​As a long-time member of St. Louis media, Thomas Crone has been it all: author, journalist, photographer, DJ, webmaster, blogger, videographer, producer, director, actor, publisher, panelist and editor. (Including a spell as music editor of this fine publication.)

The dude works on, like, ten projects at a time and seems to have no problem fitting in another job when inspiration strikes him. Crone is always up to something and, luckily, we music fans are frequently the beneficiaries of his hard work.

He’s spent years as a man-about-town, documenting St. Louis history and reporting on local bands. His latest project is a combination of these two interests. As part of his Second Set column at the St. Louis Beacon, he’s been digging out and scanning all of his old show flyers and posting them to a set in his Flickr site.

We did a quick interview with Mr. Crone today and he explained, “As I’m starting a year-long writing project for the stlbeacon.org, I wanted to finally organize my old collection, which has been split up into several, plastic storage boxes. Last night, I hit the mother lode, finding a bunch of pieces that I thought were lost to time. What’s interesting now is figuring out which were outright harvested off of walls by me, which were lent to me for some project or another, and how many will need to be returned. In one case, I have a loan from someone recently accused of murder. Realizing that was a real shocker; but so many of these evoke some type of interesting or unusual emotion. I’m hopeful that they bring the same for others.”

There are over 50 images in the collection now, and Crone plans to post around 25 more per day and promises, “In addition to the flyers, there will also be ticket stubs, zine covers, press photos, bios a few contract riders…. might wind up with a few hundred pieces by the end of the weekend.”

He plans to move all of these images to SilverTrayOnline.com in the near future, but for now there are already flyers posted to Flickr for you to enjoy from Cicero’s, Creepy Crawl, Lo, Tangerine, the Bernard Pub, the Hi-Pointe, the Lemp Brewery, the Mad Art Gallery, Mississippi Nights, Rocket Bar, Side Door, Stages, etc.

Scans and donations of your old flyers will be considered in the future. Keep an eye out for news on this endeavor at ThomasCrone.com and look for future flyers to be posted at SilverTrayOnline.com.

• link: Riverfront Times

I was honored to be asked to contribute to the annual Village Voice critics’ poll- this is my 5th year participating.

Pazz & Jop 2011
39th Annual Village Voice Critics’ Poll

• the winners
• the critics
• my ballot

About Pazz + Jop:

The Pazz & Jop critics’ poll is a highly influential poll of music critics run by The Village Voice newspaper. It is compiled every year from the top ten lists of hundreds of music critics (roughly 800 in the 2004 poll). Albums have been voted upon every year since 1974 (voting also took place in 1971), and votes for singles have been tabulated since 1979.

Since the poll’s inception, critics have been invited to award their ten albums a total of 100 points, with each album receiving a maximum of 30 points and a minimum of 5. Lists submitted without points are given 10 points per album by the poll’s editors. Singles lists have always been unweighted.

Music critic Robert Christgau was in charge of the poll for 33 years, and wrote an essay every year that accompanied and framed the list. Christgau was dismissed from the Village Voice in August 2006, but the paper intends to continue the feature. Christgau continues to submit his Top Ten list and to encourage other eligible critics to do so.

The poll was jokingly given the spoonerism name “Pazz & Jop” rather than the more obvious “Jazz & Pop” because, inevitably, some detractor will claim that a nominated work is ineligible or undeserving on the grounds that it isn’t “really” jazz or pop. Since there are no formal definitions for the made-up terms “pazz” and “jop”, voters will concentrate on the actual merits of a work rather than arguing over whether it fits into this or that genre.

link: Village Voice
link: Pazz & Jop

Dana Smith with his painting of Tim Rakel

Dana Smith, St. Louis Painter, Celebrates Local Musicians with Southtown Famous
By Jaime Lees
Thu., Jan. 12 2012 at 6:09 AM

​For local painter Dana Smith, art and music have always been intertwined. He can he found in the dark corners of music venues, his face obscured by a large lens, capturing live shots of local bands that he’ll later use as a guide for his paintings. The sounds, sights and people of St. Louis are his muse — Smith finds constant inspiration in the friends, music and buildings that surround him. And though he is, in all respects, a guy who prefers to stay behind the camera, his soft-spoken exterior masks a prolific artistic dynamo.

Smith spent his teen years traveling the country as a sponsored skateboarder. It was during some adventures on the West Coast that he first encountered designers who did graphics for skate companies, artists and photographers. He explains, “I was always interested in art but never knew how to approach it. But on those trips, I met people who would just do it.”

Even though he didn’t have any training or any idea what he was doing, one day when he was about eighteen years old he just started painting. Around this same time Smith began many years a musician the South City music scene, playing in the Wormwood Scrubs, the Baysayboos, Asbestos Sister and Cloister. He found ripe subject material in the bands he frequently watched and shared stages with, and eventually decided to concentrate his efforts on painting the local musicians that he felt compelled to celebrate.

Steve Scariano at the Duck Room, painting by Dana Smith

​Over time, this hobby turned into his passion. He now paints for hours nearly every day, sometimes working on three paintings simultaneously. Smith’s love for the music is clearly infused into his alive, vibrant canvases. There’s something about the way that he presents light and movement that allows his paintings radiate energy. He captures not just big rock scenes, but the smaller moments, too — giving the observer the feeling of actually being at the show. This unique quality has put Smith’s work in high demand. In addition to filling requests from individual patrons, Smith has also been commissioned by local businesses, including the Royale on South Kingshighway and the Old Rock House, where he works as a sort-of artist-in-residence, painting many of the national touring acts that have played the venue.

Smith’s talents have been tapped for other music-related projects, as well. He’s illustrated show flyers for friends’ bands (including Gringo Star), provided artwork for Vintage Vinyl’s Record Store Day compilation release, had pieces featured on the music website Daytrotter.com and his painting of Bunnygrunt was used by the band as the cover of its last full length album.

Bunnygrunt at CBCB, painting by Dana Smith

​His enthusiasm for capturing local underground bands has resulted in an unexpected consequence: Smith has become an accidental custodian of both the current and past south side scene. Over the years he’s produced paintings of many of the big names that rule the small stages: Mark Early (Glass Teeth), Darin Gray (Dazzling Killmen, Grand Ulena), Dottie Georges (.e), Jerry Green (Potomac Accord), Eric Hall, Fred Friction, JJ Hamon (Magic City), Jason Hutto (Phonocaptors, Warm Jets USA), James Weber Jr. (Julia Sets), Tim Rakel (Bad Folk, Union Electric), Tony Renner, Steve Scariano (Finn’s Motel) and Mark Stephens (Highway Matrons, Accelerando).

Smith’s documenting skills also extend to the venues and spaces that housed these performances. Places like the Duck Room, the Firebird, Frederick’s Music Lounge, the Hi-Pointe, Lemmon’s, Mad Art Gallery, Mississippi Nights, Penny Studios, Radio Cherokee, the Schlafly Tap Room, the Sheldon Ballroom, the Typo Cafe, the Way Out Club and White Flag are all represented in his paintings and illustrations. Details like the diamond-shaped wood wall design at Off Broadway (now hidden behind the red curtain) and the neon beer signs at CBGB fill the background of his pieces, offering familiar clues to the location of the performance and adding extra depth and detail to Smith’s paintings.

Rats and People at Off Broadway, painting by Dana Smith

Smith’s first proper retrospective of his work with local bands is being held this month at Fort Gondo Compound for the Arts on Cherokee Street. The show is called Southtown Famous (a nod to the Bunnygrunt song of the same name) and it will display about 40 pieces of Smith’s work throughout the years. The opening is this Saturday, with music supplied for the evening by .e, of course. The show runs though February 4th, and Fort Gondo is open every Saturday afternoon. Read our interview with the artist and then go check out some paintings of your St. Louis musical heroes and neighbors.

Jason Rook at Radio Penny, painting by Dana Smith

Jaime Lees: Tell me about your upcoming show.

Dana Smith: Well, it’s gonna be a collection of paintings from the last seven or eight years. In 2003 or 2004 I had the idea that I was just going to start focusing on St. Louis businesses and people. So most of the people are musicians because that’s what I’m interested in. The idea for this show was to pull all of these paintings together because they’ve never all been shown together.

How do you choose who you are going to paint?

I don’t know… That’s an interesting question. I guess it has to do with how they play or what they play and if I have an interest in it. Because I am kind of picky sometimes, but I don’t know why. A lot of times I’ll just have a camera with me, and I won’t plan on taking any photos or anything. And then something will just hit me and I think, “I have to photograph that.”

But for me, It’s very important that when I do my own paintings that I work from my own photograph. I know I could just pick anything off of the net, but I went to the show. I stood there all night. I sang along. I was right there. And then the photo that I got was my photo. And no one else got that image or that angle or whatever; it’s all me. I go there and I stand there and I wait and I soak up the atmosphere. And all of that goes into it when you’re painting because you experienced it.

Did you ever want to paint somebody specific but couldn’t get the right picture?

Yes! There are a few people who I want to photograph but the circumstances haven’t worked out or I haven’t put myself in the position to get the photo or anything. I want to do one of Jeff Robtoy. And Chris Powers. And I’d like to get a good one of Jim Utz DJing or something. When I was a kid going to Mississippi Nights I’d see him all the time. And I’d be like “Who is that guy? He’s so cool!”

Is it important to you that you always paint live shots? Most of your paintings are from the audience’s point of view, instead of being backstage with somebody sitting down and you take their photo and then paint it.

Well, yeah, if I had that access then I’d love to do stuff like that, too. And sometimes I do. There’s a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes and I’ll snap a photo of that. But I don’t want anything posed. It would feel fake. I don’t want them to know the photo is being taken. I try hang out in the back and try to be inconspicuous.

The Phonocaptors at CBGB, painting by Dana Smith

That’s how it is in the Phonocaptors painting that you are using for promotion, right? They weren’t playing in that shot.

Yeah, that was the idea. That photo is from 2003 or something, and I didn’t paint it until two years later. Those are the kind of scenes that I was really into capturing. In that painting they’re setting up. And the guy off to the left is Steve Pick and the woman in the middle is Karen [Ried]. But they didn’t know I was taking the photo. They’re just hanging out and talking and setting up and [Jason] Hutto is walking around with a cigarette and getting ready and everything. And I thought that captured perfectly what it’s like to be at CBGB when they’re about to play.

So how has your painting style changed over the years?

I used to do a lot of older paintings just out of my imagination. Just make stuff up, you know? And I liked it but now I prefer to paint from something. It could be a live thing or a photograph. My style is still very rudimentary. Very simple, very rough. But I like to get all the little details in there and make it so that you can recognize that it’s Lemmon’s or the Royale or whatever. And so I pay more attention to details now.

Who buys the paintings? I know bands want to buy their own a lot — does that happen all of the time?

No, and I don’t do the paintings thinking that the band will buy it. It just depends. Sometimes I’ll sell a painting and it will be someone specific in it and I’ll ask, “Oh, do you know the person in the painting?” and the buyer will say “No, I just like it.” And that’s really cool when that happens.

