slight shakeup on Wednesday afternoons finds Jeff Hess and "Afternoon Delight" shifted up to the noon-2 p.m., slot while morning show refugee bobEE Sweet takes over the 2-4 p.m. shift with "Uncontrollable Urge." The show's first edition featured a rather wild assortment of tunes, with everything from Michael Jackson to Sleater-Kinney.

Here's a playlist: http://www.kdhx.org/programs/uncontrollable.htm.

Recall, too, that a special "third" pledge drive will be added to the station's lineup in about two weeks. Not suggesting anything, but the Monday evening talk slot will be one option for membership!

STL Music 4 Sale

I already have a copy - in fact, two copies, with different covers - of Sinister Dane's single release for Columbia Records. But if I was looking for that album on cassette tape, I'd be in business at The Music Exchange in Kansas City. There, on one of hundreds of disorganized racks, sat five copies of the Dane's national debut, still tightly-encased in shrink wrap.

The St. Louis presence at this rambling, shambling store was pretty impressive. I passed on a passle of already-owned STL releases (MU330, Judge Nothing), but purchased a handful, too. One LP: the World Saxophone Quartet's "Dances and Ballads." (Okay, the band was surely living in New York by this point, but still.) And three 45s: Snake Ranch, "Stop the Violence"; Bunnygrunt, "Standing/Hampton"; and Isaac Green & the Skalars, "Strikeout Summer."

The store's apparently for sale, though owner Ron Rooks - who keeps vigil in the place, constantly roaming and talking to whoever will listen - is apparently looking for a new place. If you're in KC and want to be overwhelmed by this "Vinyl Phenomenon," drive down to 4200 Broadway, conveniently located near the Westport district. Be prepared to spend some time, whether bending under shelves, climbing ladders into the overstock, or crab-fingering through thousands and thousands of insanely-low LPs, with 40% off the price until the store and its outragous amount of mismatched stock moves.

You might even find that single that's been eluding you for the past 15 years. You never know.

Anarchy, Shangri-La, La-La-La

Recently, I stood on the corner of Jefferson and Cherokee, swinging a dead cat. Remarkably, I did not hit a young, political radical.

That outcome would probably not be true on Wednesday, January 11, at the nearby corner of Cherokee and Missouri. The Shangri-La Diner (314-772-8308) will host two neo-folkies in Shannon Murray and Adhamh (Anna) Roland at 8 p.m., with admission based on a $3-7 sliding scale.

Directly from the flier we picked up: Roland - "Homegrown radical shenanigans in a queerly folk fashion; Murray - "Folksinger, riot grrrl punk rock screaming, socially conscious songs and color crayons from the northwoods of Minnesota."

(By the way, the dead cat thing's not true. What is true is that I've never gotten my food at Shangri-La in less than 30-minutes, whether there are two people or two-dozen. What up with that? I mean, I dig it, but I gots to keep movin'!)

What's in a Name?

There have a remarkable number of good band names to come out of St. Louis over the years, with some of the acts having a better name than sound.

Judged by the background of one new combo - made up as it is of former members of the critical/inde darlings of the BaySayBoos and the Whole Sick Crew - this group should have the musical chops to go along with a stunning moniker.

This group will be playing Lemmons on Saturday, January 21, with Bad Folk. It's there that you can welcome... The Rats and People.

I mean, what? "The Rats and People." Genius.

Best Radio Show I've Never Heard

But just look at the playlist!

1. Camera Obscura "Happy New Year" (Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi)
2. The Trash Can Sinatras "January's Little Joke" (Cake)
3. Sigur Ros "Glosoli" (Takk)
4. Below The Sea "Stroll Down Memory Lane" (Blame It On The Past)
5. 28 Degrees Taurus "Haven't I Seen You Before" (No Sense Of Separation)
6. Sennen "Laid Out" (Widows)
7. Blind Mr. Jones "Small Caravan" (Spooky Vibes The Very Best Of)
8. The Vera Violets "Darling" (Sunshine Dust)
9. The Morning After Girls "Fall Before Waking" (Prelude: EP's 1 & 2)
10. Yellow6 "Solone" (Melt Inside)
11. Dreamend "A Place In Thy Memory" (Maybe We're Making God Sad And Lonely)
12. Voyager One "Endless Repeat" (Dissolver)
13. The Sounds Of Kaleidoscope "New Language" (From Where You Were To How You Got There)
14. The Curtain Society "Beautiful Song" (Every Corner Of The Room)
15. Bright Channel "Ricochet" (Bright Channel)
16. Faunts "Memories Of Places We've Never Been" (High Expectations/Low Results)
17. Portal "Light At The Centre" (Waves & Echoes)
18. Lorna "He Dreams Of Spaceships" (Static Patterns And Souvenirs)
19. Telephone "Ahead" (V/A The Fuzzyball)
20. Raymond Scott Woolson "Bringing Margot The Sun" (The View From Boggins Heights)

It's Matt Diestelrath's "Hindsight," Mondays, 4-6 p.m., KYMC, 89.7 fm.

