POLITICS: Molly Ivins, RIP

This one really hurts. A major loss...

STEVE ROCK: Finn's Motel Rock Video

Rock video for Recent Linear Landscapes.

MUSIC: Farewell Mississippi Nights

Stalwart St. Louis rock club institution Mississippi Nights closed its doors last night. A wrecking ball will hit it and a shiny new casino will soon be in its place. The club may open in another location, and maybe it won’t. I’ve been seeing rock shows there for thirty years. Many rock shows! So many great shows in fact, it’s next to impossible for me to shake the cobwebs of my memory and assemble a complete listing. So I’ll put it this way instead: The very first show I ever saw at Mississippi Nights was AC/DC with Bon Scott in 1977 and the very last show I ever saw at Mississippi Nights were the New York Dolls in 2006. To say I saw everything in between would be a major understatement, my all-time favorites being the Dwight Twilley Band on the Twilley Don’t Mind tour in 1978 and Roxy Music on the Manifesto tour in 1979.

I also had the pleasure of performing at Mississippi Nights several times over the years with several different bands. Each and every time I performed there I was treated by the club with the highest degree of respect and professionalism—something extremely rare in this nutty business. I could easily fill a book recounting the personal good times I had and great shows I saw and got to play myself at Mississippi Nights. Deepest of thanks to owner Rich Frame and the lifetime of incredible memories his club has provided.

MUSIC: Denny Doherty RIP

And then there was one...

MUSIC: 96 Tears Fund

As you may already know, ? And The Mysterians were recent victims of a fire in which they lost everything. Jeff Kopp and the good folks at GaragePunk.com are bringing the band to town for a benefit show. Read all about it and make a donation if you can, here.

POLITICS: KO!

WHAT HE SAID!

STEVE ROCK: Finn's Motel Live Clip

Finn's Motel performing "Arizona Sandstorm" live at Off Broadway, St.Louis, 12/21/06, by way of YouTube, here.

There's also a nice little article on Finn's Motel (and a great photo of Joe!) in the new issue of MAGNET Magazine. Cat Power's on the cover, on sale now...

MUSIC: Faves Of 2006

My favorite music of 2006,
presented in alphabetical order
and with blurbs when inspired:

Jon Auer---Songs From The Year Of Our Demise
www.myspace.com/jonauermusic

Rosanne Cash---Black Cadillac
www.rosannecash.com

Cheap Trick---Rockford
www.cheaptrick.com

Ray Davies---Other People’s Lives
At age 62 Ray releases a record as great and as important a statement as any he made during his 20's & 30's.
www.raydavies.info

Def Leppard---Yeah!
www.defleppard.com/index.html

Bob Dylan---Modern Times
www.bobdylan.com/moderntimes/home/main.html

Alejandro Escovedo---The Boxing Mirror
Teamed with the brilliance of producer John Cale, Escovedo marks his return to better health by delivering the best rock album of the year.
www.alejandroescovedo.com/

Phil Judd---Mr.Phudd & His Novelty Act
Most original rock album of the year, bringing new astonishments and wonders with every listen.
www.philjudd.com

Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris---All The Roadrunning
All The Roadrunning

Jerry Lee Lewis---Last Man Standing
www.jerryleelewis.com

Magic Christian—"Turn Up The Heat" b/w "All The Stars" (single) www.myspace.com/magicchristian1

Don McGlashan—Warm Hand
www.donmcglashan.com

New York Dolls---One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This
A staggeringly enjoyable record, so easy to embrace and celebrate as the perfectly appropriate exclamation point on the legendary & influential careers of David Johansen & Sylvain Sylvain.
Standout cut "Dance Like A Monkey" is as good as rock gets in 2006. www.myspace.com/newyorkdolls

Willie Nile---Streets Of New York
www.willienile.com

Primal Scream---Riot City Blues
www.primalscream.net/www/

The Rugs—The Rugs
www.myspace.com/therugs

Sloan---Never Hear The End Of It
www.sloanmusic.com

Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs---Under The Covers Vol.1 www.myspace.com/sidnsusie

