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HONORS & AWARDS: • Charles Shaw Trial Advocacy Award • Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers • St. Louis Magazine, Best Lawyers in St. Louis DWI • Riverfront Times Best Lawyer • Best Lawyers in United States • 10 years of law enforcement training, including time as a narcotics agent • Invited to speak nationally on the topic of DWI defense • A proven record of successfully defending difficult DWI cases • A graduate of the National College of DUI Defense at Harvard
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THE LEDE
PHOTO BY THEO WELLING
“When you think of St. Louis, it’s like the best-kept secret when it comes to music. People that are not from St. Louis, it seems like to a certain extent, they appreciate our music more than we do.” TERRELL STRINGER OF THE SAINT BOOGIE BRASS BAND, PHOTOGRAPHED AT THE CHEROKEE STREET JAZZ CRAWL ON NOVEMBER 9
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Publisher Chris Keating Interim Editor in Chief Doyle Murphy
COVER Nosedive
in 1994, Bob Richards seemed to have it all — and then the KSDK meteorologist committed suicide by crashing his plane. Twenty-five years later, some of his closest friends and colleagues reflect on the public scandal and tragedy that rocked St. Louis Cover design by
EVAN SULT
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Rock Star Taco Shack
M U L T I M E D I A A D V E R T I S I N G Advertising Director Colin Bell Senior Account Executive Cathleen Criswell Account Managers Emily Fear, Jennifer Samuel Multimedia Account Executive Jackie Mundy
E U C L I D M E D I A G R O U P Chief Executive Officer Andrew Zelman Chief Operating Officers Chris Keating, Michael Wagner VP of Digital Services Stacy Volhein Creative Director Tom Carlson www.euclidmediagroup.com N A T I O N A L A D V E R T I S I N G VMG Advertising 1-888-278-9866, vmgadvertising.com
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S U B S C R I P T I O N S Send address changes to Riverfront Times, 308 N. 21st Street, Suite 300, St. Louis, MO 63103. Domestic subscriptions may be purchased for $78/6 months (Missouri residents add $4.74 sales tax) and $156/year (Missouri residents add $9.48 sales tax) for first class. Allow 6-10 days for standard delivery. www.riverfronttimes.com
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The St. Louis International Film Festival, week two
Cafe
P R O D U C T I O N Production Manager Haimanti Germain
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Currents 117: David Hullfish Bailey | Varda by Agnès | A Christmas Carol
Film
A R T Art Director Evan Sult Contributing Photographers Virginia Harold, Stephen Kennedy, Monica Mileur, Zia Nizami, Andy Paulissen, Nick Schnelle, Mabel Suen, Micah Usher, Theo Welling, Jen West
C I R C U L A T I O N Circulation Manager Kevin G. Powers
INSIDE The Lede Hartmann News Feature Calendar
E D I T O R I A L Managing Editor Liz Miller Arts & Culture Editor Paul Friswold Music Editor Daniel Hill Digital Editor Jaime Lees Staff Writer Danny Wicentowski Restaurant Critic Cheryl Baehr Film Critic Robert Hunt Columnist Ray Hartmann Contributing Writers Mike Appelstein, Allison Babka, Thomas Crone, Jenn DeRose, Mike Fitzgerald, Sara Graham, MaryAnn Johanson, Roy Kasten, Jaime Lees, Joseph Hess, Kevin Korinek, Bob McMahon, Lauren Milford, Nicholas Phillips, Tef Poe, Christian Schaeffer Proofreader Evie Hemphill Editorial Interns Ella Faust, Caroline Groff, Ronald Wagner
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The Riverfront Times is published weekly by Euclid Media Group Verified Audit Member Riverfront Times 308 N. 21st Street, Suite 300, St. Louis, MO 63103 www.riverfronttimes.com General information: 314-754-5966 Fax administrative: 314-754-5955 Fax editorial: 314-754-6416 Founded by Ray Hartmann in 1977
Short Orders
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Culture
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Out Every Night
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Alex Feick at Prioritized Pastries | Heirloom Bottling Co. | 9 Mile Garden | Flamingo Coffee Club
Golden Curls | Soufside Jerei | KDHX
Rodrigo y Gabriel | The Gripsweats | Weird Paul Petroskey
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Riverfront Times is available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. Additional copies of the current issue may be purchased for $1.00 plus postage, payable in advance at the Riverfront Times office. Riverfront Times may be distributed only by Riverfront Times authorized distributors. No person may, without prior written permission of Riverfront Times, take more than one copy of each Riverfront Times weekly issue. The entire contents of Riverfront Times are copyright 2018 by Riverfront Times, LLC. No portion may be reproduced in whole or in part by any means, including electronic retrieval systems, without the expressed written permission of the Publisher, Riverfront Times, 308 N. 21st Street, Suite 300, St. Louis, MO 63103. Please call the Riverfront Times office for back-issue information, 314-754-5966.
HARTMANN Trouble in Suburbia St. Louis County’s scandals are finally drawing the media spotlight BY RAY HARTMANN
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or the longest time, we in the St. Louis media have heard criticisms that we’re too focused on politics and controversies in the city, at the expense of coverage in St. Louis County and surrounding environs. I’ve always thought that was fair enough. Whether it’s the mainstream media or those of us criticizing the mainstream media, we pay so little attention to the suburbs that even when something newsworthy happens, the coverage has traditionally been
fleeting at best. Our best excuse has been that city news was simply more interesting than suburban news. Do you expect us to cover some obscure quarrel about zoning regulations in Black Jack or would you rather read some actually interesting stuff about crime or corruption or strained race relations or bigotry or slimy deals with developers in the city? We were partly right — the zoning board stuff is deadly boring and the city characters unfailingly more quotable — so when you factor in the need to sell newspapers or get people to pay attention to free ones and to TV newscasts and radio programs and now, all things online, you’ve got to go with what captures people’s interest. And let’s not leave out the laziness factor. Most of us who went into journalism did so for lots of honorable reasons — in my case, an aversion to studying complicated subjects, for example — but we didn’t follow this noble path out of
a craving for hard work. And covering the centralized city is simply easier than covering the region’s ever-more-sprawling ’burbs. That’s all easy for me to say, which is I why I’m saying it. But there is a price to be paid for our city-centric tilt: We distort the city woes, however inadvertently, and understate their corresponding presence in the suburbs. So, the good news, somewhat, is the newly emphasized news: The suburbs have their fair share of crime and corruption and strained race relations and bigotry and slimy deals with the developers just like the city. In some cases, worse. It’s time to give suburbia its due: There’s plenty of interesting bad news if we just take the time to look for it. Maybe we have the Steve Stenger saga to thank for jarring us from our county-coverage complacency — it sure was interesting, and anyone with an ounce of compassion for the media’s need for ratings and readership should
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mourn its passing — but even the post-Stenger era has been far more interesting than anyone could have foreseen. Thankfully, there was a short shelf life for that terrifying moment following Stenger’s resignation when politicians and reporters did that creepy ding-dong-the-witch-isdead group hug, declaring that pay-for-play is dead in St. Louis County and the like. It isn’t. But more important, neither is discrimination against the LGBTQ community and all manner of other issues formerly reserved for more extensive coverage in the presumably more interesting city. At last, the county is getting the headlines it deserves. How much have things changed? Why, it was only one column ago that I wrote about the $20 million discrimination verdict won by Sgt. Keith Wildhaber and — despite the absence of cries of “Encore!” in the comments’ section — I’m feeling a burning need to write about
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it again. This tale of stupidity in suburbia just got more stupid, which is saying something. For some reason — layperson naivete, I suppose — I assumed that in the wake of the verdict showing how horribly the county police punished this good cop because of his “gayness” and how foolishly the county counselor’s o ce behaved in letting it get to trial, that a settlement would happen expeditiously. Certainly, there would be downsides for both sides in a prolonged appeal. Politically, the county and its beleaguered police department need to put this sad saga behind them in a heartbeat. For his part, Wildhaber had plenty of incentive to want to settle, even post-verdict, because the judicial system frowns about large punitive judgments and the law limits them and splits the proceeds with some state fund in the name of tort reform. And looming on the legal front is Missouri’s shameful refusal to provide status protection for the LGBTQ community. It was pretty obvious that Wildhaber and his team would want more than the $850,000 they previously offered to settle the case. But even if the price of poker went up, they’d just get together and get this done quickly and quietly, right? Not so fast. Perhaps understandably, County Executive Sam Page and the county council had to act quickly to protect themselves by bringing in appellate-law experts for leverage, if not for all-out attack on the verdict. So, in a move that was something less than a stirring vote of confidence in the county counselor’s o ce, they allocated up to $75,000 for the experts at Lewis Rice. Meanwhile, Wildhaber’s lawyers, Russ Riggan and Sam Moore, are seeking more than $617,000 in additional fees for having their settlement offers scorned by the county. Wonderful. Our fellow professional bottom-feeders in the legal profession have taken over. What could possibly go wrong? Page’s spokesman emphasized that there’s a $75,000 ceiling on what the county would be paying the respected, but not so inexpensive, Lewis Rice attorneys. If you have an over-under betting opportunity on that $75,000 figure, I’d say go with “over.” On the bright side, county taxpayers forking out dollars to a law firm headquartered downtown is a form of city-county cooperation, isn’t it?
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There’s plenty of interesting bad news in suburbia if we just look for it. But what a ridiculous situation. What does a “win” look like for St. Louis County Best case, financially, is to get the whole thing overturned, which would be fine fiscally but send an unmistakable message that persecution of LGBT police o cers is just fine with the department. (Arguably it is, by the way, as long as Chief Jon Belmar is in charge, which is a really good reason for him no longer being in charge.) Still, it’s hard to imagine that Wildhaber and his team — well aware of the county’s financial abilities (widely reported) on one hand, but also the aforementioned realities of the appellate process on the other — would not be amenable to settling. I guess we’ll have to stay tuned. But there’s a silver lining: We’re covering county news. We’ve even stumbled upon the kind of tidbit that would be all the rage in a city story: Despite all his heartfelt outrage about LGBTQ discrimination, Page does, it turns out, have a high-profile director of (among other things) “inclusion” who has a little baggage on matters LGBTQ. That would be former Councilwoman Hazel Erby, the only Democrat to vote against the county’s anti-discrimination ordinance in 2012. We the media didn’t cover that much because, well, it was just a little county story. In fact, other than a barb from the St. Louis American terming her vote “ignorant and insensitive,” the only person actually on record criticizing Mrs. Erby for that — publicly and specifically — was just a little-known political opponent who was challenging her for her council seat in 2014. That guy was named Wesley Bell, who I believe is now better known as County Prosecutor Wesley Bell. Erby beat him by fifteen points. Wow. See what we were missing by not covering the county all these years Got to fix that. Anybody know what’s up in Black Jack? n Ray Hartmann founded the Riverfront Times in 1977. Contact him at rhartmann@sbcglobal.net or catch him on St. Louis In the Know With Ray Hartmann and Jay Kanzler from 9 to 11 p.m. Monday thru Friday on KTRS (550 AM).
NEWS ‘Rogue’ Cop Guilty in Protest Beating
cant injuries, including a herniated disc in his spine, and has been unable to return to work. The majority of people arrested that night were surrounded in a downtown intersection, a tactic known as kettling. The mass arrests have since sparked more than a dozen lawsuits, many with claims of abuse that mirror what happened to Hall. Colletta, who was dating Hays at the time of the attack on the undercover o cer, pleaded guilty in September to making false statements, admitting she lied to a grand jury and the FBI. In building
the case, FBI agents and federal prosecutors recovered a cache of damning text messages between Hays and other o cers during the early days of the weeks-long protests in which they gleefully chat about clobbering protesters. At one point, Hays tells fellow o cer and co-defendant Dustin Boone in the case that “going rogue does feel good,” before reminding him to be careful of cameras. “So make sure you have an old white dude as a witness.” But Hays’ texts took a different tone after they discovered they had beaten an undercover cop. “Wasn’t just us,” Hays texted. “I don’t like the beating the hell outta a cop, but the department put him in that spot, he could’ve announced himself at any time. And he wasn’t complying. The camera thing is just ignorant, nothing we all haven’t done and if it was a protester it wouldn’t be a problem at all.” Hays, who is on unpaid administrative leave with police department, was set to go to trial on December 2 along with Boone and O cer Christopher Meyers, the third cop in the indictment. He is now scheduled to be sentenced on St. Patrick’s Day by U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry. Boone and Meyers have both pleaded not guilty and are still set for trial. Colletta is due to be sentenced on December 6. n
tion on Sublette Avenue, Wozniak hit the brakes, causing her passengers to lurch forward on the metal bench seat. One of the men, Matthew Sarich, smacked his head on a grate, opening a bloody gash above his eye. Another officer was following Wozniak and testified that he braked just short of the van’s back bumper. “In this case, the defendant said what she was going to do, she knew what was going to happen if she did, and she did it anyway,” assistant Circuit Attorney Jeffrey Estes told jurors during his closing statement. “Then she lied about it.” Wozniak later claimed she was braking for a dog that ran in front of her, but fellow cops were suspicious. That was particularly true of Sgt. Samuel Gilman, who checked the dash cam footage from the ride and reported the incident when the video turned up no sign of a dog. Wozniak’s attorney, Brian Millikan, told jurors there’s no way to say whether she saw a dog that night. It’s true the vehicle’s front-facing camera didn’t record one, but it didn’t show peripheral views.