Do you explain to them who is in the painting?

Well, I used to because it, like, meant a lot to me. [laughs] I’d explain who it was and what bands they’d been in. But I realized after I did that a couple of times that the buyer usually doesn’t care. [laughs] So I don’t really do that anymore unless they ask.

N Nomurai at the Way Out Club, painting by Dana Smith

​Why are you inspired to paint locals?

When I started out every night I’d be somewhere — at a show or hanging out at a recording session or whatever. This was eight or nine years ago. And there would be awesome stuff going on musically. But it was like “No one is going to know about it.” You’d think, “Who cares what happened nine years ago on a Tuesday night at Frederick’s Music Lounge?” But, like, I cared. Eric Hall would do a show. And I would think “Eric Hall is fucking great. People should know who he is.” And now he’s getting recognition and stuff, but that was kind of the idea back then.

These people that I would hang out with and see perform were doing great stuff. But there was no audience. There was no one there. They weren’t making a living at it or anything. So the idea was to somehow capture this. And sure, you could take a photograph or whatever. And I like photographs, but when you paint it is like you have to spend time painting the nose and getting the light right…

And I love painting pro bands, but at the same time I still want to do local artists and buildings and scenery in St. Louis and paint that and if someone is interested in it, that’s great. But I’m still going to do it. Because the way that you feel when you paint… Well, you paint…

Right.

It’s just a great feeling! And it’s the only thing I know that gives me that feeling.

Tony Renner at Mad Art, painting by Dana Smith

• link: Riverfront Times
• link: Dana Smith’s website
• link: Southtown Famous event info
• link: Fort Gondo Compound for the Arts

Welcome to our annual Top Shows series. We asked local musicians, media folk, and our fearless readers to submit their top 3 concerts of 2011. The only requirement for these submissions was that the show must have happened in 2011. With this unifying detail you can read about the diverse shows that St. Louisans get to attend.
- I Went To A Show

MY CONTRIBUTION:

Jaime Lees is a music writer.
She likes rock and roll.
And poodles.
Jaimeville.com
HaikuLou.com
RiverfrontTimes.com

Sex Robots, Bunnygrunt, Bassamp & Dano at El Lenador – 10/24/2011
I’ve probably seen Bunnygrunt hundreds of times (like, literally) and I’m always happy about it each dang time. Bunnygrunt is one of my favorite bands ever, but on this night I was at El Lenador to see the Sex Robots. And I’ll tell you what, I was ready to chuck a full can of Stag at the Grunt. Get off the stage, jerks! Me want Sex Bots! I was super excited about the show that whole day. Well, really, that whole month. Like, bring me a fainting couch excited. Beatlemania excited. It was gross.

So, Sex Robots played. And they were great. They were better than ever. Yes, I say that every time, but every time it’s still true. I rarely feel as blissful as I do in the middle of a Sex Robots show. We all sang along all night, my insane level of worship was validated and people who hadn’t seen them before became instant fans. If at all possible, I beg you: see this band. Amazing.

Tennis System at Firebird – 9/25/2011
A friend in DC sent me a link to this DC/LA band who were playing St. Louis because he thought that I’d like them. I almost didn’t even check them out, but then peeped their website and their biography read: “If My Bloody Valentine & Sonic Youth had a baby with The Kinks it would be named Tennis System.” I though, “Pfft! They freakin’ wish!” and then I listened – mostly of out spite – just to prove them wrong in my own mind. But I’ll be damned if that bio wasn’t spot on.

The band was scheduled to play at Pig Slop, but that got all messed up and the Firebird was kind enough to add them to their schedule on the same night as Sleepy Sun. Their sound was thick but inviting. Strong, but pretty. Wide and yet somehow contained. The new record (Teenagers) is great, but the band is even better live. And the more I listen the more I’m convinced that they might be my favorite discovery of 2011.

The LIVERS, Bunnygrunt and DJ Lil’ Daddy Reba McEntire (Eric Hall) at El Lenador – 2/11/2011
This shit was my birthday show! And it really was my favorite show of the year. These three are my favorites (that’s why I asked them to play at my party, duh) and they provided non-stop awesome all night. The lovely Johnny Vegas let me have the show at El Lenador and provided Warm Jets USA’s Jason Hutto as an extra bartender. Thank goodness for that, because my damn birthday show was crowded all night with both friends and strangers. (And they were thirsty. Very, very thirsty.)

I’ve already covered how much I love Bunnygrunt, but they gave this show a little extra: playing all dressed up in their finest sparkles, boas, leather and shorty shorts. And they learned The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven” and played it for me! I might have cried a little. The LIVERS haven’t played out much lately, but when they do it’s always amazing. This A/V combo rock show must be seen to be believed. The guys in the band are my friends and they made me a special birthday video. Heart explosions, I tell ya. And DJ Lil’ Daddy Reba McEntire kept the party bumpin’ between bands and late into the night. His mash-up jammers are mind-blowing and he got all the pretty girls to dance. Many “Oh, shiiiit! This is my cut!” moments happened. I wanted it to go on forever.

• link: I Went To A Show

photo by Kevin Abosch

Sinéad O’Connor’s Marriage Saga Continues: Totally Into Crack, But Not Crack Rock
By Jaime Lees
Mon., Jan. 9 2012 at 6:08 AM

​Sinéad O’Connor’s sex life has been a source of endless entertainment recently. A few months ago, we told you about her deviant behavior: she was using her website as her own dating service. Sinéad said that she was horny and looking to get laid. She posted a list of all of the things she was seeking in a potential lover. She also included that she would be “deeply unhappy if doing anal wasn’t on the menu” and advised gentlemen not to even apply to be her lover if they didn’t like “the difficult brown.” Oh, yes. Yes, she did.

Then, at the beginning of last December, Sinéad announced that she’d found a boyfriend, Barry Herridge, and that they were to be married the next day in Las Vegas.

In theory, that should have been the end of Sinéad’s shenanigans. Happily married, bum satisfied, end of story, right? Thankfully, no. It all just gets even better.

So about two weeks after they were wed, Sinéad announced that they were breaking up because their marriage was causing him problems with his family. Then more details emerged. As it turns out, Sinéad’s new husband is an addiction counselor and didn’t take too kindly to her forcing him to escort her on a weed run in a sketchy neighborhood on their wedding night and accidentally ending up with “a load of crack” in her hand. Yes, crack rock.

But for now, true love has won out. Sinéad and Barry are back together. She announced on Twitter that they had a beautiful evening of lovemaking and that they were going to try again as boyfriend and girlfriend (but stay married) and that they’d get some counseling and maybe move in together “in like a year, like regular people.”

Like regular people? Yeah, good luck with that. You are freaks and it is great. Please, oh please, get a reality show or make a sex tape or something. Your public demands it.

“groove is in the arse” – Sinead O’Connor’s Twitter

• link: Riverfront Times

photo by Dennis Simmons

Why You Should Go See Chuck Berry As Soon As Humanly Possible
By Jaime Lees
Fri., Dec. 30 2011 at 12:35 PM

​One year ago this week Chuck Berry collapsed on stage in Chicago. It was a call to action for many people who had been slacking on seeing his live show at Blueberry Hill.

As residents of this city, it’s hard to get perspective on just how amazing it is that Chuck Berry, the dude who probably invented rock and roll, plays here monthly. And that tickets– while they need to be bought in advance– are mega cheap, relatively.

We don’t want you to miss out on this opportunity so let’s go over some of the reasons that you, St. Louisan, shouldn’t wait any longer to go see the legend in action.

Well, he’s Chuck. Fucking. Berry.
Yes, he’s older now. No, he can’t duck walk for miles at a time. Sure, sometimes he loses his place when playing his songs. But give the dude a break- he’s 85 years old! It’s endearing when he sometimes forgets a line. And chances are that Berry at his worst is still better than you at your best, so put down the Haterade.

Okay, it’s true that he has a sketchy past. He’s been described as scary, intimidating, violent and creepy. He’s been accused of some things that are beyond unsavory. (I’m not even talking about the legendary “sandwich” story, either.)

But he seems to have mellowed. And his musical legacy is still inarguable. As far as history is concerned, he is king. And if Chuck Berry wants to watch me tinkle… well he can, goshdarnit.

He’s an international treasure.
I lived in London for a bit and whenever people asked me where I was from and I said “St. Louis” they immediately said “Chuck Berry!” This happened every time.

The things Europeans knew about St. Louis, in order, were: 1) Chuck Berry 2) East St. Louis and 3) The Gateway Arch.

Kevin O’Connor of STL’s 7 Shot Screamers had a similar experience:

“My singer Mike Leahy and I visited London in fall of 2000. Even though we were both underage by American standards we were of drinking age over there. One night we stumbled upon a place in North London called the Elephant’s Head where, coincidentally, they were having rockabilly/R&B record spin. The local teddy boys in the bar recognized we were from the states and asked us from which part. When we said “St. Louis” they instantly said “Chuck Berry.” That right there was rock and roll diplomacy at its finest. Instant friendship and several pints bought…”

He won’t be around forever.
Music legends are dropping all over the place. Just this month it was Hubert Sumlin. And on the first of this year, we thought Chuck Berry might expire, too.

My sister was at the now infamous Berry show at the Congress Theater in Chicago when he collapsed on stage. She said:

“He was yelling at the other musicians on stage. And then he started slumping over when he was playing his piano. And then people started to assist them and he kept shooing them off, as if they were annoying him. Then it got to the point to where the backup musicians stopped playing the little loop that they were playing. There was a younger lady assistant who came out and she helped him off the stage and he walked off and we call clapped. Then we sat around for about fifteen minutes. My friends and I moved spots to get a better seat because pretty much half of the auditorium left. And then he came back on and basically said thank you for a long time and then he left… I thought he was going to die. I totally thought that I saw the last Chuck Berry show.”

This is something that lots of people wish they could do.
People from all over the world save up for years, spend their life savings or dip into their retirement funds just for the opportunity to travel to the States once to see Chuck Berry play. Each show is full of international travelers and usually more than one celebrity attendee. (I even met Mike Mills of R.E.M. after a Berry show once. He was nice.)

I have a friend who works at Blueberry Hill and has seen Chuck Berry play countless times. One night he bought his dad tickets to the show as a gift. After the show was over, his beaming pops made a declaration that has stuck with him years later: “That was amazing! It was so great to see him real life! Man, John Lennon would have sucked his dick!”

My friend said that it took hearing his dad’s crass remark for him to fully realize what an impact that Chuck Berry has had on everyone, including other legends.

So go see Chuck. And if he asks if you want to share a sandwich, say yes.

• link: Riverfront Times

Esquire‘s Luke Dittrich on How He Got the Chuck Berry Feature, in the January Issue

Just last week, Esquire published this thorough and fascinating Chuck Berry article. Berry is notoriously wary of the media, so author Luke Dittrich couldn’t take a direct route to his subject. We spoke with Dittrich, a contributing editor at the magazine, last weekend about his super savvy journalistic methods and his thoughts on our hometown hero.