Would someone make a mix CD of the above for me, please?

Rock'n'Roll

A couple of picked-up bits, from a week/weekend of kicking around local barrooms.

1. The Highway Matrons have broken up. The group played a farewell gig at their de facto home, Frederick's Music Lounge, last week.

2. Elvis Kennedy, guitarist and songwriter of the late, fab punk band the Dead Celebrities, is now living in California. Now with the group Shocker, featuring former L7 member Jennifer Finch, Elvis has rebranded himself Ronnie James. Apparently, the only place in town to secure Shocker merchandise is Tension Head, the new punk/metal record shop on Cherokee Street.

3. Enthused by the 800, or so, people that attended last week's reunion show, members of KINGOFTHEHILL are mulling another show.

4. Anybody else sick of seeing photos, stories and references of the Living Things in national publications? Hate to be a hater, but... down with charlatans!

5. The local band Seven has launched a site: www.sevenrocksyou.com.

Anti-Mation at the Hi-Pointe

For music fans, the best part of this time of year is the run of reunion shows, back-to-town shows and annual shows. There've been a few already and a couple more are coming, including Anti-Mation at the Hi-Pointe on Friday, the 23rd. I missed the band the first time around - too young, too dumb - but definitely plan on catching the veteran version.

The inimitable Mort Hill passed along a note, assumedly penned by member Tony Cornejo. Tried to contact Tony for the thumbs-up on a reprint of his show reminder, but even without that, the time's growing short and what band doesn't want to get the word out?

25 years ago I was in a band called Anti-mation. We existed in a world where gigs were played at V.F.W. Halls that underground bands rented because the "Man" was not ready for our new groovy sounds. The band started out with me and grade school chum Bob Morrison. In need of a drummer we put an ad that was answered by one of St. Louis' truly crazy musical characters Mike Doskocil.

I had just left the Camaros finding the prima Donna antics of the singer Mark Condelliare who can be still be seen today performing and preening with the Murder City Players ;) clashing with my own delusions of grandeur. Bob was a true South Side rock fan who was just as happy listening to Boston as he was the Sex Pistols. Mike was the wild suburban youth component, who hailed from Crestwood, that we needed to put us in touch with cul-de-sac angst.

The sound was an amalgamation of old school rock (Who, Rolling Stones, Beatles), early punk (Sex Pistols, Ramones, Clash) a dash of glam (Bowie, T.Rex, NY Dolls), the best we thought that rock had to offer. .

Early reviews from Globe-Democrat reporter, Kevin Martin, described us as sweaty and excitable. That my friends was an understatement. The shows were spirited and chaotic. Occasionally band members would need to stab each other to let out the bad mojo. Shows would often provoke riots with the hapless KSHE heads who would stumble upon our shows and be enraged at our air of self importance and our cultural superiority.

Bob eventually left to pursue his real passion of softball and we recruited the services of Mike Yaffee, from the famous Max Load, out of Bellville Illinois. At this time we also added the lush keyboard sounds by Jeff (Boy-Crazy) LeBeau. By now it was 1981 and the grit of punk was giving away to the indulgence of New Wave.

Knowing a thing or two about indulgence we followed suit.

When not getting our hair done in some new outrageous fashion ( by the late great Jeff Cournoyer). We'd be stealing milk crates for make shift furniture for Anti-mation central, my apartment in Soulard, that was the scene of the "Great Raid" where my girlfriend and I were arrested for peace disturbance because Joan Jet's Blackheart band kept turning up the stereo after repeated police warnings.

All bad things must come to and end. Doskocil was moving more towards the west coast hardcore punk that would be displayed in his next bands, White Pride, Drunks with Guns and Ultraman. Some of these bands bootlegs now go for top dollar on E-Bay. Mike Yaffee moved to LA working with a number of bands. Jeff moved to Houston to pursue hot men. I played in Reggae, Roots Rock (Riot Act, Soundtown) and on and on.