Tom Verlaine---Songs And Other Things
Tom Verlaine---Around
Tom Verlaine

Teddybears---Soft Machine
Stuff this far out and wacky can only come from Sweden.
Includes "Punk Rocker", my favorite single of the year, featuring Iggy Pop’s finest vocal performance on a record since "Candy".
www.myspace.com/teddybears

Paul Weller---Catch-Flame (Live At The Alexandra Palace)
www.paulweller.com

Yo La Tengo---I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass
Continued rock excellence from The Little Band That Could...
www.yolatengo.com

Pete Yorn---Nightcrawler
www.peteyorn.com

Favorite Live Shows (in alphabetical order):
ABC---Pridefest, St. Louis
The Bangles—House Of Blues, Chicago
The Bats—End Of An Ear Records, Austin
Cheap Trick---Live On The Levee, St. Louis
The Chesterfield Kings—Mississippi Nights, St. Louis
The Dirtbombs—Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland
Alejandro Escovedo—The Duck Room, St. Louis
The Hazey Janes—The Drink, Austin
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts---Mississippi Nights, St. Louis
The Minus 5---RFT Awards, St. Louis
The New York Dolls—Mississippi Nights, St. Louis
The Plimsouls—Finale, St. Louis
The Plimsouls—Club Exodus, Austin
Son Volt—Taste Of St. Louis, St. Louis
Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs—The Drink, Austin
Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs—Dog & Duck Pub, Austin
Steve Wynn & The Miracle 3—Dog & Duck Pub, Austin
Steve Wynn & The Miracle 3—Caribbean Lights, Austin

Parting shot, 2006:
Sorry kids, but that highly praised TV On The Radio record is JUST AWFUL! A very bad rock band with very bad singers doing very bad reinterpretations of Brian Eno’s first two solo albums. Dreadful...

POLITICS: Senator (gulp) Blunt?

A terrifying political rumor courtesy of Wonkette, here.

Now I’m certainly no fan of Missouri’s ODB---Old Drunk Bond, but damn, members of the Blunt crime family in the House and the Senate? For you Sopranos & Andy Griffith Show fans unfamiliar with Missouri politics, imagine if you will a Barney Fife version of Christopher Moltisanti running around the halls of the Senate desperately trying to pull off the Tony Soprano-like bidding of despicable family boss Congressman Roy Blunt. Terrifying...

MUSIC: James Brown, RIP

Say it loud y'all: Rest in peace, Godfather...

POLITICS: Ask Bill

"Barack Obama is the white Bill Clinton..."—Newsweek’s Howard Fineman.

I’ve definitely jumped up on that Obama '08 bandwagon. I’ve been following him, doing the research, and even at this earliest of stages think he’s the best hope for the country and the world. Feel free to knock me all you want for it and please be sure to tell me "I told you so" if Obama falters in some big way somewhere down the road, but I’m choosing here and now to take a stand with the brotha. I believe he has the intellectual goods for the job, and will only get better the deeper he digs into the game—as will his overall appeal to the American public.

If you take the time to look beyond the mainstream media’s "Obamamania" coverage and delve into what the guy has actually been saying and doing, it’s clear he’s already about ten moves ahead of where he’s perceived to be on the 2008 presidential campaign chess board. I can most definitely get behind his emerging campaign theme of "It’s time to turn the page...", i.e., time for the Baby Boomers who have been "leading" this country while simultaneously dividing it by fighting amongst themselves since 1968, and let some new blood in to do the popcorn and step up and lead. Look at the field, folks. Could there be a more dismal pack of potential candidates on both sides in ‘08? Do you really think any of them stand a chance at restoring America’s dignity and image with the rest of the world, 99.9% of which currently hates our guts? Doesn’t look good, does it? With pickings this slim I’m definitely willing to bet the house and roll the dice on Obama.

