November 2014

ISSUE No. 10-NOV ’14

THE LINER NOTES OF ST. LOUIS

WALKING FOR THE DOOR Kyle Kapper Joins KENTUCKY KNIFE FIGHT On Their Final Tour

FILM FESTIVITIES INSIDE: EX HEX • CAPTURED! BY ROBOTS • BRUISER QUEEN • FOXYGEN

PULP, BOB REUTER, NICK CAVE And So Many More Get Doc’d At SLIFF

DARK STAR MR. GNOME Brings Their Killer New Album To The Firebird

ELEVEN MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 10V

off to the races COMPLIMENTARY

>>

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DEPT. OF

PERIODICAL LITERATURE ST. LOUIS, MO

Volume 10, Issue No. 10

FRONT OF THE BOOK 5 Editor’s Note 6 Where Is My Mind?

COLUMNS 8 Introducing

by SEAN COTTON Indian Bones Collective

9 Watcherr

by CURTIS TINSLEY

November 2014

ELEVEN’S MUSICALENDAR Recommended Shows 24 Mr. Gnome

BRING ON THE NIGHT Show Previews and Reviews226 Ringo Starr, Shonen Knife, Pizza Underground, Natural Child, Dream Police

Blue Beat227

by JEREMY SEGEL-MOSS .

NBM Radio Show Christian Cudnik

.

Captured! By Robots

10 Behind The Scene

by JARRED GESTREICH Bruiser Queen

12 Paper Time Machine

by PAIGE BRUBECK Poster Pastoral

FEATURES 14 Another Drug Deal of the Heart: AC Newman of The New Pornographer

by IRA GAMERMAN 16 A Farewell to Arms: Kentucky Knife Fight’s Final Cut

by KYLE KAPPER 22 The St. Louis International Film Fest Brings the Noise

by ROB LEVY .

HOT ROCKS Album Reviews2 30 Ex Hex, Kisser, Magnificent Missouri Music, Town Cars, Traveling Sound Machine, S, Foxygen, Eaters, NehruvianDOOM, All Your Friend’s Friends

Single File

by IRA GAMERMAN

.

The Rebellious Jukebox 31

by MATT HARNISH .

Cal & The Calories, The Screaming Mee-Mees

.

Show Us Your Tats 34

by SUZIE GILB & .

THEO WELLING Bob “Danger” Putnam and Dana Geister

. . .

ON THE COVER, FROM TOP: Neko Case, AC Newman, Kathryn Calder, Kurt Dahle, Blaine Thurier, John Collins, and Todd Fancey (Dan Behar is elsewhere). Photo courtesy Matador Records.

PHOTO OF FLY GOLDEN EAGLE AT THE GRAMOPHONE BY ADAM SCHICKER

Eleven Magazine Volume 10 | Issue 10 | November 2014 PUBLISHER Hugh Scott EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Evan Sult SPECIAL ASSIGNMENTS EDITOR Paige Brubeck WEB EDITOR Hugh Scott PHOTO EDITOR Angela Vincent ART DIRECTOR Evan Sult CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Grant Barnum, Caitlin Bladt, Curt Brewer, Paige Brubeck, Ryan Boyle, Sam Clapp, Raymond Code, Melinda Cooper, Jenn DeRose, Ira Gamerman, Suzie Gilb, Matt Harnish, Jordan Heimburger, Jake Jones, James Kane, Gabe Karabell, Nelda Kerr, Chris Keith, Cassie Kohler, Kevin Korinek, Josh Levi, Rob Levy, K.E. Luther, Bob McMahon, Geoff Naunheim, Jack Probst, Jason Robinson, Jeremy Segel-Moss, Robert Severson, Michele Ulsohn, Chris Ward, Robin Wheeler, Rev. Daniel W. Wright PHOTOGRAPHERS Nate Burrell, Duane Clawson, Jarred Gastreich, Abby Gillardi, Jon Gitchoff, Kelly Glueck, Adam Robinson, Adam Schicker, Bill Streeter, Bryan Sutter, Ismael Valenzuela, Angela Vincent, Theo Welling, Carrie Zukoski

ILLUSTRATORS Paige Brubeck, Sean Dove, Tyler Gross, Lyndsey Lesh, Curtis Tinsley PROOFREADER Tracy Brubeck PROMOTIONS & DISTRIBUTION Suzie Gilb Ann Scott CONSULTATION Clifford Holekamp Derek Filcoff Cady Seabaugh Hugh Scott III FOUNDED in 2006 by a group including Jonathan Fritz, Josh Petersel and Matthew Strรถm ELEVEN MAGAZINE 3407 S. Jefferson St. Louis, MO 63118 FOR ADVERTISING INQUIRIES Hugh Scott advertising@elevenmusicmag.com CALENDAR LISTINGS listings@elevenmusicmag.com LETTERS TO THE EDITOR deareleven@elevenmusicmag.com We welcome your comments. Please let us know if you do not want your letter published.

HAVE A QUESTION FOR US? info@elevenmusicmag.com ONLINE elevenmusicmag.com twitter.com/elevenmag facebook.com/ElevenMagazine COPYRIGHT 2014 SCOTTY SCOTT MEDIA, LLC

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located on Cherokee Street in STL 815-535-7908

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WHERE IS MY MIND? This Month in the History of Now

PERCUSSION DISCUSSION

A PERCUSSIONIST, SOUND ARTIST, and composer, ELI KESZLER’s M.O. involves dense and relentless moving of sound. His drumming approach is quick, with a vested interest in small, microtonal points; little snippets of “bings” and “bangs” that go by quickly and aspire to move at different paces in multiple directions.

“I am definitely interested in the psychological aspects of music and perception,” says Keszler. “Oftentimes I feel like my drumming, art and music operate like my mind, which tends to run very slow or very fast and at many directions at once. Instead of trying to deny this aspect I have tried to go with it, and explore this multiplicity. I became interested in music with close tunings and slow unfolding resonances and structures and have needed to solve the problem of pairing the drums and achieving this effect, which is essentially staccato, with this attempt to create the illusion of sustain, while keeping everything acoustic and raw. Essentially I’m working from an impossible premise: to create something that moves so fast that it is slow.”

Keszler and Berlin-based electronic musician RASHAD BECKER will perform November 8 at the Luminary as part of the New Music Circle series. Read Matthew Fulton’s interviews with Keszler and Becker on elevenmusicmag.com.

AMERICAN ANTHEM IF YOU’VE NEVER HEARD George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” – actually. . .you’ve almost certainly heard “Rhapsody in Blue.”

Whether during the opening scene of Manhattan, Woody Allen’s love letter to New York, or more recently in a United Airlines ad campaign (and in-flight safety videos), Gershwin’s symphony written for jazz band and piano has become synonymous with New York City, and an integral part of modern American music and culture.

“Rhapsody in Blue” is a melodic masterpiece with bizarre rhythmic changes and multiple melodies that evoke characters and images in a boisterous 20th century city. It’s sunlight on the Manhattan bridge, it’s the Empire State building, it’s yesterday’s newspaper in the gutter, it’s a flock of pigeons, it’s 42nd street, it’s Gene Kelly, it’s

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a garbage truck, it’s Marilyn Monroe – and somehow it was written before these things were the icons they are today.

The piece premiered in 1924, 13 years before Gerswhin died prematurely at 38 due to a brain tumor. Now, 90 years later, the ST. LOUIS SYMPHONY will perform “Rhapsody in Blue” along with music by Bernstein, Norman, and Daugherty at the gorgeous Powell Hall.

When you go, don’t forget to look up at the tops of the buildings, the flashing lights from the Fox and Powell Hall marquees chattering across the street at one another; look down at the brick alleys and stage doors; and listen for the melody of Grand Avenue and the clicking heels on the sidewalk. PAIGE BRUBECK Rhapsody in Blue plays at Powell Hall at 8pm, November 28 - 30.

MORE CH-CH-CHANGES ON CHEROKEE STARTING THIS MONTH, one of Cherokee Street’s longest-running venues will have a new owner. Mike Glodeck opened Foam Coffee & Beer, at the corner of Cherokee and Jefferson, in 2009, when the street was still very much off the beaten path. It’s a beautiful space, designed by Glodeck himself, but it has struggled to define itself as a café, bar, or venue.

Now, though, Foam is catching a second wind. MIC BOSHANS, longtime booking manager there, negotiated to buy the venue himself. “It’s something I first proposed about a year ago, when Mike was kind of overwhelmed with running the business and looking to sell,” Boshans said in a recent interview. “I didn’t want somebody else to come in and change things. I know what works and what doesn’t there and I feel really personally connected to the space and Foam in general.

So I wanted to grab the reins.”

Boshans , who plays drums in Humdrum, Née, and The Union Electric, has spent the last few years developing the 80-capac-

Chris & Jake’s WAILIN! GIBSON SG

ity room as an intimate spot for local and touring bands. Now, he says, “What I want to do is help Foam with its identity crisis,” he says. “I don’t want to do three things halfassed: what we do I want to do well.”

That means tweaking the room to make it feel more like a venue, changing up the lighting and expanding the stage. “I’m going to drop the ‘Coffee & Beer’ and just be Foam, with an emphasis on the music venue and the bar,” he says.

As the other venues in town have evolved to satisfy the needs of bigger touring bands coming through town, the opportunity is ripe for a small room to shine as a solid, unintimidating place to build an audience. “We’re an indie rock bar,” he explains. “I certainly want to keep booking other genres, like jazz for sure — I think we’re the only place booking jazz bands on Cherokee right now.

I definitely like the roots music, Americana stuff, but I feel like our identity is indie rock, and I want to keep bringing in these really innovative indie bands, have people see these bands at Foam before they Profiles in gearage blow up. I’ve gotten several bands since I started booking there that are just amazing, like I can’t believe I’m seeing

Serial #: 00491463 Production Number: 163 Owner: Nicky Z Bands: Maximum Effort, Bug Chaser Back story: I was strummin’ G’s and C’s and the eight (8) bar blues was sounding decent. During this golden period the grass in my neighborhood had found the fierce June/July sun causing it to grow tall wild. Someone needed to mow and I had just the device. I mowed lawns and wiped down tables at a BBQ joint and I liked the color purple. I strolled into a center for guitars one day and I picked on a Gibson SG. It sounded dark and I was an emotional teenager. I went home and logged onto the Internet via America Online and bought that guitar, it was plum in color.

I fell amps upon it and once I threw it on the ground and the ground was soiled and wet. I can still play that C and that G only, now, those chords sound familiar and dirtier.

Toward the end of the old six string (the new beginning), I thought it was neat to replicate a whammy bar by bending the neck of the guitar real tough. As a result the headstock snapped and I put the guitar down to sleep for some years. One future day I met Chris and Jake and Jeff and Dave; I knew they could fix this sad head-crack of mine and bring my first REAL guitar back to life.

I’ve taken the old girl from Wentzville back to St. Louis and out onto an old funny guys’ car shop where he cooked an entire lamb on a spit (the lamb was great but his prize vintage car never did start).

This guitar is ruff and dirty; it thrives amidst the muck and the mud; it is the very bottom.

this from just ten feet away.”

He cites Brooklyn’s Father Figures and Softspot, Wichita’s Travel Guide, Ed Schrader’s Music Beat from Baltimore, and DC’s Stronger Sex as some of the bands who have impressed him to get him invested in their success here. “Overhead is really low, so bands can make money,” says Boshans.

“They get to keep all the door money. We’re not paying a soundguy and a door guy, so a band can pass through for the first time and still walk with enough gas money and have a great time and feel like — if there’s 30 or more people there it feels great. If you get 80 in there it just feels like it’s off the chain.”

Plus, of course, he wants to pick up the business of being a proper bar. The liquor and beer selections will increase, with an emphasis on tequila in particular. “I want to have more beers, more curated beers, I want to carry liquors that make sense with what we’re trying to do,” he says. “To that end I want to try to get a good tequila selection there, because I think that’s something Cherokee Street will appreciate. It speaks to the culture here.” ECS

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INTRODUCING

New bands in their early days by Sam Clapp

INDIAN BONES COLLECTIVE DOWN KINGSHIGHWAY, SOMEWHERE near Jimmy Kavadas’s credit repair shop, the lone minaret, and the DMV — though no one knows exactly where — the six members of the Indian Bones Collective sit high in the IBC HQ, looking out over the city. The collective is one of the most intelligent, creative, and prolific artistic crews in St. Louis, but in the five or so years of its existence, most of its activities have taken place online.

What exactly are they doing up in that tower?

Spewing art, for the most part. The group has something like 26 albums up on Bandcamp, and a trail of content strewn around the Internet. The records range from the texturally rich instrumental hip-hop of Irvyn Meaga to Bright Empty’s grainy shoegaze; the electroacoustic pop of Bear-Skinned to the omnivorous sampling of Dirty Hum; and the pristine Les Paul melodicism of Drop J to King Boom’s glitchy rap. The collective is always expanding: music videos are being cut, art shows are being thrown, and a project of aesthetic unification is underway.

The men of IBC were kind enough to let me into HQ to ask some questions.