Jaime Lees: I was wondering if you’d ever lived here because there’s your Chuck Berry article, and I also read your Joplin article and it was amazing. So I was wondering if you were from here or if you had family here.

Luke Dittrich: Well, thank you very much. Yeah, the reason I have those two Missouri stories is because I went down to St. Louis to profile Chuck Berry and I arrived the day after Joplin was hit by the tornado. So I spent about a week reporting on Chuck Berry and I had planned to stay working longer on the Chuck story but then eventually just decided that I was going to sort-of put Chuck on hold and go to Joplin. It compelled me to go there.

So, the first thing that I wanted to ask you is pretty simple: how did you get the interview? Because Chuck lives here and he’s around but he’s still kind of a mystery to us.

Right, yeah, I went through a friend of his, Joe Edwards, who owns Blueberry Hill?

Uh-huh.

I contacted him, but before I went to Joe I tried to get to Chuck through his agent, but his long-time agent had just retired and I never heard back from him. He’d been Chuck’s agent for, like, literally 50 plus years — I think since the 1950s — so he’s probably an interesting character himself, but I never connected with him.

Then I went through another person who works sort-of licensing deals out for him, who works on the rights to Chuck Berry’s image and all that. So I contacted that guy and he said “Well, I don’t know. Even when I’m trying to get a hold of Chuck he only communicates through faxes and it’s this long ordeal to get to him and I’ll do my best but I can’t promise anything.”

And so finally, I knew he was friends with Joe Edwards so I called Joe up one day and Joe didn’t promise me anything but Joe said “I can promise you that I’ll get him a letter if you want to write up a letter. And I’ll either fax it to him or hand-deliver it to him.”

So I ended up faxing Joe a letter, addressed to Chuck Berry, laying out what I wanted to do and why I wanted to talk to him. And I guess it worked because about a week later Chuck said he agreed. And to be there at the following Blueberry Hill show.

How did you know to get a hold of Joe?

Joe has been mentioned as a friend of Chuck Berry’s in several other stories that I’d read so I knew that he was close friends with him. And I was kind of grasping at straws to figure out who to talk to, so I figured that he was worth a shot, and now it seems like he’s the perfect person to call if you’re trying to get a hold of Chuck Berry.

So why did you want to write about Chuck?

You know, I can’t honestly say that I’ve grown up listening to him or anything, because it was before my time that he was really at the top of the charts, but I’ve had a fascination with him for quite some time. Ever since I saw — there was a great documentary called Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n Roll?

Yes, sir.

When that came out it painted this fascinating and kind of enigmatic portrait of Chuck Berry as both a great artist and sort of a supremely complicated individual. So I found that very intriguing, and so I’d been intrigued by Chuck Berry. And after seeing that documentary, I bought some CDs of his and became a fan, really, of his music. And then I didn’t really think of doing the story until maybe a few months before the interview, because I’d read somewhere about his shows at Blueberry Hill or I saw some YouTube clips and I saw that it was just this very small venue, not the sort of venue that you would expect somebody to play who has had such a, you know, an amazing effect on American culture in general and world culture. If we are saying that — and I made it clear in the story– that it’s hard to actually say that he invented rock and roll, but he came as close to inventing rock and roll as any single individual has done. And his sound has influenced all of subsequent popular music. And the fact that this person has had this amazing influence…

Basically, he’s had as much of an influence on world culture today as any living person, I’d say, yet so many people aren’t even aware that he’s still alive. And he’s playing these monthly shows at this small place, probably not for huge tons of money. Anyway, that surprised and intrigued me and basically I wanted to see what he’s like in person. It was a treat to get to meet him in person but also to try to figure out what he’s getting out of this. What’s the father of rock and roll doing winding down his days, in a certain sense, playing this small club that’s very much like the small clubs that he launched his career in?

Yeah, I thought that was a good point when I read that in your article, it is like a lot of the places that he used to play. It might even be smaller than the places that he used to play when he was first starting out.

Yeah, have you seen him play there?

Yes, yes, I have. I go at least once a year. But it’s hard because… there’s kind of a weird relationship there. Being a St. Louisan we kind of forget that he’s there because he’s there every month, you know?

It’s amazing. I think it’s very similar to a lot of people who live in New York City who have never gone to see the Statue of Liberty, for example. It’s one of those things you’re so close to it that you kind of take it for granted.

Exactly. It changed a little bit after he collapsed on stage in Chicago. People were sort of like “Oh shit, I really need to go see him before I can’t see him anymore.” I think he still sells out every time, though. Every time I go it’s always interesting to talk to all of the people there. There’s always fans in from Japan, from Australia, from all over the world. And they spend tons of money getting here just to see Chuck and it makes me feel like a jerk for not going every month when it would be so easy for me to do. What’s the general sense that you got from the people at the shows? Do they think that these shows are adding to his legacy or hurting his reputation?

I think, ultimately, what’s important is that he’s doing it for himself at this point. I think he genuinely enjoys playing — it’s such a profound part of his being, his playing music — and I think it has to be. And as you can get a sense from the article, my actual interview with him was a challenge because he didn’t have his hearing aid in, so it was tough to get some of the answers from him that I might have wanted to get, had we been able to have a conversation that wasn’t compromised by a lack of a hearing aid.

And not to put words in his mouth, but I would think that it’s a joy for him to play and it must be a joy for him to play with his kids. And as well as for them. I think it’s something that they love doing. And nobody can expect an 85 year old man to be able do duck walk like he did when he was in his 30s, right? But I think the fact that he’s doing it, and that he still has passion enough to do it, and he does it in a braver way than most younger bands do, in a sense. They still never have a set list, it’s still a bit of a grab bag in terms of even the band members never know what they’re going to get. But obviously his performance or energy is going to change over the years. But no, I wouldn’t say that he’s hurting his reputation.

Whenever people are talking about did Chuck or didn’t he invent rock in roll — you mentioned this in your article — that the argument pretty much comes down to Chuck Berry and Ike Turner. And as a St. Louisan, that makes me super happy because as I see it either way I win — because we claim Ike as ours. I just think those two in particular are very interesting. I was glad to see Ike in there because they are both guys who are known not just for their music but for their possibly-not-so-good personal lives. I just think that they’re both fascinating characters.

Yes, they are. And who know if it’s mellowing with age or whatever, but he [Chuck] certainly was extremely nice and gracious with me. And I had no clue how… I’d obviously read a lot a seen a lot of stuff [laughs] about his previous encounters with journalists.

You brought a knife just in case…

Exactly, yeah! But he was disarming in that sense. He was easy to talk to but he just, unfortunately, couldn’t hear everything I was saying.

On stage he seems like every other sort-of winking dirty old man that I’ve ever met in my life. And I’m into that, that’s fine.

Have you ever gotten up and danced on stage at the end? I assume he does that every show?

Yeah, I haven’t gone up yet, that would make me sort-of nervous to do. But I do intend to freak dance on him one of these days. So did you have any other cool observations that you couldn’t fit into your article?

You know… I do have a feeling that like a lot of people of his level of fame he kind of avoid interviews and he’s very wary and cautious about the press and the media and all that. But I don’t think that he lives a particularly cloistered life. Like, I remember when I was trying to convince him to let me spend a couple of days following him around– and he turned me down eventually flat out– but also he was like “Oh, I’m not going to be doing anything. I’ve got some storm damage on the house” and he was going to go oversee the contractors who were fixing the roof over his garage and stuff like that. [laughs] So while he’s a very private man and still remains an enigma, I don’t think he leads a very diva-ish life when he’s out of the spotlight, you know what I mean?

But do you think he wears the sparkle shirts at home?

[laughs] Yeah.

• link: Riverfront Times

This event was both an introduction and a fundraiser. Tower Groove Records was a brand new collective and this was its formal introduction into society — it’s débutante ball. This all-day show was hosted at Off Broadway and featured around twenty local bands playing both inside on the stage outside in the courtyard.

The carnival included Warm Jets USA, Catholic Guilt, The City of Takers, Accelerando, Bunnygrunt, Death of Yeti, Peck of Dirt, Doom Town, The Feed, The St. Louis Shuffle, Tone Rodent, Beth Bombarda, Bug Chaser, Ransom Note, The Skekses, Fred Friction, The Hot Liquors, Theodore and Magic City. The bands played abbreviated sets and when it wasn’t their turn to perform, they ran homemade carnival games to raise money. The party was fueled by love and run by volunteers. (As a fan of local music, I volunteered some time that day, too.)

This was a very heart-warming, feel-good, charitable event — the kind of thing that usually happens at the end of the year. It was bustling all day with both volunteers and revelers; families were out with their little kids, dads munched hot dogs while moms helped their kids play a game of ring toss. (Named ‘My Ding a-Ring’ as a nod to STL music legend Chuck Berry.) The weather cooperated with a welcome break in both heat and rain, and people were streaming in all day. There was smiling, laughing, toe-tapping and even a bit of headbanging.

At then end of the (long, long) day, all of the people power had paid off. The group raised enough money to fund it’s second big project: the TGR debut release, a double-vinyl LP featuring all of the bands involved. Look for the record early next year and for more big news from Tower Groove Records to be announced soon.

Oh Shit Moment: Looked to my left, there was Fred Friction dressed like a clown and smiling at the crowd. Looked to my right, there was TGR founder Adam Hesed (of Magic City) dressed as a ringmaster and smiling at the crowd. Both looked delighted and relieved.

Highlight of the Night: During Catholic Guilt’s mid-day set, the unpredictable noise musicians were joined by a bunch of random kids in the crowd who wanted to rock. The kids were provided with instruments and they played along in the gravel in front of the stage. [pictured, video footage here]

• link: Riverfront Times

Filed under: Riverfront Times, St. Louis music, Tower Groove Records Tagged: Tower Groove Records ]]> http://jaimeville.com/2011/12/27/best-tgr/feed/ 0 Jaime Tower Groove Records Carnival - Catholic Guilt and kids http://jaimeville.com/2011/12/27/best-rp/ http://jaimeville.com/2011/12/27/best-rp/#comments Tue, 27 Dec 2011 17:05:25 +0000 Jaime http://jaimeville.com/?p=1567 ]]> Rats & People Motion Picture Orchestra present Go West at El Leñador, September 26, 2011
by Jaime Lees

The Rats & People Motion Picture Orchestra is consistently among the most interesting and talented groups in St. Louis. This tiny orchestra (comprised of former members of the Baysayboos, Whole Sick Crew, etc.) takes old silent films and writes a score to accompany them. Then the group plays the score live as audiences watch the film.

Aside from providing quality entertainment, the Orchestra also forces an education on younger film fans. The mostly-forgotten silent films of yesteryear are now vital and alive in the minds of anyone who has seen a Rats & People show. The group has done Go West, Die Bergkatze, Nosferatu, Strike and others. As accidental historians and educators, it has brought a bit of classic cinema to all of us fans, and we are thankful. Rats & People Motion Picture Orchetsra performances are beautiful and get a huge positive response from audiences. (Each show I’ve seen has ended with a standing ovation.)