If the world is this fucked up in 2006, you can bet it’s going to be twice as fucked by 2008. Whoever follows Bush into the office of president is going to need a ton of help. Obama’s so-called lack of experience at this point is viewed as his only, yet potentially defeating weakness as a candidate. I disagree with it, but fair enough, I get why it’s a worry. And the GOP has only just begun to exploit this, so yeah, it’s definitely a concern. Therefore the importance of whom Obama puts around him as his team is probably of greater magnitude than choices made for respective teams by other Democrats in the race. Which is why I’m throwing out the following proposal to Obama: Ask Bill.

Reports in the media have all in Hilaryland currently freaking out over "Obamamania." And why wouldn’t they be? I’m willing to go out on a limb here and bet that the one person in the world freaked out the most by "Obamamania" is none other than Bill Clinton. How hard this must be for him to watch the hottest party in the world right now from the lonely distance of his television screen. You don’t think he’d rather be at Obama’s side at this minute, serving him as #1 adviser and big brother, smack dab in the middle of all that white hot media action? You bet it’s driving him crazy to be missing out on all that fun. So Obama: Ask Bill.

I think Obama should sit down right now and cut the following deal with the Clintons:

A) Get Hilary to drop out of the race in exchange for the role of Senate Majority Leader. I’m not the first to say she can’t win the ‘08 election, and that she can be a far more powerful and effective leader over the next 30 years if she does it from the Senate.
B) Have Bill run with you as your choice for vice-president, and yes, announce it this early---like NOW!

A real crazy thought, eh? Of course this would never happen in a million years, but think what it might mean to the country and the rest of the world. As I said earlier, things are so fucked up it’s going to take more than one great mind and leader in the room, so I’m offering up the team of Obama and Bill Clinton because we all know they’re not only the two smartest kids in class, but they also both posses the all-important charisma and sex appeal that’s needed to lead and inspire at this most bizarre and dangerous moment in history. Cheney has changed the role of the vice-president in such a major way at least for now and possibly forever, so why not take it to the next level by putting an ex-president in the job who has proven himself time and time again and is overwhelmingly popular with the American public to boot?

Would the hard right of the GOP and their media echo chamber salivate over the chance of running against an Obama-Clinton ticket? You bet they would, to which I say bring it on! Do you think a crazy old man like John McCain, who by the way is looking older and crazier and more like the Slim Pickens character in Dr.Strangelove with each passing day, actually stands a chance against the sheer, uh, virility of Obama-Clinton? Again I say bring it on.

McCain is clearly on the road to overplaying his ‘08 hand. Already desperate enough this early in the game to hire the diabolical Terry Nelson in the role of his Karl Rove, McCain looks to play the GOP fear card to the max yet again and sell himself as not only a wiser and competent version of Bush, but also as an even bigger hard ass to the rest of the world than Bush. Good luck with that, senator. Like I said, he’ll continue to look older and crazier and ultimately less and less appealing to voters with each passing day. A Democratic candidate can beat McCain, but that candidate sure isn’t Hilary.

A world this fucked up needs some big and bold out of the box thinking, and what could be more out of the box than Obama-Clinton? But when you take a few minutes and seriously examine all of the various ramifications and potential for greatness that an Obama-Clinton administration could bring, just how crazy would it’s reality really be?

TELEVISION: Joseph Barbera, RIP

Thank you for the yabba-dabba-doo time, Mr. Barbera.

TELEVISION: The Wire

The just-completed fourth season of HBO’s The Wire was quite possibly the closest a televison drama has ever come on every level to a perfect season. And once again the show will probably not see a single nomination in any category come Emmy time. To the uninitiated, you really owe it to yourself to check this show out. The first three seasons are on dvd---probably the best way to dive in headfirst. A cop show is the last thing The Wire is...

And as a lifelong Paul Weller fanatic, it was great to hear his excellent cover of Dr. John’s "Walk On Gilded Splinters" playing to chilling dramatic effect over the final scenes of the season finale.