“It’s perfectly reasonable that an animal ran out in front of that cruiser and the camera didn’t pick it up,” Millikan said. He argued that Wozniak would not have told her sergeant she planned to give the men a rough ride if that is actually what she planned to do. He added that she could have easily switched off the dash cam to cover her tracks and that maybe the men could have braced themselves better if they “had not been so drunk.” Estes told jurors it’s understandable that Wozniak would have been angry at the men, but she had taken an oath and it was her duty to transport them safely to the station. Jurors saw photos of a blood-speckled van, and they learned Sarich eventually wiped his face on a counter at the station, leaving a blood smear — more evidence of his injuries. It took jurors about 90 minutes to find the former officer guilty of both counts of fourth-degree assault. The two-day trial was presided over by Judge Lynne Perkins. He is scheduled to sentence Wozniak on December 13. n
Written by
DOYLE MURPHY
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St. Louis cop who once bragged about “going rogue” admitted last week in federal court that he beat an undercover police o cer, whom he mistook for a protester. O cer Randy Hays, 32, was one of three city cops who were charged last year with deprivation of constitutional rights for pummeling Detective Luther Hall on a night in September 2017 when police arrested more than a hundred people during demonstrations downtown. A fourth officer, Bailey Colletta, was also arrested for trying to cover it up. Hall, who is black, and a partner, who is white, were embedded with protesters who had marched in the streets following the acquittal of ex-o cer Jason Stockley on a murder charge in the death of
St. Louis police Officer Randy Hays leaves court with Bailey Colletta in December 2018. | DOYLE MURPHY Anthony Lamar Smith. In a civil lawsuit, Hall says police fired on protesters with pepper balls, and he and his partner were separated in the ensuing chaos. A group of o cers, including Hays, grabbed him, repeatedly slammed him to the pavement and began beating and kicking him, even though he was not resisting, he claimed. Hall told investigators the o cers “beat the fuck out of him like Rodney King.” Uniformed o cers smashed his cell phone and broke a camera he had used to document the protests, he says. Hall suffered signifi-
Ex-St. Louis Officer Convicted in ‘Rough Ride’ Written by
DOYLE MURPHY
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St. Louis police officer was found guilty last week of assault for giving two men a “rough ride” in 2018 after they were taken into custody. Lori Wozniak, 48, was charged last year with two misdemeanors following an investigation by the police department’s Internal Affairs division. The veteran officer was tasked on August 2, 2018, with driving a couple of unruly drunks to the south patrol station for processing. By all accounts, the men started insulting Wozniak in particularly nasty terms. She reportedly told other officers the two were “assholes” and she was
Lori Wozniak was convicted of misdemeanor assault during a jury trial. | DOYLE MURPHY going to slam on her brakes at every stop sign — an old-school cop tactic that sends handcuffed, unbuckled prisoners banging around inside of a cruiser or transport van. Shortly before they reached the sta-
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Animal Shelter Volunteers Allege ‘Purge’ Is Retaliation Written by
DANNY WICENTOWSKI
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hen an independent audit exhaustively detailed the deficiencies and statistical fraud in the St. Louis County Pet Adoption Center, many of the damning conclusions rang familiar to the shelter’s volunteers. But as the shelter moves to enact the audit’s hundreds of recommended fixes — and while county o cials also seek to privatize the facility’s operations — the volunteers have been forced out of their positions and told they will have to reapply if they want to return. In response, two volunteers sued the county last week over the controversial “reboot.” The lawsuit, filed in federal court, describes the move as a “purge” of the shelter’s 400 volunteers, intended to eliminate those who have criticized “the Shelter’s staff, the Shelter’s conditions, and the poor treatment of the animals housed therein.” In an email to Riverfront Times, Department of Public Health spokeswoman Sara Dayley wrote that the reboot is “by no means an attempt to limit volunteers and their commitment” and argued that the move is simply another recommendation from the audit. In a letter sent earlier this month, Spring Schmidt, co-director of the Department of Public Health and acting director of the shelter, apologized to volunteers “for any confusion and misunderstanding” and insisted that shelter’s volunteer program “is NOT being terminated.” But there’s more to this controversy than just a volunteer reapplication process. Deep tensions run through the county animal shelter, which set the stage for the turmoil now roiling the shelter’s large force of free labor. The reboot was o cially announced to volunteers in an October 25 email from the shelter’s volunteer coordinator, sparking immediate accusations that the
A staff member walks a dog outside the county shelter in September. | DANNY WICENTOWSKI shelter was cleansing its ranks. The email literally gave the respondents their two-weeks’ notice. Volunteers were told their “last day” under the current program would be November 7 and that they would have to reapply and undergo orientation before returning to their duties. Two days before the deadline, on November 5, volunteers packed a County Council meeting to demand that the shelter stop the reboot and recognize the harm it was causing to volunteers and shelter’s ability to care for its large population of animals. One speaker was Anne Cashel, a volunteer and former member of the shelter’s Advisory Board, which was dissolved by a bill passed by the County Council last month. Cashel is also one of the two plaintiffs in the new lawsuit. “I find it absurd,” she told the council at the meeting, “We have had to hire a lawyer to fight for our rights and volunteer to walk dogs and pick up poop for free. Who is going to do that when we are gone?” Indeed, although county employees were enlisted to fill-in for the absent volunteer force after November 7, to date, only about twenty volunteers have been approved for orientation in the new volunteer program, KSDK reported. That’s nowhere near the full labor force of the volunteers. According to data provided by the Department of Public Health in September, the shelter’s records show 403 volunteers, with 119 deemed “regular, active volunteers.” According to the lawsuit, volunteers logged more than 1,500
hours of unpaid labor per month while performing duties like dog walking and kennel cleaning. For the volunteers, though, their roles also provided a window into the inner workings of one of the largest open-admission animal shelters in the region — and for a vocal segment of those volunteers, they didn’t like what they saw. As reported in a Riverfront Times cover story last month, years of instability in the shelter’s leadership have left a legacy of chaos and distrust. The shelter still lacks fulltime veterinarians, and its last permanent director, Beth Vesco-Mock, was fired in 2018 amid accusations of bullying and racism. Those tensions have often been aired at County Council meetings. In the past two years, volunteers and animal activists have doggedly showed up to the meetings to raise the alarm about the shelter’s conditions, including overcrowding and an intentionally misleading policy that marked every animal at intake for “owner requested euthanasia” — some of the very concerns the audit would confirm. The county is now considering privatizing the shelter and is seeking proposals from entities that might want to take over operations of the troubled facility. (Dayley, the spokeswoman for the Department of Public Health, confirmed that a Request For Proposal has been given council approval and that “we are currently working on it.”) In the face of the shelter’s struggles, volunteers have taken the matters of rescue and adoption into their own hands. For Jenny Agnew, the second plaintiff behind the re-
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cent lawsuit, that meant running the marketing efforts for the nonprofit group St. Louis County SAVE. The group’s Facebook page frequently posts profiles of adoptable shelter animals and raises funds to pay for medical and adoption fees. The result is kind of a parallel animal rescue network, one that works with the county shelter while also serving as a hub for volunteers to air firsthand critiques of its conditions and adoption policies. The profiles of shelter dogs up for adoption include behavioral and medical histories derived from Sunshine requests, and those public records are often used to bolster the case that the shelter mishandles adoptable animals and allows them to languish until they’re euthanized. On October 23, Agnew took to Facebook herself to announce that she had been suspended as a volunteer after trying to break up a dog fight. Her post, which was shared nearly a thousand times, also revealed the first details of the plans for the volunteer program reboot. “They hope to weed out those who advocate for the animals and criticize operations,” Agnew wrote, and further claimed that volunteers would soon be relegated to various “tiers” intended to restrict access to parts of the shelter. In an email to RFT this morning, Agnew wrote that she still plans to reapply to the new volunteer program but added, “If I am rehired, I will continue to speak out to management, the County Council, and the press when I see poor conditions for the animals and employees.” n
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itted omm olleagues gist c c orolo nds and mete ie SDK losest fr c the K then me of his and o all — s later, s Louis r ve it t. to ha -five yea rocked S emed nty at ds se ane. Twe agedy th l r ichar ob R ing his p dal and t h n 94, B In 19 e by cras blic sca u d suici t on the p c refle
BY NANCY STILES
K
aren Foss was a little surprised. She’d just finished her usual 10 p.m. newscast on KSDK when the station’s chief meteorologist, Bob Richards, asked her to stop by the weather station.
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ob Richards — born Robert Lloyd Schwartz in Bloomfield, New Jersey, in 1956 — arrived in St. Louis in October 1983. He’d never even seen the town when he flew in to interview with KSDK. He was hired that day. “I was pleasantly surprised that it had electricity and flushing toilets,” he joked later to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. After graduating from Penn State, Richards worked as a meteorologist in Atlanta; Knoxville, Tennessee; and Columbia, South Carolina; and joined the Weather Channel in Atlanta. He met his future wife, Kathy, when he moved to Stamford, Connecticut, to do weather for the Satellite News Channel; she worked in the same building. SNC was the fledgling CNN’s first competitor: At one point, Richards was recording 21 forecasts a day to sate the 24-hour news cycle. Richards must have seen the writing on the wall, though — SNC folded after just sixteen months, two days after Richards was hired at KSDK to replace Dave Murray. At the time, there were three news stations in St. Louis, and the majority of homes in town did not have cable or satellite television. The personalities of KSDK, KMOV (Channel 4) and KTVI (Channel 2) were written about often in who’swho columns in the Post-Dispatch and were treated like out-and-out celebrities. “St. Louis was very late to adapt or embrace
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Bob Richards was a fixture in St. Louis media. | FILE PHOTO riverfronttimes.com
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“That was unusual,” Foss recalls. “And I was already very, very concerned about his demeanor — just the vibe he was giving off. He was obviously very upset and angry. But I’d seen him upset before; I’d seen him angry before.” Richards had come to Foss in the past to discuss both personal and work issues, but they weren’t exactly close. A group dinner once, perhaps, but they didn’t socialize outside of work. She went over to Richards’ workstation to talk. “I know there’ve been lies about you before in the community,” he said. “How did you deal with it?” That set Foss back; it wasn’t what she was expecting to hear from the curly-haired weatherman. “Bob, if what they’re saying is true — you know, you are so talented and so popular, I think you can get through this,” she told him. “If this is true, you probably need to say ‘I’m sorry’ and make amends. I think people will just forgive you because they all love you. We all make mistakes. “He just wasn’t hearing it. He was just totally in denial,” Foss adds. “It’s not true — this woman’s a liar,” Richards told her, and that was the end of the conversation. Foss got in her car and made the drive from Channel 5’s studio in downtown St. Louis to her home in Clayton. She was on Lindell Boulevard when she realized her hands were shaking so badly she couldn’t grasp the steering wheel. She pulled over and collected herself. “It had just been such a disturbing conversation,” Foss recalls. “He didn’t say anything about
suicide. But he just was — I just felt like he was so out of touch with reality, that’s what I’m trying to say. I couldn’t handle it. I just stopped. Then went home, went to bed and early in the morning got this phone call. And then it all began to unravel.”
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“That was Bob’s nature — he knew he had to keep ahead of the competition, and he was zany. He was fun. He loved meeting people. He’d descend out of the sky in this helicopter, and everybody would line up to say hi and take pictures. It was all quite cool, back when stations spent money on things like that.”
Bob Richards, center, was well known as the local co-host of the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon. | COURTESY CECIL CORBETT
BOB RICHARDS Continued from pg 12
cable TV,” says former KSDK cameraman Cecil Corbett. “You had three or four stations back then. You invite these people into your home, and there’s a certain level of trust — so [viewers] do kind of establish a connection with them.” Before joining KSDK in 1979, Foss had worked at a station in Kansas City where there was not the same newscaster-as-celebrity culture. “It was odd. I didn’t feel it was that way in Kansas City,” she says. “I felt very much like, ‘OK, I’m going to work, do my job and go home,’ just like the teacher, the bus driver, the checkout clerk, and in St. Louis there was a certain sense of celebrity attached, which kind of threw me for a loop. I was very surprised. And I think it was partially — not exactly created, but fanned by the gossip columns.” Former Post-Dispatch and St. Louis Globe-Democrat columnist Jerry Berger was a big source of this, but both papers had local TV critics, which added to the high profile of on-air talent. Berger, who started his career in Hollywood, worked in public relations with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Liza Minelli and Cary Grant. He
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eventually came back to St. Louis and brought that movie biz sensibility with him, covering local characters’ comings and goings, often with a salacious angle. (Berger pleaded guilty in 2013 to first-degree sexual misconduct). It was KSDK general manager Bill Bolster’s idea to pair Richards with the station’s new sportscaster, Mike Bush. “Bill, for all his idiosyncrasies, really, on a gut level, understood television,” Foss says. “And he saw the potential of pairing Mike and Bob in this way, and he made it happen. And it worked.” Bush joined KSDK in 1985. By the late ’80s, Bush and Richards became known for a series of commercials that Bolster sent them to Hollywood to film. The ads are pure ’80s cheese — you can find them on YouTube — and feature the duo in a variety of specialeffects-aided situations. (Bush stopped responding to requests to be interviewed for this story.) “The strategy is that both of them have strong personalities that mesh so well,” KSDK director of creative services Richard G. Brase told the Post-Dispatch ahead of the debut, noting that the silly ads wouldn’t damage their credibility the way they might Foss’ and Dick Ford’s, her on-air partner. “In the spots, both television personalities do a spinoff of the
Blues Brothers, called the ‘Kews Brothers.’ Brase said in excess of $100,000 was spent on production for the spots,” Berger reported, next to a huge black-and-white photo of Bush and Richards in full Blues Brothers gear. The goofy spots were instantly a topic of conversation around town. “What is KSDK doing spending $100,000 on a promo Second, did they have to spend the money out of town?” wrote Post-Dispatch reader Walt Lockley of Bridgeton to TV critic Eric Mink. “Third, if they had to spend the money out of town, how come they got back such a hackneyed, over-produced and self-congratulatory piece of [garbage]? ... What makes me angriest is that KSDK pretends it is a serious news-gathering and news-reporting organization ... but when it comes to attracting an audience, they trot out these two cartoonish clods. It makes me sick to my stomach.” Dorothy Boyd of Collinsville, Illinois, disagreed. “What’s wrong with having some fun? God knows the news is terrible and sometimes those giving the news and we, the viewers, need a break. Bob Richards and Mike Bush are believable with the weather and sports. A little clowning around certainly doesn’t hurt their reputations.” The dynamic duo eventually became best known for being the
local hosts of the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon, back when Jerry Lewis was still the host. Other local personalities would answer the phones and take donations while Bush and Richards appealed to the viewers. Two years in a row, WKBQ disc jockeys Steve and D.C. (a.k.a. Steve Shannon and Isaiah Wilhelm) answered phones and appeared on air alongside the KSDK weatherman and sportscaster. “Steve and I answered phones and then Bob and Mike would come over and talk to us,” Wilhelm recalls. “Off the air, we talked to them for a little bit, but that was the extent of how well we knew them. “Mike was a little cold toward us because he was on a competing morning show at the time, but he was professional. Bob was the opposite. I think Bob was very outgoing and gregarious, and my impression of him was that he was the kind of guy that never met a stranger.” Corbett, who joined KSDK in 1984 as a cameraman, had a similar initial impression of Richards. They began working together on “Weather on the Road” TV spots on Fridays, where they’d visit an out-of-the-way small town and do the weather on location. “I would go out in advance in the satellite truck, and then [Richards] would come out — these were the Mercedes ’80s’ — he would come out in the helicopter, and fly back and get ready for his ten o’clock show. We did that for a couple of summers, and got to be closer, because you’re out in the field, and I’d always set up something zany for him to do.” The two became even closer after Richards took up aviation, a hobby he also shared with St. Louis radio host and personality Guy Phillips. Corbett remembers, in particular, an afternoon where he and Richards flew down to Sikeston and had lunch at Lambert’s Café, and Corbett let Richards take the controls for a while during the flight. Phillips and Richards met when the latter first joined Channel 5; he was also hired as the morning weather guy on Phillips’ show on Y98. “He was a funny guy, and that came out on TV, especially when Mike Bush was introduced,” Phillips says. “[Richards] played accordion, nobody really knew that [at the time], so we started doing these things called ‘The Weather Raps’ — Bob would come up with these weather raps and he’d use his accordion. It was awfully funny.” After going up in the air with
Goofy commercials, like this with Mike Bush, endeared Bob Richards, left, to viewers. | VIA YOUTUBE Corbett and Phillips, Richards quickly earned his private pilot’s license, and he and Corbett started working together on their instruments certification, a process which requires a lot of trust between a pilot and his safety pilot. Corbett didn’t have his own plane, but Richards, with his 1980s onair salary, bought a cherry red Piper Cherokee 180, which sped up his certification process. Richards was even the first pilot to take off at Spirit of St. Louis Airport after it reopened in October 1993 following the big flood. “I think there was an element of trust [between us], but you can’t get in too much trouble at the Crawford County Fair — there’d be a tractor pull or a cow-milking contest, stuff like that,” Corbett says of their time traveling around for Channel 5. “That was Bob’s nature — he knew he had to keep ahead of the competition, and he was zany. He was fun. He loved meeting people. He’d descend out of the sky in this helicopter, and everybody would line up to say hi and take pictures. It was all quite cool, back when stations spent money on things like that.” Longtime friend Karlee Stratton first met Richards on the set of a public service announcement in the late ’80s, where she was an extra. They sparked up a conversation between takes. “He was just funny; he was always making a joke,” she says. “He was a very personable guy, but the main thing that you could really tell about him was that he had very low self-esteem. He was always kinda chucking himself. I don’t find it surprising. I think that a lot of people who are insecure overcompensate by doing something great, but it doesn’t fix what is wrong.”
Stratton says Richards tried to ask her out at first, but she could clearly see he was wearing a wedding ring. Instead, they became close friends over the next seven or so years. “By all accounts he was happy,” Phillips says. “He had a young child, lived out in Grover, had a nice little house out there. His career was kicking into high gear, he was popular on the No. 1 TV station, he was popular on the No. 1 radio station — he had a lot going for him.” Foss, Corbett, Phillips and Stratton all agree that they didn’t see Richards as any kind of ladies’ man at the time — sure, he was famous, but women weren’t particularly taken in by him. In April 1989, the Post-Dispatch’s At Home section did a feature on Richards’ new home in Grover (which has since been incorporated into Wildwood) with the headline, “Bob Richards Separates Business, Personal Life.” The story detailed the couple’s new build, filled with antiques and countrystyle decor and life with their twoyear-old daughter, Tricia. “I don’t like to live a celebrity lifestyle,” Richards told reporter Carolyn Olson. “Karen Foss is into that, and I’m not. I’m more of a homebody … I like to maintain a sense of separation as far as my TV job and my personal life.” At the time, no one — not Richards’ friends or his colleagues — knew how truly he meant those words.
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n the morning of March 20, 1994, the producer of the Steve and D.C. show got a phone call from a 34-yearold Farmington, Missouri, woman named Donna L. Henry. She wanted to go on the air and
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talk about her relationship with Bob Richards. The DJs were in the middle of a segment, so Henry would have to wait. Two days earlier, a short Associated Press story ran in 100 papers and on fourteen news stations describing a protective order granted to Henry by Judge James E. Pennoyer against Richards. The Missouri adult abuse law had expanded only the previous year to include stalking and harassment; Henry played the judge voicemails, showed him more than a dozen letters from Richards and claimed he had repeatedly flown over her home in Farmington in his private plane. “He was trying to turn the tables and say I was calling him,” the Post-Dispatch reported her as saying at the time. “He gets real angry when it doesn’t go his way ... Every time I think it’s over, something else happens.” Judge Pennoyer granted a temporary order of protection. “It seemed like the guy didn’t want to give her up,” Pennoyer said at the time. Henry claimed that she had been in a relationship with Richards beginning shortly after they met in 1992, when he spoke at the nursing home where she worked. She later said she broke up with him for the first time in July 1993; they got back together in November when, Henry stated, Richards assured her he was getting a divorce. Presumably, Henry realized that was not the case, and they broke up again in January 1994. Joseph Layden, managing editor at the Daily Journal in Park Hills near Farmington pitched the story to the AP in St. Louis on March 17. In the meantime, the Post-Dispatch received an anonymous letter that caused them to start digging into Richards; the AP story broke while P-D editors were discussing internally whether or not to run a story. The AP blurb, buried on the bottom-right corner of page nineteen under the headline “Court Order Against TV Weatherman,” included a comment from Richards. He “denied dating Henry. He said he met her while making a personal appearance in the Farmington area about two years ago and that she had been ‘a friend for a while.’ Richards said Henry had got angry because he ‘had not taken her up on her advances.’” “‘I’m a nice guy, and people that know me personally and professionally know that I desire no ill will on anyone,’ Richards said. He added that he is ‘very happily married.’” Stratton got a call from Richards
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“It almost sounded like in a movie when it starts winding up,” an onlooker told the Post-Dispatch. “He definitely had the power in. He was gaining speed and flew it right into the runway, almost perpendicular to the ground. It hit in a big cloud of debris and dust. Within a couple seconds it engulfed in flames.”
