| Print |

Tuesday, 31 August 2004 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.

Rocket Park—Good pop bands are hard to find, so there is plenty of space in the local music scene for Rocket Park. The group is fronted by Brian Andrew Marek, who sings well and plays keyboards with so much confidence that the audience is drawn into the performance, knowing that Marek is loving what he is doing. Aside from his stage jokes and comical interaction with the audience, the songs hold up as well. The mix of keyboards and electric guitar is appealing and the melodies are always strong. It’s hard not to be hooked on tunes like “Kimberly Said” or to want to sing along with their cover of “Hungry Like the Wolf.” Drummer Eric Moore stands out as well, being a solid and hard-hitter who never misses a beat. If provoked enough by the audience members, he’ll even do an amusing break-dance routine in front of the stage. While Rocket Park usually spends most of its time blasting through originals, they are probably one of the only local bands light-hearted enough to cover the early ’80s classic “Pac-Man Fever.” With a show like this, it’s hard not to have a great time.

Rich Boy Falling—A certain sight comes to mind when I think of seeing Rich Boy Falling. It is certainly not a Web site, nor is it any club in particular. It’s not so much the sight of kids with dyed hair, tattoos, and piercing; rather, it’s the sight of a young audience having a good time. Rich Boy Falling appears to be a fairly young group, but the guitar sound is huge and the band has no problem drawing groups of kids into their set. The band literally creates a wall of sound that is super solid and strong—listeners are likely to feel a rush off the powerful electric guitar hooks and brutal power chords. The vocals were somewhat buried in the mix the night I saw them play, but they did compliment the loud guitars and the overall sound was addictive. Anyone wondering what true underground rock is like in St. Louis should take note of this impressive group.

Lost to Metric—Anyone bored with a lot of the hit music stations in St. Louis will most likely gain an appreciation for Lost to Metric after catching one of their sets. This is one band in St. Louis that can truly be called an alternative to a lot of what is currently popular. One audience member commented, “I didn’t know anything like this was going on in this town.” Lost to Metric has a tremendous amount of energy, both in their stage antics and their guitar sound. The rhythms and guitar riffs are fast and lively—all sorts of original sounds go through the mix before the crowd even knows what hit them. The band unpredictably tears through layers of distortion, showing they are skilled musicians as well as good songwriters. The only time the frantic pace of the set slows down is when the members take water breaks. Anyone hoping to find something fresh and exciting will find it with Lost to Metric.