Times have changed. Mousse no longer does it's magic on my hair (he he), Hip Hop now rules the youth culture, and the religious right has forced decadence underground were it belongs. Because sin is a dish best served in the dark.

With that in mind.

Anti-mation 25th Anniversary Arrested Development Reunion. See how time and space leave three fools untouched by human maturity.

And Laura's Band Mothra's Mutha http://mothrasmutha.com/

If you see one show this Year this should be the one. Heck the years almost over anyway.

December 23rd, @ the Hi-Pointe Clayton and Skinker. 9PM.
Anti-mation records and other merch will be available for purchase. Bring Cash!!!!

DDP @ HCC

Like the annual visit of that Pennsylvanian groundhog, the Dave Drebes Players are hosting their annual show, with the publisher of the Arch City Chronicle publicly debuting his most recent set of Christmas-related material. This year's group should include the group's namesake on keys, Kurt Groetsch (Sugarstickygirl, Drift, Jenny Kavanaugh) on guitar and political candidate-educator Jeff Smith on drums.

Wholesome, family fun, Wednesday the 21st, 7:30 p.m., Hartford Coffee Company, Roger and Hartford, South Side.

Free Ticket to U2

So, Jim Utz is my hero. I was the first person he called when he got a last-minute Heisman from someone else on a free U2 ticket, which is to say, I got a free ticket to U2. That someone else passed on such a bounty is awesome and alternate status on free stuff is awesome. Hey, the tickets were awesome. Woo-hoo! There's no one in St. Louis I'd rather talk music with than Vintage Vinyl's ace promotions man and that was an option at the U2 show this happened this week; if not mistaken, on Wednesday, though it feels like it was yesterday. For example, we talked about Metallica's "Some Kind of Monster," the best documentary, possibly, ever.

The band - U2, not Metallica - played a number of songs from their catalogue, many of which I knew, though I stopped purchasing their records after "The Unforgettable Fire." Which I like a lot. They didn't play the title track of that record, or "New Year's Day," two moments of mild disappointment. The songs from the radio and the iPod commercials are alright and the band's execution of them is solid. These U2 fellows are pros. And their lighting staff is also fantastic. What a beautiful stage and so well-lit. Did I mention that I know the man who tuned the U2 keyboards? I do.

After the show, the highlight was definitely going to Rue 13, where Jim spins on Monday nights, from 11 p.m.-3 a.m. There are 2-for-1 specials on both drinks and sushi. Some would call this a great deal. However, we didn't attend on Monday, but Wednesday. DJ Kenny Kingston was playing music from the '80s, a spin he calls the "Dollar Bin," and a night that used to be featured with Lo. Jim had a sake for $1, as it was $1 sake night. Woo-hoo!

Now, back to U2, so I can finish.

The show was full of people, at least 18,000. How likely is it, then, to be sitting behind a mid-level local celebrity? Well, when you a $162 seat, it's certainly possible. And, mind you, I didn't look at the ticket price under "Bullet the Blue Sky," half-way through the main set. YIKES! Jim Utz is my hero, as is his friend Doug, who secured the ticket in the first place. In front of both of us - me and Jim, not me and Doug - is Martin Kilcoyne, co-host of "The Morning Grind" on KFNS 590 am and sports anchor on Fox 2. Throghout the show, I watched the band, but also couldnt help but glance at Martin Kilcoyne, who has the rhythm of a turnip.

That's my story about my free ticket to U2.

X-mas Tidings

Becoming an annual tradition now, the Bert Dax Cavalcade of Stars record label has released "A Very Bert Dax Christmas," now in its fourth year. As discussed at length by Steve Pick in yesterday's "Get Out," this isn't a by-the-books yuletide album, by any means. Instead, it allows a a variety of STL rock bands a chance to work out their inner-elves, crafting songs that, at times, have only a tenuous connection to the season.

In "Christ, It's Cold," for example, Tim Rakel and Bad Folk get a chance to curse like sailors. A truism: obscenity is funny, especially when combined with rollicking, Americana-tinged rock. "Saturnella," the contribution by Helium Tapes is an instrumental, so it's not seasonally-specific, either. And Johnny O & the Jerks would certainly test the patience of traditionalists with their "Hey Santa Claus (You Son of a Bitch)." Now that goes too far!