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when the news blurb hit. She remembers wondering why he didn’t just agree to stay away from Henry — who cares? “Take your ball and go home,” she says. “That’s the exact words I told him. She wants to file a restraining order? Take your ball and go home. Say, ‘Fine.”’ What are you fighting it for ” Henry was not having it. “If I remember correctly, she was really more disturbed by the airplane deal than anything, than even the phone calls and the frequency of the phone calls,” Wilhelm says. “And I’m telling you, on that first day, obviously we talked about it, but we didn’t do a tenth of the stuff that I heard later that other morning shows did. KMOX, their morning show — they were playing airplane sound effects and making fun of it. Frank O. Pinion was doing all these bits with it, and JC Corcoran, they were all talking about it quite a bit. We really had just mentioned it a couple of times but didn’t make that big of a deal out of it. We did read the quote on the air that he said, ‘Donna Henry is lying. She’s just a crazy fan.’ We did read that. And I think that’s what upset her.” Steve and D.C. had only been reinstated earlier that year after being fired for using racial slurs. Critics would later accuse them of being the ones who played airplane and accordion noises on air and talking about the scandal incessantly, but Wilhelm insists that’s not how it went. “Through the years, a lot of people have gotten that wrong, and they say — I know that Corcoran, for years, has told people that we hunted her down, and that’s not true,” he says. “She called us and told our producer who answered the phones at the time that she wanted to defend herself and set the record straight due to him saying that she was a crazy fan.” Once Steve and D.C. were done with their segment, they put Henry on the air a little after 7 a.m. She made a case that Wilhelm admits he had not even considered at the time: Farmington is a small town, and she was now a business owner. It wasn’t even that she was upset about the relationship, she told them, but rather that she had a reputation to protect in Farmington. Henry said, both that morning and later, that she had been the one to break off the relationship. “My name is plastered everywhere,” the Post-Dispatch quoted
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Clips of Richards doing the weather remain online 25 years after his shocking death. | VIA YOUTUBE her as saying on air. “He has almost weaseled out of it.” She made reference to the voicemails he’d left her a few times, and then told Steve and D.C. that, as a matter of fact, she’d play them right now. “Steve and I [were], I remember, both looking at each other like, ‘Whoa, wait a minute, that’s more than we bargained for,’” Wilhelm says. “We were thinking, ‘Is that legal? Is that gonna be an issue?’” Henry was put on hold while Steve and D.C. conferred with their producer. They got ahold of the station’s general manager and confirmed that it was OK for Henry to play the voicemails. (Missouri is a one-party consent state with regard to recordings.) “I think we only allowed two messages, but they were so obviously him that we really didn’t need any more, you know?” Wilhelm says. “It was scary sounding, it really was. It was him — you know his voice from being on TV for so many years, so instantly you kinda got chills when you heard it start, because it’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, that is Bob Richards.’” All told, Wilhelm estimates Henry was on the air for no more than 30 minutes between the two segments. At first, Steve and D.C. didn’t think it was going to be a huge deal. Around lunchtime, though, they started hearing rumblings. “We’d met at a couple of appearances,” Phillips says of Steve and D.C. “I know they were competitors. I understood what they were doing in the market. They were very talented guys. What they did, they did very well.” Richards called Phillips that morning, “frantic.” “He said that this was going to ruin his life,” Phillips remembers. “And I said, ‘Bob, there are politicians, preachers and people in high places that have had worse
transgressions. Just let it work itself out.’” Stratton received a similar call from Richards. “He was in a desperate panic at that time,” she says. “Total embarrassment. Horrified, humiliated, the whole bit. I’m not saying that he wasn’t responsible for his own behavior, [but] it was pretty terrifying for him.” “Initially our reaction was — ‘Sorry?’” Wilhelm says. “I really felt like she deserved to be able to tell her side of the story. Because people tend to believe the celebrity — maybe they’re telling the truth, maybe she is a little nutty. And I just remember feeling like OK, I understand that you’re angry, but you’re probably more angry that you’re caught than anything else. And at that time, we didn’t know that he had several mistresses going on. We just knew about her. But I felt like he was just angry that he got caught. Now, that was about lunchtime. Later in the day we started hearing other things.” Corbett remembers seeing Richards sitting on the curb behind Channel 5, where the news vans were, smoking cigarettes, even though Corbett didn’t know him to be a smoker. “But clearly there was a lot of turmoil in his life, in his soul, that was going on,” Corbett says. “I sat down next to him to talk and offered to listen. ‘What’s going on? Do you wanna talk ’ And he’s like, No, it’ll be cool, it’ll be cool.’ It was a side of Bob I’d never seen before.” The day before Henry’s interview, Richards had spoken to thenKSDK general manager John Kuenke about suicidal thoughts. Kuenke offered to give him time off, which Richards repeatedly refused. He refused for the final time on the afternoon of March 22. Richards did his regular news-
casts at 5 and 6 p.m. that day. Around 9:45 p.m., as he was preparing the evening’s final newscast, Richards telephoned Phillips and asked him if he would call his wife, Kathy. She had taken their daughter, Tricia, to Chicago and wouldn’t speak to him. He gave the number to Phillips, who spoke to Kathy for five or ten minutes. She mostly listened, Phillips recalls, but wasn’t argumentative. He told her the same things he had told Richards: Just give it time. It’ll work out. Richards went on at 10 p.m. as usual and called Phillips after the first weather cut-in. Phillips confirmed that he’d talked to Kathy and told Richards what he’d said, adding that she didn’t react with much emotion. “He said something to me that, I don’t wanna say it haunts me, but it did for a while,” Phillips says. “He said, ‘Thank you. You’ve taken a great weight off of my shoulders.’ And I thought that just meant I put him at ease. [Then] I watched him do the last part of the weather. He seemed a little distant when he was doing it, but maybe that was just because I was too close to it — I read more into it than what it was.” After his final 10 p.m. show, Richards called Stratton and said
he needed cigarettes — he did indeed smoke Winstons — and coffee. Stratton offered to pick him up and take him to the convenience store across from KSDK’s building. “No, no, no, no — please don’t make me go in there,” he pleaded. “OK,” she said, and grabbed a cup of coffee and a pack of his cigarettes before picking him up at the station. They drove around for a while, eventually winding up on the old brick street under the Arch, just feet from the Mississippi River. Richards was in the fetal position in Stratton’s passenger seat. “What are you so afraid of?” she finally asked him. He’d been notified that a story was coming out the next day in USA Today and was worried that his parents would read it. Stratton suggested going home to New Jersey for a while, so he could be there when they read it. He listened but it didn’t seem like he thought that would help. “I wasn’t quite sure what he really wanted,” she says. “He was not himself at this point. He’s talking to me but he’s ... I was so used to him being bubbly.” KSDK has always maintained that the station did not and never intended to terminate Richards over the situation, but Stratton says she got an anonymous call
that said station management had fired Richards that night. Allegedly memos saying as much were placed in everyone’s mailboxes at KSDK that evening. If that was true, by the next morning, they had been removed. “And I would say that’s what happened because he was just shaken to the core at that point,” she says. Stratton drove Richards back to the station, and they talked a little bit more. He got out of the car and she drove home. Stratton was so worried about him that she paged him a little later, and he called back. “Where are you right now?” he asked. “I’m in bed.” “Good — you just go to sleep and I’ll call you tomorrow,” he said. Stratton was working early the next morning, so she offered to call him around lunchtime. “He knew that if I was up watching TV, I’d see it in no time,” she says. After she dropped him off, Richards drove the 35 or 40 minutes to Spirit of St. Louis Airport in Chesterfield, where his red Piper Cherokee 180 was housed. Though the airfield closed at midnight, Richards took his Piper up at 12:15 a.m. He climbed 400 feet in the air
At first, while the Federal Aviation Administration was investigating the crash and before the medical examiner’s report was released, some hoped that it had been a terrible accident — not a suicide.
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“There were two shows that came out to interview me and set up cameras,” says Guy Phillips, “and all they wanted was dirt, and I couldn’t give it to them.”
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before changing course at around 100 mph. Jim Killeen, who worked near the runway, saw the whole thing. “It almost sounded like in a movie when it starts winding up,” he told the Post-Dispatch a few days later. “He definitely had the power in. He was gaining speed and flew it right into the runway, almost perpendicular to the ground. “It hit in a big cloud of debris and dust. Within a couple seconds it engulfed in flames. I could just tell from impact no one made it.”
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hen Steve and D.C. reported for work on March 23, 1994, at around 4:45 a.m., one of their producers was waiting for them at the door. This was highly unusual. “He just said, ‘Guys, there’s some really bad news.’” Wilhelm remembers. “And that guy — he would play pranks on us a lot. So we really didn’t know if we could take it seriously at first, you know? I said to him, ‘You’re joking. Come on, that’s not funny.’ And then I could see that he wasn’t laughing and was like, No, Bob Richards, around midnight, took his plane out, nosedived it straight into the tarmac and he’s dead.’ And I mean, I was just absolutely stunned.” Corbett got a call from his sister in the middle of the night; she left a message, because she knew the two often flew together, and her first thought was that Corbett was in the cockpit with Richards, and that there had been some terrible malfunction. “Then the [KSDK] assignment editor called very early, and I think he even offered to let me stay home that day,” Corbett says. “I said Nope, nope — gotta soldier on.’ You know, it’s news. It’s your job.” Foss awoke to a call around the same time from her former colleague Julius Hunter. Larry Connors, a longtime KMOV anchor, was also a private pilot, so he had connections at Spirit of St. Louis who tipped him off to what had happened. Connors called Hunter, and Hunter called Foss. Foss, in turn, called Dick Ford. “But Bob’s body had not been identified. We knew it was his plane. And we — as we would for anybody — we did not report his name at first , and it wasn’t a cover up or anything like that,” Foss says. “It was because his body had not been identified and his family had not been notified. Other stations were not so careful with that
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information. And that was hurtful, but you know, you go on.” Stratton reported to work as usual at the health care facility in Granite City, Illinois, where she was employed at the time. When she arrived, her coworkers immediately told her to go home; her roommate would be waiting for her there. Confused, she drove back to her apartment, where her roommate was standing in the living room, watching TV with her hands over her mouth. Stratton turned around and saw the report of Richards’ presumed death and sat down in disbelief. Phillips got a call from his boss around 2:45 a.m. The guy was a prankster, so Phillips’ first reaction was, “Fuck you!” Unfortunately, it wasn’t a terrible joke. Phillips was on vacation at the time, but he came in and they discussed what they knew on the show that morning, though they couldn’t even say Richards had died yet on air. At first, while the Federal Aviation Administration was investigating the crash and before the medical examiner’s report was released, some hoped that it had been a terrible accident — not a suicide. “I knew exactly what had happened,” Corbett says. “We sat out there and talked on the curb, and when his wife found out [about Henry] she moved out and went up to Chicago, and he flew up there in his plane and talked several times about how easy it would be to fix things by just planting it in a cornfield and having it be done. So I knew that seed was in his brain.” KSDK general manager and vice president John Kuenke also said later that Richards had spoken to him several times of thoughts of suicide in his final days but maintained that he didn’t want to take time off, that being on the air would be “therapeutic” for him. “If you said to me, ‘If you don’t take that phone call or do that interview with Donna Henry, he doesn’t kill himself,’ well then of course we wouldn’t do the interview, but you don’t get that kind of hindsight,” Wilhelm says. “But as we know, in life, things do get better. People love a second chance. I think Bob would’ve absolutely had no problem continuing his career even if [Channel] 5 had fired him, just by simply saying, publicly, ‘Hey, I obviously made some mistakes and I’m a man that is flawed.’ I think everybody would have been fine with that and would’ve given him a second chance. I just never believed in a million years that he would do something like that. If I
could change it, I would.” In the ensuing days, there was even more of a media frenzy. “There were two shows that came out to interview me and set up cameras,” Phillips says, “and all they wanted was dirt, and I couldn’t give it to them.” After Richards’ death, as many as 23 women claimed they had a relationship with him; Henry had actually heard from and met with a few of them after she called into the Steve and D.C. show. “Steve and D.C. had a golden nugget for the kind of show that they did,” Phillips says. “It’s easy to blame them. I believed at the time that they were at fault for Bob’s death, but I don’t believe that now.” For Karen Foss, reporting on the death of a colleague was hard enough, let alone under such circumstances. “It isn’t the first time that I’ve had — I or others — have had to report on the death of a colleague or coworker or someone that we knew personally,” Foss says. “But it was particularly painful under these circumstances. And I felt very bad for this woman. I could understand why she’d gone public. He had trashed her and said she was a lunatic and obsessed fan and that didn’t seem to be the truth. Or the whole truth, certainly. “I have never looked back at those tapes and I’m sure we looked very dashed. It’s always with you. That was a major trauma, and it’s not something you just put away.”
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he world has changed greatly since Richards’ death 25 years ago. In 1994, there was a lot of hesitation to cover the scandal before and after his passing, as media was more reluctant to report on the private lives of public figures in general. In the March 30, 1994, edition of the Riverfront Times, then-publisher Ray Hartmann shared his unvarnished thoughts on Richards and the onslaught of press surrounding his affair and suicide. “The apparent suicide last week of KSDK-TV weathercaster Bob Richards — following five days of embarrassing public coverage of his personal life — is ultimately the responsibility of no one other than Richards himself. But one inescapable fact remains, regardless of how desperately members of the media would like to escape it. Bob Richards’ personal life — or more precisely, the personal life of Robert Schwartz (his real name) — was not legitimate news. This is, of course, hotly disputed by many, if not most
journalists. The conventional non-wisdom of the media, as well as other devotees of sleaze, is that loss of privacy and personal dignity ‘goes with the territory’ for celebrities and others in the public eye. This is, we are told, ‘the price one pays’ for the fame and fortune of celebrity. What garbage. Maybe it sounds like an antiquated thought, but judging what is news (and what is not) is supposed to be a complex and delicate business.” In the column, Hartmann argues that Richards wasn’t tasked with the same “grave responsibility” of public figures such as “the president or the governor or the mayor or the chief of police,” and as such, didn’t deserve to have his personal life scrutinized by the press. “No one is using any standards,” Hartmann wrote. “And no one seems to care that every time you take a piece out of Bob Richards, you take a bigger piece out of Robert Schwartz.” Over the past two-plus decades, this deferential approach and tone to covering people in the public eye and community has started to evaporate. It’s hard to imagine journalists having these same conflicted feelings today, especially given the evidence against Richards supplied by Henry.
At first blush, the story of Bob Richards seems fairly black and white: a perfect-seeming family man leading a secret and scandalous double life. Journalists and people in the community argued that the order of protection against Richards wasn’t news and should never have been reported in the first place. Fingers were pointed. Perhaps if a similar situation happened today, we would believe the woman immediately. In the past few years, previously untouchable media figures like Matt Lauer, Bill O’Reilly and Tavis Smiley have been forced out of high-profile positions in broadcast journalism due to affairs and allegations of sexual harassment and abuse of power. Considering the stalking and harassment charges leveled against Richards — to say nothing of the 23 alleged consensual affairs — it’s hard to imagine this scandal not costing him his job today. As often happens in life, though, the more you learn about Richards, the hazier it becomes. Almost everyone interviewed for this story referred to Richards as “complex” or “complicated,” and wrestling with demons, although they all acknowledge that he was far from blameless in this situation. “I think he was two people,” Phillips says. “He was the person
I knew on television and radio, and he was Robert Schwartz, who probably had more strength than Bob Richards. I think it was Bob Richards that killed Bob Schwartz. I know that sounds a little movieesque, but that’s my own assessment.” Corbett hopes that people remember Richards as more than the guy who closed down the Spirit of St. Louis Airport for half a day. “I was always taught if you can get past thoughts of suicide and get on the other side, once you get past that, the bottom part of the pit of the valley, that you can rise above it,” Corbett says. “He spent more time in that deep valley than any of us thought.” Corbett is still in contact with Kathy, who has since remarried; their daughter, Tricia, now has a family of her own. Kathy, through Corbett, declined to be interviewed for this story. “You asked me if I thought things would be different [today]. I don’t know,” he says. “It was very public and very ugly. The wound has grown over and there’s not a scab there. Just know that his wife has emerged stronger and her daughter has prospered and is doing well. So if anything good came out of this, it’s that.” n
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“If you said to me, ‘If you don’t take that phone call or do that interview with Donna Henry, he doesn’t kill himself,’ well then of course we wouldn’t do the interview, but you don’t get that kind of hindsight,” Isaiah Wilhelm says now.
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BY PAUL FRISWOLD choreography by artistic director Brian Enos and a live soundtrack of Tchaikovsky music arranged by Brendan Hollins. A Christmas Carol is performed at 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday (November 14 and 15) at Washington University’s Edison Theatre (6445 Forsyth Boulevard; www.thebigmuddydanceco.org). Tickets are $25 to $35.
FRIDAY 11/15 Remaking the River Dave Hullfish Bailey is an artist attuned to the environment but not as it exists currently. Through rigorous study of a pre-defined territory and the practice of speculative geography, Bailey rearranges the individual elements of an environment and then breaks up the way it’s inhabited and exploited by people, effectively creating a new, temporary link between humans and their corner of the Earth. Currents 117: Dave Hullfish Bailey, his new exhibition at the Saint Louis Art Museum (1 Fine Arts Drive; www.slam.org), sees Bailey imagine a new present for the Missouri River watershed. Through both texts and redrawn maps, he creates a series of small dams near the origin of the river to imagine a present where water is more plentiful in the high plains, while two of his sculptures depict how such changes would rewrite the lives of people who live near the river. Currents 117: Dave Hullfish Bailey opens Friday, November 15, in gallery 250 at the museum. His work remains on display through March 8, and admission is free.