Hayden Molinarolo (Bright Empty and Raging Sisters), Mickey Merriman (Bear-Skinned), Dionté (King) Boom, Jason Karcher (Drop J and Wvnstvn Smvth), Paul Bogaty (Dirty Hum), and Irvyn Meaga were present.

anything like that, because I could just stay home and make the records. I like that so much more.

Do you guys ever perform?

Bogaty: And this motherfucker does a lot of shows, don’t you?

Karcher: –and I would still rather do that.

But, well, I don’t know. I would like to play more shows. But we’re trying to work on a heavy rock band.

Boom: Yeah, I perform a lot.

Merriman: Yeah, coming soon.

Karcher: Just not since coming here.

Karcher: And that’s a whole different thing than anything that’s even been done by any of us.

Merriman: Irvyn just did a show last week.

Boom: Yeah, yeah, but back home in Little Rock.

Meaga: It’s a struggle, though, because we have a priority to do shows, but as far as I’m concerned, I don’t really like doing shows, like I’m really much more invested in doing studio work. That’s really where my heart’s at. So I’m always up for doing a show, but I don’t go out of my way to book them or

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Bogaty: They’re just a pain in the ass, man.

Merriman: And we never make any money.

Karcher: And you guys have been holding it down well with recording, adapting to the times. Especially you, Irvyn, you have a really high output. [Points around the room at all the hip-hop producers.] And you have a high output, and you. So as far as that’s concerned, that’s where we’re killin it.

Merriman: Our more hip-hop shit is in overdrive, but– Karcher: –I could put out a record every week if we just recorded it, but we just don’t.

Meaga: [Recording] takes time– Bogaty: –it’s just a lot easier–

Molinarolo: It’s hard man. We need an intern.

You need to get a 14-year-old to hang around and wash the dishes.

Merriman: We tried that. [uncomfortable pause] Not a 14-year-old!

Bogaty: Wait, what?

Merriman: Way back in the day. Jason, do you remember [name indistinct] tried to do that.

Karcher: It’s good to have a person who’s down for the cause.

The problem there is the balance of power.

Like, why should this person only wash dishes?

Bogaty: It’s hard when people aren’t getting paid and aren’t doing the fun shit. Like, everyone else is kickin it and doing music shit and that person has to do everything else.

So if you guys are trying to take this more seriously, would you place any priority on releasing less?

Meaga: That’s uh— Karcher: No! No! No! Bogaty: Let me tell you about output, bro.

That is the most important baller shit of all time, man. Especially for rap shit, man. I don’t know about other shit, but for rap shit.

The tightest shit! Prince has released an album every year since the fucking ’70s. He released two two weeks ago. That’s tight as fuck, man.

Molinarolo: Well that’s another thing about being in St. Louis, our part of St. Louis, and our demographic of listeners. We have the ability to put stuff out and experiment without being put on the pedestal or, you know, under scrutiny, so we have the chance to experiment and if we fuck up it’s not as big a deal as if someone who’s trying to make it in Oakland or New York, or something like that.

Bogaty: You’re not necessarily going to get dogged.

Molinarolo: That’s what’s great about St. Louis, with every kind of art. ibcollective.bandcamp.com indianbonescollective.tumblr.com kingboomproductions.com dropj.bandcamp.com meaga.bandcamp.com

Futurism

WATCHERR

by Curtis Tinsley

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BEHIND THE SCENE Bands in Their Native Environment

Photographs and interview by Jarred Gastreich

BRUISER QUEEN 2014 has been a banner year for Bruiser Queen, who recently celebrated the release of their second full-length album, Sweet Static, on STL’s newest record label, Boxing Clever.

Morgan Nussbaum (guitar, vocals) and Jason Potter (drums) play a gnarly snarl of garage distortion and full-tilt singalong choruses. They play constantly in St. Louis and have been touring the Midwest aggressively this year. Their practice space on Cherokee Street includes a screenprinting annex, where Potter prints the posters he designs for his band and others.

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What’s it like living so close to great talent like Née and Sleepy Kitty on Cherokee Street?

Jason: It’s more encouragement: “Oh, someone else is doing something.” We’re not the only ones. As far as Sleepy Kitty, we are more connected to them through the screen printing scene. Foam is the #1 “poster gallery” in St. Louis. If you’re a poster maker and your poster is up at Foam, people are going to see it and be like, “Who the hell is doing that artwork?” Foam has always been ground zero for me as a place to hang out and see artwork.

Morgan: It’s nice to talk to other people about touring.

Tips on making the switch from day job to freelancer?

Morgan: Get your bills down to as little as possible. Get rid of credit card debt. Get rid of your car.

Jason: Think about what you need. When you go to Target, do you walk out of there and lose a $100 bill. Or do you just get the toothpaste you went in there for? Do you need Netflix? And the people that work those full time jobs around you… they’re working those full time jobs for what? It’s to pay for a house. Well maybe you don’t need a house. Maybe you just need a small apartment?

Morgan: Yeah, totally. I had a house in Ferguson. I miss it... sometimes.

Jason: It’s almost like you moved into the city to be safe.

What do you think about what’s going on in Ferguson?

Touring is a source of income?

Morgan: Cat Power doing a benefit concert for where I grew up is just like… I don’t even know.

Jason: I feel like what went down could have happened anywhere in North County.

Morgan: It could have happened anywhere.

It’s just totally bizarre.

Jason: When we first started our band, people used to ask us: “Where do you guys practice?” And nobody knew where Ferguson was.

Have you seen any positive change from it?

Jason: To me it’s all been specifically about cops. I don’t know if you’re ever going to solve racial tension, but if everyone agrees that cops are part of the problem, then that’s something we can change. That’s a unifying factor by itself. When I moved to this area I didn’t get any traffic tickets. But up there, I get all kinds of tickets for just going down the road. Like, I had a headlight out. They are looking to fuck with you.

Morgan: My parent’s house got broken into and that was it for me. That’s when I moved.

I got really freaked out thinking anything could happen.

Jason: It’s one of them, yeah. We don’t make a shit ton, but let’s say the tour cost us $10 dollars. We’ll come home with $15.

Morgan: And the gas mileage we get with the Vibe helps!

What’s the secret?

Morgan: More merchandise. You have got to have a lot of merch. And you have to have someone to sell the merch.

Jason: We’re like a well-oiled machine right now. We’ll get finished with a set and run over to the merch table. It can make a difference of $200.

Undoubtably you guys have an edge because you have a great graphic designer in the band to make t-shirts.

Jason: Totally. I feel like if I had to give anyone advice for starting a band, I would say: Find a writer; someone who can write a press release and a bio. Next find a graphic designer.

Morgan: Next find someone who is good at marketing, and who is really friendly and lovely that can sell the merch.

Jason: And then find someone whose parents have a lot of money. That’s your band.

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PAPER TIME MACHINE Curated by Paige Brubeck

PAPER PASTORAL

1

LAST OCTOBER, WHEN my band drove to New York City for the CMJ music festival, we left in the summer and returned in the fall.

Pennsylvania, which was green with hints of lime and lemon as we headed east, had turned yellow with licks of orange on our westbound trip back to St. Louis just a week later. As the leaves fall I can’t resist going out of my way to stomp through piles on the sidewalk. The sounds change with autumn — the crunchy leaves below and the rustle in the trees above. Even the sunlight looks different in the fall as it filters through fewer and fewer yellow leaves.

It’s this time of year that I’m most aware of time passing, and the time I feel the need most to live in the moment. The change of seasons seeps into our collective consciousness and it starts showing up in poster work too, like Doublenaut’s November design for The Swell Season with tumbling dove-like leaves, or Scott Campbell’s Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros poster with colored leaves done in a smart split fountain. This month is a collection of posters of or relating to fall, and its lovely and seemingly endless palette.

1. The Swell Season, Doveman November 3, 2009 Massey Hall | Toronto, ON Designer: Doublenaut

5. The Swell Season November 8, 2009 Merriam Theater | Philadelphia, PA Designer: Mat Daly

2. Bill Callahan, Flat Foot May 2013 The Garfield Park Conservatory | Chicago, IL Designer: Sonnenzimmer

6. Dog & Panther January 21, 2011 The Crofoot | Pontiac, MI Designer: The Silent Giants

3. Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah October 3, 2012 Mahalia Jackson PAC | New Orleans, LA Designer: Scott Campbell

7. Feist July 13, 2009 Starlight Theater | Kansas City, MO Designer: Vahalla Studios

4. The Mavericks March 21, 2013 Fox Tucson Theatre | Tucson, AZ Designer: Dan Grzeca

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8. Kishi Bashi Summer/Fall tour 2012 Designer: Landland

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Another Drug Deal of the Heart

An interview with The New Pornographers’ AC NEWMAN

By Ira Gamerman SHORTLY BEFORE HALLOWEEN, I had the opportunity to chat with AC (aka Carl) Newman, the driving force behind Canadian guitarpop masters The New Pornographers. In case you’ve been asleep for the last decade or so, New Pornographers are an alternate-universe supergroup featuring the triple-threat powerhouse of Newman, Neko Case, and Dan Bejar, as well as Kathryn Calder, John Collins, Todd Fancey and (until just this year) Kurt Dahle, all of whom lead acclaimed bands of their own. New Pornographers albums like Mass Romantic, Electric Version, and Twin Cinema are canonically classic

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examples of ’00s indie rock — giddily hooky and shot through with boy-girl harmonies, pristine guitar jangle, Jeff Lynne synths, and sugary multi-part harmony choruses that tickle aural pleasure centers like sonic Pixie Stix.

In addition to talking about the writing process for The New Pornographer’s excellent sixth album, the brand new Brill Bruisers, we discussed Newman’s feelings on EDM and why he thinks “Cat’s in the Cradle” by Harry Chapin is an all-time heartbreaker.

Are you dressing up for Halloween at all?

No. We have a two-and-a-half-year old. He’s dressing up for

Halloween. I don’t really buy Halloween as something that adults do. I think it’s more of a kids’ holiday. Hanging around with adults who are out for Halloween? That seems like a very horrible time. It brings out the worst in people.

What is the little one dressing up as?

He’s got like a ghost costume.

Any particular ghost or just a general ghost?

I think just a happy ghost. It started out as a bear. I was on tour when he picked it, so I don’t really know the whole story. It switched from bear to ghost somehow. It all happened so fast, I don’t know.

So, Brill Bruisers is the highest charting New Pornographers record to date. Do you think that’s at all related to the increased use of synthesizers on this album?

It’s really hard to say. Maybe it’s other people selling less?

I read that no records have gone platinum in 2014.

These days, to sell a million records is to be, just, massive. Even a band like Arcade Fire — I think their last record, I’d be shocked if it sold 500,000.

I was curious: what format do you currently listen to music in? Streaming, CD, bittorrent, vinyl, tape?

I guess listening to records would be my preferred format, but there’s not always the time. I guess mp3s? Or just listening on a computer or phone or whatever? Or just listening to satellite radio?

What’s your favorite satellite radio station?

I listen to XMU a lot. That’s where you can hear new music.

I really love the way you integrated synthesizers into your sound on Brill Bruisers — was it a conscious choice to add more synths this time around?

I guess it must’ve been. I mean, I don’t remember us having a band meeting where we said, “Let’s use a lot of arpeggiators,” but we just started doing it, and thinking, “This sounds good.” There were some songs where, they didn’t feel right until synths were in there. Like, I remember “Champions of Red Wine” and “Marching Orders” were two songs [where] I just thought, “This makes the song for me. This gives the song its unique character.”

Do you listen to a lot of electronic music?

Most of what’s called EDM, I don’t listen to.

Most of it seems like absolute garbage. But there are people who use elements that I really love. Like Flying Lotus and Animal Collective. I mean, it’s hard to avoid that sort of electronic element in music. But if

you go way back, though: I love Kraftwerk and Suicide. I don’t know, depends what you call electronic music.

So you had a kid between this New Pornographers record and the last one. Has fatherhood affected your writing process at all?

Not really. The writing process has always been like a long, sprawling process for me. I can’t say there’s a huge connection between fatherhood and the way I write songs, other than, in the lyrics it’ll show up. Because it can’t help but show up. It’s a massive change in my life. It’s not like I started using arpeggiators because I had a kid or anything like that.

Do you have any favorite songs by other artists about fatherhood?

“Father and Son” by Cat Stevens is an obvious one. I can’t think of any more obscure examples. I remember “Cat’s in the Cradle” by Harry Chapin. All the sudden it seemed like a much sadder song, when I was a dad. I never thought much about it before, and then I heard it on the radio and thought, “This is the saddest song I’ve ever heard.”

The New Pornographers, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart Monday, November 10 THE PAGEANT

Why sad?

It’s all about a dad who has no time for his son. And then his son grows up, and when he finally has time for his son — when he’s an old man — his son doesn’t have time for him.

Because he turned out exactly like his dad.

Huh. I don’t remember the song that way.

It must’ve been a really long time since I’ve heard it.

That’s sort of my point, in that I’d never paid attention to it. Before I had a kid, I’d just like listen to it and think, oh, that’s just another song on the radio. And then when I suddenly paid attention to the lyrics, it occurred to me, I know why this song touched so many people. It’s such a sad song. It’s not gonna happen to me.