The full list: 1. Corbeta Corbata, "The Spirit of Giving (Santa's Lament)"; 2. Josef Steinman, "Hurly Burly Christmas"; 3. The Vultures, "Don't Believe in Christmas"; 4. That's My Daughter, "We're Too Much"; 5. Helium Tapes, "Saturnella"; 6. Bug, "Cold Night in St. Louis"; 7. Bad Folk, "Christ, It's Cold"; 8. Johnny O & the Jerks, "Hey Santa Claus (You Son of a Bitch)"; 9. Tight Pants Syndrome, "How Did You Get to be Mine (This Christmas)"; 10. Two Faced Liars, "Hey, the House is Burning Down"; 11. The Frankenhookers, "No Presents for Christmas."

The disc's avialable at the usual indie record outlets. For more info: bertdax@hotmail.com.

1980s

It's true. Inside every esoteric poet lies the tick-tick-ticking heart of a club disc jockey. Let's take for example, this Tuesday night, when Aaron Belz - organizer of the "Readings @" series, founder of Observable Books and author of the recently-released tract "Plausible Worlds" - will spin records at the Upstairs Lounge, a South City speakeasy. Well, if he's not spinning records, he's juggling MP3s, or some such, causing music to be played through the house sound system. Whatever the medium, the specific music played will the hits of the 1980s, America's favorite decade.

He'd like to see you there. If not you, to paraphrase the Scorpions, someone like you.

We Famous

Not only does the new issue of BUST have a full-fledged St. Louis travel feature, but LaPush will be on Carson Daly tonight!

So Close, So Far Away

Despite advancing age, I like to think that I still enjoy alternative forms of music. And I like to think that independent businesses and services that I can walk to are worth supporting. However, I seldom wind up wandering over to Radio Cherokee, the little music venue on the wacky Cherokee Strip. Why, oh, why? I don't like to think about it.

Perhaps I'll change my ways this week, as the place holds three events over the weekend.

On Wednesday: Gavin Michael McNutt, Horshack, Bad Folk.

On Friday: the Potomac Accord, the Floating City, Stationary Odyssey (Evansville, IN).

On Sunday: Andrew Heffernan, Tom Bradshaw, Parkers Back.

Hamiet @ Mad Art and on KDHX

Last night, Amanda Doyle and I were pleased to have world-class baritone sax player and bandleader Hamiet Bluiett on "The Wire," which you can now listen to via online streaming at kdhx.org. We had him on to discuss his participation in this weekend's TriFactor show at the Mad Art Gallery, which will see him team up with violinist Billy Bang and percussionist Kahil El-Zabar.

Having seen Blueitt in conncert three different times over the last year-and-change, it's no secret that every show can be wildly divergent one from the one prior, depending on the group, the venue and the audience. Playing with Ernest Dawkins' group from Chicago at the Mad Art, his set went into some remarkable places, taking the audience on a crazy, two-set ride. Though I thought was prepared for what to come, I felt like I was going to come right outta my shoes and I wasn't the only one to feel a special dose of power coming from stage that night.

There will be two seperate seatings at the Mad Art this Saturday, including an early show at 8 p.m. and a 10:30 closer. Which to see, which to see? After all, the first show might accomodate taking in more events during a packed holiday weekend. The second, meanwhile, might see the three take off on some really hot directions in improv. As anyone who's seen him play will attest, there's a near-guarantee that this is an evening not to miss.

And if you get a chance to stream the show, as well, do so. Talking to someone with this kind of creative mind is not something that rolls around every week. It was a treat to interview him and the only regret was that we didn't have more time to delve into his deep history in St. Louis music and beyond.

Break Out the Floor-Polisher and the Jingle Bells

Stan Kann is not only planning to sit in with the Compton Heights Concert Band on December 23, but word on the street is that he is auditioning people to play alongside him on vacuums and floor-polisher (that's in the singular on purpose; only one spot there, so better polish your floor-polishing skills before signing up for the audition). I have no qualms about saying that this may be the only time you will hear Sousa in Powell Hall accompanied by a floor-cleaning appliance section. Where will they put them, I wonder? Next to the kettle drums? It's not really percussion, not completely a wind instrument, despite all the air rushing around in the cannister. Maybe the tubas will have them. We'll have to ask Stan about that.