SATURDAY 11/16 Agnès Explains Herself
Buster Busts ’Em The St. Louis International Film Festival is more than just a buffet of new movies — there are several classics studded throughout the program as well. Buster Keaton’s incredible comedy Sherlock Jr. is one such classic. The unflappable and seemingly indestructible Keaton plays a meek film projectionist engaged to a beautiful woman (Kathryn McGuire). She’s wooed away by the man they call the Sheik, a two-bit lothario who has untapped reserves of confidence and a plot to frame Keaton. Bereft of his love, the projectionist sets up another film and falls asleep on the job — and dreams he’s the great detective Sherlock Holmes, who solves the crime and wins back his girl. The stunts are incredible, the scenery of early Hollywood is fascinating and the live
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The Great Russian Nutcracker is a spectacular show. | COURTESY THE GREAT RUSSIAN NUTCRACKER soundtrack is performed by the Rats & People Motion Picture Orchestra. Also on the bill is the 1929 short subject “Won by a Sweet,” in which candy is the fuel that powers athletes to success (a scientific truth in the 1920s). Sherlock Jr. is shown at 7:30 p.m. Friday, November 15, at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (470 East Lockwood Avenue; www.cinemastlouis.org). Tickets are $20.
A-Caroling We Go The Big Muddy Dance Company is first on the boards with a holiday show (but just by days; see
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Wednesday), as it presents its adaptation of A Christmas Carol this weekend. The familiar elements of Charles Dickens’ novella are all in place, but the story is told through contemporary dance and costumes. The miser Ebenezer Scrooge goes to bed on Christmas Eve presumably to dream of oppressing his employees and making more money but is instead visited by his long-dead business partner, Jacob Marley. Marley warns that three ghosts are coming to show him the error of his ways, and Scrooge isn’t going to like what they have to show him. Big Muddy’s production features
Pioneering French filmmaker Agnès Varda has been hailed as a feminist, the mother of the French New Wave and a champion of the stories of ordinary people. Her unique style, which combines documentary techniques with narrative elements, is at work in her final film, Varda by Agnès. It is a freeform exploration of her life, her work and her loves, which include her husband Jacques Demy and cats. Varda discusses her own work, her late-in-life art installations and her commitment to making films with a staunchly female point of view, all while remaining true to her initial creative impulse. With herself as her subject, Varda told one last story about an ordinary woman and her extraordinary life. Varda by Agnès is shown at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, November 16, at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (470 East Lockwood Avenue; www.cinemastlouis.org). Tickets are $14.
An Old Romance Perhaps no element of India’s cultural history has been as embraced as the story of Krishna and Radha’s shared love. The song cycle tells the story of the divine Krishna’s fondness for engaging in nocturnal dances with the female cowherds, especially the beautiful Radha. Known as the Song of Govinda, the poem was translated into English as early as 1792 by William Jones and has continued to draw the attention and admiration of Western poets and novelists. It is both a tale of romance and a parable about the love shared between humanity and the divine
WEEK OF NOVEMBER 14-20
Filmmaker Agnès Varda took one last look back before leaving. | © CINE TAMARIS 2018 spirit. It’s this story that inspires You Are My True Reflection: The Secret Letters of Radha and Krishna, the new performance by Dances of India. The narrated dance concert also includes Ashleyliane Dance Company dancing to a thillana, which is a rhythmic composition of the Carnatic musical tradition. You Are My True Reflection is performed at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday (November 15 and 16) and 3 p.m. Sunday, November 17, at the Skip Viragh Center (425 South Lindbergh Boulevard; www.dancesofindiastlouis. org). Tickets are $15 to $20.
MONDAY 11/18 One More Time The award-winning TV show Fleabag is done for good, but before show creator and star Phoebe Waller-Bridge could walk away from the character, she decided to revisit the original one-woman show that birthed the series. Waller-Bridge performed the show for a limited number of New York and London audiences, and one of the productions was filmed. In it, the never-named narrator introduces you to her unfiltered, self-obsessed and always horny life, which isn’t all peaches and
cream. Her family is a mess, her guinea pig cafe is on its way out of business and her best friend has recently died. Fleabag is shown nationwide at 7 p.m. Monday, November 18, and you can see it locally at Marcus Ronnies 20 Cine (5320 South Lindbergh Boulevard; www.fathomevents.com). Tickets are $19.39.
WEDNESDAY 11/20 Cracking On Christmas is a-comin’, and there’s no surer sign of this than the arrival of the Moscow Ballet’s touring production of The Great Russian Nutcracker. This lavish production features gorgeous Victorian costumes and a host of special effects that include an artificial owl that flaps its wings and a magnificent Christmas tree that grows right before your eyes. This Nutcracker also features characters from Russian folktales, such as Snegurochka (Snow Maiden) and Ded Moroz (Father Christmas). The Moscow Ballet performs its Great Russian Nutcracker at 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday (November 20 and 21) at the Fox Theatre (527 North Grand Boulevard; www.fabulousfox.com). Tickets are $32.50 to $102.50. n
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[REVIEW]
The Smorgasbord Continues Week two of the St. Louis International Film Festival brings more delights St. Louis International Film Festival www.cinemastlouis.org/festival-home
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he St. Louis International Film Festival (www.cinemastlouis.org) continues through this Sunday, which means you still have time to catch a movie or four. The RFT staff recommends the following:
Sorry We Missed You Directed by Ken Loach 7:10 p.m. Thu., Nov. 14 Tivoli Theatre
Ken Loach famously announced his retirement in 2014, only to change his mind, making the brilliant I, Daniel Blake when political events made him too angry to stay silent. Three years later, he’s still not happy. Sorry We Missed You is Loach’s view of the state of labor in 2019 — the so-called gig economy — and its devastating effect on working-class families. It’s not a pretty picture. Ricky Turner (Kris Hitchen) takes a job as a driver for a delivery service where he’s told that he’s his own boss — which means he’s responsible for providing transportation but is subject to excessive fines for missing deadlines or taking time off. His wife Abbie (Debbie Honeywood) makes house calls providing assistance to elderly patients whose needs don’t correspond to a tidy 9 to 5 schedule. Their children, a teenaged son at risk of being thrown out of school and a younger daughter sensitive to the family’s struggle, are becoming isolated and sullen. Written by Loach’s frequent collaborator Paul Laverty, the film is a snapshot of a family sinking into the quicksand of economic exploita-
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Olympia Dukakis is rolling, even in her 80s. | COURTESY OF ST. LOUIS FILM FESTIVAL tion. Where I, Daniel Blake evoked a kind of quiet heroism by way of its stubborn protagonist, Sorry We Missed You is more pessimistic and even painful to watch at times, yet Loach’s respect for the characters and his righteous anger are unmistakable. Just as you start to think this is an admirable but minor effort from Loach, his fiery brand of humanism and outrage subtly fall into place. For days after seeing the film, I found myself thinking about the Turner family and wondering how things were turning out for them. —Robert Hunt
The Ghost Who Walks Directed by Cody Stokes 9:30 p.m. Fri., Nov. 15 Tivoli Theatre
In The Ghost Who Walks, St. Louis native director/writer Cody Stokes transforms the streets and landmarks of St. Louis into the gritty backdrop for a noir thriller that traces the desperate path of recently released inmate, Nolan (Garland Scott), whose decision to rat out his former criminal colleagues comes back to haunt him. Complicating things, Nolan’s former boss (Gil Darnell), is married to his ex and raising the daughter he’s never met — and all of this takes place on Christmas, no less. That melodrama, though, is
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contained in a relentlessly paced action film, one that rarely slows as its trench coat-clad protagonist careens from one violent set piece to another. There is little time wasted here, and Nolan’s quest bursts with clipped dialogue, memorable characters and chaotic chase scenes shot in real-life St. Louis locations, including bars like Brennan’s and the Bastille. Although the plot sits firmly in the well-trod archetypes of its genre, The Ghost Who Walks leans into those tropes and ends up perfectly executing the narrative beats and brutal beatdowns of an action movie that punches impressively high — and delivers on every blow. —Danny Wicentowski
Olympia Directed by Harry Charalambos Mavromichalis 5 p.m. Sat. Nov. 16 Webster University Moore Auditorium Olympia is driven by the heart and wit of the documentary’s subject, the unfiltered and vulnerable Olympia Dukakis. The Academy Award winning actress talks about the trifecta of topics: death, love and hard pricks. Director Harry Charalambos Mavromichalis follows Dukakis as she attends Pride parades, ventures to her an-
cestral home in Greece and has an aggravated conversation with Siri that even the cameraman can’t help but laugh at. Mavromichalis takes a dive into the actress’ work in theater and film but keeps the focus on her life today at 88 years old. Her honest reflection of her early years in the business and her struggle of being, as she puts it, “too ethnic,” are combined with intimate moments of joy, fear and absurdity with the people around her. With anecdotes from her late husband, the actor Louis Zorich, fellow actors and students, the audience gets a glimpse at the force of nature that is Olympia Dukakis. Follow Dukakis on the wild journey that is her life and enjoy her superabundance of wisdom. If you walk away with anything, just remember the Olympia Dukakis mantra, “I am an octogenarian motherfucker!” —Caroline Groff
Kate Nash: Underestimate the Girl Directed by Amy Goldstein 6 p.m. Sat., Nov. 16 Stage at KDHX
Kate Nash’s life changed forever in 2007. She achieved the kind of success that year that most musicians only dream about when her single, “Foundations,” spent five
weeks at No. 2 on the U.K. Singles Chart. Nash, just twenty years old at the time, was an overnight sensation in her native Britain and abroad, gaining attention for her unique vocals, lyrics and piano playing. In Kate Nash: Underestimate the Girl, a confessional Nash shares the struggles of that time, from bullying tabloid media to record execs who wanted to control her sound and image. She toured the world and released two studio albums yet never managed to recapture the commercial success of “Foundations,” and her label dropped her. Nash was already experimenting with a new, punkier sound, drawing inspiration from riot grrrl icons and trading in her keyboard for a bass guitar. The documentary charts the struggles that Nash experienced as an independent artist and the huge amount of money and risk involved in self-releasing her own records and touring in support of them. Nash, who has found crossover success as an actor (most notably on Netflix’s GLOW), is captivating on screen, and her story is one of growth, sacrifice and dedication to her art above all else. —Liz Miller
My Summer as a Goth Directed by Tara Johnson-Medinger 3:30 p.m. Sun., Nov. 17 Tivoli Theatre
Shortly after the unexpected death of her father, sixteen-year-old Joey (Natalie Shershow) is sent to her grandparents for the summer while her mother goes on another book tour. Joey’s low-key depression and simmering resentment at her mother make her a perfect project for Victor (Jack Levis), the goth kid in the neighborhood. Tall, slightly fey and conceited beyond belief, Victor inducts Joey into the goth community with a quick makeover. Shershow is convincing as a young woman who’s still working through grief and finds delight in becoming someone else for a while, while Levis gives Victor a shifting personality that hints he’s more of an asshole than a Joey suspects. Pacing problems dog the story at times, but the addition of Pen and Cob (Jenny White and Carter Allen) as a goth couple who embrace all life has to offer — even camping — helps smooth things over. —Paul Friswold
Kim Ki-jung (Park So-dam) and Park Ki-woo (Choi Woo-sik) in Parasite. | COURTESY OF NEON + CJ ENTERTAINMENT
[REVIEW]
Hangers On Bong Joon-ho skewers the haves and have-nots in his horror/comedy Parasite Written by
ROBERT HUNT Parasite Directed by Bong Joon-ho. Written by Bong Joon-ho and Won Han Jin. Starring Choi Woo-sik, Jo Yeo-jeong, Song Kang-ho and Jang Hye-jin. Opens Friday, November 15, at multiple theaters.
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alling Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite a suspense/horror comedy may seem like a cautious attempt at covering all generic bases, but it doesn’t even begin to describe the range and depth of this odd, ambitious film. There’s lots of criminal activity and bad behavior, but you could probably get into a good argument trying to determine exactly which set of characters are the victims. (The same could be said for defining exactly who is being described by the title). It’s a brutal cartoon of a film but with an unblinking sense of the real and contemporary, a broad lampoon of economic inequality that mercilessly skewers its targets while remaining disturbingly ambiguous.
Parasite is the story of two families living at the extreme ends of the social spectrum. Kim Ki-Woo lives in a subterranean slum with his parents and sister, scraping a living folding pizza delivery boxes and struggling to pick up a clean wi-fi signal. A chance encounter with a friend brings an opportunity to tutor the teenage daughter of Park Dong-ik, a wealthy executive. Within a few weeks, Ki-Woo adds the rest of his family to the Park staff as chauffeur, housekeeper and art therapist to the young Indian-obsessed son, each employment requiring a higher level of deception and outright criminality than the one before. The Kim family quickly settle into their new roles, and the addled Parks barely notice that the balance of power has shifted. The Kim family’s upscale journey is just the beginning of Parasite‘s serpentine plot lines, most of which defy easy description. Bong’s carefully crafted story somehow manages to find room for murder, natural disasters and characters living in Phantom-of-the-Opera seclusion, each peculiar turn somehow fitting together with what could almost be called logic. Bong is a wicked satirist, but his pointed humor, which has sometimes seemed a little heavy handed in earlier films (particularly Snowpiercer and Okja, his most recent films aimed at Western audiences), is dark and devastating here. He casually makes a few jabs at the offbeat banality of his characters (Mrs. Park, played with benign innocence by Jo Yeo-jeong, is besotted by all things
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American — the Parks win their way into the household in part by claiming to be from Illinois — while the affable Ki-Woo has a habit of exclaiming, “That’s so metaphorical”), only to hammer in a sardonic punchline with an unexpected twist or a sudden burst of violence. It’s also a strangely beautiful film, as meticulously plotted as it is written. The gap between the families can even be seen in the physical landscape: The Parks live at the top of a hill, while the Kims are confined to a Dante-esque basement apartment which, in one harrowing sequence, becomes a watery hell of backed-up sewers. Both the Kim apartment and the Park home are presented as unnavigable labyrinths with winding pathways and dead-end corridors (the Parks at least have their young son’s lovingly framed artwork). The vivid colors and painstaking design become hard to ignore, the environment as jarring as the acts committed by those who inhabit it. Parasite is, from its first frame to its last, a film about class, but not one that lends itself to easy interpretation. Bong presents economic inequality, from the squalor of the Kim home to the emptyheaded affluence of the Parks, but there’s no moralizing behind it, no sense of exploitation or righteous proclamations that the meek are going to inherit the earth no matter whom they have to run over to get to it. It’s ambiguous and provocative in its morality as well as in its politics. In Bong’s satirical vision, there are no easy answers, just matters of inn stinct and bitter twists of fate.
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In May of 2019, Sedara Sweets joined the community of Affton. Sedara serves a variety of baked goods including fifteen types of baklava—both Iraqi and Turkish. Just like the name says, Sedara sells ice cream, using products from Wisconsin-based Cedar Crest, and milkshakes. The cafe offers a small savory menu featuring breakfast bread, falafel and shawarma sandwiches, with rotisserie versions of beef or chicken both on offer. Whether you are looking for something to satisfy your sweet tooth, or a new option for lunch and dinner, Sedara has you covered. “We want to have something for everybody” Sedara Sweets is both family owned and operated. They offer dine in and take out food services, as well as an amazing Baklava gift box that can be ordered online, or even delivered! Owners George and Esraa Simon look forward to meeting their new neighbors and sharing some of their favorite dishes with the community!
Located on both Page Avenue, as well as the upcoming location in the Saint Louis Galleria, Cluster Busters hopes to provide Saint Louis with high quality seafood at affordable prices. Cluster Busters offers both dine in and carry out seafood, with recipes from Chef Deion Woodard. You will find all your favorites dishes such as seafood, pasta, gumbo, and fried fish. Whether you want to try their flagship “Cluster Buster” or the Lobster Mac and Cheese, Cluster Busters offers something for everyone. Since 2017, Cluster Busters continues to grow as part of a staple of the North Saint Louis community, and is very excited to bring their offerings to the Galleria. Keep an eye out for menu additions as well as daily specials. Cluster Busters is also available for catering and private events, so consider them for your next event. At Cluster Busters, you’re invited to come catch this drip!
POKE DOKE
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314.449.6328 5257 SHAW AVE, ST. LOUIS, MO 63110 Carnivore fills a nearly 4,000-square-foot space on The Hill with a dining area, bar lounge, and adjoining outdoor patio gracefully guarded by a bronze steer at the main entrance. Always embracing change, Joe and Kerri Smugala, with business partners Chef Mike and Casie Lutker, launched Carnivore STL this summer. As the Hill’s only steakhouse, Carnivore offers a homestyle menu at budget-friendly prices appealing to the neighborhood’s many families. Steak, of course, takes center stage with juicy filet mignon, top sirloin, strip steak and ribeye leading the menu. Customize any of the succulent meats with sautéed mushrooms, grilled shrimp, or melted housemade butters, such as garlic-and-herb and red wine reduction, on top of the flame-seared steak. Other main dishes include a thick-cut pork steak (smoked at J. Smugs) and the grilled chicken with capers and a white wine-lemon-butter sauce. St. Louis Italian traditions get their due in the Baked Ravioli, smothered in provel cheese and house ragu, and in the Arancini, risotto balls stuffed with provel and swimming in a pool of meat sauce. With an exciting new brunch menu debuting for Saturday and Sunday, Carnivore should be everyone’s new taste of the Hill.