So this has been your biggest break between New Pornogaphers records. In between, you released the solo album Shut Down the Streets, Neko Case released The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight, the Harder I Fight, the More I Love You, and Destroyer released Kaputt. Since you all have active solo careers, How far in advance do you guys have to plan for a New Pornographers record?

To a certain degree it’s hard to plan at all because the goalposts keep moving. So we just try and do it. John [Collins, bassist/ producer] and I start demoing the songs here at my home studio. We’d just start working. And then our manager would start making calls to other members of the band, and we’d try to find a window. I’m sure somebody called up Neko and said “Hey, can you do anything in this four-month window?” And she’d say “Yes, I can do it for these two days,” or something like that.

I read that you hadn’t all been in the same room as a band, and were coming in in shifts for this album. Does that affect the songwriting process?

No, because it’s not like the songs are written communally. I mean, it affects the arrangements of the songs. It seems normal to me now. It’s just always been the way we work. And when you’re a band as big as us, it’s crazy to get seven people into a room to rehearse at the same time. And it’s just not the way the songs unfold. Like the record that we just made is not the kind of record that gets made by everybody playing live in a room at the same time. I think it sounds very much like a studio creation.

In my head I just imagined all of you guys jamming together in a big farmhouse or something. Not so much, I guess.

I mean, obviously the element of the band — bass, drums, and guitars — that is a rock band. That is people in a room playing together. But then, other things, like the synthesizers, were things that we figured out later.

So, your songs aren’t born out of improvisation, then?

Not even in the slightest.

Could you talk a little more about your songwriting process? I’ve read that you come into the studio with sort of- half formed songs and flesh them out as you go.

Yeah. I mean, sometimes the songs are, like, finished, but I also realize sometimes even when a song is finished I change it in the studio. So, I don’t worry about having it finished. I think it’s just good to start.

I’ll start and not worry if I’m happy with the lyrics. Just sing the lyrics you have and when it comes together, you’ll know.

I’ve just sort of accepted that that’s how it’ll work: just start working and it comes together. I compare it to, like, when I was in college and I would write essays on a word processor: your rough copy slowly turns into your final copy.

Do you write lyrics for Neko and Dan? No, Dan writes his songs. I don’t write lyrics for Neko. I just write lyrics and sometimes she sings them. For the most part, I just write lyrics. I don’t really write for anyone.

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After ten years of making music together, KENTUCKY KNIFE FIGHT will play their final show on November 22. Before announcing their farewell, the band asked Kyle Kapper out on the road with them to record their final tour. In backseats and back alleys, over beers and tears, they shared what it’s been like to be Knife Fight.

A RED VAN DRIFTS over the leaden blur of the highway. The word Eternity adorns its stern: infinity is going on trial. On this late August afternoon, just four weeks after the St. Louis Post-Dispatch crowned them St. Louis’ favorite band, Kentucky Knife Fight has fewer than ten shows remaining.

Jason Holler (writer, singer, manager) drives as James Baker (drums) rides shotgun, passed out, having helped a friend move to a new home late into the night.

Curtis Brewer (guitar, banjo) is middle left, fielding a phone interview. Jason Koenig (bass) is beside him: he has no sense of smell, and everyone calls him Mr. Cool. Nathan Jatcko (keys), who handled Knife Fight’s first recording in his dad’s basement, will meet up with the band at the venue.

After three hours at the wheel, Holler swaps seats with Brewer and leans back into the middle bench. Pressing a thumb

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and finger into his eyes, he reminisces about growing up half an hour north of Hannibal, MO. Speaking softly, he recalls a pivotal moment in his teens when he volunteered to help an old, lonely farmer travel the world before he died.The trip seemed like the perfect opportunity for Holler to escape his auto shop job and rural Illinois, but once the odd couple were halfway across the world, the elder’s Alzheimer’s revealed itself in the form of physical threats. Holler took sleeping pills to drown out his demented companion, and over the next six years, sleeping pills became morphine, and morphine became meth. At twenty, he enrolled at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, where he went sober, cold turkey, and never turned back.

Hemingway said that to write is to sit down and bleed. Holler did just that, penning down demons that had for so long

pinned him down.

Holler: I know a lot of fuckin’ terrible stories. There’s a guy I went to school with who shot his grandfather for drug money.

He’s in prison for the rest of his life, as he should be. Another guy I grew up with killed another guy I know at a party: beat him to death. Growing up where I grew up, you have all these people that end up doing something crazy just to escape the absolute boredom. I needed to get out of my hometown before I killed someone else or myself. Being on drugs all the time, I became an even bigger asshole than I naturally can be. My mother was going through a pretty tough divorce, and I really wasn’t there to support her when she needed me because I had my head too far up my own ass. Looking back on that now, it still hurts. It’s fucked up, man.

More stories pour out, like when Holler’s father didn’t tell him that his greatgrandfather had died because he didn’t think he’d care, which led to the ”Bad Blood” lyric, “Mamma, know I won’t be home by Tuesday morning for the funeral.” Clouds of the past hang heavy, only pushed aside by the prescience of the present.

Weeks from now, the band’s decision will fall on St. Louis with the grace of a falling rock. Many will naturally wonder why a band so ubiquitous in their music community would choose to hang it up.

Jones: Our last year was amazing. We were selling out multiple venues, playing for LouFest, playing with Murder By Death, having a really good time on an upward trajectory.

Holler: We tried to push it further because that’s where I wanted us to be, a little bit further out. It’s been a frustrating couple years for me in particular because I’m the one who books us and manages us.

Brewer: In November, we decided to join the music business world. We sought out a publicist, an entertainment lawyer, a radio promoter, a licensing supervisor. We had none of those things in November, and by the end of January, we had all of them. The most important component of all was the booking agent. We thought we had one

sewed up in January. We waited until April, when he was going to start working with us, and for whatever reason, it was just not an opportune time for him to take us on anymore. That was probably the biggest downfall of the band.

Jones: We hit rock bottom. We booked far less shows than we should have in that time period. When we returned to those markets, we played to handfuls of people where we played to hundreds before. Most of the time, it’s not our fault. We played one venue that decided to fire almost all their staff and then change the price we had already agreed to put at the door. They were turning people away because of that.

The ongoing burden of handling their own business affairs has hindered the group’s ability to focus on their music, even as they prepare a final EP which they intend to release for free, for fans, and “for posterity.”

Brewer: [In St. Louis], it all comes down to Sleepy Kitty and us. They ended up with a booking agent, so they have that one thing that we really needed. With that weight off their shoulders, they have the ability to focus back on their artistic part. We had to work so hard on the business side the last two years that we haven’t been able to focus artistically. I think we want to get back to the

Fight club: Kentucky Knife Fight, l-r: Nate Jones, Curtis Brewer, Jason Holler, Mr. Cool, Nathan Jatcko, and James Baker.

artistic part, but I don’t think it’s together.

Jones: I’ll admit, when you’ve decided to call it quits, trying to concentrate and write new songs with people is really hard.

Mr. Cool: You know, we keep using the metaphor of the stages of grieving. I was reading recently that the psychologist who came up with the seven stages of grieving was interviewing terminally ill patients who were coming to terms with their own impending death. I think that’s an appropriate analogy.

On this particular tour, before their own “impending death,” Kentucky Knife Fight faces a thousand miles in Eternity. The first full stop is Kansas City’s Riot Room, with its circular bar, elevated dance floor, and a green room that’s been moldering in the basement too long. Parking outside the venue, the band scatters in all directions to grab grub with a slice of solitude on the side.

Four hours later, Knife Fight blasts a locomotive of dirty blues into the Riot Room.

Guitars and drums pound with a menacing elegance while Holler bounces like a piston, threatening of blood on the tracks ahead: Wa lking for the door, gonna see if you really mean it Wh en you say you’re not afraid to spread my brains across the ceiling Off icer, there’s no stopping what’s lurking in the weeds this season So much evil unborn in this world for no rhyme or reason

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The set is tight, powerful, and a world away from what Knife Fight was like in the early days.

Mr. Cool: The first show we ever played was an open mic at the Stagger Inn in Edwardsville. We didn’t know what the hell we were doing. Nate wanted to play because it was his twenty-first birthday. It ended up being a big crowd. We played the three songs we had written, and everyone fuckin’ loved it.

They were like, “Play more!” And we were like, “We don’t have any more, but thank you.”

supposed to be an awful, awful mess.

After that fateful tour, original guitarist David Wiatrolik decided to vacate his role, thereby making room for a curly-headed jazz guitarist with composition chops. The change proved pivotal in the evolution of the band.

Jatcko: When Curt Brewer joined the band, he brought a whole different aspect. He’s got a mind for arranging and orchestration, which is something that you don’t always think about in a rock band. Sometimes you just want to make this big wall of sound, and

Jones: [Brewer] had more of the love. He still enjoyed jazz and studied it a lot, but he also had an appreciation for rock music.

He understood what we were trying to do.

He would teach me chords that I would use.

We’d both come up with ideas and work with each other.

Brewer: Kentucky Knife Fight was very famous in my college town. I was a fan from the get-go. So I worked as hard as I could to make sure that I knew every single song so that they would have no choice but to make

Holler: We were all in school there, so the entire art department [was] there, and the entire music department [was] there. It was a very nurturing environment.

Jatcko: I’ve loved this band since the beginning. I got to play one of the Stagger Inn shows. I remember when it was real loose and sloppy, which was a good thing. We wanted to be sloppy. It had that punk feel.

As green as the band was onstage, Baker recalls that they were even greener in the studio.

Baker: I was really nervous.

Recording is like an onion, with the drummer being the middle. The main objective of the first recording, the scratch track, is to get the drum part down. You record with a metronome and headphones just blaring into your ears. It’s a constant pow pow pow, like a gunshot because it’s so loud.

You’re the driving force, so you’ve got to make sure that you’re not speeding the song up or slowing the song down.

[I’ve] made a lot of progress.

At the very beginning, man, it would take me a long time.

“When it was finally said out loud that November is going to be the last show, I definitely felt a relief. It’s such a tough business. Yeah, we’re a good band, but that can only take you so far, you know?” – MR. COOL

Years after that first night at the Stagger Inn, Kentucky Knife Fight decided to take their show on the road.

Holler: Our very first tour was catastrophic.

We drove all the way to California, five dudes in a Grand Prix pulling a trailer.

As you would expect, our vehicle started having issues in Colorado. Somehow we managed to get it all the way to Oceanside before it officially broke down. We ended up having to sell the car for scrap metal.

It was just a bunch of stupid kids with a really dumb idea, but I’m really glad that it happened that way. Your first big tour is

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I feel like that’s what Knife Fight was in the beginning. Now it’s a little bit more nuanced.

Holler: You’re bringing new blood in. Fresh ideas and perspective. That really breathed some life into us and made us not necessarily work harder, but made us reexamine the way we did things and the way we wrote songs. Curt’s been really good about pushing us to not just be a lazy rock ‘n’ roll band.

Always pushing us, peeling back the whole thing, showing the inner workings of it, and trying to understand all that as a group and tinker with it. It was one of the best things that could’ve happened for us.

me a member. I hadn’t had a group that said, “Well here’s our goal, we’re going to do it” – and that’s what they did. That’s what they gave to me. I wanted to input my thing, and my thing was a whole bunch of music theory background.

After the Riot Room gig, the band mingles with the crowd. An ulterior motive is at play: Knife Fight rarely arranges accommodations in advance. The sniff for crashing grounds proves unsuccessful on this night, however, so Baker’s smartphone searches for the cheapest nearby motel.

At one in the morning, the band parks far

from the entrance to avoid paying for extra occupancy, the same reason extra towels can’t be requested the following morning.

Four towels make due for six men.

The post-show scramble repeats itself the following night in Wichita, where the band is invited to stay with a local fan whose shelves are lined with the less-celebrated works of Nietzsche, Thoreau, and Kafka.

A gentleman’s competition ensues in her living room, and one stag Knife is indeed invited for further hospitality in the

Jones: I really enjoy touring, [but] I’m working six days a week and playing shows, too, and then trying to do the artwork.

That’s all I have time to do. I don’t have time to work on my own artwork or design a website or develop my graphic design résumé.

Holler: It’s a very difficult thing to do on top of attempting to just live as a human being.

Baker is different, with steady work through a federal program that betters teen girls’ lives around the country. He’s able to

wife,” he says.

Other members of the band are looking forward to spending more time at home, too.

Having travelled to Europe earlier this year to earn a Polish paternal blessing, Brewer is looking forward to marrying his fiancée, who kissed him goodbye during load-in. And Holler heard his first-born’s heartbeat for the first time the very day before this tour began. His smile says it all.

Holler: It’s really exciting and terrifying at the same time, which I think is exactly what

Scene from a tour: 1. Baker and Holler in Eternity in a strip mall parking lot during a where-to-sleep scramble. 2. Wichita’s Crown offers a different sort of Off-Broadway affair 3. Jason Holler before the show: “We wanted to come back to cities that have been really good to us. If we had long drives to make it work, so be it.” 4. Kentucky Knife Fight, ten years on.