But the group does have one problem: too much talent and not enough money. It’s a common complaint here in town, but in this case it seems especially unfair. The members of R&P MPO are hard-working, ambitious and sweet. They take each task very seriously and wish to do the best job possible. They are diligent to the point of obsession when studying, scoring, editing, practicing and playing a new project. It is their attention to detail and love of their work that makes their performances so special for audiences. They work to the point of exhaustion, and it shows.

The group was very interested in touring (especially after being so well-received among the film community in neighboring Columbia, MO), but the tour van needed work. In order to raise money to go on tour, Rats & People set up a residency at El Leñador (an El Leñadency, as it’s called) and performed a different piece every week, usually presenting one full film with a short or two included.

The last week of the El Leñadency was to feature Go West, but the performance was protested by the copyright holders of the Buster Keaton classic. They wanted $250 for the screening of the film. Already having promised free shows and Go West, in particular, the Orchestra decided that they wouldn’t back out on its fans. The group would, however, accept donations to pay for the Go West screening so that they wouldn’t have to borrow from the van fund just to have the show.

The band set up a website to take donations on a Sunday night, and they had all the money they needed before noon the next day. Donations were made not only by locals, but by fans and friends out of state — ones that wouldn’t even be able to see the performance — just because they wanted to contribute. Upon reaching their goal, the band took down the donation link and sent out a polite update which read: “We’re gonna Go West on the 26th! Thank you so much. We’re… speechless, humbled, so very grateful for your help and support.” And because they are so damn classy, they even mailed hand-written thank you notes to each of the donors.

But the night of the performance wasn’t all smiles and victory at first. The news was bleak that day: St. Louis visionary and rogue developer Bob Cassilly had been found dead that morning at the construction site of his newest project, Cementland. The mood out on the crowded sidewalk pre-show was gloomy. This particular audience seemed to be comprised of tons of young artists — many living in the neighborhood on Cherokee Street — and everybody seemed to be just a little upset. There were whispers, rumors, a few tears.

We were all kind of lost that night until the R&P brought us back together — both as an audience and as humans. The visuals co-mingling with the beautiful strings is, at times, too much for a wee heart to take. Go West can produce quite a swing of emotions in the viewer, and it’s interesting to go from crying to laughing in the span of just a few minutes.

Sitting there watching Go West that night (for the 5th time, I believe), I had one repeating thought: It’s silly that we’re watching this at El Leñador. This should be in a museum. This should be at the Sheldon. This should be at the Fox. I mean, I’m glad that we get to watch it there for free, sipping on cheap drinks at our favorite place, but R&P deserve the grandest of stages. And it deserves more money.

Its members did raise enough money that night to get their van fixed and they went on to play Milwaukee, Madison, Chicago and Farmington, before coming home to begin work on yet another project. Thankfully, Cassilly’s fearless, inventive spirit lives on.

Oh Shit Moment: When Friendless straps deer antlers on Brown Eyes so that she can defend herself against the Bull. (If that reads like code, you’re missing out.) Audiences always gasp. That scene gets us every time, we’re not sure if we’re going to laugh or cry and we end up doing both. ‘Bittersweet’ is a hell of an emotion.

Highlight of the Night: Watching all of the smiling, tear-stained faces after the show. Everyone was just a little lighter and more loving as they left the venue. People who had been closed off and numb earlier were hugging and kissing after the performance. Everyone seemed to have that sort-of magical post It’s a Wonderful Life glow.

• link: Riverfront Times

We in St. Louis have always known that our pop-punk Humanoids were a first-rate band. With two albums, a few 7″ and tons of touring under their belts, it was only a matter of time before our little treasure received national attention. Word-of-mouth recommendations reached Vinnie Fiorello of Less Than Jake and Fiorello now promotes the Humanoids on his label Paper and Plastick. The self-titled album came out this autumn and it was just in time– we fans have been waiting for far too long to get a copy of songs that we’ve learned and loved from the high-energy live shows. The new album is offered to stream or download for free at freemusicfirst.org, and it’s so good that you’ll feel guilty for not having to pay for it.

Key Track: “Future Perfect”– it’s a song that you hear once and then you know it forever. And the catchy chorus makes it an instant sing-along hit.

Place You’re Most Likely to Hear the Artist: The Silver Ballroom. At this South Side punk rock pinball bar the drinks are cheap, the owners/employees are amazing and the juke box is full of both punk classics and our favorite local bands.

Listen: You can stream (and download) the whole damn album for free here

• link: Riverfront Times

But now I do it all the time. And I show it to everybody else. Why? Because I love him. And because Murphy Lee’s Twitter feed can be all things to all people. It offers funny stories, sage advice, cathartic rants and inspiring suggestions. Here, thug stories are mixed with non-preachy praises of veganism. (Murph has been a vegan for thirteen years.) There are also family stories and lots of advice concerning the ladies in his life. It’s equal parts love, wisdom and yo momma.
Still, Murph is a businessman. He also uses twitter to promote his projects (most recently, the Wine, Weed & Women mixtape) and advertise his interests (like his own brand of wine, Freaky Muscato.) He even has his own Twitter catch phrases based off of his ventures. (UCME?)

As a long-time St. Lunatic and St. Louis booster, Murphy Lee often tweets about the city and related news. His Twitter location reads: “STL even when im gone.” And his stream-of-consciousness style and adventurous spelling choices call to mind another St. Louis legend: William S. Burroughs. In other words, don’t take every word too literally. Sometimes if you just keep reading it will all start to make sense.

(Murph Derrty likes Spin Doctors?)

Anyway, because he’s on there so much, I figured I’d use Twitter as the first step to our future romantic relationship. So I tweeted at him early this year, trying to get him to come to my birthday party. I even promised him yummy vegan noms, but I didn’t get a response. Bummer. Still, my constant stalking has paid off for you, because I’ve amassed quite the collection of hilarious and informative Murphy Lee Twitter missives. Here, you can find 20 of my favorites from the past year, and most of them are fairly recent. You’re going to love him, but I still love him more.

• Yo if a mufucka got a job at sprint n used to work at at&t …u would say congrats….dont get mad at PUJOLS for gettin a new n better job [link]
• Niggas wont change til THE QUEENS stop excepting less. if u EXCEPT a man wit brains ONLY then das wut u get. WE DO WUTEVER FOR DA PUSSY [link]
• Fam time..kids been doin good in school..need to reward their errythang n spend time all at once…..i loves mine [link]
• U should treat folks like u like to b treated…its only right holmes [link]
• Wen somebody love yo derrty fuckin draws…u better wake up..cuz aint nobody else gone wash dem shits [link]
• #FunFactAboutMe i like errythang…a lil bit…take me anywwerrr [link]
• #ConfusingThingsGirlsDo like hang wit girls dey dont like [link]
• Wus on yall agenda today my fellow humans…hope its inspirational n motivational n cool [link]
• I told my son he getting big n dis boy say…I KNOW…I SEEN MY SHADOW…IT GOT BIGGER [link]
• #YouWasSexyUntil u farted n lied n said it wasnt u..”its only two of us…farting is cool but lying isnt [link]
• I cant stand wen people want u to sign somtn but b impatient while u reading…..signing your name is a life long sentence muthafucka [link]
• Women should study men more to kno wut we b on. its sex but its a lil more to us den jus gettin some. we like our ego stroked n our johnsons [link]
• So da hardest jobs make da most money….entertainers..lawyers doctors strippers etc [link]
• #NeverTrustAGirlThat walk on da back of her shoes….wut dey dont fit orsome shit…put dem bad shoes on cuz yo heel worst den da shoes [link]
• #YouShouldNot trust bizness folks wit bad shoes…shoes tell u werr a human at in life [link]
• If u get locked up for murder…get a lawyer n let him talk….we dont need to b talkn to dese people [link]
• Aye do yo momma still got dat koolaid stand in front of kmart on new hallsferry n linbergh…shit was fire…dat red [link]
• So did i jus fart at least 50 times or wus it only jus a dream……damn is it gone stop…wut da fuck i eat…. [link]
• I wish i was u. …sike [link]
• #midnightsnack PUSSY [link]

• link: Riverfront Times
• link: Murphy Lee’s Twitter

Moon Duo is the side project of Wooden Shjips guitarist Ripley Johnson. With Johnson on guitar and partner Sanae Yamada on keyboards, the duo mixes up humming, droning psychedelic tunes. It’s the kind of music that makes you want to shut your eyes when you’re listening to it, either because you’re feeling the looping flow or because the drugs just kicked in. The duo might look like harmless hipsters with bangs, beard and leggings, but together they build layers to combine a sexy Royal Trux-y swagger with weird, unsettling loops and just enough bounce to get the scene kids to whip their hair back and forth.

Go to This Show If: You’re a fan of experimental rock, and you’re looking for something new. Or if you’re into hearing colors and seeing sounds.

• link: Riverfront Times
• link: Moon Duo website

Well, worry no longer because ​poor little Sinéad is finally getting filled out like an application. The Bald One made it our business to know her coochie situation, and now she’d like us to know that she is settling down.

While posts on her official website from a few months ago describe her dong-hunger (in graphic detail), she announced yesterday that she’s marrying her new boyfriend:

With enormous joy myself and my beloved boyfriend Barry Herridge will be getting married tomorrow, December 8th 2011 at ‘an un-disclosed location’ in my absolute dream wedding ceremony. We will post a photo or two here on the site as soon as possible afterward.

Very happy girl. : )

Best wishes to the happy cock– er– couple.

• link: Riverfront Times

​Oh, the interwebz. You give us so many awesome gifts. You even take things that are already awesome, and then you put a kitten on them and make them even awesomer. For that we thank you.

Today we celebrate Drinkify.org. This site is hot stuff this week — it’s being posted all over social media web sites and linked in emails. Drinkify is an online drinking guide that pairs the music you are listening to with a suggested cocktail. It’s kind of like having your own personal smart, crunk sommelier.

The design is simple: you type in a band name, click a button that reads “What Should I Drink” and then Drinkify sends you back a photo of the band and and ingredient list with instructions. Drinkify’s output is based on a combination of search results, including band biographies, images and top tracks. The drink suggestions are usually cocktails, and many of them are eerily-similar to the fancy-folk drinks that are served up at the Royale.

Because there is so much information available online, the results are sometimes scary-accurate. For example, if a band puts its favorite beer in its bio, that is probably the beer that Drinkify will suggest.

To test out the site and get a representative sample of the responses supplied by Drinkify, I searched for every band and performer who was nominated for our RFT Music Awards this year plus some classic St. Louis performers and a few personal favorites.

The results ranged from W.T.F. (Pokey LaFarge) to SHOCKINGLY ACCURATE (Sex Robots) to YEAH, PROBABLY (Funky Butt Brass Band) to THAT’S RAW (Murphy Lee).

Of course, there were some glitches; it’s not a perfect system. But there were some cool surprises, too. Here’s a few findings of my research:

• Drinkify didn’t offer a suggested cocktail for every band I tried or it returned the wrong result. Which is a shame, really, because I’d like to buy Magic City a drink. (Ed. seconded.)
• Sometimes Drinkify gave cocktail result but with no band picture included to certify that this drink was, indeed, for this band. I decided that these results probably couldn’t be relied upon, until I searched for .e. Drinkify says that when listening to .e, the suggested cocktail is 12 oz. of marijuana, served on the rocks. Yeah, that sounds about right.
• Drinkify is totally postmodern. It is aware of itself and of other memes. For instance, a search for the Jumpstarts resulted with a suggestion of “4 oz. of White whine.”