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314.328.3421 6730 PAGE AVE ST. LOUIS, MO 63138
314.391.5100 9 S. VANDEVENTER AVE. ST. LOUIS, MO 63108
Looking for the best seafood in St. Louis or the Midwest—don’t fret, Crawling Crab is now open! Here, we drizzle everything in garlic butter and then sprinkle on our magic dust! In a fun and casual atmosphere, you’ll enjoy fresh, hand-cleaned seafood ranging from lobster, shrimp, and of course crab legs. All platters come with corn sausage potatoes and Cajun boiled eggs and shrimp that won’t disappoint. For those pasta and veggie lovers out there, there is a spot for you here too! Enjoy our double dipped garlic butter rolls along side with your meal. And if you are still not stuffed, we have homemade dessert on the menu too! Have a big family coming in or an event coming up? Enjoy our family meal options and our beautiful seafood tables. As we continue to grow, we are excited to add new items to the menu, get creative with new recipes, and give back within the community. Join us on the first Tuesday of the month for $20 platter specials, and $5 appetizers on every Wild Wednesday! Open Tuesday thru Saturday 4pm-10pm, currently located in the 24:1 Coffee House Cafe.
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Poke Doke offers St. Louis their energized recipes intertwined in a fast-casual model. Best part is every bowl is customizable to the patron -- whether you know what you want and can come up with your own flavor pairings — but it’s certain your heart will be content with the rich, high-quality seafood. Customers choose a size, a base, (such as rice, greens, or soba noodles) and choose from proteins (such as salmon ahi tuna, spicy tuna, shrimp or tofu), then add as many toppings and drizzles as they wish. If you’re less interested in the simple pleasures of fish and more in playing around with accoutrements, both the shrimp and tofu are neutral enough that they benefit from the enhancements. The menu also offers appetizers such as pork-filled pot stickers, miso soup, and crab rangoon, along with an assortment of bubble milk teas and soft serve ice cream. With locations in both the Central West End and the Delmar Loop, Poke Doke is the perfect spot to grab a quick bite!
BLK MKT EATS
CRAWLING CRAB
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314.833.5900 8 S EUCLID AVE ST. LOUIS, MO 63108 314.553.9440 6316 DELMAR BLVD UNIVERSITY CITY, MO 63130
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The fast-fresh, made-to-order concept has been applied to everything from pizza to pasta in St. Louis, but the sushi burrito surprisingly had no Gateway City home until BLK MKT Eats opened near Saint Louis University last fall. It was worth the wait, though, because BLK MKT Eats combines bold flavors and convenience into a perfectly wrapped package that’s ideal for those in a rush. Cousins and co-owners Kati Fahrney and Ron Turigliatto offer a casual menu full of high-quality, all-natural ingredients that fit everything you love about sushi and burritos right in your hand. The Swedish Fish layers Scandinavian cured salmon, yuzu dill slaw, NOT YOURAnother AVERAGE Persian cucumbers and avocado for a fresh flavor explosion. favorite, the OGSUSHI Fire, featuresSPOT your choice 9 SOUTH VANDEVENTER DINE-IN, jalapeño TAKEOUT and OR DELIVERY MON-SAT 11AM-9PM of spicy tuna or salmon alongside tempura crunch, masago, shallots, piquant namesake sauce; Persian cucumbers and avocado soothe your tongue from the sauce’s kick. All burrito rolls come with sticky rice wrapped in nori or can be made into poké bowls, and all items can be modified for vegetarians.
CAFE
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[REVIEW]
Guac ’n’ Roll A New Town taco shack totally shreds Written by
CHERYL BAEHR Rock Star Taco Shack 3242-1 Rue Royale, St. Charles; 636-395-7146. Tue.-Sat. 4-9 p.m. (Closed Sunday and Monday).
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very two weeks or so, Wil Pelly gets a phone call that is so surreal he has to pinch himself to make sure he isn’t dreaming. On the other side of the line is none other than rock and roll legend ZZ Top singer and guitarist Billy Gibbons asking, in his legendary gruff voice, for his regular order: a few cases of Rock Star Dust, please. For Pelly and his business partner, Matt Arana, the fact that they are at a place in their lives where bona fide rock royalty regularly rings up their cellphones for their restaurant’s signature seasoning blend is still incomprehensible. They never could’ve imagined they’d find such success the evening the idea for Rock Star Taco Shack came to them. It was a particularly debauched night following a show they’d just played, and the longtime bandmates got to talking about a vacant food shack for lease in their St. Charles neighborhood of New Town. Several shots of tequila and whiskey later, they were convinced they should turn it into a taco shack and even came up with silly, music-themed names for their dishes. At the time, it seemed like a great idea. Unlike most booze-fueled ideas, this one continued to seem great even after they came to their senses. On numerous occasions, they’d passed the tiny, vacant building when driving into New Town and mused that it would be a great spot for a quick-service restaurant. Determined to see the idea through, they contacted the leasing agent, got a reasonable quote on rent and set out to make their vision for Rock Star Taco Shack a reality. For Pelly, a restaurant industry veteran who has worked in sev-
The “Number of the Beef” is an unabashedly Americanized taco with ground beef seasoned with the shack’s signature Rock Star Dust. | MABEL SUEN eral prominent St. Louis kitchens (the Libertine, Nudo House, Boundary), the move to open a place of his own was a natural progression. That this would happen in New Town St. Charles might not seem immediately evident, but for Pelly and Arana, it made perfect sense. As the friends got to know the planned community’s neighbors (Pelly has since moved out of the area; Arana recently moved in), they sensed a craving for quick yet thoughtful food that would appeal to everyone from families in search of an easy weeknight meal to couples looking for a date-night snack as they walked around the area’s main drag. They also hoped that, despite the fact that New Town is a somewhat isolated area, it had enough local tra c to sustain the business. They received their answer to that question this past Cinco de Mayo when, during a Rock Star Taco Shack pop-up at the local wine bar, they served 2,000 tacos in two hours. That they managed to pull off such high volume during the popup was nothing short of miracu-
lous. The fact that they are able to run a successful business out of a 100-square-foot concession stand in an out-of-the-way St. Charles neighborhood is equally impressive. Rock Star Taco Shack is little more than a kitchen with an order window, but Arana and Pelly have made the most of the tiny digs. Picnic tables provide seating behind the shack, but during colder weather, the restaurant is mostly a grab-and-go operation and even offers curbside pickup and delivery throughout New Town. If you are a New Town resident, this means you can pull over on your way home from work, hop out of the car and have dinner ready in a matter of minutes. If you are a non-New Towner, your options are limited and may involve scarfing down your meal and a canned margarita while sitting on the floor of your minivan (true story). It’s not exactly the most persuasive argument for making a trip out to Rock Star Taco Shack, but Arana and Pelly do their best to make the case. Their most compelling argument for stopping by the shack, whether from near or far, is their
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Cuban-style citrus and garlic pork, the Tito Puerco. Pelly’s mother hails from Santiago, Cuba, and he counts his childhood experience of making tamales with her and her fellow expat friends as one of his biggest culinary influences. His background in Cuban cooking shines brightly in the form of this succulent meat, which is like a juicier, fattier pulled pork. Tender hunks of meat are stuffed into a warm flour tortilla with lettuce, cheese and Fancy Sauce, made with ranch and jalapeño-seasoned sour cream. These accoutrements don’t take away from the pork, but they’re unnecessary considering how wonderful the meat is on its own. Next time, I’ll ask to see Tito naked. Often a throwaway offering, the chicken taco at Rock Star Taco Shack is one of its best. Called Thunder Cluck, the taco features large pieces of pulled chicken that have been stewed with chipotle peppers and Pelly’s secret ingredient, Sweet Love. The result is a sweet and spicy jus that coats the meat like a light barbecue sauce. It’s good as a taco; it’s magnificent
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PING PONG TABLE • POOL TABLE • BOARD GAMES WEDNESDAY TRIVIA • LIVE MUSIC / DJS 5 DAYS A WEEK
THIS WEEK THE GROVE SELECTED HAPPENINGS
IN
Day or night, there’s always something going on in The Grove: live bands, great food, beer tastings, shopping events, and so much more. Visit thegrovestl.com for a whole lot more of what makes this neighborhood great.
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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13
$10, 8 PM AT ATOMIC COWBOY
YAK ATTACK
HAROLD NIGHT
7 PM AT ATOMIC COWBOY
$8, 8 PM AT THE IMPROV SHOP
DRAG BINGO + ALL DAY HAPPY HOUR
TRIVIA + $2 TALL BOYS
8 PM AT HANDLEBAR
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14
BEN MILLER BAND AT THE BOOTLEG
8 PM AT HANDLEBAR
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15
WESTERN STATES W/ HILLARY FITZ BAND
4130 MANCHESTER AVE. IN THE GROVE FIRECRACKERPIZZA.COM $10, 8 PM AT ATOMIC COWBOY
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 17
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19
TED DANGEROUS
SUPERNATURAL | 7 YEAR NAPPIVERSARY
BRIAN COURTNEY WILSON - JUST B TOUR
GRATITUDE + GRACE FUNDRAISER
$10, 8 PM AT THE IMPROV SHOP
GREYHOUNDS $12, 8 PM AT THE READY ROOM
7 PM AT THE READY ROOM
FUNK YOU AT THE BOOTELG $10, 8 PM AT ATOMIC COWBOY
DJ IRENE + CHEAP MULE & SHOT SPECIALS
COMEDY SHOWCASE AT THE SHOP
10 PM AT HANDLEBAR
$12, 8:15 PM AT THE IMPROV SHOP
$25, 7 PM AT THE READY ROOM
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18
BOOZE SCHOOL WITH STILL 630 $20, 7 PM AT HANDLEBAR
6 PM AT GRACE MEAT + THREE
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20
THIS WILL DESTROY YOU $16, 7 PM AT THE READY ROOM
FRIENDS TRIVIA!
THE LAB $6, 8 PM AT THE IMPROV SHOP
7 PM AT TROPICAL LIQUEURS
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ROCK STAR TACO SHACK Continued from pg 27
tucked into a gooey Quesa-Dio, where the spicy meat melds into the molten cheese. Dipped into a side of Fancy Sauce, it’s a decadent treat. Rock Star’s vegetarian offering, Livin on the Veg, is surprisingly thoughtful. Filled with zucchini, squash and broccoli — all flawlessly cooked just a touch beyond al dente — the taco is finished with a dash of Rock Star Dust, the restaurant’s signature seasoning blend. Made from paprika, chiles, cumin, sugar and garlic, the mildly hot and subtly sweet seasoning adds depth to what could have been a boring vegetable medley. That Rock Star Dust features prominently in the Number of the Beef, a taco filled with meat that tastes shockingly similar to Taco Bell’s ground beef. Here, shredded lettuce, cheese and Fancy Sauce are perfect complements for this gringo taco. As if it could get more Americanstyle than the Number of the Beef, one of Rock Star’s recent specials plays up the restaurant’s unapologetically non-traditional ethos. Called We’re Coming to America,
Chef-owner Wil Pelly’s customers include rock royalty — and neighborhood regulars. | MABEL SUEN the off-the-menu offering is basically a cheeseburger in taco form: salt-and-pepper-seasoned ground beef, lettuce, thick-cut red onions and a slice of American cheese. If you can get past the fact that, somewhere, someone’s abuela is shuddering that this is called a taco, it’s actually pretty darned tasty.
Limited by its tiny real estate, Rock Star Taco Shack offers only a couple of appetizers, like the Ring of Fire salsa, a refreshing, almost puréed tomato salsa that is mild but smoky, which gives it interest. The Platinum Queso is another fine chip dip; the velvety concoction is amped with what tastes like Rock Star Dust seasoning,
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giving it a softly spiced, deeply savory taste. Rock Star Taco Shack is a solid effort by Arana and Pelly, but it is clearly designed to be sustained by the residents of New Town. This is not a taco destination — and that’s fine. It’s not intended to be anything more than a lowkey, approachable culinary amenity to the neighborhood. And a rock-star catering outfit. Since opening in June, Pelly and Arana have been able to book high-profile catering gigs thanks to their music industry connections and proximity to the Hollywood Casino Amphitheater. This is how they came to know ZZ Top’s Gibbons and Alice Cooper, among other music greats. In fact, their relationship with the former may be their meal ticket: Gibbons is so enamored with the Rock Star Dust that he is talking with Arana and Pelly about helping them launch it nationally as a complement to his Whisker Bomb hot sauce. Not bad for a couple of guys slinging tacos in New Town.
Rock Star Taco Shack Platinum Queso .......................................... $6 Quesa-Dio .................................................... $8 Tito Puerco .................................................. $3
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[SIDE DISH]
Alex Feick Prioritizes Vegan, Gluten-Free Pastries Written by
CHERYL BAEHR
A
lex Feick remembers the exact moment she realized that she needed to open a glutenfree, vegan bakery — and it has nothing to do with any dietary restrictions of her own. “I met this woman through a moms group I belonged to, and she was telling me about her son who was born with celiac disease and a severe nut and egg allergy,” Feick recalls. He was getting ready to turn five years old and had never had a birthday cake. It just got to my heart — bringing up kids is the quickest way to appeal to me. I started tweaking my recipes and made a birthday cake for him, and when I brought it to his party, all of the other moms started asking for stuff. I figured there was enough of a demand for this to go over well.” Feick, who recently opened a brick-and-mortar location of her year-old brand, Prioritized Pastries (4904 Devonshire Avenue, 314-858-0333), understands that people do a double-take when they learn she does not eat a gluten-free or vegan diet herself. Considering that her bakery caters to people looking for these types of baked goods, it’s a natural assumption. However, as Feick explains, the idea to open Prioritized Pastries actually came from her lifelong passion for the restaurant business. When Feick was a child, her mom moonlighted at a cafe on Main Street in St. Charles, and she would bring Feick to work with her on the weekends. By the time
Prioritized Pastries celebrated its grand opening in Southampton last month. | ANDY PAULISSEN she was eight years old, Feick was bussing tables, a gig that earned her a little money over the course of two summers. The impression it left on her would last much longer. “It made such an imprint on me,” Feick says. “I remember the hustle and bustle, the kitchen yelling at the front-of-house, the front-of-house yelling at the kitchen. I loved it and got enthralled with the industry at that point.” At fifteen, she got her first “real” job in the restaurant business and never looked back. Although she alternated between cooking gigs and waiting tables, it was evident to her and her employers that she was better suited for the kitchen, an assessment that was made clear to her when she was a server at Soulard Coffee Garden. “The owners flat-out told me I wasn’t good at this,” Feick laughs. Feick felt confident she could excel in the kitchen, and one of her Soulard Coffee Garden colleagues agreed. He was working a second job at BB’s Jazz, Blues and Soups and was looking for some additional help. Feick accepted the job offer, and before she knew it, she was creating nightly specials and begging to do the restaurant’s desserts.
