Email Author Roy Kasten

2002 Stories by Roy Kasten

• Jay Farrar with the Rockhouse Trio

  published November 27, 2002

  Upon what exactly does Jay Farrar's reputation as the best rock-based songwriter of his generation rest? Consider "Station to Station,"... More >>

• Urban Banjo

  published October 30, 2002

  From a stool at the end of Tangerine's bar, a banjo player picks a tune. What is he doing here? His right hand flashes with the speed of a Vegas... More >>

• Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys

  published October 2, 2002

  If Ralph Stanley has done as much as any man alive to shape the course of American music, it's not because he has experimented, taken risks... More >>

• Rex Hobart and the Misery Boys

  published September 25, 2002

  Kansas City's Rex Hobart and the Misery Boys belong to that most unfortunate of genres: neotraditional alternative country. Though they... More >>

• Spouse Work

  published September 18, 2002

  Whatever happened to the Gordons? In 1975 they were on the road, working the interstates, every other town along I-55 and I-57, across Missouri,... More >>

• Blond Ambition

  published August 21, 2002

  When Dolly Parton arrived in Nashville, a few days after her high-school graduation, she found a world light years from the Smoky Mountains of... More >>

• Twang Bangin'

  published June 5, 2002

  Random images from previous Twangfests: A conga line forms as Bill Kirchen marches through the audience blaring a trombone. Charlie Chesterman... More >>

• Pieta Brown and Bo Ramsey with the Mary Janes

  published May 29, 2002

  Family has always been the central animus of folk music. Kinship carries the melodies, preserves the history, passes on instrumental skill and... More >>

• Matthew Ryan and Will Kimbrough

  published May 22, 2002

  The angry young man sounds cold, honest, near the end. His voice shivers. He gets closer and closer to the mic, as if it might warm him through... More >>

• 2002 Riverfront Times Music Award Winners

  published May 15, 2002

  St. Lunatics Best Rap, Recording of the Year It's been a very good year for the St. Lunatics, individually and collectively. In the... More >>

• The Sovines

  published May 8, 2002

  Picture the following garage: Along one wall, a vintage beer-can collection covers up a vintage Joan Jett poster, a chrome grill leans against a... More >>

• Lonesome Bob

  published May 1, 2002

  The Nashville Scene recently named Lonesome Bob (a.k.a. Robert Chaney) the town's "Best Damn Singer/Songwriter," which should be... More >>

• Klezmer Nut

  published April 24, 2002

  The first sound you hear on Klezmer Nuthouse is the udu drum, an instrument most often heard pulsing beneath Indian classical music.... More >>

• Kelly Joe Phelps with Jeff Lang

  published April 17, 2002

  When a blues- or folk-based singer/songwriter picks up a band and starts to explore different tones and textures, let alone electricity, critics... More >>

• River Dance

  published April 10, 2002

  The Mississippi River Celtic Music Festival has its roots in the timeless jam sessions known as tionol (pronounced "chun-ALL"), where... More >>

• STL by Southwest

  published March 27, 2002

  Inside the Austin Convention Center on Cesar Chavez Street in Texas, the South by Southwest trade show sprawls like so much weedage under ghastly... More >>

• Bottle Rockets with Jenny Kavanaugh (Thursday) and Bob Reuter (Friday)

  published March 6, 2002

  With all due respect to Nelly, the Bottle Rockets are the St. Louis area's best musical ambassadors and finest portraitists. The band has... More >>

• Acadian Drift

  published February 13, 2002

  Acadian driftwood/Gypsy tailwind/They call my home the land of snow/Canadian cold front movin' in/What a way to ride/Oh, what a way to go... More >>

• Open Season

  published January 23, 2002

  Proposal: To observe open mics and document the mores, habits, and music of this unique cultural formation.Method: Participatory observation,... More >>

• Wayne Hancock

  published January 9, 2002

  Wayne Hancock may never write another flat-out classic like "Thunderstorms and Neon Signs," but don't hold that against him. Few fellow... More >>

• Kristie Stremel

  published January 2, 2002

  When artists pad their résumés with awards such as the Klammies (Kansas City's version of the RFT's own Slammies), you... More >>