Podcast
Tony was influenced at a young age by his older brothers who brought home and memorized records of the great singers like Frank Sinatra, Louis Prima, Tony Bennet and others. He started performing in high school and soon began getting booked in small clubs around the area. I no time, Tony was doing bigger and more prominent local venues, as well as getting booked into other cities. His versatility in musical styles is impressive as he mixes swing and big band arrangements with popular songs from the fifties to the present.
Tony Viviano links:
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Featured guests on episode 7 of A Concert Pitch are Myles Kelly, Chuck Wade, and Mike Ehrhard, members of the band, Rockin’ Chair, a band made up of members of two St. Louis bands from the seventies, Mesa and Nickles. Rocklin’ Chair is a reunion band that celebrates the music of bands like Buffalo Springfield, the Byrds, the Band, the Allman Brothers Band, and coming up this Thanksgiving weekend, they’ll be playing two concerts showcasing the music of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and The Eagles. On Friday, November 27th they’ll be doing a tribute to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. On Saturday evening, the 28th, the show will be a tribute to The Eagles.
Win tickets to Rockin’ Chair’s Thanksgiving weekend concerts at the Playhouse at Westport Plaza (Enter before 8 a.m. Wednesday, November 25th):
Rockin’ Chair links:
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Javier Mendoza links:
- Javier Mendoza’s website
- The Forsaken Documentary, featuring Javier Mendoza’s song, “The Forgotten” which earned a Telly Award for Best Music Score.
- Facebook page
- Twitter page
- YouTube page
- Javier Mendoza on MyPro.social
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Dave Beardsley is Co-founder of the National Blues Museum
Dave Beardsley is arguably the greatest advocate for Blues music in the St. Louis area. In my interview with Dave, he tells the story of his rapid climb to the top of Blues promotions that began with him being asked to provide medical services for a Blues festival. Dave is co-founder of the National Blues Museum in St. Louis, the opening date for which was announced a few days after this interview was recorded. We’ll also hear Dave tell about the museum’s genesis and what we can expect to see when it opens on April 2nd at 615 Washington Avenue in downtown St. Louis.
The interview also covers his involvement in Blues education in public schools, St.Louis’ rich Blues history, and how that legacy is being carried on by young Blues musicians.
Relevant Links:
Tagged:bluesnational blues museum
Tagged:bluesnational blues museum
More information about Terry Jones Rogers:
Regarding her role in Matilda, Natalie explains that she is a swing, an understudy of all the women in the ensemble, filling in for others adult female actors on personal and sick days.
Natalie graduated from Webster University in 2007 with BFA in Musical Theater. Since then moved to New York and started auditioning and acting in regional theaters. The eventually joined the cast of Billy Elliot the musical for a few years, and had other regional acting jobs before starting on the current Matilda tour.
In the interview we also discussed her dream of opening her own theater company some day, what it means to return to perform in the Fox Theater, and some memories of her experience acting as a child and youth at The Muny.
Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical runs at the Fox Theater from October 21st to November 1st. Tickets are available on the Fox Theater website.
The second interview segment in this episode features a conversation with Stan Gill, keyboard player with St. Louis-based blues band Kingdom Brothers.
The interview begins with Stan introducing the members of the band, and then describes his development as a musician and how he got started playing in bands right after high school. Then he takes us through his early college years when he spent more time playing music than studying, and ending up being a roadie for seventies rock band Head East. He describes his six years with the band when he eventually had the important responsibilities of stage manager, including interesting points about what takes place behind-the-scenes with a touring band.
The interview continues with Stan recalling bands he played with after his time with Head East, his return to college to graduate and his career as a school teacher. The remainder of the conversation includes a more in-depth look at Kingdom Brothers, their participation and the 2015 International Blues Challenge and his views on St. Louis as a blues town.
More information about Kingdom Brothers:
More information about Pat Liston:
I’ve known Steve for about three years, covering and photographing his performances for FreeConcertsSTL.com. Earlier this month, I met with him for the interview at the Hanger Grill in Chesterfield Valley, just before a scheduled gig there.
In the interview we discussed the band’s beginnings, how the Beatles influenced popular music in the 60s and beyond, how he got started in music, his work as music arranger, being a member of the Bob Kuban Band, the importance of music education, and other subjects related to music performance.
For more information:
Thank you for helping us make LiveMusicSTL.com great.