At the same time, Feick was attending culinary school, where she further realized that pastry was her path in the kitchen. Whether she was baking on her days off or for her coworkers, Feick was always making desserts and pastries to make herself and others feel better. Because her opportunities to bake were few and far between at BB’s, Feick left the club to work at Pie Oh My! in Maplewood and the Mud House on Cherokee where she further developed her pastry craft. After that, she landed at Niche, a gig she admits she applied for out of arrogance. “I had this instructor in culinary school who pushed me and asked me where I wanted to work,” Feick recalls. “Obviously, I wanted to work at the best place I could think of, so I said Niche. He told me to apply there, I think to knock me down a bit, but I ended up getting the job.” At Niche, Feick was pushed well beyond anything she’d experienced before, and though it wasn’t always easy, she relished the opportunity to learn from the restaurant’s talented pastry team. When the chance to run the pastry program at the Libertine came up, she decided to go for it, seeing it as an
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important next step for her career. It was indeed a great advancement, and at the same time bittersweet. With her desserts catching some buzz, Feick was asked to be featured in an article about restaurants that “prioritized their pastries” for a local publication. She was interviewed, did the photo shoot and told family and friends the date her feature was going to be published. A week before it was set to come out, she got laid off. “I was in total shock and didn’t see it coming,” Feick recalls. “I assumed I was safe. Then, to add salt to the wound, the publication called me to tell me they were pulling the article because I was no longer a prioritized pastry chef.” The next day, she launched a Facebook page for her business and named it Prioritized Pastries. “People think I named it that because I prioritize vegan or glutenfree baking needs,” Feick laughs. “It’s spite. I did it totally out of spite and anger.” The setback proved to be a launchpad for her business. Feick’s friends at Pie Oh My! let her use their kitchen as a baking space after they closed, and she
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ALEX FEICK
Continued from pg 33
got to work making her signature baked goods for the farmers’ market. Originally, she would bring a case of regular baked goods and a case of gluten-free and vegan ones. The latter proved to be the first to sell out every week. Building on the success of her products and the demand for gluten-free and vegan baked goods, Feick went all in on the concept. She opened her first brick-andmortar space, not simply because it is a place of her own, but because it allows her to finally get some rest. “The first two years of the business, I was going into Pie Oh My! in the middle of the night to work, coming home in the morning so my husband could go to work and then spending the day taking care of my daughter,” Feick explains. “Now that I have this place, I can sleep like a normal person … someday!” Feick took a break from prioritizing her pastries to share her thoughts on the St. Louis food and beverage scene, her Dr. Pepper habit and why inclusive cooking is critical in the industry. What is one thing people don’t know about you that you wish they did? I’m not gluten free! I don’t have allergies or aversions, and neither does my kid. Everyone assumes I do because of my style of baking, but the truth is, I’m just a baker who wants everyone to be able to eat a cupcake once in a while! What daily ritual is non-negotiable for you? Coffee! Before life begins, coffee must be made and consumed. If you could have any superpower, what would it be? Definitely the power to control time. There’s never enough, and I find myself wishing at least twelve times a day that I could stop time and get more done. What is the most positive thing in food, wine or cocktails that you’ve noticed in St. Louis lately? There are so many positive things happening in our food scene right now. So many young chefs are out there killing it, and I think the greatest thing we have going for us is an openness and welcoming attitude toward anyone willing to try something new. What is something missing in the local food, wine or cocktail scene that you’d like to see? More all-inclusive baking and cooking. I love good comfort food
as much as the next Midwesterner, but as food allergies and lifestyle changes are becoming more mainstream, I’d like to see more people trying to merge the two. Just because people have food aversions doesn’t mean they don’t still want to enjoy a meal with all the bells and whistles. Who is your St. Louis food crush? Oh lord, there are too many to mention! Kaylen Wissinger at Whisk has definitely been a huge inspiration of mine, and I will always look up to Sarah Osborn Blue from Niche Food Group. I think I was too intimidated by her when I was working under her, but there are so many things I picked up watching her and learning from her that are implemented daily in my kitchen that have made me better. And of course, Nathaniel Reid for his technical skill and precision. I mean, come on, he’s just brilliant! Who’s the one person to watch right now in the St. Louis dining scene? I’d say Nick Bognar, but the world seems to have caught on to that one already. In the pastry world, I’d look out for Abby Benz at Spoil Me Sweetly out of the Bakers Hub. She is a true artist with fondant and a piping bag. Which ingredient is most representative of your personality? Salt. I can be salty af sometimes, but I can also be the thing that enhances the sweetness in something. And while you may not notice it if it’s there, you always notice if it’s missing! If you weren’t working in the restaurant business, what would you be doing? I ask myself this question all the time. I still haven’t figured it out yet. That’s why I’m still here! Name an ingredient never allowed in your bakery. This is an easy one — gluten! Really though, anything overly processed or fake. Or anything that we can just make ourselves. What is your after-work hangout? Home! Not much beats hanging out with my kid while wearing comfy clothes and watching Moana on repeat these days. What’s your food or beverage guilty pleasure? Ugh — soda. I’ve kicked so many bad habits, but god help me, I just can’t give up my Dr. Pepper! What would be your last meal on Earth? Can you make a meal out of cake Because definitely cake. Chocolate cake. With vegan chocolate ice cream. But then again, I always think the answer is cake. n
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[FOOD NEWS]
New Local Cocktail Syrups and Sampler Packs for Sale Written by
LIZ MILLER
One of two new cocktail sampler packs from Heirloom Bottling Co. | COURTESY HEIRLOOM BOTTLING CO.
I
n the two and a half years since launching Heirloom Bottling Co., Brad Zulick has grown the business from a farmers’ market stand to more than fifteen retail stores and twenty-plus restaurants in the St. Louis area. His line of shrubs and cocktail syrups quickly gained an audience for both their unique flavors (think pineapple-allspice shrub and cherry-orange spice cocktail syrup) and their ease of use. Not only do the shrubs and syrups make easy cocktails — just add the spirit of your choice and stir — they make tasty non-alcoholic drinks as well. Now, after listening to customer feedback and market demand the past couple of years, Zulick is introducing a bevy of new offerings. Among them are his signature shrubs in smaller packaging, sizing them down from 16-ounce bottles to 8-ounce bottles, and curated cocktail sampler packs with four 4-ounce
[FOOD NEWS]
Affton Food Truck Garden to Open in Spring 2020 Written by
LIZ MILLER
T
here’s no shortage of food trucks in St. Louis, with the list continuing to grow each month, and soon, they’ll have an open-air hub to call their own. 9 Mile Garden is scheduled to open next spring at 9375 Gravois Road in the Affton Plaza shopping center, featuring a family-friendly entertainment destination with a rotating assortment of food trucks, community events, outdoor movies, live music and more. The project is a collaboration between Guerrilla
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bottles. The existing products have also been wrapped in new labels featuring illustrations of the fruit and spices used to flavor them. “I was really reluctant to switch the size of the bottles because it’s another piece of inventory with the glass bottles that I have to carry,” Zulick says. “Ultimately what I was hearing was, ‘I wish I could buy two or three flavors, but for the price point, $20, the packaging is really big.’ I think consumers want smaller packaging; they want more variety. You listen to the customer long enough and it starts to sink in. And it’s a learning process for me; I’ve never had a cocktail syrup/shrub-making business before. You start with one thing, get feedback and switch the business as it needs to go.” The first of the two cocktail curated sets features classic shrubs from Heir-
Street Food chef and coowner Brian Hardesty and Seneca Commercial Real Estate, which owns the Affton shopping center. “Our vision is to create a destination where people from around St. Louis and beyond come together to enjoy food, entertainment and community in a family-friendly environment,” Hardesty says in a recent release. “By creating a daily food truck destination, we are also investing in the economic stability of our local food truck scene, delivering crowds of hungry diners to the doors of the chefs and food makers who continue to drive innovation and opportunity in our local culinary scene.” The food truck garden is expected to operate six days a week, offering both lunch and dinner services. In addition to queuing up “a daily rotation of St. Louis’ best and most beloved food trucks,” 9 Mile Garden aims to be a hub for entertainment of all types, from livestreams of sporting events to live performances. In addition to public events, the park will be
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loom: blackberry-lemon-mint, blueberrysage, pineapple-allspice and grapefruitginger-vanilla. The second set features three brand-new products and one classic and is aptly called Cocktail Essentials, with a new mojito mix, mule mix, tonic syrup and Heirloom’s classic cherry-orange spice cocktail syrup, which riffs on the flavors in an Old Fashioned. “With the cocktail essential pack, I wanted something that was a bit more intuitive for what customers could do with it,” Zulick says. “I get a lot of questions like, ‘What do I do with a pineapple-allspice shrub?’ Well, you can drink it like a soda or put rum in it or use it to marinate chicken in a Crockpot, but when it’s a tonic syrup, people know what to do with that. Or a mojito mix: Just add rum to this and you have a mojito. I’m just trying to make the packaging a bit more obvious
and intuitive for the consumer.” In addition to the new multi-packs, Heirloom is releasing standalone 8-ounce bottles of the tonic syrup, mojito mix (made with lime and mint) and mule mix (kind of a lime-infused ginger beer). The new packaging and products have slowly been hitting store shelves around town. The curated sets debuted Tuesday. Zulick is especially excited for consumers to try his new tonic syrup, which he developed during the past year and a half. “I was reluctant to make a tonic because if you look, there’s so many different tonics out there, but I think I’ve made one that’s pretty unique and definitely tasty,” Zulick says. “It’s made with a whole bunch of different spices and flavors in it, including real cinchiona bark, the bark from which you get the quinine, which is the backbone of an authentic tonic syrup.” Zulick says you can find Heirloom’s new products locally at Larder & Cupboard and Urban Matter and possibly also Parker’s Table and Local Harvest, where his flagship shrubs and syrups are sold. For a complete list of retailers, visit www.heirloombottling.com. “I can’t wait to get more feedback from customers and see how people like it,” Zulick says. “If you live in St. Louis, I’d rather that you buy them in one of the retail stores, but if you’re shipping it to someone, you can buy and ship it online. It’s a great gift for the holidays!” n
9 Mile Garden is set to be Missouri’s first food truck garden. | COURTESY 9 MILE GARDEN available to rent for private gatherings including weddings, corporate events and fundraisers. The garden’s name, according to the release, is inspired by “the days before streets had names or road markers, where landmarks were named for their distance from the courthouse or city center.” Located nine miles from the Old Courthouse in downtown St. Louis, 9 Mile Garden’s name is an homage to “a time in St. Louis his-
tory when farmers would drive their harvests to an open space and line up their trucks into a formation that allowed people to walk along and choose what items interested them most. These were called ‘truck gardens,’ and Affton was known for having a high concentration of them.” To learn more about 9 Mile Garden, visit its website or follow the business on social media via @9milegarden. n
Flamingo Coffee Club recently soft-launched with a trial subscription service. | TANGENT MIND
[FOOD NEWS]
New STL Coffee Subscription Service Written by
ELLA FAUST
C
offee connoisseur Evan Jones believes that you shouldn’t have to leave home to enjoy a quality, handcrafted cup of joe. Enter his new enterprise, Flamingo Coffee Club, a coffee subscription service that will deliver unique, curated whole-bean coffee straight to your doorstep monthly. After years of working in the coffee industry in St. Louis, Jones is well versed in the business. He spent three years wearing various hats at St. Louis’ Blueprint Coffee, including as a barista and assisting with wholesale operations. In addition to his industry experience, Jones is a self-described avid coffee fan, seeking out fresh roasts and cups at small-batch roasteries and coffee houses across the country on both work and leisure trips. Recently, Jones decided to combine his favorite aspects of the business, creating the concept
that would eventually become Flamingo Coffee Club. “I want to be able to provide people with awesome coffee available at their house that they can brew at their leisure — they don’t even have to get out of their pajamas,” Jones says. “They can get coffee delivered and then always have fresh coffee available.” Flamingo Coffee Club recently soft-launched with a trial subscription service on its website, with plans for the o cial subscription service to fully launch in early 2020. For Jones, it’s all about sustainability, quality and convenience: With Flamingo Coffee Club, he plans to offer custom blends in one- and two-pound bags so that customers will have enough coffee to last them a whole month. It is also important to Jones that his beans are sourced predominantly from unrepresented voices in the coffee community, specifically female and/or minority coffee farmers. He is dedicated not only to the quality of the blends, but the people who grow the beans. Jones has partnered with Blueprint, which works closely with its coffee farmer partners across the world, to source sustainable beans for the coffee club’s initial run of blends. “Working with Blueprint is going to be a good way to fit the bill for the parameters of coffee that Flamingo is looking for, as well as what Blueprint expects from a quality standpoint,” Jones says. To learn more or sign up for a trial subscription, visit the company’s website at flamingo.coffee. n
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CULTURE
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Golden Curls’ new record is the band’s first release since 2012’s Warm Fiction. | VIA THE BAND
[HOMESPUN]
Myth Meets Reality Golden Curls’ debut LP Goblin Market is inspired by fantasy and fairy tales Written by
CHRISTIAN SCHAEFFER
I
f college is viewed as not merely an educational pursuit but as a series of formative, often extracurricular events, then Sarah Downen had no shortage of such experiences at Truman State University. It was there that she started the band Golden Curls, initially as a keyboardsand-vocals duo. She also played in a band with Philip Zahnd, who would eventually play drums in the band’s current iteration. But it was time spent alone in the university’s library that gave Downen a direction and moniker for her musical identity. It was
amid the stacks that she came across Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s illustrations for “Goblin Market,” a poem written by the artist’s sister, Christina Rossetti. Those illustrations, Downen says, “creeped me out” while motivating her to find the original poem. In the poem, a pair of blond sisters are tempted by the luscious fruits of grotesque goblin-men. Having no money, but tempted by the goblins’ wares, one sister strikes a Faustian bargain: “Buy from us with a golden curl,” the imps implore. So when Golden Curls set to release its first full-length record, the singer and keyboardist sought to honor that initial inspiration by titling the album Goblin Market. “I feel like I wanted to give it more credit, so that’s why I named the album after that poem,” Downen says. “It’s kind of our origin and this is our first full-length record.” As a college student, Downen found interesting connections with the poem and her own conservative Christian upbringing. “You’re used to hearing Bible stories about happy endings and good versus evil, and getting into poetry and stranger fairy tales, I really like when it is unclear who is good and who is bad,” she says.
“It’s a lot closer to real life for me.” Along with Rossetti’s poem, Downen draws inspiration from folk tales and fairy stories while bristling against simple and pat lessons; her songs are fantastical in their source material but almost always rooted in earthen emotion. And along with drummer Zahnd and guitarist Stephen Favazza, Downen coats her songs with richly textured dream-pop and gossamer, plangeant synthesizer washes. Goblin Market has been a long time coming; it’s the first Golden Curls release since 2012’s Warm Fiction EP, which Downen made with her former bandmate Noah Blackwell. That release showed much of the promise and vision that the current iteration has surpassed with regular live shows, and this new full-length finds the band at a comfortable place, existing both in the ether of Downen’s dreamworlds and the sharper textures brought forth by Favazza and Zahnd. Downen is responsible for each song’s lyrical and musical structure as well as its rudimentary rhythm track; Zahnd and Favazza will add, subtract and embellish from there, and all three members note that Golden Curls is
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much more of a live band than its bedroom-pop origins suggest. Favazza, a solo artist who also performs under the name Hands & Feet, credits Downen with “99 percent” of the final product. “For me personally, it’s such an honor to be able to work with her,” he says. “The end result is gorgeous, from the packaging to the sounds.” For Downen, working with Favazza allows her to peel back the layers to her songs. “I think he has allowed me to take a step back with feeling like I need to fill the song up with sounds and textures,” she explains. “I consider him an expert in that department, and it makes me feel more relaxed when I’m writing, knowing that beautiful texture is coming, no matter what, from Stephen.” Favazza recalls an early recording session for album-opening track “Agneta and the Sea King” that began with layers of guitar tracks and effect pedal manipulations. The song, taken in part from a Swedish fairy tale about a landdwelling princess who is spirited away to an underwater kingdom, has the album’s slowest build but its sweetest payoff.
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Locally Owned Since 1979
[PROFILE]
’Tis the Szn St. Louis rapper Soufside Jerei reps his city with debut LP Groovy Blues Written by
YMANI WINCE
N
ot since Nelly, and more recently Smino, has St. Louis seen or heard artists properly making references in their music to repping St. Louis to the fullest. Nelly’s “I’m from the ’Lou and I’m proud” is a classic example, along with Smino’s sensual double entendre of “Arch that thang like where I’m from.” Now, a new artist from the city’s “soufside,” as he calls it, is making waves with a love for his hometown — and picking up steam in the process. Earlier this month, rapper Soufside Jerei released the single “Bag Szn,” a cool yet bouncy track that is the single for Jerei’s album Groovy Blues, along with an accompanying music video shot by visual artist Louis Quatorze, a.k.a. Mike Roth. “Gotta thank God I’m in my bag today,” Jerei raps over the smooth and wavy beat. As he rides through the city, Jerei makes stops at several local landmarks, including Busch Stadium, Soulard Farmers Market and Eckert’s Farm. It is an anthem, and a visual love letter to St. Louis. While Jerei is relatively new to the local scene, he says the talent has been there for several years. The rapper was briefly discouraged from making music, mainly because he didn’t know many people doing what he was interested in at the time. “I was always a fan of music in general,” he says. “When I started developing my own taste, that’s when I knew I could make music.” Jerei’s sound is fluid. It’s swaggy and emits the kind of arrogant confidence one would have while washing their car on a 70-degree day in February. “Bag Szn” is the type of song meant to be played at the golden time of day, during unseasonably warm weather in St. Louis. And Jerei knows how to write a hook. His music is catchy, and the vibe on his album ranges from chill to turnt up to reflective and back again. Groovy Blues was birthed through loss, grief, happiness and hope. Jerei says he once dreamed
Soufside Jerei’s video for his single “Bag Szn,” shot by Louis Quatorze, is a celebration of St. Louis. | LOUIS QUATORZE about “better days,” and has since realized he’s now living them. He wants his music to inspire others, as well as be a resource for young people living in the city. A south-city native, Jerei has no shortage of local references in his music and visuals. His videos make stops at Ted Drewes, employ drone views of the Lemp Brewery and ride through Tower Grove. Cultivating relationships and perfecting his sound, Jerei has found his rhythm on Groovy Blues. It’s an album about growth, and it shows. In the last couple years, rap artists in the city have received considerable recognition for their music, with a drill rap type of sound coming from grittier artists such as Jizzle Buckz, LA4SSS and the like. Jerei’s music is as much about family, love, friendship and loss as it is about confidence, arrogance and influence. While heavier sounds that involve street life, drugs and incarceration have prominence on the St. Louis underground music scene, Jerei’s Groovy Blues is a refreshing change. “If anything, I just have to be me,” he says. “My story is gonna be what sticks to people, more than me trying to mimic anybody else’s style.” Jerei’s style is unlike anything coming from the St. Louis rap scene right now, and his voice on the mic
Jerei says he once dreamed about “better days” coming to him, and has looked up and realized he’s now living in the time he’s always hoped for. is one to remember. On Groovy Blues, Jerei uses this to his advantage, playing with higher octaves and trying out melodies and harmonies. On “Bag Szn,” the rapper teams up with jazz musician and singer/songwriter Katarra Parson, who sings parts of the hook. Jerei makes full use of his beats, rarely leaving breathing room for unnecessary bars or empty space. This is mainly due to his artistic relationship with his producer Akeda Keyz. Groovy Blues is the second project the pair have collaborated on since 2018’s drop of Jiggy Keyz. While the first project
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was an EP, Groovy Blues showcases an artist who’s found his sound and a producer who has helped make that happen. “The whole concept on the album is about our growth together as artists since Jiggy Keyz — as people and as homies,” Jerei says. In October, Jerei offered his fans and supporters the opportunity to preview his album and get to know the backstory of Groovy Blues through a series of “Jiggy Jam Sessions” offered around the southside. The artist performed stripped-down versions of the songs off his debut LP, culminating in a full project listening session at vintage store Mesa Home on Cherokee Street. The jam sessions were not the first time Jerei has opened his art up to criticism from the public. Last fall, he was featured at Lo-Fi Cherokee, where he performed with Mycol-Vynn and Akeda Keyz. Soufside Jerei remains a bit lowkey and is not an artist that presents himself as aggressive or as a gimmick. He’s being himself the whole way. His music stems from his life, like most artists, but in a way that isn’t shocking, horrifying or unrelatable. “I’d rather make real music, and if it comes out sad, then so be it,” he says. “I’d rather make bouncy shit.” n
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GOLDEN CURLS Continued from pg 39
Downen isn’t shy about pushing the band in a more pop-oriented direction, but when it came to sequencing the record, she had to trust her instincts. “As far as us pushing this to more of a pop record, I feel like it’s a little counterintuitive to put a song like that first,” Downen says of “Agneta,” “but I did want to tell a story with this album and set the stage to build up to the moments that are poppier and more structured.” Opening the album with a slowburn retelling of a fairy tale could cast the band as willfully obscure,
especially given the pop delights on the rest of the LP. But for a singer whose happenstance brush with the temptation-versus-purity tussle of “Goblin Market” inspired her music, Downen doubles down to pick apart myths and fables. “In a lot of fairy tales, there are women portrayed as helpless victims who haven’t made any decisions and either bad or good things happen to them,” Downen says. “So I guess I’m drawn to that aspect, and in some songs I like to tell the story from the woman’s perspective. What was she thinking through all of that? What decisions did she make? “Every tidy ending has more to it,” Downen says. n
No announcement has yet been made as to what the space will be used for in the future. | DANIEL HILL
[RADIO]
Kranzberg Arts Foundation to Take Over First Floor of KDHX
T
he Kranzberg Arts Foundation will take control of the first floor of the building that houses KDHX, a spokesperson for the Kranzbergs has confirmed to RFT. The space, which currently houses a bar/cafe and small venue space called the Stage, both operated by KDHX, will be used for a purpose that is so far unannounced. “KAF has entered a long-term market rate lease of the first floor that will be used for a specific intended purpose that will be announced at a later date,” a spokesperson for the Kranzberg Arts Foundation tells RFT in an email. The cafe and venue space were initially conceived as a money-making endeav-
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or for the station, which was gifted the building in which it now resides in 2013. Though the building itself was free, the cost of the move and renovations came out to just shy of $5 million, with only half of that money raised before the station took the leap. Since then, the bar and cafe space has taken on a few forms, including as Squatter’s Cafe, which was operated by Bulrush chef Rob Connoley from November 2017 to October 2018. The venue, meanwhile, has consistently been operated by KDHX, with regular shows by artists of both the national and local variety. The cafe and venue were touched on by some former employees in RFT’s July cover story detailing allegations of mismanagement and racial insensitivity on the part of KDHX’s leadership, with one former employee claiming that the cafe was not only not generating money, but was actually hemorrhaging it. KDHX’s leadership denies all of those claims. KDHX did not respond to a request for comment.
