Roll Away The Stone

STEVE ROCK: The Jans Project At Record Store Day At Euclid Records 4/16/11

2011-04-14T07:04:00.002-05:00

The Jans Project play the 4th annual Record Store Day at 4pm this Saturday, April 16th at Euclid Records, 601 E. Lockwood, St. Louis, MO 63119.

Here's the full live performance line up for Euclid's Record Store Day celebration on Saturday:

11:00 AM John Doe & Jill Sobule
12:00 noon Humdrum
1:00 PM The Deciders
2:00 PM Sleepy Kitty
3:00 PM Troubadour Dali
4:00 PM The Jans Project
5:00 PM The Sights
6:00 PM The Skeletons
7:00 PM The Bottle Rockets

STEVE ROCK: The Jans Project And The Deciders At Off Broadway 1/15/11

2011-01-13T06:12:00.003-06:00

The Jans Project play Off Broadway with our friends The Deciders, this Saturday, January 15th.

Doors open at 8:30pm and we play at 9pm. The Deciders play at 10:30pm(ish). This is an all ages show.

STEVE ROCK: September Gurls And Boys Videos

2010-11-08T19:07:00.003-06:00

A few videos of my participation in the September Gurls and Boys tribute to Alex Chilton show at Off Broadway.

The Jans Project (Nick Rudd: vocals, guitar Jeff Evans: drums Steve Lindstrom: guitar Steve Scariano: bass)

The Remodels (Toby Weiss: lead vocals Brian Smith: drums Steve Staicoff: guitar, background vocals John Ellis: guitar, background vocals Steve Scariano: bass)

The Burch Society (Edward Burch: lead vocals, acoustic guitar Alex Moore: drums John Horton: lead guitar Steve Scariano: bass)

Lung Cancer Connection Second Annual 5K Fun Lung Run Walk

2010-10-11T12:46:00.002-05:00

I'm participating as a member of my wife Diane's "Team Paglusch" in the Lung Cancer Connection Second Annual 5K Fun Lung Run Walk for the support of lung cancer patients and their families on Nov. 6 at Creve Coeur Park in St. Louis. Please help me meet my fund raising goal and donate a little something to the cause. All proceeds go to the Lung Cancer Connection. Click here and then click "Sponsor A Participant" to make a donation.

STEVE ROCK: September Gurls And Boys Interviews

2010-09-24T06:48:00.002-05:00

I was in the funny papers with a couple of interviews for the September Gurls & Boys tribute to Alex Chilton at Off Broadway tonight:

St. Louis Post-Dispatch interview, here.

Riverfront Times interview, here.

SEVE ROCK: September Gurls & Boys, Friday 9/24 at Off Broadway

2010-09-21T06:32:00.008-05:00

Lineup and set times for the September Gurls & Boys tribute to Alex Chilton this Friday at Off Broadway. I'll be performing with The Remodels, Edward Burch, and The Jans Project for this show:

8:10 Grace Basement
8:30 The Remodels
8:50 The Deciders
9:10 Prairie Rehab
9:30 The Mercy Twins
9:50 Edward Burch
10:10 Boorays
10:30 Wormwood Scrubs
10:50 Magic City
11:10 Beth Bombara & the Robotic Foundation
11:30 The Jans Project
11:50 Adam Reichmann & the Ghosts of Electricity
12:10 Jimmy Griffin All Star Band

The Jans Project: (left to right) Jeff Evans, Steve Lindstrom, Steve Scariano, Nick Rudd.

STEVE ROCK: Love Experts At Off Broadway, Saturday, August 7th.

2010-08-06T06:30:00.002-05:00

This Saturday at smoke free Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave, St. Louis MO, 63118:

The Love Experts (10pm)

The Educated Guess (9pm)

Uncle Sam & The Minutemen (8pm)

Door: 7:30pm
Show: 8pm

admission
21 & Over: $8
Under 21: $11

Happy 11th Birthday, Boomer & Soda Can!

2010-05-15T05:50:00.004-05:00

STEVE ROCK: Finn's Motel At Euclid Records/Record Store Day 4/17/10

2010-04-19T19:48:00.005-05:00

My camera doesn't get the greatest sound, but what the heck, some video documentation of the fun Finn's Motel had performing at Record Store Day at Euclid Records. Gigantic thanks to Brigid Costello for shooting this for us.

Wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you...

2010-03-22T19:49:00.016-05:00

I guess I'm one of those of people Bob Mehr wrote about in his must read essay, The Great Crusade: Birthing The Cult Of Big Star, in the Big Star box set Keep An Eye On The Sky. The first I ever heard of the band was in 1973 when I read a review in Phonograph Record Magazine of Big Star's (now legendary) appearance at the Rock Writer's Convention in Memphis, May of 1973. What was described sounded like a band I might go for.

So I went searching and soon found #1 Record in the "2 for $1" bin at a local discount department store. The record completely blew my then 16 year old mind to smithereens! And what was also so powerful and important about that record for me was that being at that age, this was some of the first music I had discovered as a teenager completely on my own and free of any influence from older siblings, friends, or the radio. I took a chance on something all by myself and BOOM---it was all so great and it was all mine! I thought how could this record be so great and no one know about it? I felt like I had just joined some sort of club where I was the only member. Very powerful stuff indeed.

And then a few months later I'm reading Phonograph Record Magazine again and come upon a review of the "September Gurls" single, with the memorable headline, "Innocent, But Deadly..." Holy shit, there's a new Big Star album! I actually cut that review out along with the photo of the band and hung it on my wall with all my other rock posters and photos. Couldn't find the album in a store yet, but one morning before school I turn on the big FM rock station in St. Louis at the time and the DJ says, "This is new from a group called Big Star..." and "O My Soul" comes crashing out of the speakers. It was unbelievably great! And looking back now it's pretty amazing how that station was still free form enough to where that particular morning DJ not only played "O My Soul," but played it A LOT.

I soon found a copy of Radio City and that was that. The course of my life was truly changed forever. Like so many of the people Mehr writes about in his box set essay, the power of that record was so great I too was drawn like nothing before in my life to try to find the source, no different than a blues man going to The Crossroads.

I darn near played Radio City nearly every day. A couple of years later I worked up the nerve to call Greg Shaw at BOMP Magazine. Somehow I was able to con him into thinking I was some kind of writer (I wasn't) and that I could get an interview with Alex Chilton. Greg said, "We've been trying to get him for years. If you can pull that off, sure, I'll print it!" And so like so many others at the time, I found the Chilton family's local Memphis listing and gave the number a call and the next thing you know I'm talking to Alex fucking Chilton! And yes, the first thing he asked me was the date of my birth. "Ah yes, the Year Of The Monkey..." was his reply after I told him. I made my interview proposal and he said "Sure, I'd love to be interviewed. It might help me get some of these new demos I'm working on get looked at. Please come on down."

So in September of 1976 I went to Memphis to meet and interview Alex. When he let me into his tiny studio apartment in Midtown, he was wearing a long old school night shirt and nothing else. His apartment had no furniture. There was a turntable, a few records, and his Strat strewn across the floor and nothing else, and we had to sit on the floor. Alex sat crossed legged about two feet across from me with his night shirt pulled up a bit and his stuff hanging out for the entire world to see! Needless to say, I was already pretty freaked out enough about being in the same room as my hero, but never bargained that his thang would be in the picture too, and no less than five minutes after meeting him! After a few minutes of introductory conversation, Alex says, "Hey, you should see Ardent---let's go down and do this there..." I quickly agreed that this was a great idea, and then Alex says, "Hey I gotta shave before we go. We can keep talking while you watch." I then went to the next level of freak out as I watched Alex fucking Chilton smear Vaseline all over his face instead of shaving cream, and listened intently as he told me about The Year Of The Monkey while he shaved.

On the short drive from his crib to Ardent, Alex had me pop a cassette into my car stereo. He says "These are some new demos Arista just said no to..." I pop the tape in, totally losing it in anticipation, thinking I'm going to hear something new along the lines of "Back Of A Car" or something, and out comes "My Rival." It was a lo-fi cassette Alex had recorded with one mic in his living room with him singing and playing electric guitar and some friend banging on a coffee can. Up to that point in my life it was one of the strangest and most primitive sounding things I had ever heard. And I was also listening to Alex graphically singing about actually killing someone! Wow. No longer innocent I guess, but still plenty deadly. Quite a shock indeed and the second big indication in the first 15 minutes of meeting the guy that he was nothing like I imagined he was going to be.

And so that afternoon Alex gave me a tour of Ardent and then we sat at the fountain in the courtyard where he patiently and enthusiastically answered every last fanboy question I had about every song on the first two Big Star albums. As I was turning off the tape recorder when we were finished, Alex says, "You know we made another album." "WHAT?" was all I could muster back. "Well it was just me & Jody, but we kinda were still calling it Big Star. It's different than those other two records." When I asked if I could maybe hear it, Alex said, "No, I don't think that would be possible."

We went out that evening and had drinks, but not too many. Alex invited his pal (the great) Ross Johnson to join us, and I couldn't believe such fascinating people were letting a totally green 20 year old from the suburbs of St. Louis hang with them. Ross invited Alex and I to come see some friends of his rehearse the next day. He said, "Oh Steve, you're really gonna like them and you should write about them. They're called the Scruffs..." Alex and I joined Ross at the Scruffs rehearsal the next day and sure enough, the Scruffs blew me away.

Right before I left Memphis that weekend, Alex and I discussed the possibility of maybe getting him a live gig as Big Star up in St. Louis. We both laughed when he said, "You get me the right amount of money, I'll get a couple of guys here and we'll come up and you can call it anything you want!" And I almost pulled it off, too. Had a club across the river in St. Louis in Illinois that was willing after months of hemming and hawing with them, but by that time Alex was about to split for New York and his CBGBs era.