Check out our comprehensive list below. Which drink would you most like to try? If you’re an artist, will you be sampling your own drink? And who had a cool result that wasn’t included on this list?

“THE BETH BOMBARA”
6 oz. Home brew
Serve neat. Stir quickly. Garnish with sprig of mint.

“THE BIG GEORGE BROCK”
8 oz. Vodka
Serve neat. Stir vigorously.

“THE BLACK SPADE”
6 oz. Rum
Serve on rocks. Stir slowly.

“THE BLIND EYES”
12 oz. Horilka
12 oz. Coke
Combine in highball glass and serve.

“THE BOREAN DUSK”
8 oz. Woodford Reserve Bourbon
Serve neat. Stir quickly. Garnish with twist of lemon.

“THE BOTTLE ROCKETS”
8 oz. Moonshine
8 oz. V812 oz. Grapefruit juice
Combine in highball glass and serve. Stir vigorously. Garnish with maraschino cherry.

“THE BREAKS”
8 oz. Coke
8 oz. Tequila Añejo
8 oz. Coffee
Combine in highball glass and serve.

“THE BUNNYGRUNT”
12 oz. Vodka
Serve neat. Garnish with twist of grapefruit.

“THE BRADD YOUNG”
6 oz. Ogogoro
Serve on rocks.

“THE BROTHERS LAZAROFF”
4 oz. Fernet
Serve neat. Stir vigorously. Garnish with wedge of pineapple.

“THE BRYANT STEWART”
1 bottle Chilli pepper Vodka
1 bottle Iced tea
4 oz. Jägermeister
Combine in shaker and strain into cocktail glass. Serve. Garnish with salt.

“THE CASSIE MORGAN”
4 oz. Microbrew
Serve neat. Stir slowly. Garnish with cocktail onions.

“THE CHUCK BERRY”
8 oz. Maker’s Mark Bourbon
8 oz. Pineapple juice
Combine in highball glass and serve. Stir vigorously.

“THE CONFORMISTS”
1 Anchor Steam
Serve cold. Garnish with fresh berries.

“THE CROSS EXAMINATION”
1 Brooklyn Lager
Serve cold.

“THE DAVE BLACK”
1 bottle Merlot
Serve at room temperature.

“THE DENISE THIMES”
1 oz. Hendricks Gin
1 oz. Nordic Mist
1 oz. Nordic Mist
Combine in highball glass and serve. Garnish with wedge of watermelon.

“THE DISAPPEARED”
2 oz. Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey
Serve neat.

“THE DOOM TOWN”
12 oz. Pisco
Serve on rocks. Garnish with national flag.

“THE DUBB NUBB”
2 oz. Havana Club Dark Rum
Serve neat.

“THE EARTHWORMS”
6 oz. Rum
Serve neat. Stir slowly.

“THE FISTER”
4 oz. Canadian Club Whiskey
4 oz. Coco López
8 oz. Fernet
Combine in shaker and strain into cocktail glass. Serve.

“THE FONTELLA BASS”
10 oz. Gin
Serve neat. Garnish with fire.

“THE FRANKENHOOKERS”
1 oz. Cachaça
1 oz. Lemon sour
Combine in highball glass and serve.

“THE FRESH HEIR”
1 oz. Blackwoods Gin
Serve on rocks. Stir slowly. Garnish with twist of grapefruit.

“THE FUNKY BUTT BRASS BAND”
4 oz. Absinthe
Serve on rocks. Garnish with straw.

“THE GRAVITY KILLS”
10 oz. Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey
10 oz. Nordic Mist
Combine in shaker and strain into cocktail glass. Serve. Stir quickly.

“THE GREEK FIRE”
1 Bud Light
Serve cold.

“THE HAMIET BLUIETT”
1 bottle Red Wine
Serve on rocks. Stir vigorously. Garnish with maraschino cherry.

“THE HUMANOIDS”
1 PBR
Serve cold.

“THE HUMDRUM”
1 oz. Bottled water
Serve neat. Stir quickly.

“THE IKE TURNER”
2 oz. Vodka
Serve neat. Stir vigorously.

“THE ILLPHONICS”
1 Red Stripe
Serve cold.

“THE INCURABLES”
6 oz. Kaoliang
Serve on rocks. Stir slowly.

“THE JAVIER MENDOZA”
8 oz. Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey
Serve neat. Stir vigorously.

“THE JAY FARRAR”
1 oz. Canadian Club Whiskey
1 oz. Grenadine
Combine in highball glass and serve.

“THE JOE STICKLEY”
1 oz. Macallan Scotch
1 oz. Sweetened lime juice
Combine in shaker and strain into cocktail glass. Serve.

“THE JON HARDY”
6 oz. Rum
Serve on rocks. Stir quickly.

“THE JUMBLING TOWERS”
1 Brooklyn Lager
Serve cold.

“THE KENTUCKY KNIFE FIGHT”
8 oz. Maotai
Serve on rocks. Stir vigorously. Garnish with twist of lemon.

“THE LEFT ARM”
1 Rolling Rock
Serve cold.

“THE LION’S DAUGHTER”
8 oz. Mezcal
Serve neat.

“THE LUCABRASI”
1 Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Serve cold.

“THE LUDO”
8 oz. Laphroaig Scotch
8 oz. Grenadine
1 oz. Rose’s lime juice
Combine in highball glass and serve. Stir quickly. Garnish with glowstick.

“THE MAGNOLIA SUMMER”
8 oz. Talisker Scotch
8 oz. Red Bull
Combine in highball glass and serve.

“THE MARQUISE KNOX”
1 oz. Arrack
Serve on rocks. Garnish with celery stalk.

“THE MONADS”
8 oz. Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey
Serve on rocks. Stir vigorously.

“THE MURPHY LEE”
12 oz. Cough syrup
12 oz. Moonshine
Serve on rocks. Garnish with cocktail onions.

“THE NATO CALIPH”
12 oz. Rum
12 oz. Lemon juice
Combine in shaker and strain into cocktail glass. Serve.

“THE DJ NEEDLES”
6 oz. Fucking Rum
Serve on rocks.

“THE NELLY”
10 oz. Gin
Serve on rocks. Stir quickly. Garnish with pickled asparagus.
“THE OLIVER SAIN”
1 bottle Red wine
Serve at room temperature. Garnish with sugar.

“THE PALE DIVINE”
12 oz. Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey
12 oz. Egg whites
2 oz. Tonic water
Combine in highball glass and serve. Stir vigorously. Garnish with twist of lemon.

“THE PETER MARTIN”
10 oz. Vodka
10 oz. Grenadine
6 oz. Monster Energy Drink
Combine in highball glass and serve. Stir quickly. Garnish with glowstick.

“THE POKEY LAFARGE”
1 oz. Żubrówka Vodka
1 oz. Red Bull
Combine in highball glass and serve

“THE PRETTY LITTLE EMPIRE”
4 oz. Maotai
Serve on rocks. Stir vigorously. Garnish with fire.

“THE PRINCE EA”
6 oz. Glenfiddich Scotch
Serve neat. Stir slowly. Garnish with sugar.

“THE RA CAILUM”
8 oz. Water
Serve neat.

“THE RAGLANI”
1 Berliner Weisse
Serve cold. Garnish with pickled carrot sticks.

“THE REGGIE THOMAS”
4 oz. Arak
Serve on rocks. Garnish with pickled carrot sticks.

“THE ROCKIN JAKE”
1 oz. Marijuana
Serve neat. Garnish with maraschino cherry.

“THE ROCKWELL KNUCKLES”
10 oz. Beefeater Gin
Serve on rocks. Garnish with maraschino cherry.

“THE ROUGH SHOP”
1 bottle Red wine
Serve at room temperature.

“THE RUM DRUM RAMBLERS”
12 oz. Armagnac
12 oz. Coke
Combine in shaker and strain into cocktail glass. Serve.

“THE SCRIPTS ‘N SCREWZ”
8 oz. Absolut Vodka
Serve neat. Stir slowly. Garnish with wedge of kiwi.

“THE SEX ROBOTS”
4 oz. Talisker Scotch
Serve neat. Stir vigorously. Garnish with cocktail monkey.

“THE SHAVED WOMEN”
1 oz. Ouzo
Serve neat.

“THE SINE NOMINE”
12 oz. Water
12 oz. Lemon juice
Combine in shaker and strain into cocktail glass. Serve.

“THE SLEEPY KITTY”
8 oz. Rum, Fucking Rum
8 oz. Coco López
Combine in highball glass and serve.

“THE SO MANY DYNAMOS”
1 La Fin du Monde
Serve cold.

“THE SON VOLT”
1 oz. Sipsmith Gin
1 oz. Rose’s lime juice
Combine in highball glass and serve. Stir quickly.

“THE ST. LUNATICS”
8 oz. Cough syrup
8 oz. Canadian Club Whiskey
Serve on rocks. Stir slowly. Garnish with sugar.

“THE STORY OF THE YEAR”
10 oz. Whiskey
Serve on rocks.

“THE SYNA SO PRO”
10 oz. Fucking Rum
10 oz. Lemon juice
10 oz. Tequila Reposado
Combine in shaker and strain into cocktail glass. Serve.

“THE TEDDY PRESBERG”
1 bottle Red wine
Serve at room temperature. Garnish with olive.

“THE TERESAJENEE”
1 oz. Hennessy
1 oz. Coffee
Combine in highball glass and serve.

“THE THEODORE”
6 oz. Vodka
Serve neat. Garnish with wedge of kiwi.

“THE TEF POE”
8 oz. Cognac
8 oz. Coco López
Combine in highball glass and serve.

“THE TRIP DADDYS”
4 oz. Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey
Serve on rocks. Garnish with olive.

“THE TROUBADOUR DALI”
1 bottle Organic red wine
Serve at room temperature. Garnish with cucumber.

“THE TIGHT PANTS SYNDROME”
10 oz. Maker’s Mark Bourbon
10 oz. Ice Cream
1 oz. Milk
Combine in highball glass and serve. Stir vigorously. Garnish with sugar.

“THE ULTRAMAN”
4 oz. Laphroaig Scotch
Serve neat. Garnish with pickled carrot sticks.

“THE UNCLE TUPELO”
8 oz. Sipsmith Gin
8 oz. Nordic Mist
2 oz. Glenfiddich Scotch
Combine in shaker and strain into cocktail glass. Serve. Stir quickly.

“THE UNION TREE REVIEW”
10 oz. Apricot Brandy
Serve on rocks. Garnish with glowstick.

“THE VANDALYZM”
12 oz. Jägermeister
12 oz. 7-up
Combine in shaker and strain into cocktail glass. Serve. Stir vigorously.