—Daniel Hill
Left Bank Books turns 50 this year — what better excuse does one need to indulge? | TOM HELLAUER
[SHOPPING]
Shop Local in the Lou Written by
DOYLE MURPHY
I
t is the season of buying. Doorbusters. Gift Guides. Cyber Monday. Black Friday. You’re going to be spending money, so before you give it all to Amazon, it is worth looking around St. Louis. Luckily, there are endless options for the delicious, the stylish and the unique. We’ve got a few recommendations that will get you started and keep you out of the pileup in the Instapot aisle of the big box store.
Threads
Dictate Never Accept (1311 Washington Avenue, 314-6699852) specializes in men’s fashion, particularly streetwear, curated by the prescient eye of DNA coowner Nathaniel Brown III. None of it is cheap, which goes for the price but also the quality. The stock, which changes frequently, recently included luxury hoodies from Rhude and Billionaire Boys Club, Ksubi jeans and the boutique’s own line of St. Louisthemed hats. Bonus pick: STL Style (3159 Cherokee Street, 314-898-0001)
Books
Online shopping has killed its shared of small businesses, but the in-person experience of a bookstore remains irreplaceable. You can’t go wrong with Left Bank Books (399 North Euclid Avenue, 314-367-6731), the Riverfront
Times’ 2019 pick for “Best Bookstore.” Not only does the 50-yearold shop showcase writers from the cultural margins, it is responsible for coordinating some of the best author events in the city. Bonus pick: Subterranean Books (6275 Delmar Boulevard, University City; 314-862-6100).
Beverages
Siblings Justin Harris and Ryan Gri n couldn’t find the kind of beer store that they wanted in St. Louis, so they opened their own. Saint Louis Hop Shop (2600 Cherokee Street, 314-261-4011) carries that passion forward into an impressive selection of local brands. There is also an in-house bar, making the shopping season a little more palatable. Bonus pick: Intoxicology (4321 Manchester Avenue, 314-833-3088).
Flora
Missouri winters can be a little bleak, so gifting a small reminder that the earth will thaw again and color will replace gray is not a bad idea. Flowers and Weeds (3201 Cherokee Street, 314-7762887) is a solid place to start. Make sure to catch its annual winter bazaar from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on December 7. Bonus pick: Bowood Farms (4605 Olive Street, 314-454-6868).
The Unexpected
If you’re stumped for gift ideas, trust in the taste-makers at Urban Matter (3179 South Grand Boulevard, 314-456-6941). The shop has a little of everything: furniture, clothes, jewelry, notebooks and drink mixes, to name just a few items. And it has even more space since moving to into a corner spot on South Grand from the Dutchtown neighborhood. Bonus pick: ReFab STL (3130 Gravois Avenue, 314-357-1392). n
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Wednesday Nov. 13 9PM
Sean Canan’s Voodoo Players Tribute To Jimi Hendrix Thursday Nov. 14 9PM
Mom’s Kitchen Friday Nov. 15 10PM
Roland Johnson and Soul Endeavor Saturday Nov. 16 10PM
Funky Butt Brass Band Sunday Nov. 17 8PM
Blues, Soul and Pop Diva Kim Massie Wednesday Nov. 20 9PM
Sean Canan’s Voodoo Players Tribute To The Allman Brothers Friday Nov. 22 10PM
Cycles
Rock, Soul, Hip Hop and Funk from Denver
*Best of Bob Food Festival Nov. 15 and 16*
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[CRITIC’S PICK]
Weird Paul Petroskey. | VIA THE ARTIST
Weird Paul Petroskey 8 p.m. Thursday, November 14. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue. $10 to $12. 314-498-6989. Dubbed one of the internet’s first content creators, as well as “the original vlogger,” Pennsylvania’s Weird Paul Petroskey has been filming extremely strange videos since his family first got a video camera in 1984. Petroskey has made more than 600 videos in his time, from music videos to homemade horror movies to reviews of McDonald’s breakfast to videos of his dad getting angry. It’s deeply weird stuff — turns out his is not just a clever name — but things get even weirder when
THURSDAY 14
AARON LEWIS: 8 p.m., $40-$45. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. INCUBUS: w/ Le Butcherettes 7 p.m., TBA. Stifel Theatre, 1400 Market St, St. Louis, 314-499-7600. IVAS JOHN & BRIAN CURRAN: 7 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. JASON COOPER BAND: 10 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. JAVIER MENDOZA & JIM PETERS: 8 p.m., $15. Joe’s Cafe, 6014 Kingsbury Ave, St. Louis. LE WOLVES: w/ Point Elm, Loftys Comet, Lizard Breath 8 p.m., $7. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309. PHIL WRIGHT & CARSON MANN: 8:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090. PIÑATA PROTEST: 8 p.m., $10-$12. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444. THE SCORE: w/ the Unlikely Candidates 8 p.m., $15. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505. SHIRLEY ASCHINGER AND DONNA WEINSTING: 8 p.m., $20-$25. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 634 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. TENCI: w/ Izzy True, Le’Ponds, Teshua 8:30
one considers his musical output. To call Petroskey prolific would be a profound understatement; he’s released some 700 songs and appeared on more than 50 albums. His songs are of the lo-fi variety, and usually feature humorous or ridiculous themes and techniques — banging on pots and pans in lieu of a drum set, including a music track from an ancient Commodore 64 program and employing a wide variety of toy instruments are all par for the course. The end result is utterly unique and strangely brilliant. Absurds of a Feather: Similarly oddball local acts Superfun Yeah Yeah Rocketship and Googolplexia will open the show. —Daniel Hill
p.m., $7. Foam, 3359 Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100. THANK YOU SCIENTIST: w/ Bent Knee, Tea Club 7:30 p.m., $20. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. TOBE NWIGWE: 8 p.m., $25-$30. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. WEIRD PAUL PETROSKEY: 8 p.m., $10-$12. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. WILCO: w/ Bottle Rockets 8 p.m., $35-$85. The Fox Theatre, 527 N. Grand Blvd., St. Louis, 314-534-1111.
FRIDAY 15
AS THE CROWE FLIES: 9:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090. COWBOY RANDY ERWIN: 7 p.m., free. Gaslight Lounge, 4916 Shaw Ave, St. Louis, 314-496-0628. DIZZY ATMOSPHERE: 8 p.m., free. Urban Chestnut Midtown Brewery & Biergarten, 3229 Washington Ave., St. Louis, 314-222-0143. GOLDEN CURLS ALBUM RELEASE SHOW: w/ Holy Posers, Adult Fur 8 p.m., $7. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. GREYHOUNDS: 8 p.m., $12-$15. The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929.
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America’s #1 comedy club | Delivering Laughs for Over 35 Years
Special Club Performance Live Podcast with Ashley Hesseltine and Rayna Greenberg
BRENDAN EYRE
THANKSGIVING NIGHT
FREE SHOW
7:30PM THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT FOR THE PAST 35 YEARS!!!
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NOVEMBER 21-24
BEN GLEIB
NEW YEAR’S EVE WITH MIKE MALONE
GSN’s “Idiotest”
Showtime’s “I’m Dying Up Here” Bob & Tom Show
Showtime’s “Neurotic Gangster”
BLUES & JAZZ
NOVEMBER 15-16
BACKSTREET
GIRLS GOTTA EAT
riverfronttimes.com
3 SHOWS 5:00, 7:30, & 10:00 10:00 show includes champagne toast, party favors, & midnight buffet
SAT. 11/16
SAT. 11/23
Billy Peek
2019 Soul Blues Album of the Year “I’m Still Around”
St. Louis Blues Legend at Backstreet Jazz & Blues Club
John Rawls
OUT EVERY NIGHT Continued from pg 45
IVAS JOHN BAND: 10 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. KELLY HOPPENJAMS: w/ Bobby Stevens, Sean Conway 9 p.m., $7. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226. KELLY HUNT: 8 p.m., $20. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. LAS NUBES: w/ Clean Room, Boreal Hills 8:30 p.m., $7. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309. MARCIA GRIFFITHS: w/ Lady G, Rayzalution, DJ Witz, Dezirie, Rayne Overall 9 p.m., $30-$40. Club Viva!, 408 N. Euclid Ave., St. Louis, 314-361-0322. MARK NADLER: 8 p.m., $30-$35. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 634 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. THE NEIGHBOURHOOD: 8 p.m., $35-$37.50. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. SANCTION: w/ Queensway, Vatican, Fuming Mouth 6:30 p.m., $13. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. STAXX MALONE: w/ Quest Deuce, Sge Brezzy, Sweet juices 9 p.m., $12. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. THE HARD PROMISES: A TOM PETTY TRIBUTE: 8 p.m., $20-$25. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. THRAK: A KING CRIMSON TRIBUTE: 8 p.m., $10. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505. TOM HALL: 6 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.
SATURDAY 16
ALL OR NOTHIN: w/ GGM, MT & Only The Money, Major, Sensei Chanel, Big Ryo 9 p.m., $10-$15. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720. ASIAN DOLL: w/ Stevie B, $toney 8 p.m., $25. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. BRAHMS’ 4TH SYMPHONY/KERNIS WORLD PREMIERE: 8 p.m., $15-$83. Powell Hall, 718 N. Grand Blvd, St. Louis, 314-534-1700. BRUISER QUEEN: w/ The Stars Go Out 9 p.m., $7. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226. COURTNEY KING: 7 p.m., $12-$14. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505. KINGDOM BROTHERS: 7 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. KT SULLIVAN: 8 p.m., $30-$40. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 634 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. MALEVICH: w/ Chalked Up, Worst Nature 8:30 p.m., $5. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309. MARQUISE KNOX BAND: 10 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. NATE BARGATZE: 8 p.m., $35. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. NELLA: 8 p.m., $15-$40. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900. NIGHTCRAWLER: w/ Fluorescent, Labours 8 p.m., $5. Foam, 3359 Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100. POOR DIRTY ASTRONAUTS: 9 p.m., free. Venice Café, 1903 Pestalozzi St., St. Louis, 314-7725994. POWERHOUSE 747: 9 p.m., free. Nightshift Bar & Grill, 3979 Mexico Road, St. Peters, 636-441-8300. SKEET RODGERS & INNER CITY BLUES: 4 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. STIR: 8 p.m., $27.50-$30. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. SUPERNATURAL 7-YEAR NAPPIVERSARY: w/ James Biko, Makeda Kravitz, DJ Nico 7:30 p.m., $10. The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929. TENEBRAE: 8 p.m., $19-$42. Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, 4431 Lindell Blvd., St. Louis, 314-373-8200.
THE DEEP FRIED FIVE: w/ Looprat 8 p.m., $10. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. THE WARBUCKLES: 9:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090.
SUNDAY 17
BIG CHALLENGES: w/ Indigo Honey, Faithful Liars 8 p.m., $7. Foam, 3359 Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100. THE BONSAI TREES: w/ Young Animals, the Lizardtones 6:30 p.m., $8. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. CITY MOUSE: w/ NoPoint 8:30 p.m., $7. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309. FALL CONCERT: 4 p.m., free. Second Presbyterian Church, 4501 Westminster Place, St. Louis, 314-367-0366. INDIGO GIRLS: 8 p.m., $40-$50. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. JAZZ & BLUES MUSIC BENEFIT: 4 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. THE KYLE GASS COMPANY: w/ Wynchester 8 p.m., $15. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505. LOVE JONES “THE BAND”: 8 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. MAYDAY PARADE: w/ Dan from Story of The Year 8 p.m., $25-$28. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. MERKULES: 6:30 p.m., $20. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. NONPOINT: 6:30 p.m., $15-$20. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720. RIVER CITY OPRY: w/ The Hunter Hamilton Group, Daniel C. Roth, Caroline Steinkamp, Jake Auston, School of Rock Kirkwood, Rick Wagner Bluegrass Experience, Sean Conway, The Rainy Day Joggers 1 p.m., $5. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989.
MONDAY 18
KATARRA: 10 p.m., free. The Dark Room, 3610 Grandel Square inside Grandel Theatre, St. Louis, 314-776-9550. ROCKY MANTIA & KILLER COMBO: 7 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. ROLAND JOHNSON & SOUL ENDEAVOR: 8 p.m., $7. Das Bevo Biergarten, 4749 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-224-5521.
TUESDAY 19
COLLIE BUDDZ: w/ Keznamdi 8 p.m., $22-$25. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY: w/ Lorna Shore, the Last Ten Seconds of Life, Dyscarnate 7 p.m., $15. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. NIGHT WATER: w/ Sister Wizzard, the Ragstripes 8 p.m., $5. Foam, 3359 Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100. THE PIANO GUYS: 7:30 p.m., $38.50-$158.50. The Fox Theatre, 527 N. Grand Blvd., St. Louis, 314-534-1111. RODRIGO Y GABRIELA: 8 p.m., $42.50. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. ST. LOUIS SOCIAL CLUB: 8 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.
WEDNESDAY 20
AUGUSTANA: 8 p.m., $20-$23. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505. BIG RICH MCDONOUGH & RHYTHM RENEGADES: 7 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. JAKE CURTIS BAND: 10 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. KRIS KRISTOFFERSON: 7:30 p.m., $38. River City Casino & Hotel, 777 River City Casino Blvd., St. Louis, 314-388-7777. THE LAST WALTZ TOUR: w/ Warren Haynes, Don Was, Jamey Johnson, Lukas Nelson, 7:30 p.m., $49.50-$150. Stifel Theatre, 1400 Market St, St. Louis, 314-499-7600. SORRY PLEASE CONTINUE: A COMEDY STORYTELL-
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[CRITIC’S PICK]
Rodrigo y Gabriela. | VIA RUBYWORKS MANAGEMENT
Rodrigo y Gabriela 8 p.m. Tuesday, November 19. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Boulevard. $42.50. 314-726-6161. The cross-cultural currents that course through the music of Rodrigo y Gabriela are less surprising when you consider that the acoustic guitar-shredding duo got their start after leaving their native Mexico City to busk around Dublin. Flamenco guitar was just a launching pad for the duo’s approach to Rod and Gab’s originals and covers, and over the
OUT EVERY NIGHT Continued from pg 47
ING SHOW: w/ Kenny Kinds, Jeremy Hellwig 8 p.m., $5. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226. THIS WILL DESTROY YOU: 8 p.m., $16-$18. The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929.