My meeting the guys in the Scruffs that weekend also became the start of what became a tight friendship with lead guitarist Dave Branyan. Dave and I spent many a weekend over the next few years visiting and hanging out with each other in our respective cities. And after Dave left the Scruffs in '79, he asked me and my friend Jeff Evans to be the rhythm section in a solo thing he was putting together. We cut some stuff at Ardent with John Fry producing that unfortunately was never finished or released. But my god, what an experience! The first day of cutting basic tracks they had me plug my bass into the house 100watt Hi-Watt head and 4x12 Marshall cabinet. When I said to engineer John Hampton, "Man, this amp really sounds GREAT!" he replied, "Yeah, Alex used that same rig for his guitar on Radio City." Are you kidding me?!?!?! Talk about your total mind fuck! I still can't believe I was able to continue and make it through the rest of the session.

Shortly after I started making regular visits to Memphis to hang with Dave, I fell into possession of one of the test pressings of the original version of Big Star's Sister Lovers LP that Ardent had pressed up to promote the record after it was recorded. A few copies had been circulating around Memphis. And my life was changed once again.

And then soon came another total life changer: Like Flies On Sherbert, the second masterpiece Chilton made with the legendary Jim Dickinson. I think it's one of the greatest pure rock and roll albums ever made, right up there with Exile On Main Street and every bit as important. And if your copy doesn't include "The Baron Of Love, Pt. 1," then you really don't own a copy of Like Flies On Sherbert. Accept no substitute!

And of course there was also The Singer Not The Song EP, the "Bangkok" 45, the Cramps records Alex produced, Bach's Bottom, Live In London, Feudalist Tarts, and on and on. One life changing record after another, every one of them. And then there were all those years of so many great solo live shows from Alex. All I'm gonna say, and I still find myself arguing about it all the time with people who still disagree, is that I thought Alex walked on water every time I saw him back then. A master at the top of his game and on the same level of genius as Bob Dylan and Muddy Waters. And every guitar solo an abstract work of art!

I live 120 miles from Columbia, MO so of course I was excited to drive down for the reunion show in 1993, but I was nowhere near as giddy as the majority of the crowd there for the show that day. I was certainly curious, and no dis at all towards the Big Star songs, but for me those songs had become the least interesting part of those amazing Alex solo shows. So I guess you could say I had mixed expectations. A lot has been written and mythologized about that show over the years. It was truly, truly wonderful to finally get to see Jody Stephens play drums, but what left the most lasting impression on me that day was how much Alex came alive and his demeanor lit up when they got to the cover songs in the set, especially when he broke into "Kansas City." After seeing so many Alex solo shows, this certainly came as no surprise to me. I enjoyed "Kansas City" more than any other song that day, and thought it a very beautiful and special moment, and oh so definitive about the guy. As so many of the hipsters in the audience who had traveled so far to see this show stood around with "WTF?" looks on their faces, I smiled and shouted "YEAH!" Once again Alex Chilton was winning the day on his terms. Just like always.

Alex Chilton RIP

2010-03-17T20:44:00.002-05:00

Blue Moon (Alex Chilton)

Let me be your one light
And if you'd like a true heart
Take the time to show you're mine
And I'll be a blue moon in the dark.

While you sleep you'll see me there
Clouds race across the sky
Close your eyes and don't ask why
And I'll be a blue moon in your eyes.

Morning comes and sleeping's done
Birds sing outside
If demons come while you're under
I'll be a blue moon in the sky

Let me be your one light
And if you'd like a true heart
Take the time to show you're mine
And I'll be a blue moon in the dark.

STEVE ROCK: Finn's Motel At Duck Room Saturday March 20th

2010-03-17T07:48:00.004-05:00

This Saturday, March 20th at the Duck Room, 6504 Delmar in The Loop, St. Louis, MO 63130 • (314) 727-4444:

Finn's Motel (11pm-ish) Featuring the return of Matt Meyer on guitar!

The Great Crusades (10pm-ish) From Chicago, featuring former members of Suede Chain and The Last Gentlemen.

The Handcuffs (9pm-ish) From Chicago, featuring current Romantics drummer Brad Elvis, formerly of The Elvis Brothers.

And best of all, this is a NO SMOKING show! Thank you, Duck Room!

MUSIC: Faves Of 2009

2010-01-02T10:55:00.032-06:00

For me the most important release of 2009 was the Big Star box set, Keep An Eye On The Sky. Big Star set what would be the musical compass of my adult life when I discovered the band in 1974, and thanks to the wonders of this box set I never dreamed I would be rediscovering their music in so many continually rewarding and deeply meaningful ways some 35 years later. Heck, I would have been satisfied with just the release of the original three Big Star albums with this incredible remastering, so all of the amazing previously unreleased outtakes and demos and the book and it’s three outstanding essays and all of the never before seen photos included in this box set is quite the overwhelming mother lode. And then there’s the devastating Disc Four: Live At Lafayette’s Music Room, Memphis, TN! Adequate words to describe fail me. If there can be such a thing as the perfect box set, then in my opinion Keep An Eye On The Sky may just be that perfection. Eternal kudos and gratitude to John Fry, Cheryl Pawelski, Andrew Sandoval, Alec Palao, and everyone else at Ardent Studios and Rhino Records who had a hand in putting this box set together.

The best out-of-nowhere album from an artist new to me that I heard in 2009 was Painted Hills. Painted Hills are a great band that effortlessly melds the various eras of classic LA/Southern California psychedelic pop with a touch of Brit Pop shoegazing. I can’t remember the last time I heard a debut album where EVERY SONG completely blew me away! The official release of the Painted Hills album comes in February 2010 on Rick Menck’s Bird Song Recordings label, which means I get to include it on my 2010 list of faves as well!

The rest of my favorite music of 2009, in alphabetical order:

The Terry Adams Rock & Roll Quartet---Crazy 8's

The Beatles---The Beatles Remastered Box Set - In Mono

Cheap Trick---The Latest

Jarvis Cocker---Further Complications

Lloyd Cole---Cleaning Out The Ashtrays (Collected B Sides & Rarities 1989-2006)

Earth---The Bees Made Honey In The Lion’s Skull
A 2008 release that I was turned on to in 2009 by Nick Rudd. Thank you Nick!

Liam Hayes And Plush---Bright Penny

Heavy Trash---Midnight Soul Serenade

Peter Holsapple & Chris Stamey---hERE aND nOw

Ian Hunter---Man Overboard

Magic Christian---Evolver

The New York Dolls---'Cause I Sez So

Old Californio---Westering Again

Outrageous Cherry---Universal Malcontents

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers---The Live Anthology

Chuck Prophet---Let Freedom Ring!

The Raveonettes---In And Out Of Control

Raymilland---Recordings '79-'81

REM---Live At The Olympia In Dublin

Rough Shop---Just Because It Was Christmas

The Soundtrack Of Our Lives---Communion

Sparks---The Seduction Of Ingmar Bergman

The Symptoms---Always Heed The Symptoms: "Live" In '78

Troubadour Dali---Troubadour Dali

The Dwight Twilley Band---Live From Agora

Where The Action Is! Los Angeles Nuggets: 1965-1968 (Box Set)

My favorite live shows of 2009, in alphabetical order:

Leonard Cohen---The Fox Theater, St. Louis, MO

Future Clouds And Radar---SXSW, Austin, TX

Peter Holsapple & Chris Stamey---Wood House Concert, Euclid Records, and Off Broadway, St. Louis, MO

Magic Christian---SXSW, Austin, TX

Chuck Prophet---Wood House Concert, St. Louis, MO

Raymilland/The Welders---Off Broadway, St. Louis, MO

Matthew Sweet---The Duck Room, St. Louis, MO

That Petrol Emotion---SXSW, Austin, TX

MUSIC: Raymilland/Welders Reunion Show At Off Broadway 12/26/09

2009-12-27T15:36:00.009-06:00

1979 was definitely in the house at Off Broadway last night as original St. Louis punk/new wave scene legends Raymilland and The Welders played live for the first time in almost 30 years. Both bands looked GREAT and sounded ferocious! It was great to see so many faces from back in those "music war" days at the show, as well as the great reaction both bands received from the younger folks in the audience. A very inspiring evening indeed. Look for upcoming reissues from both Raymilland and The Welders on BDR Records.

Raymilland

The Welders

MUSIC: Ian McLagan At Euclid Records 11/24/09

2009-11-24T22:24:00.012-06:00

Some photos from Ian McLagan's wonderful in-store performance at Euclid Records. Look for a single from the performance to be released in early 2010 as part of our Euclid Sessions 45 Series.

Mac and Bump Band bassist/guitarist Jon Notarthomas.

The guy who played on Itchycoo Park & Lazy Sunday and me. I am so not worthy!

MUSIC: Chuck Prophet Wood House Concert 11/15/09

2009-11-16T19:02:00.010-06:00

Chuck Prophet done tore it up at Rick Wood's house last night! The best rock show I’ve seen all year. Two sets full of one jaw dropping moment after another from Chuck and his great band, the Mission Express: Stephie Finch (Vocals & Vox Continental), Kevin T. White (Bass guitar), Todd Roper (Drums & vocals), James DePrato (Guitar). And the totally out of left field icing on the cake was their most brilliant and devastating cover of Alex Chilton’s "Bangkok".

STEVE ROCK: Warren Zevon Tribute Show & KDH X Benefit At Off Broadway 10/23/09

2009-10-21T07:03:00.010-05:00

Steve Carosello, John Ellis, Fred Gumaer, Andy Ploof, Brian Smith, and I will be playing three Warren Zevon songs at Roy Kasten & Scott Swartz's Warren Zevon Tribute Show & KDHX Benefit at the Off Broadway, this Friday, October 23rd.