STEVE ROCK: Finn's Motel t-shirts

Finn's Motel t-shirts make great stocking stuffers and can be found at finnsmotel.com. Ho! Ho! Ho!

MUSIC: Ahmet Ertegun RIP

The eternal thanks we owe this man...

STEVE ROCK: Upcoming Finn's Motel Show

Finn's Motel play our final show of 2006 next Thursday, December 21 at Off Broadway.

The Wormwood Scrubs play first at 9pm, then us, and then The Rugs from Springfield, MO close out the show. Hope to see you there...

POLITICS: Obama Fever...

Catch it? Click here.

Happy Birthday To Me...

Yep, today is my & Jon Stewart's birthday. Guess who's older? I'm going to forgo any celebrating until Friday, when Little Steven's Underground Garage Rolling Rock And Roll Show rolls into Mississippi Nights with the New York Dolls, the Supersuckers, The Charms (yeah baby!), the Chesterfield Kings, and our home girls, The Misses.

Funny how time and the fates work. Last time I saw David Jo & Sylvain on a stage together it was 28 years ago at Mississippi Nights. Little Steven's efforts should be celebrated and supported, so hey everybody---go see this damn show already! At $20 it's the bargain of the year, and who knows, if it's well attended maybe St. Louis will become a regular stop on future Underground Garage tours. See you there?

POLITICS: Election Results

It all feels like a dream right now, as in did this really happen or are we gonna wake up and find the results to be the opposite? I imagine this must be how some Red Sox fans must have felt at first when they finally won the World Series....

POLITICS: My Vote...

My polling place on Juniata in South St. Louis was hopping with a lot of people when I went in to vote at 7am, but I was in and out in about 7 minutes. I stayed as far away from the wicked touch screen machines as I could, and went with the paper ballot option. This time out that option was a giant sheet that reminded me somewhat of how the SAT test looked back in the stoneage when I took it. You had to completely fill in the oval with ink next to the candidate's name or the yes or no choice for the initiatives. I liked that, again more like high school, and no hanging chads. Then instead of dropping it into a big locked box like normal, you had to put it into a slot that sucked it into a "machine". My heart sunk a little as next to that slot I saw in big bold letters the word: DIEBOLD. I thought to myself, "Gee, this thing sure looks like a big selective paper shredder..." And who can say it isn't?

POLITICS: Home Sweet Home

St. Louis is now the nation's most dangerous city. Read all about it, here.

STEVE ROCK: Laughter Lou

Me with Lou Whitney, Duck Room dressing room, 10/12/06




(Photo by Toby Weiss)


Last Thursday’s show at the Duck Room was the first time in our 30 years of friendship that Lou Whitney and I found us on the same rock show bill. Lou was playing bass for a great new “young” band from Springfield, Mo. called the Rugs. Over the years I’ve seen Lou play live literally hundreds of times, mostly with the three bands he’s partnered with Donnie Thompson: the Morells, the Skeletons, and the Symptoms. Whenever anyone asks me who my favorite bass player is, I’m always quick to reply, “Lou Whitney!”

Of course Lou was great with the Rugs the other night. He’s still going strong at age 63, still kicking total rock ass. I’ve been fortunate to have Lou as sort of my own personal rock professor all these years. Just from watching him play so many, many times, I’ve learned more about what to play and more importantly what not to play as a rock bass player from Lou than I have from anyone else. Each and every show I’ve ever seen Lou play, no matter who he was on the bandstand with, I’ve walked away from it with some new piece of rock knowledge I could then plug into my own various musical situations. And then there’s the countless offstage pearls of wisdom Lou offers as well, like, “When in doubt play what Dee Dee Ramone would have played...” or, “You can never go wrong naming your band after a car...”