5. The Green Room in the Basement, brought to you by Stephen King. 6. The ballroom.

PHOTOS BY KYLE KAPPER

bedroom. At dawn, the coquette confides over a delicious cup of French press that she “like[s] hearing all the crazy stories of people with completely different lives.”

For all the perks and quirks, Kentucky Knife Fight’s tours come at a greater cost now that crowds and guarantees have become a shadow of their former selves.

Mr. Cool: Like everybody else, I’ve always worked a job – or multiple jobs – while we’re doing this. So I go on the road, come back, and go straight back to work. Until you’re making your living doing it, figuring out how you’re going to eat and play music can be tough.

check in with the girls by phone from the road, but he’s ready for this tide to turn over as well.

Baker: I feel great about what we’ve accomplished, and I feel great about what we’ve done as a band over the years. It’s a good stopping point, I think. I’m looking forward to spending more time with my wife and seeing the world with her. We have family all over the place, both here and in Europe.

It’s going to be really nice.

The Mrs. Baker whom James speaks so highly of happens to be a school psychologist in Ferguson. “I respect the hell out of my

it’s supposed to be. I’m looking forward to it.

It’s completely unreal. I feel like a lot of my really smart couple friends are like, “Oh we’re not going to have any kids,” and there are all these idiots – terrible people – who have litters of children. It’s like, Jesus Christ, these people are outbreeding us. Before long, it’s going to be nothing but idiots running around the planet. I’m just happy to hopefully put another thoughtful, intelligent human being on the face of the earth.

Jason Holler has always written all of the band’s lyrics. He’s booked all their shows, and he of course is the literal voice

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of Kentucky Knife Fight. It might seem natural, then, if he held greater influence in band decisions than the others.

Holler: We’ve approached the majority of our decisions through democratic means, but that’s not to say there haven’t been instances where I’ve been outvoted and simply wouldn’t bend. But I’d say the majority of the decisions that we make are democratic. Anything from the way our songs are written and edited to business decisions to just where we’re going to eat in the morning, I think we’ve done a fairly good job of being respectful of letting everybody’s voice be heard as much as possible. But that’s just my opinion.

Jones: We all come up with ideas, put them out there, and create something from it, which has been a really nice collaborative effort. It’s not like there’s been one person saying, “This is how we’re going to do it.”

Baker: I have as much input as everyone else in the song structure. One of the early songs I even wrote the guitar part for. That was on our first EP. Me and Jason Koenig wrote the guitar and lyrics. It’s kind of a kitschy song when I look back on it. (laughs) But yeah, I would say all of us have equal input in what we’re doing.

Of course, unanimity and amiability are two different things. Still, there is not a single ill-natured quarrel on this tour, despite the taxing circumstances.

Mr. Cool: There was definitely tension over the last however long it’s been. When it was finally said out loud that November is going to be the last show, I definitely felt a certain sense of relief. It’s such a fuckin’ tough business. Yeah, we’re a good band, but sometimes that can only take you so far, you know? It’s been a long, fun ride. I’d really hate to look back at these last couple months and remember it badly. This is the last chance to do this. I just want to enjoy it.

Jatcko: I’ve always been the neutral guy in the band. I’ve always been drawn to [Holler] as a friend. He doesn’t pull any punches, and he’s so kind about it at the same time. Jason Koenig is one of the easiest people to get along with on the planet, and a great, great player. James – his progress throughout this whole thing has been amazing. I’ve always loved Nate’s guitar playing, and I’ve always gotten along with him real well. Curt’s kind of a dreamer and always has been, which makes him a great band member to have.

He thinks very big, and you’ve gotta have somebody doing that.

Brewer: I’ve actually been communicating with everybody better, like we’re friends again. All the stress has been taken off our shoulders. We’re all fairly calm about it.

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We’re able to be friends again and laugh.

Nobody’s mad at each other.

All agree that the biggest source of tension had been in not knowing why agents didn’t find their music marketable. As doubt over the band’s future started to set in, everything about their art and approach came into question, sometimes leading to uncomfortable conversations.

Jones: What we do, for the purpose of getting a booking agent, wasn’t marketable enough. We initially thought maybe we could do it without Jason. I like Jason’s voice, but it’s a dividing factor. A lot of people see it as very unique and love it, but other people see it as this guy can’t sing. The same people who wouldn’t like Nick Cave or Tom Waits. We talked about it, and we talked about it with Jason, but it would just feel wrong.

Holler: I didn’t really take much offense to it. It’s me who wants out the most. I couldn’t be too terribly mad about the band wanting to continue on with someone else.

People ask me about my voice: “When did you decide to sing like that?” There wasn’t a decision. I just open my mouth, and that’s what comes out. We’ve gotten some online hate. My favorite was somebody online [who] said my voice sounded like a mixture of Popeye the Sailor Man meets Janis Joplin, which I thought was really fuckin’ funny. I couldn’t even be mad because it’s so spot on.

I totally take that as a compliment. I would rather people had to mash together two very strange ideas to come up with the way I sound, rather than “Oh, this guy sounds like this other guy.”

As Eternity rolls on, van banter turns to faces from the past. Conquests inevitably resurface – “that’s a name I wanted to have sex with” – but less lurid memories emerge as well. Brewer recalls his favorite place the band has stayed – a Shire-like house out west – while Holler remembers yelling at a drunk who had spilled his drink all over two girls in the audience.

Meanwhile, the leaden blur leads to a night entirely different from the one left behind in Wichita.

The previous evening’s show had been at a dinner theatre. Some Enchanted Evening had played earlier in the afternoon, and the two giant white stairwell props left onstage served as a hilarious backdrop for Knife Fight’s rock show. Heaps of steak and chicken were served compliments of the Crown Uptown Theatre, with a backstage bucket of beer and Jack to wash it down.

The following evening proves to be a horse of a different color. At the Outland in Springfield, Missouri, there are no doors into the restroom; no stall doors inside the

restroom; and nary a toilet lid upon which to sit. It is a ballroom in the most literal sense.

Chuckling at the Soviet-esque facilities, Jones generously mentions that Springfield’s Mud House coffee shop across the street has a more welcoming throne. He also points to an empty street corner, noting how he’d expected to see protesters marching there. Two hours later, a small crowd carrying MARRYING A DIVORCED WOMAN IS A SIN signs arrive on that very corner.

Yet another prophecy proves fulfilled as the same two girls who’d been spilled on reappear, eager to see Knife Fight again.

They dance at the front of the biggest and loudest crowd of the tour while the band visibly feeds off the room’s teeming energy.

Jones: When it’s a large crowd, you feel like there’s nothing else that you could have been put on this earth to do. You didn’t make a bad decision. You’re not just fucking around. You’re actually doing something.

You’re doing it well. Collectively, you’ve created something that a large group of people really love. It just feels right. I can’t imagine doing anything else. It’s unfortunate to see it go.

Baker: There’s really nothing like it. It’s a vibe and a feeling that is second to none.

The only thing I can think of as being similar is doing sports as a kid. I remember one game I scored eighteen points in a basketball game. It’s that feeling of success, like you really did something. You can’t describe it. It’s a high. You can’t put it against anything else.

Mr. Cool: One of the things that’s excited me most about this last run of shows is that it’s one more chance to see friends I’ve made along the way. And I’m really excited for the last show. St. Louis is home, especially Off Broadway. Getting to play there one more time and having Whiskey Folk Ramblers come from Texas for that’s going to be awesome, because they’re definitely the band we’ve become closest to on the road. I wish Blind Eyes hadn’t broken up because they were one of the bands we were closest to. I wish they were still around to play on the show.

Sharing hugs with gratefully dry fans, the band loads into the van and drives home through the night.

St. Louis is still asleep as her favorite band coasts silently up South Grand to rejoin their wives and work. Eternity parks two miles and three months from Knife Fight’s final bow at Off Broadway.

Kit Kellison, Off Broadway’s co-owner, and former Blind Eyes leader Seth Porter each had a few thoughts to share for the occasion.

Kellison: We are happy for Jason and the

new chapter in his life, but we’ll miss him and the band. Besides being an ass-kicking band with a great sound, they are one of a precious few local bands who could sell out the room. This fact owes not only to their tight stage show and unique sound, but to serious professionalism. KKF treated our partnership with generosity and kind respect. A good part of their success was because they understand that music is both an art and a business. They just worked really hard and smart and that matters.

Porter: It’s hard to narrow down my favorite Kentucky Knife Fight memories. We played together in an Edwardsville, Illinois living room in a house with a collapsing second-floor porch on a bill featuring an intermission to wait out the visiting cops.

We played an exhausted, backyard show in Austin , Texas which included a — probably ill-advised — drunken, all-hands-ondeck cover of “Sabotage.” We rang in three consecutive new years together at Off Broadway. I’ve always admired how much they pushed themselves as a band. Their touring schedule was great evidence of that, but beyond just their tireless work ethic, they really pushed themselves musically.

Even with all of the firepower in that band, a song like “Bad Blood” had the feeling like

it was just hanging on by a thread when performed live. There’s a danger in that. It makes it exciting to watch. I’ll miss seeing them perform, but am glad to be pals with those guys.

For the men soon to be known as the artists formerly known as Kentucky Knife Fight, there are many unknowns, but they do have some plans in mind. Jatcko will continue as a professional pianist, while Baker, who has been in bands nonstop since he was twelve, will take a break from touring to hone his skills. Brewer is already playing gigs with his other band, Yankee Racers, and Mr. Cool – well, who knows?

Holler is looking forward to focusing on writing and being a dad, and Jones, who has a solo project in the works, hopes to spend more time with loved ones as well.

Jones: My close friends and family are the ones who supported me the most about this. We’ve had to unfortunately not ignore our friends but to at least say, “I’m sorry I can’t go to your wedding.” Those people still supported us all the way. Most importantly, our parents didn’t say, “You guys are a bunch of deadbeats.” My parents especially have been with me since I picked up a trombone and then sold the trombone to get a guitar. (laughs) It was a nice trombone, too.

They’ve supported all of my decisions. They even support what’s going on now. And the fans have of course been there since the beginning.

Holler: Thank you to the fans. St. Louis has been really good to us. We moved to South City and fell in love with the city. We feel really fortunate to have made our mark like we did. People seem to really appreciate and care about the music that we make. That’s really flattering. It’s a very humbling thing.

Mr. Cool: Some of the best advice I ever got, I can’t remember if it was Pat or Jason [from the Monads], but one of them said to me, “You know, we don’t have fans. We have drinkin’ buddies.” That’s kind of a good way to approach it. There isn’t this divide between. No, we’re all here, and we’re all together. You get to know these people individually, and when you see them again next time, you go, “Ah fuck, good to see you.”

Baker: I’ll tell you what. I’ve had a lot of friends who graduated college, got a job, got married, had kids. That’s what they did. I graduated college, taught for a couple years, then toured in a band for six years. Saw the country, put out of a bunch of music, and then went on with the next step. It’s a very unique experience, man. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

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Legends of musical genius Cocker, Nas, Fela, Reuter, and some guys called the Beatles at the 23rd Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival most famous and influential citizens, musical or otherwise, challenged the system by creating a musical art that was political, rhythmic and fearless. A profoundly fascinating character study, Kuti’s controversial life and compositions changed the future of jazz and world music. His work serves as a testament to the synthesis between politics and music as a force for change.

Sunday, November 23 | 6pm | KDHX

Jingle Bell Rocks There’s something diabolical about holiday music. It’s camp, it’s cheesy and oftentimes, it’s cringeworthy. Director Mitchell Kezin loves Christmas music so much that he sought out those responsible for is favorite yuletide tunes. His quest to find out as much as he can about the songs he loves is touching, tragic and moving.

Sunday, November 23 | 3:30pm | KDHX Finding Fela

By Rob Levy IF YOU LOVE MOVIES and are addicted to music then you will be right at home at this year’s Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival, which runs from November 13-23.

Amongst the selection of feature films, documentaries and shorts screened this year is an orgy of sound and vision that is sure to be music to our ears. The programming is particularly deep this year with a headspinning number of choices for the discerning audio/ cinephile.

A majority of the music documentaries will screen at KDHX’s new home at the Larry J. Weir Center for Independent Media at 3524 Washington Avenue in the heart of Grand Center.

This synergy of cinema and sound speaks to the exuberance that music and film plays in our lives as a creative spark, obsessive hobby and catalyst for social change. For more information on films, tickets and special events visit www.sliff.org.

20,000 Days on Earth This long-awaited Nick Cave film screened to a packed house in Columbia, MO recently.

It’s a strange mix of real and unreal footage, sometimes staged and sometimes documented, that reveals less about the real life of Cave and crew and more about their own perception of their lives. Cave collaborated with the director and various friends and musicians to create this unprecedented version of life as a writer, singer and artist.

Part drama, part documentary, the film will definitely make you think about Cave and his work in a different way.

Friday, November 14 | 9pm | KDHX

Bob Reuter’s Last Tape Bob’s scratchy movie looks at the life of the

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dearly missed artist, KDHX DJ and singer songwriter, who died suddenly in August of 2013 while in the midst of a creative high point. Director Josh Rolens presents Bob Reuter’s life and legacy through his own words. Reuter overcame a life of troubles to become one of the city’s most beloved citizens. His photography, art, radio show and music both documented and profoundly affected the St. Louis music world.