Our little one-off combo will be playing under the moniker Bad Luck Streak In Dancing School for this event and we go on at 11:45pm.

STEVE ROCK: Finn's Motel At Off Broadway Friday 9/18

2009-09-15T05:11:00.002-05:00

Finn's Motel returns to the wonderful smoke free Off Broadway this Friday, September 18th. We play second on the bill, around 10pm. The Incurables headline the show around 11pm, and Hook Echo plays at 9pm.

MUSIC: Ellie Greenwich RIP

2009-08-27T06:19:00.009-05:00

"She was the greatest melody writer of all time"---Brian Wilson.

God-like genius songwriter Ellie Greenwich has passed.

Of course there are all the legendary classics and hits she is best known for, but Ellie’s 1973 Verve solo album Let It Be Written, Let It Be Sung is an underrated and overlooked gem worth discovering. It’s one of my all-time favorite albums. I used to play several selections from it all the time on my old KWUR radio show thirty years ago, and would often close my show with the album’s wonderful waltz/lullaby remake of “Be My Baby.”

An old friend stayed with Ellie in her NYC apartment back then when her sister was getting married to a guy who was working with Ellie at the time. Aware of my total worship of all things Ellie, she brought back this stunning 8X10 glossy for me. I still get goose bumps every time I read the nice little note Ellie wrote to me on the back of the photo.

For Mikey

2009-08-22T13:24:00.005-05:00

Five years ago today a horrific highway accident took the lives of my dear friends Mike Shelton, Carrie Lindsey, and their daughter Emily. In a town full of rock and roll characters down through the years, Mike Shelton was one of St. Louis’ most memorable. He was an old school friend of the stars and star to his friends, and was the living embodiment of that line You wanna be there when they count up the dudes… from (his beloved) David Bowie’s "Rebel Rebel".

Mike was a really great older brother to me as well as an out of control 13 year old younger brother all at once. A sex, drugs, & rock and roll Gilbert Bates if you will, always ready to lead us gullible little Beaver Cleavers in his universe into yet another crazy adventure. An evening out with Mikey was usually filled with all sorts of mischief and narrow escapes, and certainly never dull.

Through all of our fun together I learned a whole lot about life from the guy, and there was a great big heart and a lot of soul and wisdom underneath his Jerry Lewis-like exterior. He always had my back no matter what, and no one gave more encouragement and support to me in my so called career in rock than Mike. Whether in person or on the phone, at some point in every conversation I ever had with Mikey, he would ask, “When you playin’ again?” Before I was ever in a band and still unsure of ever being in one, Mikey kept pushing me to go for it. Like a scene from a cheesy movie, one day Mikey said to me, “Kid, you HAVE to do this. You got what it takes. Trust me, I know about these things…” And that was all the confidence I ever needed. Next thing you know I was in my first band, and I’ve never looked back…

So tonight I play another rock show, and like every rock show I’ve played with all of my various combos over the last five years, Mikey will be there with me once again---sitting on my shoulder and yelling in my ear: “TURN YOUR DAMN AMP UP, LAMEASS! PLAY FASTER! LOUDER! JUMP! MOOOOOOVE! C’MON, MOTHERFUCKER! GIMME SOMETHIN’ TO LOOK AT---THIS IS ROCK AND ROLL!"

Hang on to yourself Mikey, I promise to bring it hard tonight.

(left to right) Tony Fafoglia, Mike Shelton, and me rocking at Off Broadway, Jerry Durwachter Xmas Show, 1988.

The evening was supposed to be a celebration of the holiday season, but sure enough we wound up with some typical Shelton chaos. Seems a very drunk member of the audience didn’t approve of some of my & Mike’s stage antics (don't ask), so after the show he was in my face in the middle of the dance floor all hot and ready to kick my ass. As I tried to talk the guy down, Shelton of course egged the guy on, doing all he could to get a fracas going. Things started to get a little scary, so Mike and I resorted to a move that had saved us from harm a couple times prior in our travels, the old act-crazier-than-the-guy-who’s-about-to-kick-your-ass move. We escaped yet again with no blood shed, and Shelton wound up getting a hug from the guy’s girlfriend. So very Mikey...

(Snapshot from a video by Chris Ballew, original photo by Carrie Lindsey)

STEVE ROCK: Finn's Motel At Off Broadway Saturday 8/22

2009-08-20T07:13:00.002-05:00

Finn's Motel plays smoke free Off Broadway this Saturday, August 22nd. We play second on the bill, around 10pm. Matador recording artist Sally Crewe And The Sudden Moves from Austin, Texas are headlining the show, and our old pal Tommy Keene is playing bass with Sally on her current tour. How cool is that?

The 75s from St. Louis open the show at 9pm.

MUSIC: Willy DeVille RIP

2009-08-08T11:29:00.005-05:00

Another shining testament to the diverse brilliance and originality of the late '70's CBGB's scene has passed. Mink DeVille's Jack Nitzche produced Cabretta is a timeless masterpiece and one of the greatest debut albums in the history of rock. Cabretta’s pleasures are eternal, and thirty years on I still listen to it all the time. When it comes to this particular stylistic turf, I think Cabretta is a better album than Bruce Springsteen's Born To Run.

By sheer dumb and typical ‘70’s rock booking luck, the original Mink DeVille played the old American Theater in St. Louis in 1977. If I remember correctly I believe the headliner was the dreaded Mahogany Rush. Can’t say for sure as we didn’t stick around after Mink DeVille’s short, maybe not even a half hour set. And they were absolutely tremendous as they ripped through all of those classics from Cabretta like "Venus Of Avenue D," "Little Girl," "Mixed Up, Shook Up Girl," "Gunslinger," and show stopper, "She's So Tough."

Willy of course was such a riveting and brilliant singer, with an absolutely commanding stage presence. I had seen Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band in 1975, so that was my immediate easy comparison. But Mink DeVille’s version of that template had the aura of something far darker and grittier underneath its musical beauty, stemming from a world so completely alien to my then 21 year old white suburban ass sitting there in the Mid-West. I'm sure if you had met Clarence Clemons or Miami Steve back then they’d probably share a beer and let you hang, but it was easy to see that after a show these Mink DeVille guys were headed straight to neighborhoods I had no business ever setting foot in. They looked so elegantly cool and exotic, yet simultaneously prepared for any sort of trouble and rough business that came their way. More like a gang than a rock band. These were guys who probably carried guns and knives in their pockets along with their guitar picks. And drugs. Very hard drugs.

And in that brief and intense half hour onstage in front of an audience that didn’t give two shits about them, Mink DeVille blew away the dozen or so of us who knew Cabretta and were there just to see them. I’ll never forget how great they were. Those guys earned every illicit pleasure I hope they went out and found after their show that night.

Willy DeVille, you were so very much the real deal.

MUSIC/POLITICS: The Man In The Mirror

2009-07-03T06:48:00.003-05:00

I totally loved the brilliant records the Jackson 5 made. I liked a big chunk of Michael Jackson's solo records. But when I heard he had died I felt nothing. Absolutely nothing. I still don't. And now I know why:

Clusterfuck Nation
Comment on Current Events by the Author of "The Long Emergency"

"The Man in the Mirror"
By James Howard Kunstler
June 29, 2009

As America entered the horse latitudes of summer, befogged in a muffling stillness on deceptively calm seas, we were distracted for a while by visions of a pale death angel moonwalking across the deck of collective consciousness. Eerie parallels resound between the sordid demise of pop singer Michael Jackson and the fate of the nation.

Like the United States, Michael Jackson was spectacularly bankrupt, reportedly in the range of $800-million, which is rather a lot for an individual. Had he lived on a few more years, he might have qualified for his own TARP program -- another piece of expensive dead-weight down in the economy's bilges -- since it is our established policy now to throw immense sums of so-called "money" at gigantic failing enterprises (while millions of ordinary citizens wash overboard, without so much as a life-preserver). Anyway, Michael Jackson was on the receiving end of one huge bank loan after another long after his pattern of profligacy was set and obvious. They threw money at him for the same reason that the federal government throws money at entities like CitiBank: the desperate hope that some miracle will allow debt servicing to resume. Michael could burn through $50-million in half a year. It didn't seem to affect his credibility as a borrower. When his heart stopped last week, he was living in a Hollywood mansion that rented for several hundred thousand dollars a month. You wonder how the landlord cashed those checks.

Like the USA, Michael Jackson was a has-been. He hadn't recorded a song worth listening to in over two decades. He had done almost nothing but spin his wheels, hop around the globe from one place to another at enormous expense, and make himself available for award ceremonies to stoke his ego (and give advertisers a reason to promote some televised award show). He existed strictly on image, an anorectic figure nourished by moonbeams of attention, famous for saying that he loved his worshippers when the truth was he merely sucked the life out of them. In his last years, he even looked a bit like Nosferatu, the personification of the un-dead, and his fascination with ghouls was the basis for his biggest hit way back in the last century. A zombie
nation deserves a zombie mascot.

He was a poseur, vamping in weird military outfits as though he were a five-star general in the Honduran army, or a character from a melodrama by the reprobate Jean Genet. He once materialized during halftime at the Superbowl in a shower of sparks, thrilling the multitudes while grabbing and stroking his sex organs, as though that was a heroic activity -- and indeed the nation seemed to emulate him as its culture became dedicated more and more to acting out masturbation fantasies. America was a fat man jerking off on the sofa watching a vampire of no particular sex vogue deliriously on the boob tube.