Funkabilly @ the Venice

With a little late-notice, the early-'90s funk/rock band Funkabilly is making an appearance at the Venice Cafe tonight, one of their regular haunts a decade ago. The six-piece will take the "stage" of the Benton Park landmark around 10 o'clock and will take things out until closing time.

Tonight's reunion version will include all six key members, including: Dominic Schaeffer, vocals, sax; Benet Schaeffer, drums; Mark Gray and Angelo Ranzini, guitar; Fo Jammi, keyboards; and Tracy Wynkoop, bass. Combined the group played in (and still play in) dozens of acts around town.

In a quick reminder to fans, Benet Schaeffer (now of the group Gumbohead, among others) is self-deprecating: "We all truly hope you can make it. The frequency of shows is decreases as our age increases, and our faces get creases."

Reuter, Recording

Bob Reuter's new band, the Dirty South - featuring another pair of veteran players in guitarist Marc Chechik and drummer John Baldus - are recording an album with producer/engineer Jason Rook. The tracks are being cut at Benton Park's Radio Penny studio, where the band's been making time for the past month. Early recordings have sounding promising, with Reuter on electric guitar, rather than acoustic, for the time in 20 years.

That's not to say he's abandoning that option. Recently, the singer-songwriter's been playing the back patio of the Atomic Cowboy, usually on Friday nights. And he's caught in the acoustic form for the next edition of Johnny Fox's KDHX show, "River City Acoustic," which will air an entire hour of his music on Friday, December 2, from 7-8 p.m.

Something Old, Something New

In the heyday of Cicero's Basement Bar, very few bands matched the live excitement of the Something Brothers, a six-piece group from mid-Illinois who made the trip to St. Louis' darkest, narrowest and best music bar on a regular basis. Though critically-acclaimed in town - every music writer at the RFT seemed like a regular at their gigs - the band never achieved a real breakout in town, even as their shows were lavished with print praise on a regular basis.

Though the group's long-since called it a day, local music afficianado Dale Fisher - and colleague here, in his guise as the DiatribeR - has set up a Something Brothers page, with mp3s of their tracks beginning to emerge, album-by-album. For those who have this tracks on supttering, well-played cassette tapes, it's a pleasure to hear these songs in crisper forms, even if coming through small speakers.

No point getting into how they sound. The band never made a description easy. They're a rock band. Beyond that, you need to simply listen and make up your own mind.

Thanks, Dale, for: www.somethingbrothers.com.

Punks and Wavers Wanted

I'm so wound about this project, that I can't wait until it happens. That said, I'll have to wait, since it "will take a large amount of time to coordinate, assemble and complete." A selfish sigh.

At question here is a compilation CD, or CDs, produced by Jason Rerun (co-host of KDHX's "Scene of the Crime") and Matt Harnish (founder of Bert Dax Cavalcade of Stars Recors and bassist-about town).

According to a handsome pink flyer spotted at KDHX, and we paraphrase: "First and foremost, we are looking for band members from Punk, Hardcore, New Wave, Post Punk, Power Pop, etc. band from the late 70's through the mid 80's. We are interested n band from the St. Louis metro area, but will consider bands from slightly further away as long as they had some type of St. Louis connection/fan base. We also want to hear from show promoters, club/bar owners, photographers (pro, hobbyists and one time picture snappers alike are welcome), fan/magaine publishers and writers/contributors, scenesters, rabid showgoers, local pack rat historians and general folks who were around when Punk and 'New Wave' hit the streets of St. Louis. A booklet or fazine will accompany the compilation(s) with history, notes, picture, anecdotes, etc."

Interested parties should contact: stlwavepunk@hotmail.com.

I'm heading into my basement right now to start digging through the archives. Well, maybe tomorrow. These things take timem after all.

Gravity Kills: Redux

St. Louis rock band of yore Gravity Kills will play a show at the Pageant in late October, coming on the 10-year anniversary of their first live gig, a sold-out show held at the late Other World. By that point in time, the band was already a hit on local airwaves, with the track "Guilty," recorded for an early version of the then-vital "Pointessential" CD series.

The band's lineup on October 28 will include the original quartet: vocalist Jeff Scheel, keyboardist Doug Firley, guitarist Matt Dudenhoeffer and drummer Kurt Kerns, who amicably left the group after two albums.

Tickets are expected to come available later this afternoon.

Homeschoolers for Senegal

When you get an e-mail like this, there's not much need to add commentary. (Heck, make up your own!)