“THE 7 SHOT SCREAMERS”
8 oz. Maker’s Mark Bourbon
8 oz. Nordic Mist
Combine in highball glass and serve. Stir vigorously.

NO RESULTS RETURNED:
Bikini Acid
Blind Nils
Britches
Buxom Space Fish
Celia Shacklett
Colonel Ford
Corbeta Corbata
Diesel Island
The Dive Poets
Dots Not Feathers
Dust Bunny
Egg Chef
Ellen the Felon
Eric Hall
Everything Went Black
Flaming Death Trap
Flex Boogie
The Fuck Off and Dies
Ghost Ice
Glass Teeth
Good 4 the Soul
The Haddonfields
Half Gay
Indiana Rome
Karate Bikini
Lamar Harris
Langen Neubacher
Lavelle Spitz
Machree
Masculine Journey
Maximum Effort
Morgan Nusbaum
Née
Nune
Prairie Rehab
Roland Johnson and the Voodoo Blues Band
Rough Grooves
Safety Words
Skarekrau Radio
The Skekses
The Soul Alliance featuring CoCo Soul
Spelling Bee
There’s a Killer Among Us
18andCounting
40 ‘Til 5

NAME WOULDN’T SEARCH:
We’re Wolf

ON THE LIST, BUT WITHOUT A PHOTO:
Black James
Caleb Travers
Catholic Guilt
Dogtown Allstars
.e
Ground Floor Band
Jay Fay
The Jumpstarts
Messy Jiverson
MoTre
The Phonocaptors
Scotty Mac
Theresa Payne
The Vondrukes
Warm Jets USA

ON THE LIST, BUT WAS THE WRONG RESULT:
Aloha
Bo & the Locomotive
Buz
Forensic
Kevin Harris
Magic City
Rats & People Motion Picture Orchestra
Rob Lemon
Sweet Tooth
Tok

The Clash by Bob Gruen

Bob Gruen Is a Rock & Roll Primary Source
By Jaime Lees
Thursday, Nov 10 2011

New York-based photographer Bob Gruen is a rock & roll icon. From photographing some of the earliest concerts of Ike and Tina Turner to chronicling months on tour with bands such as the Clash and the Sex Pistols, Gruen has done it all. He always seemed to be in the right place at the right time, capturing loving and candid shots of both emerging and established artists including the Rolling Stones, the Ramones, Blondie, Led Zeppelin, Patti Smith and New York Dolls.

Decades of constant documenting yielded many famous photographs and subjects, including John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Gruen befriended the couple in their New York years and shot some of the most iconic, enduring photos of Lennon, among them the one of Lennon wearing the sleeveless New York City ringer T-shirt and the photo where he’s flashing the peace sign in front of the Statue of Liberty.

Gruen’s newest book, Rock Seen, serves as a collection of the photographer’s favorite shots from throughout his 40-year career — he also wrote captions and included behind-the-scenes stories to accompany the photographs. We spoke to Gruen in advance of his appearance this week at the St. Louis Jewish Book Festival and asked him about his work habits, past projects and plans for the future.

Chuck Berry by Bob Gruen

Jaime Lees: Part of what I like about your work is that you seem to be a fan first, and I think that it shows in your photos.

Bob Gruen: Yes, well, that’s because I didn’t choose to have a career. I was a child of the ’60s. You know, “Turn on, tune in and drop out”? And I did. I lived with a rock & roll band because I like rock & roll music, and I tend to be friends with musicians and performers and artists. And when they got a record deal the company used my pictures. And then they hired me to take more pictures, and every time I would go and do that I’d meet more people who would hire me to do more photos. And I just kind of fell into this career of rock photography. It wasn’t something I sought out — I really wasn’t planning to have any career. I was pretty aimless as a kid. I really wasn’t expecting much to happen. [Laughs] I couldn’t really do a nine-to-five. Like, my parents were sort of trying to get me into a nine-to-five office career, which didn’t appeal to me at all, especially the nine o’clock part. [Laughs] So that’s why I was living with a rock band, and it just kind of turned out that that’s what I was suited for and that’s what I ended up doing.

In spite of myself I have a strong work ethic. I figured out what it is: It’s because I really don’t like to work. And until I finish something, I feel that I’m working because I live in my studio. And if I came home at night and the film wasn’t developed, I’d have to do it the next day, and I had other things to do the next day. So I’d tend to go out and spend the night hanging out with friends and drinking and carrying on, and then I’d come home, and it’s four or five o’clock in the morning, and I’d develop the film.

How do you decide where you’re going to go shoot if you’re not on assignment?

Oh, if I’m not on assignment, I go to see friends or bands that friends recommend, pretty much. I’m not really looking for the next big thing. I never was. Usually the bands that I like don’t make it. [Laughs]

I still go out all the time, but I don’t work as much as I used to. Photography has changed nowadays; it’s much more accessible, so a lot more people are involved in photography. A lot more groups are doing their own work; a lot of groups are much more restrictive. Record companies got much more corporate, and they want to own the images.

And you have less access now.

Yeah, they control the access a lot more, and it’s not as interesting for me. They came up with a three-song rule, where you’re only allowed to take pictures for the first three songs of a group, and I was never into it in that sense of just being on assignment to take a picture of a guy onstage to show what color shirt he’s wearing. To me, I was always more involved as a fan, as somebody who really likes the music, and I wanted to capture the feeling and the passion of what’s going on. And a lot of times that doesn’t happen in the first three songs. Usually in the last three songs, not the first ones. [Laughs] When all of the lights are on, and all of the effects that the band has brought with them are on, and the band is really putting it all out, and the audience is really pumped up, and you have much more excitement and much more feeling — that’s what I’d rather photograph.

I do tend to think of myself as a photojournalist, but I didn’t visit this lifestyle as a journalist. I live this lifestyle, I’ve always been friends with musicians and artists; I feel very comfortable there. So that many times if I had an assignment to go to Madison Square Garden and shoot a band, I’d do that, but after that on my own, as a person, I’d go down to CBGB or Max’s just to hang out. And, you know, I like staying up late. I like going to clubs and hanging out with people, so that wasn’t really an assignment, it was just something I did in my life.

Yeah, you were just kickin’ it. So what’s your next big project?

Well, in December I have to go do an exhibition that we’re putting on in Buenos Aires, sponsored by the American Embassy down there.

Wow! Does it get any bigger than that? I mean, that’s huge!

I don’t know; it’s pretty big. They’ve done more and more events, but not many people in rock & roll are sponsored by the embassy, that’s for sure! But they’re starting to come around. I mean, rock & roll is not teenage music. When Bob Dylan played at Newport, I got my first photo pass there, so I was down front when he played with a rock & roll band, so a lot of people were very upset about that. But over the years I’ve thought about it, and I think what Bob Dylan was doing was kind of making the statement that rock & roll is the folk music of America.

Now we have people like the New York Times recognizing rock & roll; it’s part of our culture. A lot of the magazines did not cover rock & roll or rock stars. There were music magazines, but Life magazine or the New York Times didn’t really review rock & roll at all. Nowadays, you’ll see a review of the Lollapalooza tour or Bonnaroo. We just had the CMJ festival in New York, and there was a big story in the Times about that. It’s becoming more and more regular, but I’m old enough to recognize that it didn’t happen 20 years ago, 30 years ago. Rock & roll was not a part of mainstream culture.

I just met a CEO of a major corporation the other day, and he was telling me about going out just about every night of the week to some different rock show, and he had this big smile like a teenager. And people who are into rock & roll tend to stay young in feeling. It keeps you excited and alive in a sense.

Well, I was at a rock show until 2:30 a.m. last night, and I can’t say that I feel all that excited or alive today…

[Laughs] Well, the next morning is a little difficult, but it is fun at night. I mean, for me rock & roll is about the freedom to express your feelings…loudly. I think that’s what people really like about it.

LINK: Bonus interview outtakes 

• link: Riverfront Times
• link: Bob Gruen
• link: Rock Seen

​Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth have separated after 27 years of marriage and now the future of the band is unknown. Their record label released this statement last Friday:

Musicians Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore, married in 1984, are announcing they have separated. Sonic Youth, with both Kim and Thurston involved, will proceed with its South American tour dates in November. Plans beyond that tour are uncertain. The couple has requested respect for their personal privacy and does not wish to issue further comment.

It feels kind of gross to discuss this news. (And not just because the couple requested privacy.) It’s weird to think about their separation because Gordon/Moore were not just the biggest couple of the alternative generation but because they were also the most respected. To the outside world, they had the perfect relationship. They were in love, married with a talented daughter, and together they were one half of the greatest indie rock band in history.

But they never flaunted their bond. They weren’t always holding hands in band photographs or anything like that. In fact, in the beginning of the band, they seemed to make a point to stand apart from one another. Because of the careful, private way they carried their love, they seemed untouchable. And strong. They were held up by admirers as the perfect rock and roll couple, an example of how cool love and marriage could be.

Fans and journalists alike were respectful of their relationship. I’ve interviewed both of them, and I never had the balls to ask either of them about the other. In our conversation a couple of summers ago, Gordon brought up Moore and was very complimentary about him. She also spoke about her daughter, but it still felt inappropriate to ask her too much about her home life. It felt like prying — like if I got her to talk about it that I would be tricking her into doing something that I knew she didn’t want to do.

And, really, there was no reason to ask about her home life. Both Gordon and Moore are prolific musicians, writers, poets and artists. There’s plenty of interesting ground to cover. Together and separately, they are both workaholics, releasing a staggering amount of art in various formats. One of their accomplishments together is the release of seventeen studio albums in the bands 30-year career.

And any fan who has listened to the last few albums could have made predictions of this breakup. It would be a mistake for any outsider to claim that that these songs are autobiographical, but there is a definite story arc from “I Love You, Golden Blue” through to “Turquoise Boy” then “Antenna” and “Massage the History” on the bands last release, The Eternal. The last few albums seemed more somber, more contemplative.

Combine that with the fact that the other Sonic Youth band members, Steve Shelley and Lee Ranaldo, seemed to be actively building other lives for themselves outside of the band, and the potential demise of Sonic Youth doesn’t seem too shocking. Shelley is all set up as the drummer for Chicago-based band Disappears, and he’s been touring with them for a while. It would be easy to change the category on the Disappears from “other” band to “primary” band. And Ranaldo is suddenly everywhere. He’s started an official Facebook page, he’s making music and his website has become increasingly active- most notably with his photojournalistic endeavors. Ranaldo’s posts his photos on his website and it has become one of the best sources for his on-the-street documentation of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Gordon has been absent lately. Laying low, one would suppose. Moore had a personal blog where he would post his writings, photos of his daughter, tributes to poets he admired, etc, but the blog was deleted over the weekend. Moore is still active publicly, even conducting a thoughtful, funny interview with Henry Rollins about his new book on the day of the announcement.