More than once the authorities tried to pin charges of child molestation on him for suspicious activities at his boy-trap, Neverland Ranch, with its carnival rides, private zoo, video game galleries, and inexhaustible supplies of sugary treats. The first time he settled with the alleged victim's family for $22-million. They just walked away with the loot and happily shut up. The second time, he moonwalked out of a court-of-law while weeks later jurors mysteriously went on TV to say, well, they did kind of think after-the-fact that he really did those things he was accused of, but, you know.... The defendant himself behaved as though his trial were a TV celebrity challenge show on another planet, arriving on one occasion twenty minutes late in pajamas with some lame excuse about a backache. He spent the last years of his life wandering a few steps ahead of his creditors, gulling concert promoters into "comeback" schemes (with walking-around money up front), and with three bought-and-paid-for children, obviously not his own, for consolation.

When he dropped dead last week, the nation's morbidly maudlin response suggested a cover story for the relief of being rid of him and all the embarrassment he provoked. One CNN reporter called him a genius the equal of Mozart. That's a little like calling Rachel Maddow the reincarnation of Eleanor Roosevelt. A nation addicted to lying to itself tells itself fairy tales instead of facing a pathology report. Yet, like Michael Jackson, the undertone of horror story still pulses darkly in the background. The little boy who grew up to be the simulation of a girl was really a werewolf. The nation that defeated manifest evil in World War Two woke up one day years later to find itself stripped of its manhood, mentally enslaved to cheap entertainments, and hostage to its own grandiosity. Maybe in grieving so exorbitantly over this freak America is grieving for itself. All the loose talk about "love" from the media and the fans gives off the odor of self-love. America is "the man in the mirror," the gigantic, floundering Narcissus, sailing into the stormy seas of history.

POLITICS: Senator Al Franken

2009-06-30T18:54:00.002-05:00

Congratulations Senator Al Franken! The Democratic wing of the Democratic Party just got one vote stronger. Somewhere, Paul Wellstone is smiling...

Gary Rogers RIP

2009-06-11T08:35:00.005-05:00

Just heard the news of the passing of my old friend Gary Rogers. I had a lot of fun with Gary back in the '80's when I lived in Champaign and Gary did a lot of live sound mixing for my old bands Turning Curious and Pop The Balloon. Gary was a great guy, a great soundman, and always a lot of laughs. Another rock and roll "lifer" has left us way too soon...

Jay Bennett RIP

2009-05-25T07:09:00.002-05:00

I’ll always remember Jay Bennett as the very quiet kid who hung around though rarely said a word to us at my old record store The Pop Shop in Champaign, circa 1982-1983. I would also see him at a lot of the shows my old band the B-Lovers played back then. I’d say he was more confidently quiet than shy at that time, and always seemed to have this “I know something you don’t know…” look on his face. I think that “something” was he knew how massively talented he was and somehow the whole world was also going to find that out someday.

I remember walking into a party on Halloween in 1983 and spotting two guys in a corner playing acoustic guitars. One of the guys was Jay, and the two were playing and singing Bruce Springsteen’s “Johnny 99.” Later on at the party Jay and I were finally introduced to each other. I told him, “I didn’t know you played guitar,” to which his total deadpan reply was, “Yeah, I play a little…” And thus my first exposure to that infamously quirky sense of humor that was essential Jay Bennett. Conversation with Jay was never dull and always interesting, no matter the subject…

Regardless of his (well documented) ups & downs, the Jay Bennett I knew was a big ‘ol sweetheart. And I’ll say it again: a massive musical talent on so many levels.

Happy 10th Birthday, Boomer & Soda Can!

2009-05-15T08:15:00.020-05:00

STEVE ROCK: Finn's Motel Off Broadway Photos 4/25/09

2009-04-28T06:58:00.014-05:00

Finn's Motel
(left to right) Steve Scariano, Joe Thebeau, Patrick Hawley, Robert Griffin

Finn's Motel photos by Toby Weiss.

Tommy Keene

(left to right) Steve Gerlach, Mike Leach, Tommy Keene, Brad Quinn

Sally Crewe & The Sudden Moves

STEVE ROCK: Finn's Motel At Off Broadway Saturday April 25th

2009-04-22T07:46:00.003-05:00

Finn's Motel plays this Saturday night, April 25th at the wonderfully smoke free Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave. St. Louis MO, 63118. We are honored to be sharing the bandstand with Tommy Keene---legendary master of the powerful pop and one of the classiest guys in all of rock. It’s been several years since Tommy’s played St. Louis, so you won’t want to miss him. He always delivers the total rock goods. Opening the show will be Tommy’s pals from Austin, TX, Sally Crewe & The Sudden Moves, who are definitely worth arriving early for and checking out.

This is our first live show in a while, as we’ve been hard at work fine tuning Joe’s great new songs as we prepare to embark on recording FMot album #2. We’ll be giving several of these new songs their first test spins in public, so we hope you can make it down to the show.

Tommy Keene
11pm-11:30pm-ish

Finn’s Motel
10pm-10:15pm-ish

Sally Crewe & The Sudden Moves
9pm

MUSIC: SXSW 2009

2009-04-15T17:24:00.045-05:00

None of my bands played South By Southwest this year, but Euclid Records was asked to participate in the Austin Record Convention (which was part of SXSW 2009), so I headed down to Austin with Euclid owner Joe Schwab to help man the store's booth. Though we didn't have wristbands, we still managed to see a lot of great music and had a great time as well as a successful record show.

We hit town on Wednesday and headed straight to the Pop Culture Press party in time for a fantastic set by Future Clouds And Radar. They were augmented by a guest trumpet player and were very well received by the large crowd. This was the fourth great Future Clouds show Joe and I have seen this year, and they are clearly one of the best live bands in the world today.

Next up was the reformed That Petrol Emotion. I’ve always loved the band and their sharp Undertones meets Captain Beefheart pop, but never had the chance to see them live back in their day, so I was pretty excited. They did not disappoint. Opening with their anthem “Hey Venus,” the band took off like a comet and never came back down to earth. Led by super energetic front man Steve Mack, their propulsive set was the best thing I saw all week at SXSW. I hope TPE are back to stay for a while, cause the world needs rock bands this great.

Later that night we caught longtime personal faves Outrageous Cherry.

Thursday was a big day because I finally got to see Cyril Jordan’s great band Magic Christian. I've been on their bandwagon from day one, and since they never play the Midwest, my only chances to see them live have been at SXSW. But the past couple of times I’ve been down there I had schedule conflicts at the times they were playing. But not this year! I got to see them two gorgeous afternoons in a row on the cool little patio of the Gingerman pub, and they are the consummate kick ass live band! Day one saw former Blondie guitarist Frank Infante sitting in on Shake Some Action, and day two found Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream standing on my immediate left---an obvious Magic Christian fan who rocked out the entire show. And frontman Paul Kopf stuck his mic in Joe’s face and had him sing a line of Shake Some Action! Something Joe will no doubt tell his grandchildren someday…

It’s really hard for me to put into words just how much Cyril’s music has meant to me over the years and the profound effect it has had on my life in so many ways. Needless to say it was an honor and pleasure to finally meet him. We got to hang for a bit on both days and he is beyond cool. I got to tell Cyril how much the Shake Some Action album forever changed my life in 1976 and how I would have never had the courage to try to actually play in a band if it had not been for that record. He seemed genuinely touched. We also chatted about our mutual love for The Easybeats. It’s so great when your idols turn out to be cool people. And Mr. Kopf is very cool as well and quite the rock and roll character! So now my next Magic Christian mission is to see them tear it up in a small club, as they do in these great live videos here and here.

Happy hour at Lucky’s with the greatest happy hour band in the world, Ian McLagan & The Bump Band.

We spent Friday afternoon at the Little Steven’s Underground Garage party at Antones, which was major bang for the buck as Steven presided as master of ceremonies over an impressive variety of acts presented old school “cavalcade of stars” style.

Little Steven

The legendary Augie Meyers, sitting in with the Krayolas.

Great young garage/r&b band from Denmark, The Breakers.

The one and only Roy Head, bringing down the house with "Treat Her Right."

Modesty Blaze of Oslo's Cocktail Slippers. Can she pass for Susannah Hoffs' daughter or what?

The Living Things

Eternal gods of the garage, the mighty Chesterfield Kings.

The big "secret" Metallica show at Stubb's. Don't ask...

Would have loved to have seen The Sonics, Primal Scream, The Dogs, The High Dials, The New York Dolls, Jimmy Webb & Sons, Sally Crewe & The Sudden Moves, and so many more, but that's the way the SXSW cookie crumbles. Saturday and Sunday were record show days, and as stated earlier, we had an outstanding show. On Sunday, just as the show was getting ready to close down, we were paid a visit by blissed out rock legend Sky Saxon of Seeds fame.

Joe and Sky.

Sky and me.

STEVE ROCK: Fred Mills Dirty Moons Review

2009-02-14T10:25:00.003-06:00

Longtime great American rock writer Fred Mills reviews Prisonshake's Dirty Moons in Blurt, here.

MUSIC: Why Andy Fraser Is GOD!

2009-02-12T07:19:00.002-06:00

The more I try to and wish I could play like Andy Fraser, the more I realize I'll never play like Andy Fraser. Because no one plays bass like Andy Fraser!!!

Dig Andy shining at his brightest on two great Youtubes of Free's "Mr. Big," here and here.

And it's great to see that Andy is finally performing live again. Click on "Events".

POLITICS: How Refreshing

2009-02-07T12:56:00.004-06:00

It’s nice to have a president who actually acknowledges the existence of ART once again. Forgot what that was like...