The Funky Yeomen, a rock-and-roll band formed by members of the St. Louis Homeschool Network, will be performing at the "Benefit for Camp Dejembe Jolof, Senegal."

If you're interested, expect a short-ish set of covers from many different genres.

It Beats; It Sweeps; It Cleans

A few years ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing Stan Kann for a little local celebrity restaurant piece. All I remember is that Stan said his least favorite dish was "fishy fish," and being from an inland state that's far from fresh water (though brackish was in plentiful supply), I agreed with him completely.

While digging up background info, I found an interview, "A Visit With Stan Kann," originally published in Vaccum Cleaner Collector Club News. It's one of my favorite interviews, possibly ever. There's some fascinating backstory on Stan's early interactions with vacuum cleaners. Here he is, describing how he got his vaccum fix when he was a kid (his family didn't actually own one; he dismisses his mom for cleaning carpets with a "sweeper...one of those Bissel things"):

"I’d just run around the neighborhood listening to them run. I’d ask people to let me come in and watch them run their vacuum cleaner... I remember in the middle building, the woman on the first floor had a Eureka with a red bag. Another friend of my mother’s lived at the other end, the last building. I ran around with her sons Billy and Lloyd Rupp. They had a Royal Standard."

Now you see why Mike Steinberg filmed a documentary about this man. The other reason, of course, is that Kann's a damn talented organ player, one of the best in the world. He's one of the few humans left on earth who really understands how to play a silent movie theater organ to best effect.

If you think $27 is a lot of money to spend to see a movie, you would be right, except in the case of "1925: It Beats; It Sweeps; It Cleans," the kick-off for this year's Crossings Concerts Series. Friday's concert features Buster Keaton on the screen, Stan on the organ plus "eight gems from [Stan's] famous collection of vacuum cleaners." Said vacuums will also be part of a world premiere by the Nuclear Percussion Ensemble, who will accompany their beautiful roaring with a "ragtime arrangements for mallet instruments." Superstar jazz guys Scott Alberici, Dan Rubright and Steve Schenkel are also listed on the program, though I'm assuming they're not playing with the vacuum cleaners. The whole thing goes down at Frank Schwaiger's Columbia Movie House, an old '20s theater on the hill that's been converted into a private residence. From what I can tell, it sounds they're projecting it onto an outside wall? Because Mad Art's listed as an alternate venue in case of bad weather. I am bummed out, because I'm already obligated that night (though who knows; they may be sold out already. If you, lucky reader, are not in the same sad state, call 'em at 314-721-8940).

I have made one promise to myself, though: if it starts raining, I will spirit myself away to help them carry Stan's Eurekas and Royals into the van heading to Mad Art.

Les is More

We blinked and missed it. At some point in the very recent past, a handful of KDHX programs were shuffled, especially during the late-night/early-morning hours. The show that caught our particular attention was The Lovemix, now heard from 2-4 a.m. on Thursday mornings. (Or, if you're like most of us, late, late-night on Wednesdays.)

Hosting the show is Les Aaron, whose time on local radio dates back to the old WMRY 101.1 fm, with stops at the Point and KYMC, among other frequencies. DJ Johnny Orr's also involved as the mixer, as he was when the show was broadcast live from Velvet on KPNT. Among the more name artists on the most recent playlist: remixes from the Killers, Gwen Stefani, Paul van Dyk, Deep Dish and Nine Inch Nails.

It's aways a pleasure to hear Aaron on the air, in whatever guise and on whatever station utilizes him.

Ron Jeremy's Favorite Town?

Known, of course, for the unlikely friendship he developed with Tammy Faye Messner on the reality show "The Surreal Life" - as well as his, um, large body of work in the adult film industry - Ron Jeremy's transcended the cult status he, er, long enjoyed. To see the quite-well-done documentary "Porn Star" is to realize that Jeremy has a considerable, one might say, work ethic.

For reasons not apparently clear to 52nd City, Jeremy is constant visitor to St. Louis, making personal appearances at dance clubs, adult emporia and special events. When dining around town - Kitchen K has been a regular spotting zone - fans line up for autographs and call one another on the cell. In recent days, it's become quite the sport to find Jeremy on location in the wilds of our town.

On an already-crowded social calendar of Saturday, September 3, Jeremy will be appearing in town again, if we're to believe the e-mail kicked about by local rock band The Electric. On that night, they, LoFreq, Craig Daddy & the Carbombs, the 7 Shot Screamers, Blonde Alibi and perhaps most appropriately, the Pubes, will be playing at Downtown's Creepy Crawl, with Jeremy on hand for a meet-and-greet.