Yes, the separation is hard on the fans, too. And that’s unfair to Gordon and Moore, but it’s the truth. It’s a lot of weight to put on one couple. Before, fans would think to themselves: Maybe my parents got divorced, maybe I just got dumped, maybe my marriage is a disaster, but Kim and Thurston were still together- so true love exists! Now admirers must accept that Gordon and Moore are just like us. Not an infallible supercouple, but two people who also have to deal with the consequences of unraveling love. (And if you think your ex won’t go away, try being together for 30 years, being known world-wide and having to deal with nosy journalists and fans.)

But perhaps Gordon and Moore can still be our role models. But instead of being part of the relationship that we most glorify, they can be an example to show us how to handle even the biggest, messiest, most heart-breaking of breakups with dignity.

And while they are unique in their place in fans’ hearts, but there have been quite a few other separations between couples who made music together. Below we explore some other famous inter-band rock and roll relationships with breakups and the outcome of each.

4. Jack White and Meg White of the White Stripes

These peppermint-colored cuties hit the scene in the late ’90s as a catchy throw-back garage duo. Back then they claimed that they were brother and sister, which was believable enough given their shared look — alabaster skin and black hair. As it turns out, they were husband and wife. They’d been married for a few years and actually divorced in early 2000, just as the White Stripes were getting super-popular. Jack later said that he invented the sibling story (and a few other fake back-stories) so that the press would focus on their music rather than their relationship. It was the opposite of Fleetwood Mac. Instead of exploiting their relationship, they denied it altogether. This, of course, just made fans all the more curious and throughout their career their exact relationship was the source of much speculation. The White Stripes officially disbanded early this year, but the Whites seem to have an okay relationship. Both had remarried and Meg even had her wedding ceremony in Jack’s backyard. Just this summer Jack announced his divorce from his second wife, model Karen Elson, but relationship downers don’t seem to put a dent his productivity. Jack’s latest band is alt-rock supergroup the Dead Weather and he continues to play with the jaw-droppingly talented Brendan Benson in the Raconteurs.

3. Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac

This is easily the most famous rock and roll breakup in classic rock. Fleetwood Mac, as a band, built its whole career on relationship turmoil. The classic album Rumours is a product of that turmoil, and in this case the lyrics were certainly autobiographical. In the band, there were two couples breaking up — not just Nicks and Buckingham, but also Christine McVie and John McVie. This charged atmosphere created some of the best SoCal tunes of the decade. It also resonated with listeners: Rumours has sold 40 million units worldwide. Back in the day, those songs really held a lot of meaning — both sadness and contempt. Buckingham’s “Go Your Own Way” was particularly harsh on his former lover — it basically called her a slut (Which is debatable, honestly, since she slept with drummer Mick Fleetwood after the breakup with Buckingham). In any case, it was a scathing song that accused her of being a heartless skank. But it was a hit, so Nicks had to sing it on stage with Buckingham every night. Still, once the bitterness blew over, this is the one case where a serious breakup actually aided the longevity of the band. Now, whenever they’ve come together as Fleetwood Mac, they take every opportunity to play-up their former relationship, knowing that their old lady fans just love the sexual tension. Just watch the second half of the video for “Silver Springs” from 1997′s The Dance. The on-stage theatrics are out of control. And the fans love it. Since their heyday, all parties have had varying degrees of success in their solo careers. And if it’s broken down into a competition between Nicks and Buckingham, it’s hard to say who would win. Nicks is more well known but Buckingham is still mighty handsome and talented.

2. Ike and Tina Turner of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue

Ike Turner is credited as one of the inventors of rock and roll. In fact, he’s included in the short list as one of the dudes who (possibly) released the first rock and roll record. Yes, he was also a major jerkburger, but his musical pedigree cannot be stepped to. Ike met and hired a teenage Anna Mae Bullock as a background singer in the late 1950s. He gave her the stage name of Tina and the two began both a very successful career and a shit-tastic marriage. Ike was widely reported to be a controlling, easily angered woman-beater. Tina finally left him in 1976 and the divorce was finalized two years later. Ike got to keep all of the money, and Tina famously asked the court for one thing only: her name. They didn’t make music together again. Following their separation, Ike didn’t really exercise his talent. He spent some time in prison as a result of his drug addictions, and died in 2007 of a cocaine overdose. Tina, however, went on to build an impressive solo career on the merit of her distinctive voice, sexy legs and survivor status.

1. John Lennon and Yoko Ono

Even though everyone always hated on Ono, she was Lennon’s main musical partner in his life after the Beatles. She was also his partner in life. Like it or not, the two of them had one of the biggest, most well-documented romances in rock and roll history. She was an artist before she was even with Lennon, and she brought her vision to what they produced together. Against all odds, their partnership and love flourished. They lived as two halves of one whole, and Lennon wouldn’t do much without her by his side. What people forget, though, is that they separated for a while in late 1973. The couple had been under a lot of stress. Lennon was being skewered in the press for abandoning his nice, blonde, white wife and child for his weird, yelping Japanese artist. He was also facing deportation from a McCarthyist American government, who despised him for having a voice. When he spoke out against injustices or war, people listened, and he was considered a threat to national security. Also, Lennon had fidelity issues.

Faced with all of this pressure, the couple needed a break and Ono requested a separation. Lennon historians call this time period “The Lost Weekend,” but the separation really lasted for nearly a year and a half. During this time Lennon spent some months living in Los Angeles, hanging out with scenesters at the Troubadour and drinking far too much. When he was in LA, he was, by all accounts, a hot mess. Eventually Ono took him back, after which he seemed slightly broken, but happy in his relief. He had shed some of that famous Lennon ego and become a more humble, sensitive man. They were older, calmer, and they finally settled down together. And just when it seemed as though Lennon and Ono would live happily forever together in the Dakota, their time together was ended forever by Mark David Chapman and four bullets. The legacy of this relationship will live on in perpetuum as the rock and roll Romeo and Juliet. Ono has continued her own music career, and was recording an album with Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore just earlier this year.

• link: Riverfront Times

Iggy Pop and Patti Smith, 1970s

CBGB’s Final Show With Patti Smith (A.K.A. The Day I Got Covered in Brian Eno’s Sweat)
By Jaime Lees
Fri., Oct. 14 2011

​Legendary punk club CBGB closed five years ago tomorrow. In its final week, the venue hosted a string of shows paying tribute its storied thirty year run, and it all culminated with a headlining set from Patti Smith. There were only a couple hundred people lucky enough to get tickets to that last hurrah, and one of them was me.

I don’t really romanticize New York City. I know a lot of people do, but I’m a Midwesterner who likes to drive, hates crowds and has a mild case of germaphobia. Mostly, I’m resentful on principle. I don’t like that one little place gets so much attention when there are plenty of other cool places and people outside of NYC that are rarely recognized.

That said, if I could live in any place and time, the Lower East Side in the 1970s would be a top contender. Maybe I’m a victim of selective history, but I’ve been led to believe that it was a vibrant place full of magic and creativity. And the music! Mercy. Most of my favorite music from that time came out of that little pocket of the world, and at the center of it all was CBGB.

Founded by the Hilly Kristal in 1973, CBGB was originally opened as a country and bluegrass club, but quickly morphed into a place where the mohawked were welcomed. Kristal only had one rule for the club: no cover bands, and bands were encouraged to play music that they wrote. This was intended as a precaution against ASCAP fines, but the rule unintentionally made the venue a receptive to original music. Known mostly as the venue that hosted early gigs by the Ramones (Who I never gave a crap about it. I know, I know. Save it. It’s too late for me.), CB’s also launched Blondie, Television, Talking Heads, the Dead Boys, the Cramps and countless other legendary punk and new wave bands.

Sometimes all it takes is one little building to change the world. CBGB stayed open for 33 years as a functioning little rock venue, continuing an open policy and giving hundreds of bands a place to play their first shows. And because of all of the greats that had played the space over the years, touring bands considered it an honor to play the tiny diagonal stage at CB’s and made the venue a priority on tours.

In 2006 some news came that saddened punx the world over: CBGB was going to close. As a result some sort of gentrification disaster and a rent dispute, the club that had helped to build the neighborhood for the past 30-plus years had also built its own displacement. The management at CBGB could no longer afford the rent for its home at 315 Bowery. Kristal hosted various fundraisers, but to no avail. Kristal had cut a deal with his landlord to be able to afford rent during the last year that the club was open, and as a condition of that legal battle he could not attempt to have the venue registered as a historic landmark. Kristal died of lung cancer less than a year later in 2007, prompting many to conclude that he was simply too weak to fight for the place.

CBGB announced a series of shows in the week leading up to the closing night on October 15, 2006. Bands like Bad Brains, the Dictators and Blondie would come out and play to celebrate the place that gave them their start. The headliner for the last night was Patti Smith, one of my all-time favorites. I’d been keeping up with all of the press covering the closure, and I read an article that said that tickets were going on sale the next day. I figured, “Hey, I’ll give it a shot. I mean, somebody has to win the tickets, right?”

So on Sunday, October 1, I woke up and shuffled over to my laptop. As the clock hit selling hour, I was there hitting “reload” on Safari. Just then, the crap internet connection that I was pirating from my neighbor went out. I got back online and tried again. The site crashed. I tried one last time. It was already seven minutes past sale time, but the ticket gods were on my side and a few short minutes later I got a confirmation email. It took a minute to sink in. Wait — did I really just get two of only a couple hundred tickets to the concert event of the decade? I mean, sometimes dreams come true, but this was akin to winning the lottery. I called the ticketing agency to confirm. The guy I got on the phone at customer service laughed at me and asked me to hold while he checked my transaction number. I heard him tap tap tap on his keyboard and then he said, “Holy shit. You got ‘em!” followed by “Do you need a date to the show?” I didn’t. I called my friend in NY and passed on the good news: two weeks from this day we were going to see Patti Smith at the last show ever at CBGB. Ten minutes later I had my flight booked to NYC and it was all set. Holy shit is right, my friend.

That night outside CB’s was a madhouse. Though we arrived hours early, the line snaked down around the block. As it turns out, most of these people didn’t have tickets, they were just hoping to get in. From our spot in line at the corner of Bowery and E 1st, we had a good view of the circus under the famous CBCB awning while we waited. There were news trucks everywhere, photographers documenting the scene, journalists with tape recorders interviewing people in line and fans hanging out on the sidewalk just looking for a street party. Details were scarce and the line would take a while. In an attempt to cut off scalpers, the ticketing rules were strict. Two tickets only and no paper tickets at all. If you “got tickets”, your name went on a list at the door and you had to show an ID to gain entry. And because of sound check and photographs that had to be taken, they weren’t going to let the audience in until right before the show started.

Faces I recognized were streaming past, but I couldn’t place most of them. Most of them were older men who were probably in punk bands. Chloe Sevigny (fresh off of her heels-with-rubber-bands fashion statement) was about ten people behind me in line for a bit before she was whisked inside, not to be seen again. It was bitterly cold outside. So cold, in fact, that this night marks the one time in my life that I deigned to wear fleece. And right in front of Chloe, no less! The horror.

Finally, they let us in. We all thawed out quickly; it was already about a million and two degrees inside the venue. We made it to the floor in front, about seven feet from the stage. The music was already starting. We were quickly surrounded by the rest of the crowd. This would be our spot. We would not be able to get a cocktail. We would not be able to visit the bathroom. Not for fear of losing our place, but because it was so packed that we couldn’t move even if we wanted to. I took a deep breath and removed any extra clothing. It was going to be a long night.