MUSIC: Lux Interior RIP

2009-02-05T05:52:00.005-06:00

Ron Asheton and now Lux? Damn. Lux Interior was a pure rock and roll genius. A once in a lifetime talent of immeasurable impact. Life changing impact. Lux and the Cramps are so important and transcendent and I am forever in awe. Did the guy ever once compromise the integrity of his “thing?” I think not. Few walk out of here with that in their back pocket. And no man ever rocked harder in heels…

MUSIC: The Big Holsapple-Stamey Weekend

2009-02-05T00:34:00.013-06:00

The great Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey played three shows at three St. Louis venues over 48 hours last weekend. Wonderful sets all that included “Nothing is Wrong” (my all-time favorite dBs song), “Black & White,” “Cara Lee,” “If & When” (still one of the greatest indie rock singles ever), “Something Came Over Me”, “Big Brown Eyes,” “Neverland”, all your favorites from the Mavericks album, great new songs from their upcoming album, covers of The Everly Brothers' “Lord Of The Manor” and “Let It Be Me”, a cover of Family's “My Friend The Sun”, etc. etc., etc.

Chris Stamey (left) & Peter Holsapple (right) at the Wood House Concert

At Euclid Records

At Off Broadway

And Roy Kasten posted a clip on Youtube from the Off Broadway show of the boys performing Gene Clark's "Here Without You."

STEVE ROCK: Love Experts In The Studio

2009-02-01T17:27:00.019-06:00

We cut some new tunes recently at Sawhorse Studios---a very cool St. Louis recording facility, all the more cooler because it’s five minutes from my house. Joe Thebeau is in the coach’s chair again for us, and Jason McEntire engineered.

Dave Collett & Dominic Finnochio

Steve Carosello

Bob Trammel

Steve Scariano

Joe Thebeau & Jason McEntire

POLITICS: Never Forgive, Never Forget, Never Repeat...

2009-01-20T07:44:00.001-06:00

I'm hoping we never forgive, forget, or repeat the endless sins of the Bush Administration.

STEVE ROCK: Byrne On Dirty Moons

2009-01-11T08:38:00.002-06:00

Richard Byrne has some nice things to say about Dirty Moons over on his blog, Balkans Via Bohemia.

Ron Asheton RIP

2009-01-06T10:10:00.000-06:00

Rest easy Ron, Shelton's got a cold one waiting for you...

STEVE ROCK: We're #6! We're #6!

2009-01-01T16:36:00.008-06:00

Chris Horbostel, aka "The Kid" gets down heavy with Dirty Moons on his (slowly trickling out) year end list on his great blog, Pop Narcotic.
Dig:

6. Prisonshake, Dirty Moons
(Forgiveness please--this review was a blog post that never was; a double-album 15 years in the creation phase deserves a few extra paragraphs. Sue me.)

Prisonshake's first proper album in 15 years, Dirty Moons, is a record that does everything in its power to keep you at arm's length, an album that double-dog-dares you to like it, a recording that pulls out quite a few stops to confound your expectations and even, dare I say, piss you off. It is a sprawling, snarling beast of an a record, and I'll admit that the first time I listened to it all the way through my first thought was "Fuck this."

Prisonshake--Robert Griffin, Doug Enkler, Steve Scariano, and Patrick Hawley--have been working on this record since '95 or so, and since I worked with Steve and Pat and saw Doug and Robert all the time at work at Euclid Records or in the basement as Cicero's, I remember vividly hearing details about intense practice sessions and heavy recording sessions. I remember the band going to Adam Schmitt's in Champaign to record an early version of the entire album....and then also remember the band scrapping those sessions and starting over. And starting over again. And again. After I left St. Louis, I'd hear updates about recording and the faint possibility that the follow-up to 1993's legendary The Roaring Third was due out "soon". After fits and starts and more fits, I could hardly believe that the long-awaited album was finally going to see light of day here in 2008, some 13 years in the making.

And so my reaction upon first listen was this: "This took 13 years to make?" The record kicks off with a great arty, funky groove on "Fake Your Own Death", but the song goes all over the place--at various points it has a prog rock feel, at other parts it's heavy metal, and every time it seems to settle in on itself....the band sound as if they're deliberately sabotaging it. This "sabotage" continues on the second track, "I Will Comment"; the song itself is built around a killer ascending rock riff and Hawley's insane timekeeping on snare...and then codas into a sweet groove, which the band decides to mess around with by burying in phase and fadeout. "Cut Out Bin" opens with a bizarre recording of someone--a fan?--leaving a phone message about getting bit by rats at a Biohazard show and living in an iron lung.

What the hell's going on here? Rock and roll is what's going on here. "Cut-Out Bin" snarls to life with a what sounds like Peter Buck's "Begin The Begin" riff as played by Richard Lloyd and then becomes a total anthem. "Dream Along" follows along, sounding like The Heartbreakers (Johnny's, not Joan's) covering Finn's Motel. And then there's "You're Obviously The One". That song is built on the best stupid rock riff Prisonshake's ever written, and despite the snarl of the guitars and the drive of the rhythm section, you listen to the lyrics and...what the hell? The guys who did "Precious" and "Carthage Burns" have written a song filled with sentiment and pathos and...hell, the damn thing is downright sweet! Check that line:

"Just when you think the thrill is gone
You hear in your ear 'You're obviously the one.'"

Yeah, right? I mean, the 'Shake isn't turning into John Mayer here, but that's still a pretty awesome sentiment to hear.

Even cooler, the song finishes with an amazing instrumental bridge that starts off like vintage Motown, with Hawley popping the snare in the pocket while Scariano's bass runs all over the place...and then Griffin's guitars come zooming in with a great counterpoint to the vocal melody, and the whole thing just rocks out like crazy....

...and you realize you've been set up. Played. Manipulated. The magicians got you looking one way, and you missed the force. See, the tracks where things are allowed to deliberately run off the rails and into unknown territory that confounds your expectations set you up that such will always be the case on Moons. So when that final coda kicks in on "Obviously", you're expecting them to deliberately do something...unconventional. Weird. I'll say it: you're waiting for them to "screw up" another one of their songs just when they hit the groove. Leave it to 'Shake then to give you the finger right back: they play it straight, and what might've been a "very cool" moment on the record instead becomes a transcendant one. There's a point as "Obviously" slams to the finish when you realize they aren't going to play around with the track, and the danger of thinking they still might and the sheer thrill of "what if they don't, though" combine to make it one of the great rock moments of the year.

Not that the rest of the disc isn't daunting. Most of one album side is a five-part song cycle called "Scissors Suite" that seems bent on discouraging casual CD-skimming, that seems bent on keeping itself well outside an iPod song shuffle. There's the ten-minute "Year Of The Donk" which veers wildly from interesting to exciting to self-indulgent and then back again.

The thing of it is, if you're the sort who listens to a track or two of a disc and then flits off to somewhere else, Dirty Moons is an insanely difficult record. It buries its charms and hides its hooks and saves them for people willing to sit and listen to the entire double album. It dares you discover the amazing-ness of "The Understudy"; it defies you to hang on for the riff in "We've Only Just Tasted The Wine"; it wants the casual trend-followers long gone before "Crush Me" and "Fuck Your Self Esteem" come crashing in to the party.

Does an artist create art for an audience, or create art for art's sake and not worry over whether it finds an audience? 99.99% of rock and roll is made up of artists convinced the answer is the former (whether they'll say so or not). The greatest achievement of Dirty Moons is that there's no way anyone will accuse it of being anything but an incredibly personal record that Prisonshake and Robert Griffin especially made for themselves and for their own aesthetic. If it puts you off, they don't care. If you really, really end up liking it...well, good...but again, they don't care. Much. (I penalized this disc 5 spots because these guys are friends and there's no earthly way I can be particularly objective about the record.)

Thank you Kid, your check's in the mail. Dirty Moons had the honor of also making year end lists from I Rock Cleveland , Shannon at Criminal Records in Atlanta, Euclid Records owner Joe Schwab, and the universally renowned and respected year end list of the master of all things rock in St. Louis, Vintage Vinyl's Jim Utz.

MUSIC: Faves Of 2008

2008-12-20T12:27:00.009-06:00

There are good albums every year and this year was no exception. But for reasons I have yet to exactly figure out, most new music just didn’t “taste” as good to me this year and new albums on the whole didn’t do it for me in 2008. Maybe this was just one of those years where the reissues were far more interesting, with Doll By Doll, The Move, Dennis Wilson, and The Replacements leading the way for me on that front, with plenty of others right behind them.

So with the above caveat in mind, here are a few new albums I liked in 2008, in alphabetical order:

The Baseball Project---Volume 1: Frozen Ropes And Dying Quails

Cobra Verde---Haven’t Slept All Year

Ray Davies---Workingman’s Café

Alejandro Escovedo---Real Animal

Future Clouds And Radar---Peoria

The High Dials---Moon Country

Magnolia Summer---Lines From The Frame

Primal Scream---Beautiful Future

REM---Accelerate

Raphael Saadiq---The Way I See It

Sparks---Exotic Creatures Of The Deep

Steve Wynn---Crossing The Dragon Bridge

No song moved me more on an emotionally sentimental level this year than “Sensitive Boys” from Alejandro Escovedo’s fantastic Real Animal album. If back in the ‘80’s you were in a two guitars, bass, & drums American rock band that wore vintage thrift store clothes, then maybe this song moved you in the same way it moved me.