I’ve also learned a hell of a lot from the man about life both inside and outside of this rock racket. Years before that “WWJD” saying crept up on us, I had a little private saying I would say to myself whenever I hit a particular musical or music career related brick wall, and that saying was “What would Lou do?” And whenever I stopped long enough to ask myself that question, the answer and path to take always became perfectly clear. Without lifting a finger and by just being himself, Lou’s been the best mentor one could ever ask for in this game, and more important, a really great and loyal friend. May he forever keep on keepin’ on...

STEVE ROCK: Finn's Motel At Duck Room Thursday Night

One last reminder here of our show Thursday night (10/12) at The Duck Room with The Hard Lessons from Detroit, and The Rugs from Springfield, MO.

School nighters please be aware that this is an early show---
WE PLAY FIRST AT 8PM!!!

Hope you can make it down, it promises to be a great evening of total rock. I had the pleasure of seeing the Hard Lessons twice in Cleveland last spring, and their Motor City high energy take on modern garage rock & pop is pretty kick ass. And all you local Skeletons/Morells fans should be aware by now that the Rugs live line up features Lou Whitney, Joe Terry, and yes, on the drums, Donnie Thompson!

Our Escape Velocity cd will be on sale at the show, and you can always get it rapidly online as well from Scat Records, here.

They grow up so fast...

Here I am with newlyweds Heather Oppitz and James Weber. I had the honor of being a groomsman in their wedding last night. I’ve often joked with James through the years that he’s “The son I never had...,” so I couldn’t be any happier for him and how he’s definitely hit the jackpot with Heather. Best of luck kids, and thanks again for asking me to be a part of the beautiful ceremony & celebrations on such an autumnally perfect evening...

STEVE ROCK: Finn's Motel At Euclid Records

Finn's Motel at Euclid Records: (left to right) James Weber, Joe Thebeau, Peter Lang, me.


(Photo by Toby Weiss)

Thanks to all who came to the Finn's Motel in-store at Euclid Records, and thanks to all who bought a copy of Escape Velocity. Big props to Darren Snow and the rest of the Euclid staff for making everything so easy for us---we had a great time.

Escape Velocity is out now and can be ordered directly from Scat Records, here. And if you don't see Escape Velocity at your favorite record store, do us a favor and kindly suggest that they might want to be selling it and should consider bringing some in. We'd really appreciate the gesture.

Next live show is Monday, September 25 at the Empty Bottle in Chicago, Il. Next St. Louis show is Thursday, October 12 at the Duck Room with The Hard Lessons from Detroit, and The Rugs from Springfield, MO.

STEVE ROCK: Finn's Motel CD Release Party At Euclid Records

(Poster by Darren Snow)


Finn's Motel will celebrate our Scat Records release, Escape Velocity, this Monday, September 18th, at Euclid Records, 601 E. Lockwood in Webster Groves. This will be your first opportunity anywhere to purchase the Escape Velocity cd. We play at 7pm and admission is free, so please come on out if you can...

POLITICS: The Mighty Olbermann...

...does it again, delivering the final and most important word on the anniversary of 9/11. Must reading and/or viewing for all patriotic Americans, here.

MUSIC: Bennie Smith RIP

St. Louis blues legend Bennie Smith has passed. I had the pleasure of seeing what turned out to be Bennie’s final performance, at the Big Muddy Blues Festival a couple of weeks ago. Every musician should be fortunate enough to go out on top as Bennie did, and have whatever turns out to be their last performance be as good.

STEVE ROCK: Love Experts At RFT Music Showcase

The Love Experts are playing at 1:40pm tomorrow on the Main Outdoor Stage, Leland Avenue and Delmar Boulevard (next to Vintage Vinyl), at the RFT Music Showcase 2006.

Here's the Main Outdoor Stage schedule:
1:00pm Magnolia Summer
1:40pm The Love Experts
2:45pm Glenn Kotche of Wilco
3:45pm Grant-Lee Phillips
5:00pm The Minus 5

STEVE ROCK: Finn's Motel In The Funny Papers...

A nice little piece in today's St. Louis Post Dispatch, here. If you're attending the sold out show at Pop's tonight, keep in mind we play at 8pm.