And, as seen in "Porn Star," Jeremy's actually a really nice guy. Don't be shy in asking him to put pen to your favorite Jeremy title from your home DVD collection. After all, he's there to serve the fans.

The Return of E.R.

During their time of peak popularity, Enormous Richard drew not upon a throng of fans, per se, but on a hardcore population of eccentric fans who'd never think of missing a local gig. When road-tripping, it wasn't uncommon for the group to pack up a variety of cars, forming an ad-hoc convoy of band members, fans and assorted hangers-on, for trips to Louisville or Chicago. When the group inevitably ended their run together, there were a few St. Louisans who suddenly found themselves with an extra night of the month to contend with, rather unexpectedly. (And, perhaps, an extra, headache-free, weekend morning, too.)

Those of us who were counted in that number have had a couple chances to catch the band over the last two years, first at the cramped, sweaty CBGBs, then at the cramped, less sweaty Jacobsmeyer's, a linchpin corner bar in Granity City. ER, still uncategorizable as ever, makes it a trifecta of reunion shows on September 17, returning to the friendly haunt of Jacobsmeyer's, for their third annual reunion gig.

On the band's website, writer/poet/bassist Joe Esser has penned some extensive notes on this momentous event, even tipping that the band plans on hitting a Schlafly beer festival earlier in the day, which will surely have some impact on the night's set. Though the group was long-known for being able to quaff a pint, or three, during a set, the combination of a day on the Schlafly lot and that haul to the Planet Granite might test our heros and their ability to remember such gems as "Little Hiawatha," "Charu's Got a New 'Do" and "River of Sadness."

Stranger songs have seldom been sung with such conviction and such pluck. It'll be a delight to hear them again.

Musical Chairs

Singer/songwriter/vocalist Gretta Ganter of Maid Rite will be performing her last show with Maid Rite soon, with the final gig with them coming at the Art Outside Festival at the Schlafly Bottleworks in a couple weekends. She'll be joining the regrettably named (but appealing power-pop) Tight Pants Syndrome over the next month.

If you're a friend of any member of the Helium Tapes, hit the band up for a rough cut of a four-song, sampler CD that they're passing around these days, with the tracks: "Greedy," "Carry Me," "Morning Glory," and "Magnolia Bloom." The group, which played the Lot Festival on Saturday, has been recording at the phone studio of erstwhile Phonocaptor Jason Hutto.

Ans since power-pop was namechecked a genre above, it's nice to see local p-pop kingpin Jordan Oakes writing some clips for the Post-Dispatch lately. The compilation disc he recently saw hit the market - "Yellow Pills: Prefill Numero 004" - is getting some nice press in national mags. Fans of chiming guitars and skinny ties already know to pick it up, but the local connection will hopefully find it getting some extra action in St. Louis.

Bugs that You Will Like

For years, the Ded Bugs have been my favorite live band in town, though I seldom actually see them. For shame! Oh, there's the occasional trip to the one-and-only Creepy Crawl for a set, but those are only intermittent visits to Downtown's dankest nightspot. Of course, there are the five records to listen to, but those slices of prerecorded music only do the band a fraction of justice.

It's onstage where the Bugs really make their mark. Befitting a group's that's been together the better part of a decade, the group's got that hard-to-define "tightness" onstage. The songs have the urgency of punk, but also the musicianship and chops that come with years of live work. Though all the members would share credit for their sound, primary vocalist Matt Meyer's got a certain "aw-shucks" star quality that just makes his - and the band's - work that much more appealing.

Often playing with bands that picked up instruments in the just the past few years, the group's also opened for a host of pop-punk acts over the years, seldom failing to better the groups on their bills, whether young or old. And they seem more the former, with songs and lyrics that jump back to the teenaged years; favorite topics include horror films and cereal. Tracks like the recent "Band on Tour" and "On the Punk Page" are clever enough. But as we're praising the live show, don't expect to hear them in crystal clear totality.

This weekend, the band offer oldtimers, cheapskates and the curious a chance to catch the Bugs in a near-matinee setting, as the group plays The Lot festival at the Tap Room, this Saturday, August 27. They'll start at 6:30 p.m. and will set a high bar for the rest of the groups on the bill that evening. There's no charge, though you may want to pack a dollar, or two, for a Ded Bugs button or 45. They're pretty neat.