In my opinion the greatest accomplishment in rock music in 2008 had to be Sparks 21 date run last May & June in London. They called it Sparks Spectacular (click the "more" icon after each album cover), and indeed it was. Over the course of the 21 dates they played every single song in chronological order off every album in their legendary 21 album catalog. As they posted on their website, “That’s approximately 250 songs, or for you musicians, 4 million, 825 thousand, 273 notes.” They had a live web cam thingy going for the shows, and the times I was able to tune in they blew me away no matter what album they were performing that evening. The Maels' top notch band (including Redd Kross' Steven McDonald on bass!) handled the ever changing musical directions of the Sparks’ history quite well, Ron Mael was as genius as always, and Russel Mael’s herculean singing earns him my vote for Musician Of The Year. All of it just total mind blowing stuff on so many levels. A “Sparks Spectacular" search on YouTube will land you all sorts of amateur videos from the shows of varying quality, so fingers are crossed in hopes the product-savvy Maels will release some sort of worthy official document of the event sometime soon.

I saw an embarrassing small number of live shows in 2008. Ian McLagan & The Bump Band at The Duck Room and Steve Wynn & The Miracle 3 at Off Broadway were both great, but by far the best rock show I saw in 2008 was Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band at the Scott Trade Center. Best Springsteen show I’ve seen since 1975, and the fanatics are calling it the “best night of the tour” (scroll down to the 8/23 entry).

STEVE ROCK: Turning Curious Rip Download On Power Pop! Criminal$

2008-12-14T09:07:00.008-06:00

The Power Pop! Criminal$ website has a rip download posted of the record we cut in 1984 with Mitch Easter, here. The record's pretty scarce these days so give it a spin here if you like, but skip that whack blurb and it's dodgy research! Mitch and Let's Active were never "labelmates" with us on Metro-America, and for the record Turning Curious was Nick Rudd, Jeff Evans, Berni Proeschl, and myself. Dave Wisniewski, now of the Midwest Music Liquidators, also played on these recordings, as Jeff was away from the band and returned to the lineup in the summer of 1984.

STEVE ROCK: Steve Wynn And The Miracle 3, The Love Experts, And Rough Shop At Off Broadway, 11/15

2008-11-17T07:32:00.024-06:00

Best Miracle 3 show I've ever seen.
Best Rough Shop show I've ever seen.
And we Love Experts had a pretty good night too...

Steve Wynn & The Miracle 3

(left to right) Jason Victor, Steve Wynn, Jason Victor, Dave DeCastro

The Love Experts

(left to right) Dave Collett, Steve Carosello, Bob Trammel, Dominic Finocchio, Steve Scariano

So old I have to sit down to play our lengthy new one,
"Levitation."

Love Experts photos by Donna Shaw

Rough Shop
(left to right) Andy Ploof, Anne Tkach, John Wendland, Spencer Marquart

Givin' the drummers some. Bob Trammel & Linda Pitmon

Steve & Steve blurry after a long night of rock...

Photo by Jason Victor

MUSIC: Steve Wynn And The Miracle 3 At Euclid Records 11/15

2008-11-17T06:53:00.022-06:00

Steve Wynn and the Miracle 3 played the first of the store's new
In-Store Sessions series.

(left to right) Jason Victor, Linda Pitmon, Steve Wynn, Dave De Castro

Linda recruited Love Experts drummer Bob Trammel for a little maraca help.

Baseball Project members Steve & Linda pose with our display for their album.

MUSIC: Steve Wynn And The Miracle 3 At The John Wendland Surprise Party, Wood House 11/14

2008-11-17T06:25:00.012-06:00

Steve Wynn and the Miracle 3 played a surprise birthday party at the Wood House for John Wendland of Rough Shop and Memphis To Manchester fame. The Miracle 3 played a fantastic set, about 80% of it requests from the crowd, including bassist Dave DeCastro's spirited lead vocal on the band's impromptu stab at Foghat's "Slow Ride."

(left to right) Jason Victor, Linda Pitmon, Steve Wynn, Dave DeCastro

Jason Victor and Frosty.

The very surprised birthday boy.

Mitch Mitchell, RIP

2008-11-12T18:21:00.004-06:00

Mitch Mitchell has passed.

STEVE ROCK: Upcoming Love Experts Show

2008-11-11T06:49:00.003-06:00

Saturday, November 15th at Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave St. Louis MO, 63118:

Steve Wynn & The Miracle 3
The Love Experts
Rough Shop

It's our first live show in two years. If you like scorching electric guitars in your rock music, then you really need to see Steve & the fabulous Miracle 3. They are one of the best live bands in the world today, and lead guitarist Jason Victor will blow your mind. If you like The Band, then you really need to see Rough Shop. It promises to be a special evening of rock, we hope you can make it down. The music starts with Rough Shop at 9pm.

And Mr. Carosello has written a far more eloquent blurb on the show on our MySpace blog.

POLITICS: My Favorite Celebration Scene From Election Night

2008-11-05T06:54:00.007-06:00

Loved seeing the massive crowd outside The White House last night chanting YES WE CAN! YES WE CAN! YES WE CAN! No amount of scotch and Ambien could have knocked W. out and allowed him to sleep over that volume.

Take it away, P-Funk!

POLITICS: Did You Hear It?

2008-11-05T00:07:00.002-06:00

10:00pm (CST): Barack Obama wins the election.

10:01pm (CST): The world exhales.

POLITICS: Put The Message In The Box And VOTE!!!

2008-11-04T05:21:00.004-06:00

Here's a video for World Party's "Put The Message In The Box," my favorite song about the act of voting. Now get out there and DO IT!

Yma Sumac, RIP

2008-11-03T23:29:00.005-06:00

The Peruvian Songbird's incomparable journey of octaves has come to an end.

Amazing Yma Sumac videos via You Tube, here.

POLITICS: John Dean On The Need To Defeat GOP Authoritarian Rule

2008-11-01T12:03:00.005-05:00

An important must read from John Dean on what's really at stake on November 4th.

Studs Terkel, RIP

2008-10-31T18:49:00.004-05:00

A real American hero.

Rudy Ray Moore, RIP

2008-10-21T18:10:00.005-05:00

The great Rudy Ray Moore has passed. Rudy was a close friend of Vintage Vinyl co-owner Tom Ray, my former employer. I'll never forget the morning I strolled into the Vintage Vinyl office and found Rudy sleeping on the couch with his briefcase handcuffed to his wrist. Does it get any more old school than that? Rudy was definitely an American original, we'll never see talent of his kind again...

POLITICS: A Surgical Decapitation Of McCain/Palin

2008-10-19T15:37:00.002-05:00

General Colin Powell endorses Obama:

Meet The Press appearance.

Post MTP press conference video.

POLITICS: 100,000 For Obama In St. Louis!

2008-10-18T17:32:00.011-05:00

Very proud of my city today. Very proud indeed!

STEVE ROCK: Prisonshake In Chicago Friday Night

2008-10-08T06:31:00.002-05:00

Ok Chitown, the Cubs and White Sox are out of the playoffs so there's no excuse to stay home. Prisonshake plays the Empty Bottle this Friday night, October 10th. More info, here.

STEVE ROCK: More Shake Stuff

2008-09-30T09:13:00.009-05:00

Prisonshake is #2 on the charts this week over on Howard Thompson's online radio station, North Fork Sound.

Griff has a bunch of interviews and Dirty Moons reviews up on his blog, here.

And here are some photos from our Columbus show, snapped by Doug's sister Carol Enkler:

STEVE ROCK: Shake Stuff

2008-09-24T00:01:00.003-05:00

Review of Prisonshake's show in Cleveland on I Rock Cleveland.

A You Tube video from our (bit of a trainwreck) show in Columbus, pics of us in Cleveland taken by Cobra Verde's John Petkovic, and a recap of our weekend in Ohio on Griff's blog, Where The Rock Is.

Hopefully these sights & sounds will put a lot of you in the mood to come see us this Friday night (9/26) at The Bluebird, 2706 Olive Street, St. Louis, MO 63103. If you've never been to The Bluebird do check out the directions on their website---you're gonna need them. We play at 11:30pm, though come early if you can and check out Psychotronics. I'm sure everyone will be needing a drink or two or three after the presidential debate, so come on down to the rock.

STEVE ROCK: Upcoming Prisonshake Shows

2008-09-17T06:57:00.005-05:00

Come see our rock:

Friday, September 19th The Summit Columbus, Ohio

Saturday, September 20th Grog Shop Cleveland, Ohio

*Friday, September 26th The Bluebird St. Louis, Missouri

Friday, October 10th Empty Bottle Chicago, Illinois

*---This is also the night of the first presidential debate. We are playing last on the bill and the debate will be long over by the time we go on.

STEVE ROCK: Prisonshake We Have The Technology Interview

2008-09-13T10:58:00.005-05:00

Lengthy Prisonshake interview in Cleveland blog-zine We Have The Technology, here.

POLITICS: The View From Over There

2008-09-11T13:22:00.003-05:00

A call to arms from my good friend, Tom Lunt:

I've just spent over a week in the United Kingdom, where the prevailing opinion is this: if McCain/Palin are elected, the American experiment is over. They were willing to give us the benefit of the doubt for the last eight years and still have have great hopes for an Obama administration pulling the US out of the fundamentalist swamp, but if he doesn't pull it off, the US will become the permanent pariah of the world–China will control our economy, India will surpass us in technology and education, Russia in military might and the EU and Japan in cultural export. Americans as "stupid, fat, bigoted religious zealots" will no longer be a running joke, it will be an indisputable fact. The world will just write us off. The world is planning–right now– to write us off.

If you haven't given a few bucks to the Obama Campaign, do so immediately. If you have, dig deeper. If you're supporting McPalin, you really should be in a re-education gulag in some bitter-cold, lands-end nowhere. Like Alaska.

STEVE ROCK: Prisonshake's Dirty Moons Out Now!