Bob Reuter’s Alley Ghost will perform after the screening.

Sunday, November 16 | 7:30pm | KDHX

Finding Fela The life of Fela Kuti is chronicled in this powerful documentary from Alex Gibeny.

The Afrobeat founder and one of Africa’s

Mistaken for Strangers There are fewer indie bands around right now that are more popular than The National. In addition to creating critically acclaimed albums they have toured with the likes of Arcade Fire and U2. Being the kid brother of their lead singer gave filmmaker Tom Berninger unlimited access to the band during their breakout 2010 tour. Things get weird when Berninger, a self confessed metalhead documents the band and their rise to acclaim. What comes next is his tale of a band grinding it out on the road, sibling rivalry and finding your own way.

Friday, November 14 | 7pm | KDHX

Nas: Time Is Illmatic This film explores the creative side of seminal hip-hop pioneer Nas, whose poignant lyrics and attention to production made him a star at a young age. Twenty years ago you couldn’t go anywhere without hearing his music. Nas’ rise from an urban poet to an international superstar is a compelling and fascinating story about stardom and durability. Admission is free to the public.

Monday, November 17 | 7pm | Tivoli

Pulp: A Film About Life, Death & Supermarkets Since premiering at SXSW earlier this year this movie about the band Pulp, whose album A Different Class was a definitive

moment in the Brit Pop movement of the 1990s, has been buzzworthy. It is a movie of many types: a documentary, a concert film and perhaps most intriguingly, a love letter to the people of Sheffield. Led by the prolific Jarvis Cocker, the band played a massive farewell gig in 2012. Adam Hamdy and Shaun Magher bring this epic moment to life while chronicling the tumultuous history of the band.

Friday, November 21 | 8pm | KDHX

Rubber Soul There’s definitely a Beatles flavor at this year’s film festival. It starts with Rubber Soul, a documentary about two important moments in the life of John Lennon. The first happened in 1970 when Lennon and Yoko Ono were both interviewed by Rolling Stone.

In 1980, Ono and Lennon were interviewed again, this time by Playboy magazine. By examining these two interviews, director Jon Lefkowitz frames Lennon’s impact on music and popular culture in a profoundly revealing context.

Saturday, November 22 | 4pm | KDHX

A Hard Day’s Night Another Beatles-related event this year is a special event celebrating Richard Lester’s cinematic romp, A Hard Day’s Night. Digitally restored for its 50th anniversary, the new print didn’t get a proper screening in town but thanks to SLIFF is getting served up at the fest, along with some yummy eats.

The quintessential rock n’ roll road movie, it stars

The Beatles, who are desperately trying to get to London in time for a high profile television gig. No matter how many times you’ve heard the songs or seen the footage, the remastered, restored version of The Beatles in the full bloom of their youth is almost magically present and powerful — the years of familiarity melt away in the immediacy of their undeniable chemistry together.

Presented in conjunction with Tenacious Eats, the movie will be shown with Chef Liz Schuster’s specially curated cocktails and multi course dinner, both based around the film. Tickets include both dinner and the film.

Saturday, November 22 | 6pm | Centene Center for the Arts

Strictly Sacred: The Story Of Girl Trouble This documentary, partially funded by a kickstarter campaign, debuted this spring at Seattle International Film Festival. Its subject is Girl Trouble, a feisty indie band from Tacoma, Washington that has had a significant impact on the music scene of the Pacific Northwest for the last three decades. Despite their longevity, the band remains relatively obscure in wider circles.

Maybe now all of this will change! Director Isaac Olsen will be on hand for a Q&A after the film.

Saturday, November 15 | 3pm | KDHX

We Don’t Wanna Make You Dance SLIFF brings the funk in this documentary about Miller, Miller, Miller & Sloan a band that was a pretty big deal in New York in the early ‘80s. Their

white funk sound garnered them a rabid legion of fans. Lucy Kostelantz was a fan of the band, and her curiosity about whatever happened to them led to this documentary about the power of music as a creative spirit and motivator for personal growth.

Sunday, November 16 | 1pm | KDHX

Well Now You’re Here, There’s No Way Back Brace yourself: this is, believe it or not, a compelling and fascinating doc about the band Quiet Riot. It centers on their drummer, Frankie Banali, who despite the death of vocalist Kevin DuBrow in 2007 has kept the band alive through hard work, tenacity and sheer determination. Director Regina Russell and Benali will host a Q&A after the film.

Saturday, November 15 | 8pm | KDHX

When My Sorrow Died: The Legend of Armen Ra and the Theremin The tumultuous life and musical salvation of Armen Ra is the subject of this powerful movie. Ra has had a rough go of it, overcoming persecution in Iran, bullying, and battles with drug and alcohol abuse, before finding inner peace and happiness with the weird musical instrument known as the theremin.

His mastery of the electronic instrument has led to work with Nick Cave, Marc Almond and Antony And The Johnsons.

Sunday, November 25 | 1pm | KDHX

The Winding Stream Beth Harrington’s look at how the Carter and Cash families forever changed the landscape of American music may be the must see music doc of the festival. In it she traces the musical lineage of both families. First there’s the Carter Family and their influence on contemporary music. Then along comes Johnny Cash who would forge a musical dynasty of his own. These two clans merged when June Carter married Johnny Cash, creating America’s First Family of music.

Saturday, November 15 | 5:30pm | KDHX

Cupcakes Israel’s UniverSong competition is the backdrop for this film about a group of friends who turn their contempt for Israeli’s entry into motivation for them to make their own recording. When their creation goes viral it causes a maelstrom of popularity and is selected for Israel’s entry for the following year. Cupcakes won the audience choice award for Best Comedy at the 2014 Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival. Plus: the get up and dance soundtrack features music from The Scissor Sister’s Babydaddy.

Friday, November 21 | 2:10pm | Plaza Frontenac AND Sunday, November 23 | 9:15pm | Plaza Frontenac

elevenmusicmag.com | ELEVEN | 23 June Carter and Johnny Cash

POLAR EYES by Mark Jankowski at

DAVE CHAPPELLE (2 shows) at The Pageant

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 2

BOBBY BARE JR., Union Rags at Off Broadway

“A NIGHT OF FLAMENCO GUITAR” w/ Lliam Christy at the Kranzberg Arts Center

QUINTRON AND MISS PUSSYCAT, Babes, Demonlover at Firebird

ELI KESZLER AND RASHAD BECKER at the Luminary

THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart at The Pageant

DAVE CHAPPELLE (2 shows) at The Pageant

BELLA & LILY, Flying House at Duck Room

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 8

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1

RECOMMENDED SHOWS

WE DON’T WANNA MAKE YOU DANCE,

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16

JINGLE BELL ROCKS, 3:30pm at KDHX

ARMEN RA AND THE THEREMIN, 1pm at KDHX

WITH YOUNG TONGUE, WHOA THUNDER AT FIREBIRD | FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14 Personally, I think the name of the band is probably the only thing holding MR. GNOME back from the kind of crossover blastoff that hit Dirty Projectors or Beach House. A true duo, the band is jaw-dropping live: singer/guitarist Nicole Barille’s powerfully evocative voice rolls out from under a curly mass of hair that obscures her eyes in just the right way, while the dozen or more pedals scattered at her feet give her guitar a constantly evolving vocabulary of its own. Drummer Sam Meister hits hard and writes smart parts but mainly has the sense to stay out of the way and let Barille fully inhabit the spotlight. Their last LP, Madness in Miniature, was a deep well of heavy sounds and scary images that somehow found the link between soul and metal. The upcoming LP, The Heart of a Dark Star, due out this month on El Marko, is even more ambitious, with less distorted guitar, more keys, and the real weight borne by Barille’s soaring vocals. The vocals are rich with texture and feel — drenched in reverb or crackling with distortion or run backwards or harmonizing up high in a child’s range. The songs are constructed from vocal loops and snippets of outside sounds. It will be fascinating to see how the band creates these songs onstage. Watching closely, no doubt, will be Brian McClelland, whose own project, WHOA THUNDER, recently evolved from pure recording project into one of St. Louis’ best hopes for a breakout band. EVAN SULT

MR. GNOME

MUSICALENDAR NOVEMBER 2014

PHOTO COURTESY TERRORBIRD MEDIA

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27 FRAGILE PORCELAIN MICE at Pop’s

THE WYTCHES, Tone Rodent at The Demo

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18 STARS at Old Rock House

THE WAILIN’ JENNYS at The Sheldon

VARIOUS HANDS, Jack Nation & The Sleepers, Little Falcon, Shark Dad at Cicero’s

DADS, Tiny Moving Parts, Choir Vandals, Old State at The Demo

KARATE BIKINI (cd release), Letter To Memphis, Soma Jet Set at Off Broadway

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7

ALTRS by Damon Davis, Black James, Chad Elvins at Kranzberg Arts Center

A HARD DAY’S NIGHT, 6pm at KDHX

WELL NOW YOU’RE HERE, THERE’S NO WAY BACK, 8pm at KDHX

METAL UNDERGROUND WITH CELLO FURY at Crack Fox

WHEN MY SORROW DIED: THE LEGEND OF

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23

THE URGE at The Pageant

RUBBER SOUL, 4pm at KDHX

THE WINDING STREAM, 5:30pm at KDHX

KENTUCKY KNIFE FIGHT (final show), Whiskey Folk, Christian Lee Hutson at Off Broadway

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22

CAPTURED! BY ROBOTS, Psycho Beach Party, Blight Future at Heavy Anchor STRICTLY SACRED: THE STORY OF GIRL TROUBLE, 3pm at KDHX

ADRIAN BELEW POWER TRIO at Old Rock House

STREET FIGHTING BAND at The Pageant

DWARVES, The Queers at Firebird

MIKE ADAMS AT HIS HONEST WEIGHT, Advance Base at Foam

PULP: A FILM ABOUT LIFE, DEATH, AND SUPERMARKETS, 8pm at KDHX

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15

“ANCIENT LOCAL SHOW” with Old Capital Square Dance Club, Old Souls Revival, Old Time Assault at the Gramophone

IAN HUNTER AND HIS RANT BAND, Freedy Johnston at The Sheldon

THE LIFE AND TIMES, Dibiase, Ish at Cicero’s

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21

ROSANNE CASH at The Sheldon

MISTAKEN FOR STRANGERS, 7pm at KDHX 20,000 DAYS ON EARTH, 9pm at KDHX

SALLIE FORD, Crooked Fingers, And The Kids at Off Broadway

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20

MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND, Dosh, Ghostband at Old Rock House

THE FEATURES, Chappo at Firebird

DREAM POLICE, Honey at The Demo

MR. GNOME, Young Tongue, Whoa Thunder at Firebird

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14

JUCIFER, Valley, The Maness Brothers, Grand Inquisitor at Fubar

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19

FISTER, Bug Chaser, Waxfruit, The Hobosexuals at Off Broadway

NAS: TIME IS ILLMATIC, 7pm at the Tivoli

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 26

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 17

Scan this QR Code, or go to ElevenMusicMag.com for a listing of club addresses. Check out our expanded calendar of events at calendar.elevenmusicmag.com, powered by

Discussed this issue Comedy show

LEGEND

MUSICALENDAR

THE BOTTLE ROCKETS, Jesse Charles Hammock II at Off Broadway

Check this out: this is a touring musical written by STEPHEN KING with music and lyrics by JOHN MELLENCAMP and musical direction by T-BONE BURNETT, starring GINA GERSHON and BILLY BURKE. The story involves two living brothers and two dead ones, lust, jealousy, murder, a whole lot of murky bluesy rootsy music, a malevolent Shape, an old-school radio show, a 15-person cast, and Mellencamp’s own band in the orchestra pit. Hard to tell if it’ll be incredible or painful, but it will definitely be memorable. I can’t wait! ECS

GHOST BROTHERS OF DARKLAND COUNTY at the Peabody

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29

Apop & Close/Far Recordings’ BRUXISM #6: Ajay Khanna Riverbody, DJ Tiffany Minx at Foam

HA HA TONKA, John Henry, Bo And The Locomotive at Off Broadway

JON HARDY & THE PUBLIC at Cicero’s

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28

CUPCAKES, 9:15pm at Plaza Frontenac

BOB REUTER’S LAST TAPE, 7:30pm at KDHX

OLD SALT UNION at The Sheldon

FINDING FELA, 6pm at KDHX

1pm at KDHX

GRACE BASEMENT, Morgan Orion, Zak M at Foam

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 12

NATURAL CHILD, Boreal Hills, Shitstorm at Off Broadway

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 11

SAND, Yowie, Omoo Omoo at Heavy Anchor

LUCINDA WILLIAMS at The Pageant

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6

PRIMUS & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY at the Peabody

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5

TWIN PEAKS, Radkey, Black For A Second at The Demo

ANBERLIN, Greek Fire at Ready Room

Nashville-based The Paperhead’s new album, Africa Avenue, out this month on Trouble In Mind, sounds like postBeatles Beatles hanging out with The Kinks for a long weekend voyage through the medicine cabinet. Breezy acoustic guitar, psych-heavy vocal harmonies, and surprise electric interludes keep the moods shifting, but it’s consistently excellent — one of the best releases of 2014, in fact. Austin’s Tele Novella features some folks from Voxtrot and Agent Ribbons, and some sweet ‘60s San Francisco harmonies.

