Email Author Christian Schaeffer

2010 Stories by Christian Schaeffer

• Homespun: The Rockhouse Ramblers

  published August 11, 2010

  In the late '90s and early '00s, the Rockhouse Ramblers was St. Louis' best bet for authentic honky-tonk music and classic, colorful country... More >>

• Homespun: Various Artists

  published August 4, 2010

  Matt Harnish (Bunnygrunt) and Jason Rerun (the Medical Tourists) have started their own cottage industry with BDR Records. The label's aim is... More >>

• Homespun: Popular Mechanics

  published July 28, 2010

  In Danish, the phrase "husker du" translates as "do you remember?" In the annals of American indie rock, the name Hüsker Dü recalls... More >>

• Artistic Convictions

  published July 28, 2010

  Given our nation's fixation on crime and punishment, it's easy to forget that our many correctional facilities (ostensibly) exist to help reform... More >>

• Lyle Lovett and His Large Band

  published July 28, 2010

  There was a time when Lyle Lovett and His Large Band was an unsolvable riddle in the country-music world, seeing as though it featured a... More >>

• Show Review + Setlist: Michael McDonald Brings It All Back Home at the Touhill, Friday, July 23

  published Jul 24, 2010

  Hometown legend Michael McDonald returned to St. Louis for a sold-out concert at the Touhill Performing Arts Center on the campus of the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The show was a well-paced mix... More >>

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  Michael McDonald returns to his roots, in more ways than one

  published July 21, 2010

  St. Louis' homegrown musical legends are known as trailblazers. Chuck Berry wrote the blueprint for rock & roll. Miles Davis took jazz music... More >>

• Homespun: Kentucky Knife Fight and Fattback

  published July 21, 2010

  On We're All Nameless Here, the second LP from Kentucky Knife Fight, singer Jason Holler uses his high, twangy voice to move his band... More >>

• Homespun: The Pernikoff Brothers

  published July 14, 2010

  Brothers Tom and Rick Pernikoff hail from St. Louis but criss-crossed the country before moving back home. After spending time in Boston for... More >>

• Chicago/Doobie Brothers

  published July 14, 2010

  The Rolling Stones once claimed that it's "the singer, not the song" that matters, although plenty of dinosaur rock & roll acts wish to... More >>

• Spell A Spell

  published July 7, 2010

  In these days of automated spell-checks, foul text-message abbreviations and a populace that seems not to know the difference between "definitely"... More >>

• Homespun: Academy Hill

  published July 7, 2010

  The Missouri underground hip-hop scene gets its own supergroup in Academy Hill, which is comprised of locals Nite Owl and DJ Sno alongside the... More >>

• Islands

  published July 7, 2010

  Fans of the demented Casiotone fantasies on the Unicorns' Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone? couldn't have guessed that the band... More >>

• Homespun: Airplanes

  published June 30, 2010

  Though relatively unknown within its hometown, local quartet Airplanes recently won a slot at the St. Louis stop of this July's Lilith Fair on... More >>

• Drink Up Buttercup/Maps & Atlases

  published June 30, 2010

  Much like fellow Philly kids Dr. Dog, Drink Up Buttercup specializes in fuzzy, sun-dazed pop goodness. The group's psychedelia runs in... More >>

• Interview Outtakes: Carl Newman of the New Pornographers, in town tonight at the Pageant

  published Jun 28, 2010

  In this week's paper, we ran an interview with the New Pornographers' redheaded frontman, Carl Newman. Now, in anticipation for tonight's concert at the Pageant with the Dodos, we offer outtakes from ... More >>

• He’s a Loner, Dottie

  published June 23, 2010

  No amount of cultural archeology can fully explain the phenomenon of Pee-wee Herman, but suffice to say that there have been few entertainers like... More >>

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  COVER STORY

  The 2010 RFT Music Award winners

  published June 23, 2010

  Voting for this year's music awards was as close as it's ever been. Several categories were decided by very, very few votes, even though... More >>

• Homespun: Natural Selection

  published June 23, 2010

  Singer and keyboardist Samuel Glover started Natural Selection as an R&B cover band, and you can feel the funk on the seven-song White... More >>

• Carl Newman on the rhythms of the New Pornographers

  published June 23, 2010

  It's 2010, and technology has failed us. Carl Newman, chief songwriter, singer, guitarist and de facto leader of the New Pornographers is... More >>

• Homespun: Joe Stickley & Sean Canan

  published June 16, 2010

  Spend enough time in Irish bars in the United States (or, if you're lucky, Ireland) and you'll find that there are two types of Irish... More >>

• Quintron and Miss Pussycat

  published June 16, 2010

  New Orleans has long been known as a breeding ground for musical eccentrics; natives include Professor Longhair and Dr. John. However, St.... More >>

• Show Review: Detroit Cobras, Those Darlins, JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound Bring the Sound of Young America to Twangfest, Friday, June 11

  published Jun 12, 2010

  The local American music festival Twangfest is now in its fourteenth year. Long past its adolescence and its awkward phase, the booking for the four-night showcase shows that its teenage years are bot... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Review + Setlist: The Black Keys Gets Its Groove Back at the Sold-Out Pageant, Thursday, June 10

  published Jun 11, 2010

  To surrender to the sway of the Black Keys is to worship at the altar of the Riff. The Riff is holy; the Riff is sacred; the Riff may seem simple but is, in fact, really, really fucking awesome. If yo... More >>

• Homespun: Dropkick the Robot

  published June 9, 2010

  For its second album, local quintet Dropkick the Robot has tightened its moody, layered Britpop sound. Although the band's debut, Two... More >>