2008-08-27T06:12:00.007-05:00

Does someone need a punch in the mouth?
"Fuck Your Self Esteem" (Enkler-Griffin), Dirty Moons Side 4, Cut 3.

Or maybe just a crazy kick ass rock n' roll record instead? The kind of old school double album like the ones you grew up with. You remember those records. You'd hit the bong a couple of times, put the headphones on, and then proceed to lose yourself in suspended belief over what you were hearing, all the while wondering what the hell they must have been smoking in order to create such a wonderful noise. Well it took us a few years, but I think we've delivered that kind of album.

In her feature on us in last week's Riverfront Times, Annie Zaleski described Dirty Moons as a record with "Hints of other artists — like Dinosaur Jr, the Stooges, Shellac, Guided By Voices, Bowie, Superchunk, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath — pass by but never linger, forming an oddly alluring, haphazard patchwork quilt of textures and sounds."
Dunno about Dinosaur Jr. (never was a fan), but I think a case can be made for Annie's comparisons, and it's an honor to be mentioned among them. Now of course some folks may disagree and not find the various jams we've laid down on Dirty Moons to be in alignment with their particular sensibilities of rock---and that's OK. There's a ton of information to absorb on Dirty Moons and it may be wise to ignore any immediate impressions until after a dozen listens or so before deciding what turns you off or on about the album. Heck, I don't even know what songs I like better than others, as that list seems to change everyday. Though each side has it's own vibe, feel free to drop the needle anywhere and let 'er rip. Again, there's a lot of variety. And don't let the various levels of lo, mid, and hi fi scare you. Unlike what you hear on most modern sounding records these days, our goal was to keep it real and not mix the passion out.

So here it is, folks. We'd love for everyone to pick up a copy or two or three. And please be aware of the love and care that went into the mastering, pressing, and packaging of the vinyl version of Dirty Moons. Those of you who swing vinyl will definitely be pleased. You should be able to find Dirty Moons in better record stores everywhere, and don't forget the easiest way to get it is always directly from Scat Records, here.

POLITICS: Get Down And Get With It With The Obama-Biden Ticket

2008-08-23T07:18:00.013-05:00

In the immortal words of my beloved Slade, it's time to get down and get with it with the Obama-Biden ticket.

I'm very happy with the Obama-Biden ticket. Are you? What's that you say, you're not so thrilled? That's fine, you're a Democrat---it's all about the nit picking and hand wringing with us. So I'm giving you 60 seconds to get all of your bitching, moaning, and crying over it not being Hillary or someone else out of your system. Ok, go:

Stop---time's up! There now, feel better? Good. Because it's time to quit fucking around and get on board. There is only one choice now: You're either with McCain or against him. So unless you're cool with the continuation and acceleration of ANY AND ALL of the Bush-Cheney policies of the last 8 years, then that choice is obvious. Time to get down and get with it and get against McCain. And that means really fucking hard against McCain! Are you still getting any of that "I just don't know about Obama..." silliness from people in your personal universe? Or maybe you're buying into some of that mess yourself? Fine. What you do know, or should know real clearly by now, is what John McCain is all about. So start spreading that word if it's more comfortable for you, but geez folks, by all means start spreading the word. ENGAGE, BABY! Don't fear it. The opposition certainly doesn't and they have no problem telling those they come in contact with everything they consider to be the potential evils of an Obama presidency. So it's up to you to counter back. You know the horrors that a McCain presidency will bring, so speak up! You never know who is actually listening to you and who you might be able to sway. The opposition may want to see Obama defeated way more than they want to see McCain elected, but that still means a McCain presidency. And that is simply UNACCEPTABLE ON EVERY LEVEL!!! The stakes are too high and the choice is clear. Get down and get with it...

STEVE ROCK: Prisonshake Feature In The Riverfront Times

2008-08-20T17:23:00.004-05:00

Annie Zaleski interviews The Griff, here. And that live action photo, snapped by the great Doug Teramura, is one of my all-time favorites of us.

STEVE ROCK: Prisonshake Dirty Moons Pre-Order

2008-08-01T10:19:00.002-05:00

Ok kids, be the first on your block to get our double album of total mammoth rock by pre-ordering it directly from Scat Records, here.

Summer Means Fun

2008-07-29T07:17:00.004-05:00

Me with new friend in Love Experts drummer Bob Trammel's pool, 7/5/08.

(Photo by Lisa Perez)

POLITICS/DRINKING: Mr. Smith Does It Again

2008-07-17T07:34:00.004-05:00

The latest happening at my favorite local watering hole, The Royale.

Happy 9th Birthday Boomer & Soda Can!

2008-05-15T21:34:00.024-05:00

Boomer

Soda Can

STEVE ROCK: Two New Prisonshake Sites

2008-05-05T06:19:00.005-05:00

We've entered the world of MySpace with a band page:
www.myspace.com/prisonshake

Robert has also put up a blog for our Dirty Moons album and other Shake related stuff.
Check it out:
wheretherockis.blogspot.com/

And Dirty Moons has a new release date, as Robert explains on the Scat Records site, here.

POLITICS: Greatest Jon Stewart Bit Ever?

2008-05-01T06:17:00.003-05:00

Someone please pin a medal on the guy. Watch the video, here.

STEVE ROCK: Finn's Motel Play Record Store Day At Euclid Records

2008-04-19T18:02:00.008-05:00

Thanks to all who came out for the big Record Store Day celebration---we had a blast! Definitely one of our most fun gigs ever as we kicked it three piece today while Matt's away on tour with the Ded Bugs.

(Photos by Diane Paglusch)

STEVE ROCK: Upcoming Finn's Motel Show

2008-04-15T19:04:00.002-05:00

Finn's Motel joins Euclid Record's celebration of national Record Store Day, with a live in-store performance at 2pm, this Saturday, April 19th. Euclid Records is located at 601 E. Lockwood in Webster Groves. What's Record Store Day? Euclid Records owner Joe Schwab gives an explanation on the store's blog, here.

Complete schedule of all the artists playing Euclid's Record Store Day celebration, and further info on the day's activities at the store, here.

STEVE ROCK: What Rock and Roll Sounds Like?

2008-04-09T06:50:00.002-05:00

Chris Hornbostel, known affectionately to some of us as "The Kid," serves up some nice words on Prisonshake on his very fine pop culture blog Pop Narcotic, here.

STEVE ROCK: Prisonshake Album Release Date

2008-04-03T07:43:00.002-05:00

July 29th is the big day for our Dirty Moons double album. Official word (and dig that album cover!) from the Scat Records site, here.

POLITICS: Obama's Speech On "A More Perfect Union"

2008-03-18T13:47:00.003-05:00

Such a long home run, the ball still hasn't landed.

Full transcript & video, here.

POLITICS: Keith Olbermann's Special Comment On Hillary Clinton's Campaign

2008-03-12T20:36:00.002-05:00

We're handing McCain the election. Really, we are. So yeah, what Keith said!

Video by way of the Countdown website, here.

Transcript, here.

STEVE ROCK: New Prisonshake Streams

2008-03-05T06:37:00.002-06:00

Three new Prisonshake streams from our forthcoming Dirty Moons album, by way of Scat Records, here.

STEVE ROCK: New Bass

2008-02-23T12:53:00.009-06:00

I've been wanting a short scale bass for a while now, and I decided to go with the Waterstone Indra. Waterstone is the cool Nashville based company that also manufactures the Tom Petersson 12 String Bass Series. The Indra's a groovy little bass, and as my good friend Tom Lunt says, "Very Ronnie Lane!"

Check it out:

STEVE ROCK: Finn's Motel At The Ten Mile House, February 23rd

2008-02-21T06:08:00.003-06:00

Finn's Motel play the The Ten Mile House on Saturday night, February 23rd. The Ten Mile House is located at 9420 Gravois Rd in the heart of Affton, MO. Joining us on the bill are Bill Boll and The Museum Mutters, currently my favorite band in all of St. Louis. Should be a fun show, and there is always plenty of free and safe parking at The Ten Mile House.

POLITICS: For Barack Obama

2008-02-03T13:39:00.000-06:00

You should (hopefully) know where Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton stand on the issues by now, so I'll keep it simple by posing the following two questions:

1. After two terms of Bush-Cheney, are you ready for another co-presidency? The Clintons are making no bones that this is what will be if Senator Clinton is elected.

2. Who do you think has the most realistic chance of beating John McCain? If you don't think electability may be the most important issue of all, then take a look at what the Republicans are doing. They are holding their collective noses and nominating John McCain because they know he is their only candidate that can not only defeat The Clintons, but defeat them convincingly. If The Clintons are nominated and then lose to McCain, it will not only be a disaster for the country, but it will render the Democratic Party impotent for another 20 years and maybe even obsolete. As of today, national polling shows McCain defeating The Clintons, while Obama defeats McCain. In the debate last Thursday, Obama took the lead and continually took it to McCain by fearlessly and effectively attacking him. Yes, if Obama is the nominee the Republicans will come as hard and ugly against him as they will against The Clintons, but hard reality is showing the GOP are terrified of having to run against Obama. Terrified.

If you are voting in a primary on Tuesday, cast a vote against fear. Please vote for Barack Obama.

Here's the view from where I stood among 20,000 people last night at the Obama rally at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.

POLITICS: "It’s about the past versus the future."

2008-01-27T06:38:00.000-06:00

This time Obama takes it up a notch, as his South Carolina victory speech hits the bullseye and zings with the vintage sharp edge of the music of fellow Chicagoan Curtis Mayfield.

Full video of the speech:
Part 1
Part 2

And please read Caroline Kennedy's endorsement of Obama from the Opinion page of the New York Times, here.

MUSIC: Happy Sex Pistols Anniversary!

