St. Louis and Columbia were shows three and four with Ron Wax. Teaadora drove down from Bloomington, IL to play the show. We all met up before the show to do an in-studio at KWUR. Friendly kids, lots of graffiti. Each of the bands played a set; it went great. I think you’ll be able to download the whole thing under Stacks Sessions on their website sometime in the next couple of weeks.
My friend Zak from the great band Water Bears set up this show for us at this new space, Pig Slop. A bunch of artists are moving into this neighborhood on Cherokee Street. Pig Slop is the second floor of a big warehouse. Somebody processes alpaca wool downstairs. There are three new venues on the block.
The show was a fun time. Chris was excited to discover a new cheap-ass beer he’d never heard of, Stag.
First Teaadora’s friend Derrick Hart played a few songs. Derrick’s got a beautiful voice, and his songs are hilarious. Chorus I remember: “Television evangelists of the world unite / we are going to paint the town with heathen blood tonight.”
Teaadora played next, semi-improvised looped electronics/keyboard/electric guitar and vocals, ending in a passionate scream.
Chris and I played next (Gary will be back with us to play drums in Kansas City). One of the artists who lives at Pig Slop, Jonathan, drew a picture of us playing. I have a blurry photo of the drawing.
Then it was Ron Wax. Ron Wax gave it their all and broke some of their shit. Dave went right through a drum head. Chris was playing too, and Derrick and Teaadora. I played along on Teaadora’s keyboard, train whistle and shakers. Little metal beads kept flying out of every shaker I tried.
Bryan played a dynamic set as Eloine, with Teaadora jumping on at the end.
This guy Chad was filming the whole show on several tiny cameras he kept repositioning around the stage. He showed us the film afterward: fuzzy, black and white and straight to VHS tape. The footage of Bryan playing looked amazing, the images from all the cameras spookily superimposed.
The next day Bryan, Chris, Dave, Ron and I set off to do a little exploring in St. Louis. We ate at a historic diner in a dilapidated neighborhood. The diner has been there since 1913.
Then it was off to the stately downtown to check out the Arch.
Ron did a “sailor dive” into the Mississippi a few feet from the shore. He said he’d been waiting all summer for a “river christening.” I took a hilarious video. I promise I’ll post some videos soon.
Ron after sailor dive
Ember vs. mighty Mississippi
Bryan with Lewis & Clark
Bryan, Chris, Dave and I climbed out onto a big log and Ron drew our picture.
Ron doesn’t seem to sleep or eat, just wanders around smoking, drinking coffee and getting each city down into his tiny notebook of drawings. He uses some of the drawings for prints later, and some of them to remember shit or prove he was around. He always wakes up hours before the rest of us and disappears.
We (finally) found a music store to replace the broken drum head, then we took off for the Columbia show at The Hairhole.
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