STEVE ROCK: Upcoming Finn's Motel Show

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?

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

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"

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

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

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

STEVE ROCK: New Bass

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

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

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."

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!

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

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

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

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!

Get 'em while they're hot, here.

STEVE ROCK: Prisonshake 7" Pre-Order

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

First Autumn In The New House

In the backyard with Boomer and the pumpkins.

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

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!

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

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"

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

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?

Lee Hazlewood, RIP...

STEVE ROCK: Upcoming Finn's Motel Shows

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

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

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

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

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.

Man's Best Friend(s)

The kids are eight years old today. Happy Birthday Boomer & Soda Can!

Boomer & Soda Can


Soda Can


Boomer

MUSIC: Dr. Jockenstein, RIP

During the golden era of American Funk and R&B of the late 1970's, the AM radio of my '68 Chevy Malibu was permanently locked on WESL, a fabulous hard core R&B station just across the river in East St. Louis, Illinois. As genius as it was entertaining, WESL back then was as definitive "old school" radio as it gets. It was simply amazing. Back in that day WESL had a roster full of outstanding DJs, every one of them a Hall Of Famer, and none was better than The Doctor... Dr. Jockenstein. I was in college at the time, but I think I learned more about life and the real ways of the world listening to Jockenstein and his WESL cohorts than I ever learned in any college classroom...