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Tuesday, 30 September 2003 18:00

Here are just three of the great original St. Louis bands that play around town on a regular basis. Check these three out as soon as you get a chance.

The Adversary Worker—This heavy three-piece has every right to have “worker” in their title, because their hard work shows. That’s the only way they can have the explosive sets that they have onstage. There’s so much chemistry between the guitarist, bassist, and drummer that it’s impossible not to get on your feet when they play. Over the course of 30 minutes, their music increases in intensity until teenage audience members are jumping up and down as if on a trampoline. While the distortion is relentless, their falsetto-style vocal arrangements stand out in the mix and make for a sound they can truly call their own. This group belongs on the list with some of our other local artists, such as Devin Baker, Gary Copeland, and Shame Club, who create innovative heavy music and deserve more recognition.

Cavo—This guitar-based pop-rock group seems to borrow ideas from a huge list of popular groups that have come before them. They even took the popular Rolling Stones line “Time is on my side” and put it into their single titled “On My Side,” along with an opening riff reminiscent of Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy the Silence.” Taking all these ideas from different sources is a good thing, and they have come up with several great songs with melodies that demand to be heard on the radio. It’s hard to leave one of their shows without remembering something they played, and fans of straightforward pop groups with charismatic lead singers will certainly enjoy hearing them play.

Ghetto Prenup—For nearly two years now, my friend Jeb has been commenting on the lead singers in this town, saying that “good singing has either become a lost art, or no one seems to want to spend the time on their vocals. They figure if there’s a voice being heard over the guitars, that’s good enough.” This is not the case with Ghetto Prenup, a band made up of four guys who seem to care about having a good singer in the band. The music is a nice blend of acoustic and electric guitar, creating a solid, mellow sound that is hard to resist—but it’s the vocals that really catch the audience’s attention. This is one of the few bands I have seen where the audience takes the time to listen to the lyrics. Plus, the set usually ends with the band going into a mellow jam, and the whammy bar guitar solo that is featured is brilliant. I asked a girl in the audience at one of their shows if she enjoyed it, and she replied by saying, “I loved it. I’m wet.”