I looked around and tried to take in the scene as the show started. Also, I was trying to peep out Michael Stipe of R.E.M. I couldn’t find him, but about five feet to my right was David Fricke of Rolling Stone. He’s tall and his hair is easy to spot. And in front of him was Elijah Wood. This would mark the third out of maybe eight times that I’ve found myself standing next to Elijah Wood at various musical events. Lollapalooza, Pitchfork, SXSW, he’s at all of them. (And I’m taller than him. This is rare.) Also in the house was music industry insider Danny Fields, photographer Bob Gruen, writer Jim Carroll and Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads.

Then I saw him. Standing directly behind me was Brian. Motherfucking. Eno. I nearly fainted. I told myself that my eyes were playing tricks on me. I had nearly convinced myself of this, too, until I heard him speak and I took another peek. He was wearing intimidating, industrial strength earplugs. Of course he was! Those ears are like Tiny Turner’s legs or Dolly Parton’s rack — they are his finest and most bankable quality. (Hopefully, they’re also insured.) And when I say that he was right behind me, I mean really right behind me. He was breathing on the back of my neck and the convex curve of his belly was arching perfectly into the small of my back. (Does this read like pornography yet?) We’d only been inside for a few minutes, but everybody in the place was hot, Eno included, and it didn’t take long for his sweat to get all up in my biznass. It was so dreamy…but I must say, Eno’s presence was a point of distraction all night. He was super quiet and low profile, but people kept whispering and pointing at him. But I was in heaven. I was all, “CBGB who? Patti Smith what? I don’t care, I just want Brian Eno to stay pressed against me.”

And then I looked up, and there she was. Patti Smith is an interesting creature. She’s half wise old lady and half wide-eyed little girl, and she’s been like this all of her life. She dresses like a boy, but has always had the strength of a woman. She uses at least five different voices: 1. the sweet, child-like talking voice, 2. the monotone poetry-reading voice, 3. the Dylan-esqe singing voice, 4. the soulful, robust singing voice, 5. the angry, barking rebel voice. She’s both a goddess and a hobo. A wild-haired rock star and an introspective bespectacled poet. Worldly but down-home.

She came on stage with Lenny Kaye, Jay Dee Daugherty, Tony Shanahan and a big smile and started with an impassioned reading of Piss Factory. Her singing started out a little shaky, with a few false starts. It seemed like nerves had gotten the best of Ms. Smith. She apologized, bashfully, and made a joke out of it. (“We’re here to prove that we have not improved”) And then she got back to work. It seemed like she knew that she had a big job to do there that night and she was a little intimidated. But with every song she gained more confidence and soon both she and the crowd were having a good time.

Smith’s personality shown through when she spoke in between songs. She’s all love and praise when she’s telling stories and she has a sweet kind of old timey way of speaking. She says “piana” instead of “piano” and she never, ever pronounces the “g” on anythin’. Sometimes it’s jarring when she goes back to singing because it’s hard to reconcile the difference between the sweet little story-teller and the powerful woman-goddess singer.

Smith was careful to make sure that everyone possible was acknowledged. On top of the cover songs that she and her band played, she read lists and lists of names from the heyday of CBGB. Some on the lists had passed, some were in the audience, some were on the stage. She gave shout-outs to people from both the music and writing world like Richard Sohl, Deborah Harry, Blondie, Lou Reed, the Velvet Underground, Richard Lloyd, Tom Verlaine, Television, William Burroughs, Nick Tosches, her manager Jane Friedman and tons of others. Smith has always been very concerned with respecting her elders. (And personally, I think she’s a little obsessed with dead guys.)

Once it seemed like her acknowledgment duties were over, she loosened up and the gig turned perfect — even transcendent. During the show, she was joined on stage by both Richard Lloyd from Television and Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I don’t even like RHCP, but Flea is such a lovable character. I was thoroughly entertained watching him try to restrain himself and not to “Flea-out” and do that full spine roll head bobbing thing that he is known for. Flea was particularly impressive during the always-creepy “Birdland” where his bass led the band into a crazy, frantic jazz-like ending. Smith repaid him by leading the crowd into singing “Happy Birthday to You” to him on stage — it was his 44th.

Her set included both rarely played older songs and covers of classics from the Velvet Underground’s “Pale Blue Eyes” to Television’s “Marquee Moon” to Blondie’s “The Tide is High” to the Dead Boys’ “Sonic Reducer” to the Yardbirds’ “For Your Love” and the Who’s “My Generation.” She and the band also did a Ramones medley near the end of the set that the crowd loved. Still, the high point of the night for me had to be when she unleashed the musical trifecta of “Free Money” then “Pissing in a River” followed by the Rolling Stone’s “Gimme Shelter.” It was absolutely amazing. Even Brian Eno had to bop around a bit.

Looking back, it’s probably the best show I’ve ever seen. It would have been even if it wasn’t at CBGB, and even if it wasn’t the last ever show at CBGB. I’ve seen Patti Smith quite a few times, and this was the best show that I’ve ever seen her play. It was certainly the most important. I witnessed rock and roll history. Smith was on the cover of the New York Times that I picked up at the airport on the way home the next afternoon — it was a photograph of her taking a photograph of the famous awning.

When I think back on the show, I remember a lot of details (and a lot of Eno), but one thing really stuck with me. Thankfully, recordings from the night allow me to transcribe it here exactly. Smith had told stories of the first time she went to CBGB (Easter night, 1974, to see the third ever Television gig) and about some of her favorite nights at the club. Then she said:

“Now, you know, kids will find some other club. They’ll need some place to play. (boos from audience) Yeah, no! Yeah! Cause that’s what’s supposed to happen! This place is not a fuckin’ temple. It’s just what it is. And the greatest thing about it, and the best way that it can serve the people, is just show an example of what you can do. You just gotta place, just some crappy place, that nobody wants. And you got one guy who believes in you. And you just do your thing. And anybody can do that. Anywhere in the world. Anywhere. Anytime.”

• link: Riverfront Times

​This is not the review I expected to write. It pains me to say it, but the Yuck show was kind of, well, meh. Now, I’ve spent the better part of this year talking up this band. Yuck’s self-titled debut is absolutely my favorite album of the year. I’ve rocked that album on the daily since about February. If you know me, and we like the same tunes, it’s likely that I burned you a copy of that album. In fact, I probably owe Yuck about $300 considering how many copies of that album that I’ve given out in the Midwest area. But I get excited about good bands. And when I think you might like it, too, I get really excited.

Sadly, the Yuck show was a disappointment. As much as I hoped that the live show would be as beautiful and life enriching as the album, there were some causes for concern. I’d seen some videos of live performances, and they seemed kind of lackluster. I’d sent friends in other cities to see the band, and they reported that they were sub par. Undeterred, I rolled out a whole range of excuses. I told myself that the band members are young, they’ve barely toured, and they’re under a lot of pressure as an up-and-coming “it” band.

But after seeing them last night I can report this: Yuck is the Lloyd Dobler of bands. Totally dreamy in theory, but weird in real life. (I mean, seriously, Lloyd Dobler was kind of a stalker. The hottest stalker ever, but a stalker nonetheless.) The songs ware still there, but the execution was all off. The Firebird probably has the one of the best sound systems of any venue in St. Louis, but you wouldn’t know it. It was all drums, the whole set. The sweet guitar melodies and the harmonizing vocals were all there, but they were totally drowned out by snare crash and cymbal clang. I walked around the decently crowded room, trying to find a place where the sound was less harsh, but there was no sweet spot to be found.

The sound got shockingly better at the end of the set with “Operation” and extendo-jam closer “Rubber.” The only difference between these songs and the others was volume. The band members had turned around and cranked up the amps in preparation for rockitude. They were suddenly louder and more loose, clearly feeling what they were playing for the first time all night.

Still, I’m full of excuses. Maybe Yuck was just having an off night? The members seemed sweet enough when they spoke between songs, taking care to ask the crowd the final score of the all-important Cardinals game. During one of the set breaks, they mentioned that they were bummed because their van had just been broken into. My heart sank. Was Yuck going to be added to the long list of touring bands who have had their property stolen while in town? A quick check of the band’s Twitter account revealed Chicago thugs as the culprits. Booya.

So conditions might not have been the best. Morale might have been low. Spirits dampened. It wasn’t a bad show, it just wasn’t the best show ever — and I thought it would be. And maybe my expectations were too high, but I think Yuck can do better. I will not waiver in my devotion. The album is still freakin’ perfect, and I’ll probably listen to it again today. Though our first date kind of sucked, we are still meant for each other. I still wanna have Yuck’s babies. I hope they come back to town so we can try again.

• link: Riverfront Times

Yuck released one of the best albums of 2011. The London band’s self-titled debut encompasses everything great about ’90s indie rock all squished into one album. It contains melody, distortion and a tons of volume. Unfortunately, these distinctive qualities have earned Yuck a reputation in the music media as grunge revivalists. This label has divided the press, with authors either claiming that Yuck is recycled and derivative or ambassadors of the next alternative generation.

Either way, there’s no getting around it: Yuck sounds like ’90s rock — but only the best parts of really, really good ’90s rock. Shit, it’s not like the band is being constantly compared to Limp Bizkit or Matchbox 20 or even Bush. Yuck only gets compared to legendary, groundbreaking bands like friggin’ Teenage Fanclub and GD Dinosaur Jr and Sonic MFing Youth. It’s a compliment, really.

Still, the group’s sound extends beyond these comparisons. It also balances My Bloody Valentine-esque scorchers with a whole host of sweeter sounds, like that of Pavement or Neil Young or bits of the great C86 bands. These comparisons are especially impressive considering that all of the band members in Yuck are in their early 20s. They didn’t witness the rise and fall of alternative rock — they were still toddlers when Nevermind came out. Still, the kids in Yuck reference their indie forefathers with great maturity and skill.

Part of this competence comes from experience. Yuck’s two main songwriters, Daniel Blumberg and Max Bloom, have been in bands together since they were teenagers. A couple of years ago, Blumberg and Bloom quit the (relatively successful) Brit band Cajun Dance Party to form Yuck. With the addition of bass player Mariko Doi (of London via Hiroshima) and American drummer Jonny Rogoff, the lineup was complete. And the band wasted no time making their mark: it’s already played SXSW, recorded a Daytrotter session and toured with Times New Viking, Tame Impala and its heroes, Teenage Fanclub. Yuck is even scheduled to perform on the much anticipated Weezer cruise.

Despite a few disparaging reviews by out-of-touch rock critics, the band has been entirely embraced by audiences. They dig it. And it’s the fans who have pushed the band to the top of the indie underground. Yuck’s debut was released early this year on the righteous Fat Possum label and it’s been so well-received by the public that it’s being re-issued this month with six bonus tracks.

Check out Yuck for yourself this Tuesday at the Firebird with White Denim and Porcelain Raft.

• Riverfront Times – link