Should be a blissful night. ECS

THE PAPERHEAD, Tele Novella, King James And The Killer Bee at Plush

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4

HAR MAR SUPERSTAR, The Pizza Underground at Firebird

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3

Jankowski is known to most of us as DJ RAVEN FOX, but Polar Eyes is an ambitious and beautiful site-specific installation that involves video mapping, illusions, sculpture, and of course music. It closes this weekend, so make sure to check it out while it’s still up. ECS

Kranzberg Arts Center

Live Music

BRING ON THE NIGHT = STL band (current and/or honorary)

Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig of Lucius singing in the crowd at Off Broadway on Thursday, October 9.

<<REVIEW

Ringo Starr And The All-Starr Band Friday, October 3

THE FABULOUS FOX THEATRE The Fab Four have always been one hell of a gateway drug when it comes to being a music fan. Each of them brought a special something that continues to resonate in just about every band that has formed from 1962 to now, regardless of genre. Now in its 25th year and 13th lineup, the All-Starr Band is a reasonable sampling of that ubiquitous influence. Every musician who has been a part of the All Starr Band, whether Ringo’s 1960s contemporaries or that first generation to be inspired and gain prominence in the ‘70s and ‘80s, owes The Beatles a debt.

The All-Starr line-up for the past few years has consisted of Todd Rundgren and Steve Lukather of Toto on guitar, Gregg Rolie of Santana on keyboards, Mr. Mister’s Richard Page on bass, noted session musician Warren Ham on saxophone, percussion and additional keyboards, and David Lee Roth drummer Gregg Bissonette taking care of basic drum duties. While the music snob in me will own up and say that never in a million years would I think I’d have such respect for members of Toto or Mr. Mister, Lukather’s masterful lead guitar work was more than enough to hold its own onstage with the over-the-top theatrics of Todd Rundgren, and Richard Page’s voice has not aged a day since his ’80s heyday.

When Ringo hit the stage, my heart didn’t scream with the same unbridled enthusiasm as it had when I’d seen Paul at the tender age of 18, but my eyes did widen and an unbreakable smile formed on my face, and I felt an innocent joy that I had not felt in some time as Ringo started off the show with “Matchbox” and then launched into “It Don’t Come Easy.” As with every lineup of the All Starr Band, Ringo made sure to take a break from

26 | ELEVEN | elevenmusicmag.com

PHOTO BY DUANE CLAWSON

singing, get on his kit, and give the other members their time to shine. To hear songs like “I Saw the Light,” “Evil Ways”, “Rosanna”, “Kyrie,” “Bang on the Drum” and “Black Magic Woman” mixed in with Ringo’s hits from his days in the Beatles and as a solo artist was almost like hearing a great live mixtape that a friend had made for you. While Ringo was never the songwriter that John, Paul or George were, he does have an innate ability to get people to enjoy themselves and, if only for a few hours, not take life or themselves so seriously. As the show climaxed at a singalong version of (what else?) “With a Little Help from My Friends” into (oh yes) the coda of “Give Peace a Chance,” Ringo’s enduring and endearing message rang out across the decades reminding its audience of the simple pleasures of the great things in life like peace, love and music. REV. DANIEL W. WRIGHT <<REVIEW

Shonen Knife, Dino Fight!, Million Hits Saturday, October 18, 2014 THE FIREBIRD The air is ripe with a cool dusk breeze and the right amount of carcinogens to make you feel at home downtown. I arrive still debating if the substance in my pre-show chicken-fried rice was actually chicken.

At 8:15, the first act, a last-minute addition, hits the stage. It’s a band of teenagers called Million Hits, who are supposedly a YouTube phenomenon. People keep using that word: “phenomenon.” I don’t think it means what they think it means. Even stranger, this is the first time I’ve been to a show where a hype man jumps onstage to introduce the first act. I’ve seen it in movies plenty of times, but never at an actual show. Each of the players is proficient enough in their instrument, playing standard rock/pop with pop punk decoration and, overall, strikes me as an example of Hot Topic in action.

Dino Fight! hits the stage to the theme

Live Music song they wrote for the St. Louis Lady Arm Wrestlers (or SLLAW), “Bicep Beauties.”

Shonen Knife guitarist Naoko Yamano emerges from the dressing room near the stage to snap a picture, and lingers with the song before going back. The smile on her face suggests that she’s impressed.

Guitarist Lindsay Cranmer leads the band through their set with Cory Perkins’ wildcat, operatic vocals and prog-punk bass skills and brother Cody Perkins’ surf rock drumming. A few more songs in, Knife drummer Emi Morimoto slips into the room to check them out for a good three songs’ worth before retreating to the dressing room to get ready. It’s clear Dino Fight! is on fire.

Finally, out they come. Dressed like The Supremes with tennis shoes, Shonen Knife flashes the universal rock n’ roll high sign before sending hair flying with “Banana Chips” and “Twist Barbie.” The good vibes and power chords abound from first song to last, the crowd bouncing like an EQ deck on a sound system.

With synchronized head bangs and windmills from Yamano and bassist Ritsuko Taneda, Shonen Knife make it look all too easy. Be it 50 people or 50,000 people, Shonen Knife gives a show that makes the audience feel the power and significance of the true arena rock show. Semi-broken English and all, Shonen Knife express their gratitude and love for their music and their fans, running the gamut from old favorites like “Riding on a Rocket” and “Flying Jelly Attack” to newer songs like “Green Tea” and

“Ramen Rock.”

But like all massive showstopping shows, it’s the big ending that counts. And Shonen Knife are masters of making the crowd beg for more, then giving it to them so hard that they can only keep on begging for a little more. It’s a lost art really. REV. DANIEL W. WRIGHT

>>PREVIEW

Har Mar Superstar, The Pizza Underground Monday, November 3

FIREBIRD A Velvet Underground tribute band: not an altogether unique or otherwise incredibly interesting idea, right? Not that I wouldn’t go to see one, given the right circumstances.

But what if said circumstances included, instead of the original lyrics by Lou Reed & company, alternate versions humorously showcasing the glory of everyone’s favorite foodstuff, pizza? Pretty weird, slightly more unexpected and interesting, maybe?

Now imagine that none other than onetime child superstar and latter-day frequent Robot Chicken contributor Macaulay Culkin is the kazoo-playing frontman for this band, who uses pizza boxes for percussion, and you have a near-exact idea of just what The Pizza Underground is all about: namely, pizza, which they’ve allegedly been known to freely distribute among attendees of their concerts (no promises). The premise is mostly unbelievable, I know, but by all

BLUE BEAT

BY JEREMY SEGEL-MOSS

National Blues Museum Radio Show THE NATIONAL BLUES MUSEUM has begun the one year countdown to opening its doors Labor Day Weekend 2015. While that is fine and good to hear, there are very few tangible aspect to the NBM that a lay person could point to as forward motion. The one exception is the National Blues Museum Radio Show hosted by Christian Cudnik.

Cudnik started his radio career in Baltimore, Maryland. He worked for several stations before moving to Philadelphia and joining WMMR, where he attained the number-one ranked radio program in the city. Cudnik has received both Emmy and Telly awards for documentaries that aired on PBS, including Collective Improvisation: The Story of Jazz in St. Louis. In 2003, he moved to St. Louis and became an on-air host at St. Louis Public Radio.

The NBM Radio Show debuted this February on the Radio Arts Foundation. Today, the show is syndicated to 26 stations, including affiliates in the US, Canada, Romania, New Zealand, Russia and the UK. Cudnik has paired with Jeff Konkel, of Broke and Hungry Records, to create well-rounded blues content for the radio show.

“I don’t pretend to be the arbiter of blues history,” Cudnik told me in a recent conversation. “I do believe that blues is the backbone of all modern music. I also have a curious mind, and I love music. So, I try and surround myself with the best people I can find. Jeff [Konkel] is an important member of my team. He has dedicated his adult life to this art form. He spends more time in

accounts is a real thing, real enough to have been booed off a stage or two within the past coupla years. To say the least, my own interest has been piqued.

Who better to share the Firebird stage with them than R&B megaforce/Ron Jeremy lookalike Har Mar Superstar? Minnesota’s favorite son (seriously, Minneapolis’s thenmayor declared September 13, 2013 “Har Mar Superstar Day”) is also a scene-stealing movie-cameo-appearer in films like Pitch Perfect, Whip It!, and Starsky and Hutch.

Alter ego Sean Tillmann, also of Sean Na Na and Calvin Krime, has spent the better part of the last decade and a half becoming perhaps most recognizable for running around stages the world over in nothing but briefs and possibly a cape, and for his faithful and (if not for the aforesaid stage show) straight-faced contemporary pop and R&B. A night of sound entertainment, if nothing else, awaits any brave enough to venture into the realm of this eccentric bill.

ROBERT SEVERSON

>>PREVIEW

Natural Child, Boreal Hills, Shitstorm Tuesday, November 11

OFF BROADWAY After tear-assing through a 21-date European tour in September and the release earlier this year of their fourth full-length, Dancin’ with Wolves, Nashvillian southern rockers Natural Child are making their way back to us this month.

the Delta than anyone in this city. He’s deeply connected to the music. Together, we’re looking to hoe our own row, and to present a very different kind of listening experience.”

In October Cudnik hosted the first of what will hopefully be many live recordings of the radio show at the St. Louis History Museum. He hosted several guests, including Bernie Hayes, as well as live performances by Mojo Syndrome which included Eric McSpadden, Larry Griffin and his son Aaron, Derek Morgan and Country Bill Edwards. “For me, it’s important to teach the next generation about these great artists,” he said. “So, finding a balance with the way we present music is paramount. I want kids to learn about Albert King and all of the greats. I also want to give blues purists deeper musical selections. I can play whatever I want, but the show does have a blueprint. It has structure and a philosophy. We can go deep, but we always make our way back to the heavies.

“I’d like to tour the Radio Show,” he continued. “Maybe once a month, beginning with regional cities like Chicago, Memphis, Kansas City and Nashville. We represent the National Blues Museum. We have an international audience. This means we need to visit other cities, highlight local music contributions, meet their blues societies, and plant our seeds.”

It may be difficult to get excited for the National Blues Museum when no hammers have started swinging, the venue is still empty and the future content of the Museum is unclear.

But when a radio show from St. Louis is broadcast all of over the world, there is a glimmer of hope for what the National Blues Museum could do for the city of St. Louis.

elevenmusicmag.com | ELEVEN | 27

Live Music Dancin’, an easy tempo, entirely acoustic, happy resignation in country living: “Remember all those tranquilizers that I used to take? / I’m not on ‘em anymore / I’m on old Hickory Lake.”

Natty Child’s gig at the Firebird last year made a striking visual impression, somehow pulling rhythmically tight, vocally on-point performances from a night of explicit drinking and carousing. Traylor looks fresh-faced and youthful on the cover of 1971 (from 2010), but he’s a big guy, and in their last two appearances he’d grown a mean ginger beard, coming off like some kind of fire giant or country pirate. Onstage, everybody’s confident, at ease, having a good time.

The five-piece line-up was young then, and playing songs largely written for a trio.

Still, the new guys impressed, especially Schneider’s whirling pedal steel. With a new record and another year under their belt, they’re not to be missed. JAMES KANE >>PREVIEW

Dream Police, Honey Friday, November 14 THE DEMO Songwriting team Mark Perro and Nick Chiericozzi are no strangers to experimentation. Since 2008, their primary band, The Men, has progressed from a noisy punk unit to a straight up rock’n’roll group,

.com

This is the kind of band whose every record can be heard as autobiography or mission statement. Songs drip with personality: “You might see me at the bar / Drinkin’ beer and playin’ guitar / Or out in the back getting higher,” from “Country Hippie Blues.” Or on “B$G P$MP$N” - “Know who I am, you don’t have to ask / I don’t love you, baby, I just love that ass.” (Also, from “Laid, Paid and Strange,” this relevant disclaimer: “Newspaper man can’t understand / Tryna talk about what kinda dude I am.” Fair enough.) It’s southern-fried sex, drugs and rock’n’roll fare, up-tempo and groovy — the musical equivalent of comfort food.

Dancin’ is the group’s best recorded, best arranged effort to date. Expanding to a five-piece line-up and reaching beyond guitar-only instrumentation, Natural Child doubles down on their already harmonyladen blues and roots rock formula. The band’s core remains the inseparable vocal harmonies of bassist Wes Traylor and guitarist Seth Murray (backed up by the rock solid Zack Martin on drums), but now songs are peppered by pedal steel wizard Luke Schneider and organ, piano and Rhodes tones by Benny Divine.