2008-01-08T08:00:00.000-06:00

It dawned on me this morning that Sunday (Jan. 6) was the 30th anniversary of many of us from St. Louis trekking down to Memphis to see the Sex Pistols. I can honestly say that every memory of it has remained vivid for me down through the years, from sitting in Dave Thomas' living room that morning before we all hit the road and watching a clip on the Today Show of their first show the night before in Atlanta, to post show cocktails with Alex Chilton. The coverage on the Today Show was significant and really blew our minds, as it just poured gasoline on our already raging fires of anticipation. It's hard to remember the time before there was 24 hour cable news coverage, etc., so the fact that the Today Show showed a clip was a really, really big deal. My favorite memory of the entire experience was Johnny Rotten's opening salvo: "I'm not here for your amusement, you're here for miiiiiiiine!!!!!!!"

POLITICS: Obama's Stirring Victory Speech

2008-01-04T08:26:00.000-06:00

If you need a musical comparison for Obama's fantastic Iowa victory speech last night, think Otis Redding's multi faceted historic performance at Monterey.

Video of Obama's speech, here.

MUSIC: Faves Of 2007

2007-12-22T15:50:00.000-06:00

My favorite music of 2007, presented in alphabetical order:

Carbon/Silicon---The Last Post
www.carbonsiliconinc.com/

Peter Case---Let Us Now Praise Sleepy John
www.petercase.com/

Jarvis Cocker---Jarvis
www.myspace.com/jarvspace

The Coral---Roots And Echoes
www.thecoral.co.uk/

The Detroit Cobras---Tied & True
www.detroitcobras.org/

John Doe---A Year In The Wilderness
www.theejohndoe.com/

Mitch Easter---Dynamico
www.mitcheaster.com/

Bryan Ferry---Dylanesque
www.bryanferry.com/

John Fogerty---Revival
www.johnfogerty.com/

Future Clouds And Radar---Future Clouds And Radar
www.starapplekingdom.com/

The Go---Howl On The Haunted Beat You Ride
http://www.myspace.com/thegodetroit

Ian Hunter---Shrunken Heads
www.ianhunter.com/

Richard Lloyd---The Radiant Monkey
www.richardlloyd.com/

Midwest Music Liquidators---Various recordings only available (for now) on their myspace page.
www.myspace.com/midwestmusicliquidators

The Museum Mutters---Various recordings only available (for now) on their myspace page.
http://www.myspace.com/themuseummutters

Outrageous Cherry---Stay Happy
http://www.myspace.com/outrageouscherry

Prince---Planet Earth
www.3121.com/

The Skeletons---Alive In The Nineties
soursnow.blogspot.com/

Son Volt---The Search
www.sonvolt.net/

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band---Magic
www.brucespringsteen.net/

The Stabilisers---Wanna do the Wild Plastic Brane Love Thing?
www.thestabilisers.com/

Stephen Stills---Just Roll Tape
www.stephenstillsmusic.org/

Ben Vaughn---Designs In Music
benvaughn.net/

Wilco---Sky Blue Sky
www.wilcoworld.net/

MUSIC: Ike Turner RIP

2007-12-12T19:30:00.000-06:00

ST. LOUIS WALK OF FAME: IKE TURNER
Ike Turner played a profound role in shaping American music. His band’s 1951 single “Rocket 88” is often regarded as the first rock & roll record. As a talent scout and A&R man, he discovered or recorded many blues legends, including Elmore James, Buddy Guy and Howlin’ Wolf. Turner moved to East St. Louis in 1954, and his Kings of Rhythm became a top rhythm & blues act in St. Louis. In the 1960s the group’s sound evolved into the pulsating rock and roll of Ike & Tina Turner. Famous for his boogie-woogie piano and whammy-bar guitar signatures, Turner produced hits such as “A Fool In Love,” “It’s Gonna Work Out Fine” and “Proud Mary.” Ike Turner was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.

STEVE ROCK: New Prisonshake Singles Out Now!

2007-12-11T06:45:00.000-06:00

Get 'em while they're hot, here.

STEVE ROCK: Prisonshake 7" Pre-Order

2007-11-18T13:57:00.000-06:00

Be the first on your block to pre-order the new Prisonshake singles, here.

First Autumn In The New House

2007-11-11T07:48:00.001-06:00

In the backyard with Boomer and the pumpkins.

STEVE ROCK: Finn's Motel At The Bluebird, Saturday, October 13th

2007-10-10T05:10:00.000-05:00

Saturday, October 13th, Finn's Motel play new St. Louis venue The Bluebird, 2706 Olive, St. Louis, MO 63103. We're opening for Adam Franklin of Swervedriver. We play at 9pm. Cover: $10.00 21+/$12.00 minors (18+).

STEVE ROCK: Prisonshake's Dirty Moons Completed!

2007-10-04T23:24:00.001-05:00

News of the completion of our forthcoming double album, Dirty Moons, plus a stream of the first two songs on it, here.

STEVE ROCK: Finn's Motel Named "Best Pop Band" By RFT

2007-09-27T12:11:00.000-05:00

The Riverfronttimes has named Finn's Motel "Best Pop Band" in it's annual Best Of St. Louis edition.

Here's the blurb from the issue:

Best Pop Band (2007)
Finn's Motel
Joe Thebeau's no stranger to the local music community, seeing as he's been playing and constructing music as a member of various bands for many years. But he's struck pure-pop gold with his current project, Finn's Motel, a rotating cast of musicians and personalities that proves just how smart music can be. Literally and figuratively: The scientific references dotting the stellar single "Of Cycles and Engines" — one of the year's best, a bit of jangle-grime that's insidiously catchy — set a brainiac tone that continues throughout the band's debut CD, Escape Velocity. Thebeau's voice has the higher-register lilt of Superchunk's Mac McCaughan, while the spring-loaded choruses and boisterous garage-grunge riffs sound like Guided by Voices with a Ph.D. — and Velocity's dreamier moments conjure the Pernice Brothers, or Wilco with a shoegazing problem. Despite such erudite touchstones, Finn's Motel's tunes never get swallowed by academic preciousness; if anything, they want to make you drive down the road at top speed on a sunny day.

POLITICS: KO's "President Of Hypocrisy"

2007-09-21T07:05:00.000-05:00

Keith Olbermann gives what the Democratic response on the Senate floor yesterday should have been, here.

MUSIC: Ian Hunter Piano Enters Rock Hall of Fame

2007-08-17T06:34:00.000-05:00

Though I personally think the piano used on "All The Way From Memphis" may be more deserving of the honor, what the heck. By way of Harp, here.

MUSIC: Are you ready, boots?

2007-08-07T07:18:00.000-05:00

Lee Hazlewood, RIP...

STEVE ROCK: Upcoming Finn's Motel Shows

2007-08-06T06:07:00.000-05:00

Finn's Motel plays at 9pm, Thursday, August 9 at The Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western Ave., Chicago, IL 60622.

Here's a nice little show preview blurb on us from the Chicago Tribune:
Post-industrial boom slowdown has turned a couple ragged old cities (Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Providence) into thriving arts scenes due to cheap rents and nothin' to do -- but unfortunately, St. Louis hasn't seen this sort of turnaround. It seems like it's been a good decade since the Lou had some real rock talents to boast about. Given all of this, it's no surprise that a little wonder of a band like Finn's Motel could escape notice. The basement recording project of Joe Thebeau, Finn's Motel's "Escape Velocity" (Scat) is a rough power-pop gem: churlish bar rock with some Midwestern sheen (think Cheap Trick, rather than indie rock). It's a real charmer.

Friday, August 10, we bring the "Affton Sound" to Affton when we play the Ten Mile House, 9420 Gravois Rd Affton, MO 63123 with our buddies, the fabulous Tinhorn. The Ten Mile House is a couple of blocks past St. Louis landmark Phil's BBQ, and a long wiffle ball home run from Joe's house where Escape Velocity was birthed and recorded. It's also a couple of miles from the house I grew up in. And have no fear urban hipsters, there's plenty of safe and free parking at the Ten Mile House. Should be a really fun show.

And here's an early heads up:
On October 13th we're playing new St. Louis venue The Bluebird, 2706 Olive, opening for Adam Franklin of Swervedriver. Swervedriver's 1993 classic Mezcal Head is one of my all-time favorite albums.

POLITICS: Generation Chickenhawk

2007-07-19T06:30:00.000-05:00

Max Blumenthal visits the College Republican National Convention and delivers a must see video. Check it out and pay attention to a couple of particularly embarassing young GOP tools from St. Louis, here.

POLITICS: Rudy Pot Calls Vitter Kettle Black

2007-07-10T18:04:00.000-05:00

Given Giuliani's history as a serial adulterer, this is pretty rich. As Tony Soprano might ask, "Where do you get the balls?" Check out the nerve of this scumbag, by way of the CNN Political Ticker, here.

POLITICS/MUST SEE TV: Michael Moore Calls Out Wolf Blitzer

2007-07-09T23:58:00.000-05:00

As the saying goes, there's nothing like live TV. Check out the fun by way of Crooks And Liars, here.

STEVE ROCK: 2 Finn's Motel Shows This Weekend

2007-05-29T17:58:00.000-05:00

Two Finn's Motel shows this weekend:

Saturday, June 2nd at The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd. Show starts at 8pm, we're scheduled second between Jesse Irwin and The Trip Daddys, and our set starts at 9pm.

Sunday, June 3rd at The Halo Bar, 6161 Delmar Blvd. We play at 9:30pm as part of the RFT Music Awards Showcase.

Our good buddy Chris Grabau of Magnolia Summer will be on guitar with us for these shows. Chris will be filling in for Robert Griffin, who is up in Chicago mixing the forthcoming Prisonshake album.