THIS JUST IN ALLEN STONE: Fri., March 13, 8 p.m., $25-$30. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. ALVIN YOUNGBLOOD HART’S MUSCLE THEORY: Thu., Dec. 26, 8 p.m., $25. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. AMANDA SHIRES: W/ L.A. Edwards, Wed., April 29, 8 p.m., $25-$35. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. AS EARTH SHATTERS: W/ Defcon, Fri., Dec. 27, 7:30 p.m., $10. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. BARNS COURTNEY: Thu., June 4, 8 p.m., $22.50$25. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. BEVERLY BRENNAN: Fri., Jan. 3, 8 p.m., $20-$25. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 634 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. BIG CHALLENGES: W/ Indigo Honey, Faithful Liars, Sun., Nov. 17, 8 p.m., $7. Foam, 3359 Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100. BIG RICH MCDONOUGH & RHYTHM RENEGADES: Wed., Nov. 20, 7 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. THE BLACK CROWES: Sun., Aug. 23, 8 p.m., $29-$129. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 & Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944. BLACK LIPS: Tue., March 10, 8 p.m., $18-$20. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.
past twenty years the pair has tackled everything from Metallica covers to film soundtracks. Its latest LP Mettavolution is the first in five years, and the set is evenly split between short originals and a side-filling cover of Pink Floyd’s “Echoes.” The record is solid, but the stage is where Rodrigo y Gabriela established their rep. Dos Duos: Another cross-cultural twosome, Brits Chris Turpin and Stephanie Jean, perform as Ida Mae and will open the show with their take on American roots music. —Christian Schaeffer BOB WEIR AND WOLF BROS: Wed., March 18, 7 p.m., $60-$100. Stifel Theatre, 1400 Market St, St. Louis, 314-499-7600. BRIAN CULBERTSON: Sat., May 2, 8 p.m., $39.50$49.50. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. CAAMP: W/ Bendigo Fletcher, Fri., March 20, 8 p.m., $23.50-$26. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. CHAOS BLOOM: W/ 1781, Fri., Dec. 27, 7:30 p.m., $10. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. CHRISTIAAN SMITH: Sat., Dec. 14, 8 p.m., $30$40. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 634 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. CITY MOUSE: W/ NoPoint, Sun., Nov. 17, 8:30 p.m., $7. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309. DANCE GAVIN DANCE: W/ Animals As Leaders, Veil of Maya, Royal Coda, Sat., April 11, 6:30 p.m., $29-$32. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. DAVE MASON: Sun., March 1, 7:30 p.m., $29.50. River City Casino & Hotel, 777 River City Casino Blvd., St. Louis, 314-388-7777. DAVID GIUNTOLI: Thu., Dec. 19, 9:30 p.m., $25$30. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 634 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. DEAN CHRISTOPHER: Fri., Dec. 6, 8 p.m., $25$30. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 634 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. Fri., Dec. 13, 8 p.m., $25-$30. Blue Strawberry, 364 N Boyle Ave., St. Louis, 314-256-1745. DEBBY LENNON: Thu., Dec. 5, 8 p.m., $30-$35. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 634 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. DR. ZHIVEGAS – PLAYING THE MUSIC OF PRINCE & THE REVOLUTION: Sat., Dec. 28, 8 p.m., $20-$25. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. THE DRINKWATER BROTHERS: Sat., Dec. 7, 8 p.m., $25-$30. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 634 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. DUMB PEOPLE TOWN: Fri., March 20, 7 p.m.,
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OUT EVERY NIGHT Continued from pg 49
$29.50-$65. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. EMILY SKINNER: Fri., Jan. 10, 8 p.m., $30-$40. Sat., Jan. 11, 8 p.m., $30-$40. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 634 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. FLOR: W/ Winnetka Bowling League, Tue., March 3, 8 p.m., $15-$18. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444. GALACTIC: W/ Anjelika Jelly Joseph, Naughty Professor, Thu., March 12, 8 p.m., $25-$30. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. GOLDFINGER: W/ Mustard Plug, Fri., Jan. 10, 8 p.m., $29.50-$32.50. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. GRACE FIELD: Thu., Dec. 12, 8 p.m., $25-$30. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 634 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. GRAHAM NASH: Wed., April 1, 8 p.m., $42.50$52.50. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. GREG KOCH: W/ Big Mike Aguirre, Thu., Dec. 19, 8 p.m., $20-$25. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. HEART LIKE A WHEEL: A TRIBUTE TO LINDA RONSTADT: W/ Jenny Roques, Beth Bombara, Sam Golden, Sat., Jan. 11, 8 p.m., $12. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. HOT TUNA: Tue., March 3, 7:30 p.m., $20. River City Casino & Hotel, 777 River City Casino Blvd., St. Louis, 314-388-7777. JAKE CURTIS BAND: Wed., Nov. 20, 10 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. JAZZ & BLUES MUSIC BENEFIT: Sun., Nov. 17, 4 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. JEEZY: Sat., Jan. 25, 9 p.m., $55. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. JOHN MCDANIEL: Fri., Dec. 20, 8 p.m., $30-$35. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 634 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. JULIAN DAVIS & THE SITUATION: W/ Kyle Tuttle Band, Fri., Dec. 20, 9 p.m., $10. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505. KATIE MCGRATH: Sat., Dec. 28, 8 p.m., $30-$35. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 634 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. KEN HALLER: Thu., Nov. 21, 8 p.m., $25-$30. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 634 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. KINGDOM BROTHERS: Sat., Nov. 16, 7 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. KODY WEST & COLBY COOPER: W/ Colby Cooper, Wed., Feb. 5, 8 p.m., $15. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. KT SULLIVAN: Sat., Nov. 16, 8 p.m., $30-$40. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 634 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. LISA ST. LOU: Wed., Nov. 27, 8 p.m., $25-$30. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 634 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. LOVE JONES “THE BAND”: Sun., Nov. 17, 8 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. MALEVICH: W/ Chalked Up, Worst Nature, Sat., Nov. 16, 8:30 p.m., $5. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309. MARQUISE KNOX BAND: Sat., Nov. 16, 10 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. MENTAL HEALTH AMERICA BENEFIT SHOW: W/ The Public, Phi, Prom Kings, Dogtown Athletic Club, Sun., Dec. 22, 8 p.m., $10. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. MIDDLE CLASS FASHION: Sat., Dec. 21, 8 p.m., $10. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. MISTER MALONE: W/ Shots Fired, Ashwood, Thu., Dec. 26, 7:30 p.m., $10. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. MORGAN HERITAGE: Fri., Jan. 31, 8 p.m., $25$40. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis,
314-498-6989. NIGHT WATER: W/ Sister Wizzard, the Ragstripes, Tue., Nov. 19, 8 p.m., $5. Foam, 3359 Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100. NIGHTCRAWLER: W/ Fluorescent, Labours, Sat., Nov. 16, 8 p.m., $5. Foam, 3359 Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100. PHOEBE ELLIOT: Fri., Dec. 27, 8 p.m., $25-$30. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 634 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. POOR DIRTY ASTRONAUTS: Sat., Nov. 16, 9 p.m., free. Venice Café, 1903 Pestalozzi St., St. Louis, 314-772-5994. REAL ESTATE: Wed., April 15, 8 p.m., $22-$25. The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929. RICK JENSEN: Thu., Jan. 2, 8 p.m., $25-$30. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 634 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. RIVER CITY OPRY: W/ The Hunter Hamilton Group, Daniel C. Roth, Caroline Steinkamp, Jake Auston, School of Rock Kirkwood, Rick Wagner Bluegrass Experience, Sean Conway, The Rainy Day Joggers, Sun., Nov. 17, 1 p.m., $5. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. ROBERT BREIG: Sat., Jan. 4, 8 p.m., $20-$25. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 634 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. ROCKY MANTIA & KILLER COMBO: Mon., Nov. 18, 7 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. SAM BUSH: W/ Drew Emmitt & Vince Herman, Wed., Feb. 26, 8 p.m., $32.50-$35. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505. THE SAMPLES: Tue., Dec. 31, 8:30 p.m., $125. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 634 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. SKEET RODGERS & INNER CITY BLUES: Sat., Nov. 16, 4 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. THE SKIVVIES: Sun., Dec. 8, 7 p.m., $30-$40. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 634 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. SLLAW IN SPACE: W/ Bates, Sat., Feb. 15, 8 p.m., $10. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. SONGBIRD CAFE: W/ the Burney Sisters, Missouri Mile, Wed., Nov. 27, 7:30 p.m., $25. The Focal Point, 2720 Sutton Blvd, St. Louis, 314-560-2778. ST. LOUIS SOCIAL CLUB: Tue., Nov. 19, 8 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. STEVE BRAMMEIER: Fri., Nov. 22, 8 p.m., $25$30. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 634 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. STEVE ROSS: Fri., Nov. 29, 8 p.m., $30-$40. Sat., Nov. 30, 8 p.m., $30-$40. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 634 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. TENNIS: W/ Molly Burch, Sat., May 9, 8 p.m., $16-$18. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS: Sun., May 17, 7 p.m., $30-$40. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. TIËSTO: Sat., Jan. 25, 9 p.m., TBA. Ameristar Casino, 1 Ameristar Blvd., St. Charles, 636-949-7777. TINY MEAT GANG: Tue., March 24, 8 p.m., $35$65. Stifel Theatre, 1400 Market St, St. Louis, 314-499-7600. TOM HALL: Fri., Nov. 15, 6 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. TRIPPIE REDD: Mon., Feb. 3, 8 p.m., $42-$47.50. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. UNWED SAILOR: Fri., Dec. 13, 7:30 p.m., $10-$12. Foam, 3359 Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100. UVEE HAYES: Sat., Nov. 23, 8 p.m., $25-$30. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 634 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. WILLIAM CLARK GREEN: W/ Flatland Cavalry, Thu., Feb. 20, 8 p.m., $18-$30. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. YES WE CAN: A TRIBUTE TO ALLEN TOUSSAINT: Sat., Jan. 18, 8 p.m., $15-$17. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. ZEPPARELLA: Thu., April 16, 8 p.m., $20. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. n
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SAVAGE LOVE SISSY THAT TALK
have would be greatly appreciated! Seeking Insightful Stress Solution, Yup
BY DAN SAVAGE
Tell that sissy to get over herself. Your boyfriend is making you feel guilty about something you have no control over: Women get more attention at mixed-gender sex/play parties than men do. And as far as your respective kinks go, SISSY, there are always going to be more people out there who want to get with Domme women than guys who want to get with/be serviced by submissive heterosuckual cross-dressers. Your boyfriend will always attract less interest than you do at a kink party, just as someone who goes to a BDSM play party hoping to do a little knife play will attract less interest than someone who’s looking for a little light bondage. Instead of counting the number of guys who approach you at a party and then trying to ruin your night for getting more attention than he does, your boyfriend has to make the most of every opportunity that comes his way. And if some guy approaches him at a play party only to realize he’s on a leash, SISSY, isn’t that guy supposed to turn his attention to the Dominant partner? If your boyfriend could resist the urge to spiral down at those moments — if he could resist the urge to make himself the center of negative attention — those men would probably turn their attention back to him at some point, particularly if you encouraged/gave them permission to do so. You could and perhaps should also make it clear to anyone who approaches you at some-if-not-all kink parties that you’re a package deal: You play together or you don’t play at all. But even then, your boyfriend has to accept that you’ll be leveraging your desirability on both your behalves and be at peace with it. Usually when I advise readers to “use their words,” it’s about making sexual needs clear, i.e., asking for what we want with the understanding that we may not always get what we want. But what you need (and you need to use your words to get), SISSY, is for your boyfriend to knock this petty, hypocritical slut-shaming shit off. (He’s essentially shaming you for being the slut he’d like to be.) It might help if you got him to
Hey, Dan: My boyfriend and I met online to explore our kinks. We’d both been in relationships with kink-shaming people who screwed with our heads. Since we weren’t thinking it was more than a hookup, we put all our baggage on the table early and wound up becoming friends. Eventually we realized we had a real connection and started a relationship where we supported our desire to explore. I’ve never been happier. The only issue is how he gets down on himself if I get more attention than he does. After the first kink party we went to, he would not stop trying to convince me that no one looked at him all evening. I tried to boost his confidence, and I also brought up things like “You were on a leash, so maybe people assumed you were offlimits.” No dice. I couldn’t get him to even entertain the notion that anyone even looked at him. He’s a cross-dressing sissy who loves to be used by men — heterosuckual — and he has a lot of baggage with every last one of his exes citing his cross-dressing as a reason to leave him for a “real” man. To make things worse, we have had issues with guys coming over for him, finding out there’s a Domme female in the picture, and switching focus to me. I feel like I wind up avoiding kinky sexual situations (which I love!) because I’m so concerned about protecting his ego. I’ve tried using my words and we generally communicate well, but he is unwilling to entertain any interpretations that don’t mesh with his theory that he’s obviously undesirable. The breaking point for me was this past weekend. He encouraged me to go to a swingers party with a friend, and I had a blast. It was super-empowering, and all I wanted to do was tell him every detail — the way he will when he services cock — and he was so jealous that I was able to effortlessly get so much attention, he wasn’t ready to hear it. It made me feel the same sex shame I felt with my ex. It also made me feel like he was insinuating how could I get so lucky, which hit all my chubby girl self-conscious places hard. Any advice you
Ask him what will be worse: being partnered with someone who gets more attention than he does in kink and swinger spaces, or being a single male in those spaces? recognize and grieve and accept not just the reality of the situation — women with more mainstream kinks are more in demand at mixed-gender kink parties than men with niche kinks — but also the risk he’s running here: His insecurities are sabotaging your relationship. Him setting traps for you — like encouraging you to go out and play only to make you feel terrible about it afterward — and making hurting insinuations about your attractiveness is making this relationship untenable. Tell him that you’re going to dump him if he can’t get a grip. And then ask him what will be worse — being partnered with someone who gets more attention than he does in kink and swinger spaces or being a single male in those spaces. (It’s a trick question, at least partly, as many of those spaces don’t allow single males.) Hey, Dan: Straight woman here with a penis question: My current partner is uncircumcised, which I am completely fine with. However, his foreskin is so tight that it can’t be pulled back over the head of his penis. I did my research and discovered the issue is phimosis. I asked him about it, and he said it’s always been this way and that sometimes it is painful. None of his doctors have seemed to notice it during exams, and he’s never brought it up. Oddly enough, this is something that I’ve come across with two different partners — and in both situations, they had issues with maintaining an erection. Is
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this a thing? My Boyfriend’s Penis Phimosis is definitely a thing, MBP, and when it makes erections a painful thing, as it often does, then erections are going to be harder to obtain and sustain. And unless a doctor was examining your boyfriend’s erect penis, it’s not something a doctor would notice. A good doctor will ask their patients about their sexual health and function, but — based on the mail I get — it seems very few people have good doctors. Looking on the bright side: Phimosis is easily treated, if you can persuade your boyfriend to ask his doctor about it. Smearing a steroid cream on his cock could stretch and loosen the foreskin. And if the cream doesn’t work, then a full or partial circumcision will do the trick. Hey, Dan: I love my boyfriend, and he knows I like women, too. Our sex life was okay, a little boring and routine and always “doggy style.” And he hardly ever goes down on me — like, at all. I can count on one hand the number of times he’s done it in four years! So I agreed to have a threesome to spice things up, and we bought condoms. When we got down with another woman, he decided to have sex with her after me and he also decided to go down on her. You know, the thing he never does for me. I’m so upset now, I can’t even have sex with him. I feel like it was a betrayal of my trust for him to eat out a woman he barely knows when he won’t do that for me. He also didn’t use the condoms — he says he “didn’t have time.” He said it meant nothing. But it’s really got me upset. Now Overlooking My Need Of Munching Not only would I have been upset during that threesome, NOMNOM, I would have been single very shortly after it. Dude doesn’t eat pussy — dude doesn’t eat your pussy — and can’t find the time to put a condom on when he wants to (gets to!) have sex with another woman in front of you? DTMFA. Check out the podcast: savagelovecast.com. mail@savagelove.net @fakedansavage on Twitter ITMFA.org
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INFORMED, HONEST, EFFECTIVE MEDICAL MARIJUANA ADVOCACY Primero Cannabis Clinics offers State compliant certifications to the program in a safe environment with physicians and advocates that understand how to help you through the process. We also offer certifications through Tele-Care for patients that are home bound or not available during our regular business hours, these certification visits are done by computer or your smart phone. wWe have physicians on staff 6 days a week with different hours to try and accommodate everyone’s schedule. Educated Alternative is a not-forprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization focusing on education and funding for the cannabis patients of Missouri. Currently through our partnership with Primero Cannabis Clinics we offer discounted rates to see the physician for Veterans and patients on SSDI (State disability). We are accepting donations and those funds
will go toward paying the State fees for the program, even fees to grow your own medicine. Once the dispensaries are open, mid-year 2020, we will start to offer free monthly cannabis to patients on our programs. We already offer educational programs on stretching your medicine out by making your own edibles, capsules and other products...all 100% free in our office or at different places we travel. We do personalized aftercare for patients that see the physicians from Primero Cannabis Clinics, offering guidance and advice as you continue your cannabis healthcare journey, and yes, this is completely free as well. You can always reach out for application assistance even if you didn’t see a physician in our office, our goal is to make sure no one struggles to get through the process. Check out our Facebook page for upcoming events!