It’s a fuller, family-style sound. The group seems to have mellowed just slightly since 2012’s frenetic, vice-seeking Hard in Heaven. Consider their cover of Tom T. Hall’s “Nashville Is a Groovy Little Town” on

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located on Cherokee Street in STL 815-535-7908 28 | ELEVEN | elevenmusicmag.com

while touching upon genres ranging from hardcore to black metal to Krautrock. It is no surprise that their “side project” would explore new territory. With Dream Police, the Brooklyn duo has turned toward psychedelia, heavy drum machines and electronics – think Suicide – played against classic rock shredding and almost Spacemen 3-like vibrato. The result is Hypnotized, a satisfying listen that is both trippy and overblown.

Having released five full lengths in as many years with The Men, not to mention two EPs, all while maintaining an intense touring schedule, it was a bit of a surprise to hear that Perro and Chiericozzi have had time to do much of anything else. But after starting as a simple two-song tape in 2010, Dream Police became a necessary outlet for songs that didn’t quite fit in with their central project. In the summer of 2013, after an extended period of touring with The Men, Perro and Chiericozzi sat down with collaborator Kyle Keays-Hagerman to jam out a full album, to be released this month by Sacred Bones.

Only three days after the release of Hypnotized, Dream Police will hit The Demo this month with fellow Brooklynites Honey. A somewhat newer band composed of ex-members of Psychic Ills, Amen Dunes and Stupid Party, Honey creates raw, effects-ridden, psychedelic rock. GEOFF NAUNHEIM

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Album Reviews

HOT ROCKS = STL band (current and/or honorary)

SINGLE FILE by Ira Gamerman

Ex Hex Rips

Merge Records

APHEX TWIN “MINIPOPS 67 (SOURCE FIELD MIX)” SWEETHEART, YOU’LL NEVER BELIEVE WHO’S BACK ON THE MARKET! RICHARD! D! JAMES! This is literally your ONCE-IN-A-14-YEAR opportunity to get together with a REAL MAN. Sure, there isn’t anything immediately poppy about “Minipops 67,” but that’s cuz Richard D, is thinking about pop in THE FUTURE! Which is EXACTLY what YOU should be doing instead of dating those BroStep Poesers who can’t tell an 808 from an earache! SURE – All human voices featured here sound like they’ve been swallowed by space-aged Vocoders and mutilated by technology! SURE – it’s a “pop” song with no discernable chorus per se! BUT FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, THINK OF THE RACE OF UBER-INTELLIGENT FORWARD-THINKING CHILDREN YOU COULD BE HAVING AS A RESULT OF THIS MATCH. MOONFACE “CITY WRECKER” Look, I know I don’t call anymore. And even if I did, it’d probably be really weird for both of us. I don’t know if you’re seeing anyone, but …I am. And I’m happy.

But also not. Because you know how I get.

I burn everything in my life to cinders cuz I can’t sit still and enjoy myself like everyone else does. I’ve changed band names, and friends, and countries so many times you probably don’t even know what or where to call me anymore.

But, I hope you know you were just the wrecking ball before the building fell. Ya see, I’m a city wrecker. And though I may be in another country, I’ll still level it. Just like Spencer Krug — whether he’s Sunset Rubdown, Wolf Parade, or Moonface, he still writes beautifully melodic ballads from the heart.

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DESPITE A 25-YEAR career in indie/ punk rock, Mary Timony — rock goddess, witchy shredder, cryptic riddler — has rarely sounded like she’s having as much fun as she does fronting Ex Hex. A quick curriculum vitae for the uninitiated: Timony got her start in the DC hardcore scene playing in Dischord’s gnarled mathy Autoclave, reached indie near-stardom with Helium, spent the ’00s progging out with her wizards-and-warriors solo records, and came roaring back with Wild Flag’s blistering art-punk in 2011.

Despite Wild Flag’s breakup last year, Timony hit the ground galloping. Utterly rejuvenated, she forming Ex Hex with Fire Tapes bassist Betsy Wright and The Aquarium drummer Laura Harris and the trio wrote songs, toured, recorded and released both a single and now their debut album in a little over a year. Rips picks up this speedy no-time-to-waste attitude, offering a lean blast of pure guitar pop: short songs on a short album that hits with hard hooks and calls it a night in 35 minutes, not a second wasted, not a note out of place.

Rips calls to mind nothing so much as roller rinks, muscle cars, neon lighting, sequined denim jackets, Cheap Trick’s

Kisser

Master Controller self release

Recorded in Chicago by Cooper Crain, the guy from Bitchin Bajas and CAVE, Master Controller gives off a sharp scent of of claustrophobia, of dread, of a lightless world full of blind fish.

Maybe if the dudes in Kisser weren’t in a band, they’d be armed with metal detectors, searching for old coins down by an underground river. It’s certainly easy to see these guys as explorers, each grasping beyond the conventional borders of power-trio rock to undiscovered regions of the mind.

power pop, T. Rex’s glitter-splattered grooves, Joan Jett’s attitude, Johnny Thunders’ wild shredding, bits of Blondie, pieces of The Pretenders, and that ill-defined period from the late ‘70s to the pre-synthesizer ‘80s when rock‘n’roll meant everything in the world. The fuzz tones are glorious, strangely familiar but familiarly strange; power-pop is a genre that’s almost always a simultaneous revival and reinvention of something just past, a sound or attitude clear only in hindsight, only defined when its absence is suddenly noticed.

Timony is something of a virtuoso, but she restrains herself in Ex Hex, playing relatively simple songs relatively straight until the moment calls for a monster solo. “Hot and Cold,” for instance, the mid-tempo advance single, doesn’t really come alive until Timony’s screaming lead guitar suddenly rips a hole right through the middle. “Beast” nicks the riff from the Damned’s “New Rose,” but leeches out the aggression and injects some joy, transforming into a glammed-up groove complete with big pop chorus and screaming guitars. “Radio On,” sung by Wright, offers Dream Police–levels of yearning and release as heard through car speakers playing a cassingle in a dashboard tape deck. “Waterfall” rides an old-school Chuck Berry shuffle riff, covers it in ‘60s girl group melodies, and throws in some fuzzed-out dive-bombing ’70s guitar heroics. Every individual element is familiar but the combination itself is unfamiliar and the result so hooky it gums up your brain, playing on repeat after the record ends whether you want it to or not.

It’s a surprising simple formula, and easy to underrate on first listen, but the fact is, there are few bands these days making guitar music this direct and unpretentiously fun. Somebody, Timony, maybe her listeners, suddenly noticed that something — some lost attitude, some forgotten style — was missing, gone from the world, and decided to fill the gap. Rips is the sound of a punk lifer getting back to the music of her childhood. Long may she rip. RYAN BOYLE

The tape starts off with the rollicking and uncharacteristically tuneful “Forest,” a song that culminates in a swung section that is metal in the way Sabbath was metal: totally cool and really big. The band can turn on a dime, and shows this ability off almost constantly, switching into rock mode for “Weight” before going into enormous mode for the towering and multipartite “Curses.”

The many changes of direction occasionally get distracting, with riffs zooming by at top speed never to be heard again, but the band always saves the song, uniting the various threads and clearing the listener’s head with their strongest asset: the locked groove.

Nowhere is the mind-curdling power

Album Reviews of repetition better displayed than in the album’s centerpiece, “Throat,” a 10-minute mini-masterwork. It’s subtle and quietly amazing, a journey that starts as calm night music, turns operatic in mood, devolves into an arrhythmic drum and bass duel, and peaks in a roaring inferno of fuzz. It evokes complicated emotions — or at least it did for this wimp.

While I listened, the mystery grew. Who is the Master Controller? Is that his highgloss mask on the cover? The song “Master Controller” itself certainly doesn’t offer any clues, but by the end of the tape, the subterranean world is a little better understood.

SAM CLAPP

Various Artists Magnificent Missouri Music Volume 1 Magnificent Missouri

In the cold winter months, sometimes we can forget how pretty this state really is. Magnificent Missouri Music Volume 1 is compiled, created and produced by Gramophone guru Roo Yawitz in conjunction with the nonprofit Magnificent Missouri, an organization dedicated to raising money for nature conservation in Missouri. So: not only do you get a great taste of earthy blues and country with MO-centric lyrics, but the proceeds go to help keep this great state beautiful and natural.

The album kicks off with St. Louis’ Al Holliday & The Eastside Rhythm Band doing Taj Mahal’s “She Caught the Katy” (maybe best known in the Blues Brothers’ version), one of the two cover songs on the album that reflect the spirit of the Show-Me State.

Then, like the rivers Missouri is known for, the album meanders through six more original tracks from the likes of Augusta, MO’s Gloria Attoun and another from her band, Augusta Bottoms Band. Washington, MO’s Alsop Grossi Halley make an appearance with their song “Back to the County,” and Iowa native William Elliott Whitmore lays down his ode to Midwest country living and its rivers with “Don’t Need It.”

One more cover punctuates the collection, a haunting version of “Ol’ Man River” by opera singer Matthew Archel.

Archel may be a New York City native, but he is well known to patrons of Opera Theater St. Louis and has performed with OTSL as recently as last season’s The Magic Flute. Sophie Carter, a Southern Californiabased singer/songwriter originally from St. Louis, adds the beautiful “Love Is a River,” which leads into the one jarring note in the

collection: “My State, MO State,” by Austin Vincent and Chris Crocker. The track is a funky hip-hop ode to Missouri that differs drastically in sound from the rest of the bluegrass, blues and country found here.

The subject matter fits even if the sound does not. But no worries! The collection as a whole succeeds in conjuring up those lazy summer days floating dreamily down the Current or the Meramec. HUGH SCOTT

Town Cars

Hearts and Stars Extension Chords

As lush as it sounds texturally ,Town Cars’ debut album, Hearts and Stars, is at its core a one-woman band, with Melinda Cooper (bassist for The Union Electric and all-around STL utility player) handling guitars, drums, bass and lead vocals on all songs. With a pop instinct as strong as hers, it’s no surprise that Cooper has a deep well of hyper-talented friends to call upon.

Grace Basement’s pop mastermind Kevin Buckley produced the album and appears on several instruments, including violin and even co-lead vocals on a charming cover of Kostars’ “Don’t Know Why.” Also prominently contributing to Hearts and Stars’ pop craftsmanship is Middle Class

The Rebellious Jukebox

Fashion’s Jenn Malzone: the album even features the energetic Malzone-penned track “Summer” and an alternate read of MCF’’s already great tune “Everything” that I hesitate to call a cover, since Malzone contributes vocals to the track. Cooper and Malzone are amazingly simpatico together, with extremely complementary timbres and easily intertwining vocal harmonies.

The album starts out strong with the catchy, hook-driven number “End All Be All,” and maintains its listenability throughout, at times making it feel like the late ‘90s all over again, in the best possible way. From the smooth-rolling “You Snooze You Lose” to the elegant Elliott Smith waltz of “Magnets and Metal” to the natural first single “No Shows,” each song introduces a new capacity — another instrument, another kind of harmony, a lyrical innovation — that enriches the whole.

Cooper slows her roll in the latter half of the album on the song “Hard Case,” a haunting, down-beat acoustic guitar-driven number on which Buckley contributes violin and piano. Whether you want to drive around with the windows down and the music cranked on a sunny day, waxing nostalgic about the music of your youth, or sonically enhance a cozy, contemplative evening in with your fuzziest blanket, Hearts and Stars has got you covered. SUZIE GILB & ECS

Life at 45 RPM by Matt Harnish

AND SOMETIMES IT’S GOOD to own the 45 because, frankly, sometimes you’d maybe not be able to make it through the full length release. Maybe that little 45-sized chunk of weirdness is all you need.

CAL & THE CALORIES is the solo project of Martin from Lumpy & The Dumpers & they/he just released the vinyl version of what I guess was originally a demo cassette. The Lumpiness shines through in the scrawled lyrics, the disturbingly innocent/creepy child-like drawings, & the nonsensical/creepy subject matter. Musically, though, it’s less howling punk & more rough-edged basement-y power-pop. The vocals are what will make or break the experience, though, sounding like a long lost Warner Brothers cartoon character, nasally slurring words like “jackhamma” into something like “jee-yack-HE-amma.” And then getting that stuck in your head for the rest of the day.

Bruce Cole & Jon Ashline, a.k.a. THE SCREAMIN’ MEE-MEES, started bashing out stupidly catchy & catchily stupid songs in the basement way back in the early ’70s, so when they first heard about punk rock, they figured “Pffft. We’ve been doing that for years.” The punks never really took to ‘em, but enough fans of weirdo outsider rock exist in the world that the Mee-Mees kept putting out records until the untimely passing of drummer Ashline a few years ago. 1993’s “Pull My Finger/Family Tree” 45 finds the Mee-Mees at the top of their game, running one riff per side deep into the ground, piling tons of neo-psychedelic wah-wah guitar & stream of consciousness nonsense shouting over the top. I chose this particular record to pair with Cal & The Calories because the backing vocals on this one are sped-up chipmunk high & “Pull My Finger” ends with a bunch of fart noises.

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Album Reviews

Traveling Sound Machine Traveling Sound Machine Self Release

After their fantastic release show featuring stellar performances from Carriage House, 3 Of 5, and Whoa Thunder, I raced home with Traveling Sound Machine’s new cassette in hand. I don’t think I’ve been this excited about a cassette in fifteen or twenty years.

