Email Author Christian Schaeffer

2010 Stories by Christian Schaeffer

• Homespun: Thom Donovan

  published April 28, 2010

  As the leader of LaPush, Thom Donovan made smart, catchy modern rock that refracted his love of Britpop through the lens of... More >>

• Soul Brothers and Sisters! A Tribute to James Brown

  published April 28, 2010

  The list of American musical geniuses and game-changers is short but sweet. While Louis Armstrong, Bob Dylan and Stevie Wonder all advanced the... More >>

• Local indie darlings Jumbling Towers celebrate the release of the long-awaited Kanetown City Rips

  published April 28, 2010

  After a long absence, Jumbling Towers is again gracing St. Louis stages with its hypnotic, carnivalesque indie rock. Singer, pianist and... More >>

• Homespun: Resoldered

  published April 21, 2010

  The crunchy, snotty, breakneck pop-punk made famous by bands such as the Descendents and the Dead Milkmen is reborn in the metro East quartet... More >>

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  Cassie Morgan and Beth Bombara craft sweet, melancholy folk music

  published April 21, 2010

  Something about the term "singer-songwriter" is synonymous with solitude. Whether it's Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell or Johnny Cash, the solo artist... More >>

• We Are Totally Serious

  published April 21, 2010

  If Tiger Woods' recent scandal has taught us anything, it's that fans expect civility and decorum on and off the playing field. So perhaps it's... More >>

• The Album Leaf

  published April 21, 2010

  When Album Leaf leader Jimmy LaValle began recording his beautifully minimal album In a Safe Place in 2004, he received the... More >>

• After the Flood

  published April 14, 2010

  Nearly five years after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, we’re still sifting through the literal and metaphorical debris. The storm and... More >>

• Homespun: Jailbox

  published April 14, 2010

  Jailbox may rep for Perryville, Missouri, but the quartet stakes a sonic claim to the melodic and sensitive British rock made popular by... More >>

• Vieux Farka Touré

  published April 14, 2010

  In a sad bit of synchronicity, singer and guitarist Vieux Farka Touré released his 2006 debut album just months after the passing... More >>

• The Door Is Closed

  published April 7, 2010

  Nora Helmer, the tortured protagonist of Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House, wears two faces. To her doting and condescending husband... More >>

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  Sleepy Kitty brightens up Cherokee Street

  published April 7, 2010

  On the evening of November 4, 2008, the world's eyes were on Chicago. The city's political star, Barack Obama, had just been elected president... More >>

• Homespun: Rockwell Knuckles

  published April 7, 2010

  Choose Your Own Adventure, the latest release from local hip-hop artist Rockwell Knuckles, isn't just a nod to those well-thumbed... More >>

• Homespun: Tilts

  published March 31, 2010

  Call it a hunch, but the four fellows in Tilts seem to be products of the '80s. The name of the quartet's debut, Cassingle, refers to an... More >>

• Bassnectar

  published March 31, 2010

  When you name your musical outfit Bassnectar, you'd better have the feel-good vibes (and the low-end) to back up such a ridiculous... More >>

• Cleaving Twain

  published March 24, 2010

  The public conception of Mark Twain is most certainly that of the bushy-mustached raconteur who could spin off both sharp witticisms and trenchant... More >>

• The Helium Tapes

  published March 24, 2010

  The Helium Tapes isn't wasting any time. The band released its self-titled debut last fall and now, a mere fourteen months later, the excellent... More >>

• Homespun: Magnolia Summer

  published March 24, 2010

  No one can accuse Magnolia Summer leader Chris Grabau of getting lazy. Sixteen months after the release of the band's most recent (and... More >>

• tUnE-yArDs/Xiu Xiu

  published March 24, 2010

  It's not hard to spot the art-school damage when listening to tUnE-yArDs, the one-woman band helmed by Merrill Garbus. A lo-fi,... More >>

• Homespun: Last to Show First to Go

  published March 17, 2010

  On its first outing, Last to Show First to Go unloads a baker's dozen of kinder, gentler heartland rock & roll songs. Singer and guitarist... More >>

• John Mayer

  published March 17, 2010

  In the past few weeks, hating John Mayer has grown from a hipster pastime into a full-contact sport. Following a particularly damning... More >>

• Sound Tribe Sector 9

  published March 17, 2010

  While the jam-band scene continues to flourish at home and abroad, the days of endless, guitar-based "explorations" may be coming to a close.... More >>

• Wiz Khalifa

  published March 10, 2010

  Home of the championship-winning Steelers and Penguins, Pittsburgh is a sports town first and foremost. But with the recent rise of Wiz Khalifa,... More >>

• Califone

  published March 10, 2010

  For much of his career, Tim Rutili has served as a bandleader, first in Red Red Meat and more recently in the experimental folk band Califone.... More >>

• Homespun: Dear Vincent

  published March 10, 2010

  The local quartet Dear Vincent writes tightly constructed folk-rock songs that spin out with the precision and delicacy of a music box's... More >>