Thursday Whim: Stone-Covelli @ Cookie's Jazz

Speaking of music classics and the bright nostalgia they can summon: my parents always flooded the house with a mix of psychedelia, blues and free jazz. None of it seemed comforting to me as a kid, especially the jazz. It felt too lonely, bottomless and chaotic. Beatles songs, no matter how cosmic, were poppy and colorful and felt like a completed picture puzzle by the time the song faded out. Jazz was unsymetrical, a big sonic question mark. The vast blank space inside of a free jazz song always scared me more than my mom's "Crazy World of Arthur Brown" album - even more than the Hellfire song. Of course, most of the jazz clubs in Salt Lake played what my dad refers to as "roast beef music," and that sort of jazz was about as scary as Doc Severnson, which is to say not at all.

But we evolve. Hearing Dave Stone play at Mangia on Fridays is one of the high points of living near South Grand. His trio has the expansive/contractive free jazz thing going, including the blank spaces, but it's soulful, not spooky. I guess staring into the abyss of adulthood, with all its uncertainty, is what helps the ear make sense of free jazz. Once you are okay with living your life without metaphorical insurance policies, it's one of the most exhilirating forms of music out there.

So on that note: if you are looking for something to do with yourself tonight, the Stone-Covelli Jazz Quintet is playing at Cookie's Jazz and More in Webster at 8:30 pm. I've never been down to this club, but it looks like there's a nice selection of drinks and snacks, and it's smoke-free. (I'm sure the brass and woodwind players are genuflecting to the proprietor for that). Cover is only $5, and the first twenty folks who ask John Covelli for a CD single will get one for free.

Oh, the classics

I’d like to be able to bring some music reviews of a more contemporary nature, however, lately; I’m a fan of the classics. Tonight, after a full four hours of catching up on Mad Art work and a full hour of wine at Juniper Grill with Tracy, I was able to enjoy on the way home, Carole King’s Tapestry. Although I am a little buzzed on sauv blanc, I don’t think that is a prerequisite for enjoying “I Feel The Earth Move”. I’m no aficionado but the piano on this is so right at home, I feel just like I’m kindergarten age and in the back in the back seat of my parent’s vanilla pudding colored Buick LeSabre on the way to the city to visit my grandma in Ferguson. The same with “It’s Too Late” which really brings me back to my grade school years. My dad was more of a country music fan. Every Thursday night up until I was six, the turntable would light up with a mix of my dad’s favorites, Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash, and my mom’s favorites, Carole King and Aretha Franklin, while we prepared for the trip to the city to visit my grandparents. So I feel like I had a great mix songwriters and singers growing up. And I had a great appreciation of “the city”. I grew up in the country, but we always looked forward to our weekly visits to the city…where there were sidewalks and we could walk to the drugstore for fancy candies. So every time I hear a version of “Natural Woman” the hairs on my neck stand up and I feel like I’m going somewhere special. When I got in my car to leave Mad Art and told Tracy I was going to listen to Carole King’s, Tapestry on the way home she shouted, “you’ve gotta burn me a copy,” and I do. Because everyone deserves this pleasure. Treat yourself to this. Soon.

Buena Festa(s)

Tell your constitution to buck up: it's high festival weekend, and you may soon be drinking lots of beer. Not only at the Strassenfest , where you can chase your souvenir stein of pilsner with a ride on The Zipper, but at the Tap Room's Schlaffenfest, where rumor has it that they will be offering haircuts performed by a barber who specializes in mullets. Even better, the fest benefits KDHX and the band lineup includes the excellent Good Griefs, whose drummer Maggie St. Germaine once told me (very sagely) that "rock 'n' roll is NOT cheesy."

But pace yourself: there's another festival this weekend, one that might get easily drowned out during a weekend rich with air-guitar showdowns, toilet-seat horseshoes, potato pancakes, tubas and spry old guys in leiderhosen (not to mention beer, beer and more beer). Tomorrow night the Way Out Club presents WOW! Fest (that's Women of the Way Out, for those of you not endowed with psychic powers). Four local girl bands are on the docket, with proceeds going to Let's Start, an local nonprofit that assists women transitioning from prison life to living on their own. On the docket: Maid Rite, Reigning Heir, That's My Daughter and the beautifully monnikered Bitch Slap Barbie. Just a $5 donation at the door, and remember: you can drink beer at WOW!Fest, too.