Like a waltz calling out from another time and place, opening track “1911 (Circus Music)” starts, dancing with your heart before taking its bow and disappearing.

With the arrival of second track “Birds in the Trees,” you get a sense of singer/songwriter Steve Lickenbrock’s pop sensibilities.

The music comes across in a very visual way, with the lo-fi hiss of the cassette adding to the mystique as Lickenbrock flickers between baring his soul and hiding his thoughts in the wooded mazes of his mind.

He doesn’t want to make it too easy for you.

High points of the EP, including “Your Menagerie” and “Bed of Sticks,” show a definite knack for good songwriting as well as a desire and curiosity to explore the unknown and the known yet unseen by their eyes.

This is where working within the realms of chamber pop adds a distinct advantage.

Although the band is practically still in its infancy, having played their first show this August, this initial release is a strong one. With a tight and precise rhythm section in Dave Anson on bass and Steve Larson on drums, and the lead guitar work of Josh Grogan, one hopes that Traveling Sound Machine will be around for the long haul, because they’ve definitely got the goods.

They just need to be sure going forward to stay as sharp as they are on this release.

REV. DANIEL W. WRIGHT

S

Cool Choices Hardly Art

Winning the award for one of the least Googleable bands of all time, S is the solo project of Jenn Ghetto from ’90s/’00s Seattle folk-rock band Carissa’s Wierd, a quiet little band with a built-in typo that nevertheless produced solo artist Sera Cahoone and future members of Band Of Horses. The seasoned lo-fi indie rocker brings a bit of rock to her mellow side on her fourth S record. Cool Choices is like a musical breakup letter: all of the insecurities that come from within chewed up and spit out in a hunk of lost feelings. Jenn Ghetto gets what you’re going through.

Cool Choices starts with Ghetto sitting

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solo at the piano on “Losers,” a tender lament reminiscent of many a lunch break spent eating alone by yourself because “that’s just the way life is.” Working with friends (including a heavy metal drummer), S kicked up Ghetto’s previous styles to 11 — even the depression. Songs like “Tell Me” and “Vampires” bring to mind current successful indie girl groups like Tegan & Sara, while songs like “White House” and “Like Gangbusters!” are more reminiscent of their many disciples. Other songs harken back to the golden age of emo, having some sonic connections to Sunny Day Real Estate.

The math-rock guitar noodling and strange time signatures on “Muffin” make everything feel as off kilter as the uncomfortable subject matter.

As the record spins, vulnerability drips from the speakers. Ghetto understands the insecurity of an artist; the tendency for creative minds to lean towards the negative, to take things inside down deeper than the norm. On “Brunch,” when Ghetto sings “I know about the girl you fucked / and yeah I think I might throw up,” it all feels so painfully human. The delicate softness that acoompanies all those glittering edges sharpens those moments of surprising pain.

Jenn Ghetto has been through what you’ve been through; she just knows the right way to put something so difficult into the right words. JACK PROBST

Foxygen

...And Star Power Jagjaguwar

Foxygen’s set at The Firebird last year was mostly chaos and feedback punctuated by six or seven perfectly articulated pop gems. Sam France, frontman for the CA-based psych-rock outfit, recently explained to V Magazine, “Our live shows can become improvised and sadistic, fucked-up and weird. On our last record, people walked into shows wanting to hear songs like ‘San Francisco’ and then we would play some crazy noise jam for 20 minutes and I’d be screaming about random shit and people were completely freaked.”

The band’s early work hinted at this penchant for bedlam, but the meticulously poppy psychedelia of their 2013 Jagjaguwar debut, We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic, belied such a full-bore, batshit live act. ...And Star Power is a more representative record in this way, blending noisy, conceptual recordings with pop-centric songwriting over 80-plus minutes and 24 tracks. It’s an expansive, consistently inconsistent follow-up to the comparatively disciplined Ambassadors.

Some offerings, like dueling singles “How Can You Really” and “Coulda Been My Love,” are well structured, focused arrange-

ments — hits, really. Campy, deadpan videos feature dramatic performances of the group’s androgynous power pop balladry from France and Jonathan Rado, the other half of Foxygen’s songwriting duo.

Other times, the group likes to fuck shit up. “Cold Water/Freedom” sits near that end of the spectrum. Inside the first three minutes, a two-note drone and slow marching rhythm are the only elements that will sound expressly musical to pop-sensible ears.

At least some kid first instructs you to “hold onto your butts and get ready.” Fair warning.

France’s vocal range and lyricism remain particularly expressive — not just in terms of notes reachable, but in his propensity to alter tone and timbre. He channels Lou Reed (and probably Nico, too) on Star Power much as he did Mick Jagger on Ambassadors.

The tropes of demo recording litter the record: non-sequitur conversations in the mix, various indiscernible instrumentals, meandering half-songs. Other artists would label some of this material B-sides, but as a larger composition, for this band, they work well. Just like the live experience of Foxygen, ... And Star Power is a study in contrast, equal parts harmony and dissonance, experimentation and final product.

JAMES KANE

Eaters Eaters

Dull Tools / Driftless

Eaters is the Brooklyn-based collaboration of Jonathan Schenke — producer on records for bands like Liturgy, Dirty Beaches and Parquet Courts — and Bob Jones, who also plays in Frankie Rose’s live band. Their self-titled debut opens with dark synthetic strings heavily reminiscent of Brian Eno’s ambient side. The serenity only lasts for a moment, though, as the track explodes into furious distortion while a frantic drum machine beats in heavy phase with dark post-punk bass. Vocals are monotone and gothic, reminiscent of Peter Murphy or Ian Curtis.

The sounds are familiar, a throwback to the tones of the ’70s and ’80s when drum machines and synthesizers were actually instruments used for experimentation, and not simply extensions of computer programs. “Far,” with its heavily Vocoded vox, feels like something straight out of a Kraftwerk album, while “The Way”’s big guitars sound like Berlin-period Bowie.

Though it does pull from a lot of pop music, this is certainly not a pop album, and many of the tracks border on the ambient.

Even when vocals are present it’s clear from the constantly interweaving influences and sonic tangents that texture is the thing for Eaters. But for all of their nostalgic sounds,

Album Reviews Eaters manage to stay modern and innovative, blending elements of electronica, funk, Krautrock and post-punk in new and endearing ways. GEOFF NAUNHEIM

NehruvianDOOM NehruvianDOOM Lex

Bishop Nehru, teenage underground New York hip hop prodigy, has been taken under the wing of the villain himself, MF Doom. As apparent on the track “Great Things,” Nehru’s very grateful for all the love he’s received so far. If his gratitude occasionally gets a little heavy handed, it’s obvious that all of the sentiments are genuine.

NehruvianDOOM is his first proper record, and by teaming up with the legendary Doom and consciously harkening back to the jazz-inflected samples of the ‘80s and ‘90s, they reach past the sounds of the new for an album that sounds instantly classic.

Nehru takes the wheel while Doom rides shotgun. “So Alone” shows Nehru’s vulnerable and retrospective side; he’s hungry and ready to show what he’s got, but he isn’t letting it all go to his head. On punchy love song “Mean the Most,” he emphasizes his sensitive and caring side, as opposed to straight up objectifying women.

When Doom does step to the mic, he’s a force to be reckoned with. He comes in full stereo on “Om,” doubling up his voice on hooks, sounding as powerful as ever: “in the head / right between the eyes balls / Anyone could get it, so don’t be too surprised y’all.”

Doom’s signature production techniques are what perfect the record. NehruvianDOOM contains jazz and soul beats, samples about meditation and spirituality, and a scene from Aliens where the android Bishop freaks out Bill Paxton, layered over a magical funky ‘70s riff. When Doom taps fellow Madvillian Madlib to lend some beats on “Disastrous,” it’s perfectly clear that young Nehru has hit the cred jackpot.

JACK PROBST

Various Artists All Your Friend’s Friends K Records

K Records founder Calvin Johnson greets listeners with a hearty “Hellooooo, friends,” before you’re knocked back by a familiar beat. It’s hard to place for a second, and it sounds a bit off, like you’re hearing it in a dream, but you know it by heart. That’s what K Records fans will be feeling for all 19 tracks off All Your Friend’s Friends, a new hip hop compilation with beats pulled from

20 years’ worth of records in the K catalog.

It’s like a mash up of the ghosts of K Records past and Olympia hip hop future.

The key to the entire project is producer Smoke M2D6, who broke down the original tracks and built them back up again as something else entirely. Opening track “Cynic Syndrome” features some chopped and screwed bits pulled directly from “The Big U”

by The Blow, whose music is already conducive to such a project. Equally ideal for this project is “My Shady Gangster Uncle Kaiser,” slowing down the hook from Mahjongg’s song “Grooverider Free.” None of the rappers are big names, but they’re all culled from the Northwest underground. Heddie Leone’s “Good Girl Gone Bad” firecracker, tongue-incheek rhymes are some of the few talents that really make an impression.

An upcoming documentary will detail the making of the comp, and how it all came together, but for now we have the finished project to enjoy and decipher. The only problem the record suffers is its length: with 19 tracks that clock in at over an hour, it may overwhelm anyone who isn’t already a curious K follower. It’s pure joy when you recognize a beat from a classic K album, and you’ll spend the rest of the time wracking your brain trying to place the ones you don’t know. It’ll make you want to dust off all your old K Records and fill the holes in your collection just so you can enjoy every single sample. JACK PROBST

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Adornment

THE WAY BACK PAGE

If a picture is worth a thousand words, what’s the worth of an image permanently drawn on your body with needles? A story at least. There are some tattoos worth elaborating on around STL’s music community, and we’re looking out for ’em.

Show Us Your Tats Curated by Suzie Gilb Photos by Theo Welling

THIS MONTH I THOUGHT: what better way to celebrate the holiday season than talking to a father and daughter about tattoos?

Bob “Danger” Putnam has done damn near everything. You’d probably know him currently as the co-owner of south city venue and music scene staple Way Out Club.

In the past, he’s owned a bookstore in The Loop, an art gallery, started 15 Minutes magazine, Vagabond newspaper and the Monday poetry readings at Venice Café (which evolved into what is now STL’s oldest open mic night), and had a nearly 30-year career at Chrysler.

We talked about his first tattoo, a Pablo Picasso reproduction on his right forearm.

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“Two of my customers opened up a tattoo parlor, Golden Age Tattoo,” says Putnam.

“Gary and Mitch—they were brothers. One day, it was real slow, so I closed the [book] store and went and gave ‘em this design.”

Gary did the tattoo, and “he was extremely fast…but he could keep the needle at the same level. That’s the biggest thing. He went between the first and second layers, that way the color’ll always stay there.” The tattoo is about 30 years old and has never been touched up. It still looks surprisingly sharp.

Dana Geister, Bob’s daughter, has also worked on and off in various capacities at the Way Out Club since its opening in 1994.

While it was hard to narrow down to just one tattoo of hers to discuss, she chose one on her left leg. “It’s an old advertising icon from the 1950s out of Chicago called Penny Therm Incorporated,” she says. “I have a lot of books of advertising icons from the ‘30s through the ‘60s, and I go through these books occasionally. They’re in black and white. So I print them out, and have friends over for coloring contests. This was the first one I did that with.”

Matt Hodel (now at Ragtime Tattoo on Morgan Ford) did Dana’s tattoo at Iron Age. “I traded him the tattoo for a Nintendo 64 game,” she laughs. “Matt’s great. He also did my chest piece.”

NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH FLOWERS TO THE PEOPLE

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All retail gifts made by local STL artists. Delivery available in the metro area.

A relaxing boutique salon in the historic DeMun area, Strands draws inspiration from the world of fashion and art to stay on top of current trends.

They create designs to showcase your individual beauty!

Cherokee Street 2317 Cherokee St. (63118) 762-0422 | flowerstothepeople.biz

Demun 730 Demun Ave. (63105) 725-1717 | strands-HAIR.COM

SASHA’S ON SHAW

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Melt is a funky & eclectic waffle bar offering waffles, cocktails, beer & coffee.

Patrons can enjoy live music, pinball, skeeball & more.

Gluten free, vegan & vegetarian options available

Shaw 4069 Shaw Blvd 771-7274 | sashaswinebar.com

Cherokee 2712 Cherokee St (63118) 771-6358

CITY DINER AT THE FOX LATE NIGHT CLUB

THE MUD HOUSE

Complete with food and drink, the Club hosts a variety of unique DJ’s spinning reggae, ska, soul, 60’s garage, surf and rockabilly every Saturday night from 10:30 pm until 3:00 am!

Midtown 541 North Grand Blvd (63103) 533-7500

There is not a better patio in St. Louis to enjoy our tasty sandwiches and salads or a better place to get out and work outside of the office.

Cherokee Street 2101 Cherokee St (63118) 776-6599 | themudhousestl.com

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Cherokee Street 3359 S. Jefferson (63118) 772-2100 | foamstl.com.com

Cherokee Street 3159 Cherokee St (63118) 494-7763 | stl-style.com

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