One-hundred-twenty FreeConcertsSTL.com newsletter subscribers took our recent survey on how to better serve the St. Louis live music scene.
The survey is still open. Click to share your preferences for LiveMusicSTL.com.
Who submitted the survey?
Of the 120 surveys submitted, respondents identified themselves as:
- Music fan: 107
- Musicians or member of a band: 9
- Owner or manager of a bar, winery, or restaurant: 2
- Promoter: 1
- Booking agent: 1
What features do people want on the site?
We asked people’s preferences for the new website website. Here’s the number of votes each feature received:
- Venue information: 97
- Listings of music in bars or restaurants: 94
- Contests and ticket giveaways: 80
- Discounts, coupons, or offers from sponsors: 78
- Concert reviews: 66
- Concert photos: 44
- Listing of dance venues: 37
- Video interviews: 35
- Weekly podcast: 32
- Listings of bands for hire: 26
We had a hunch that venue information and listings of events in venues would be a popular feature; we will strive to can establish close relationships with the venues that feature music. None of the features we asked about will be dropped from consideration, but these numbers will help us set our priorities.
Comments
Twenty-five respondents offered up comments or questions. Without exception, all were helpful. Thanks to the people who encouraged us.
Here are the comments that elicit a specific response:
Will there still be a “Free Concert” section, or will it be mixed in with all other listings for that date?
This is a great question and one that is probably on the lips of people familiar with FreeConcertsSTL.com. We plan to keep that site up and running indefinitely.
LiveMusicSTL.com, on the other hand, will display all concerts on the home page regardless venue or type, with a wide range of filters for refining the search. Main menu options will provide access popular category pages including free concerts, events by location, genres, and more. We’ll make it easy to find just what you are looking for.
Would like to be able to scan by performer name to see where playing.
We love this comment because it is one of the features that will make this website stand out, exceptional filtering by category, location, genre, etc.
Heavy metal needs more coverage in St. Louis. Bands like Slayer, Testament, Exodus, Iron Maiden, Death Angel, Judas Priest, Ozzy, etc. draw good crowds here, but don’t get much publicity. As a die-hard metal head, I’d sure appreciate seeing my genre better represented in local media and on the Live Music STL listing.
Please include Latino bands!
Primary interests: piano solo music, classical music, big band and swing era (1920-1950) music
We look for family friendly venues. May I suggest a Family Friendly section, or a symbol to highlight which concerts are appropriate for family.
LiveMusicSTL.com is being built to serve all genres and demographics, and we are planning to add a family-friendly section. We openly invite bands, promoters, agents, and venues to post on our calendar, but also encourage fans to post the events they want to see on the calendar.
As a band leader I find it very hard to post things on your site. I wish it was a little easier. There are so many required things and it takes a long time to get all of the information in.
Our personal reply to this band leader explained that we ask so many questions on or form in order to can give our users the most complete information available. However, the comment made us realize that we could make it a little easier to post. We now require only:
- Venue name
- Description — the name of the artist or band, although more information is preferred like the type of music, band personnel, or details about the venue.
- Organizer name — person submitting the event so we can follow up if necessary
- Organizer email address — also for followup
- Website URL — so we can get all the other information we need.
All other information on the form is optional. More details translate to happier and better informed fans, and helps us get the event posted sooner. And here’s a tip: to make an event stand out, include a photo or logo of the performer, band, or venue.
To post an event, click the green Post Your Event button in the upper right corner of the calendar.
Hopefully, Live Music.com will be followed by any activity happening in / around St. Louis. Ideally, it would be the place to go find out about free events and paid events…
Yes, we love the idea of listing all events whether they feature music or not. Such a website is in the works; please stay tuned.
Additional comments
A comprehensive calendar of live music in STL area would be great! I would keep it simple with date/time/band with link to website/music genre/place with link to website. All the “stuff” on some calendars just slows down getting the basic information.
Clips or links to the band’s music would be great.
I love music, dancing and entertainment so I would like all upcoming events in my email as much as possible including wine events, jazz events, etc.
I think the listing of music events at bars wineries etc. is useful only if it is not ad based. I would prefer to see listings of public music events that are free events and events that charge admission.
It would be nice if live music categorized by type and location (City, West County, Illinois, etc.) Admission charge/Cover
Love live entertainment. Follow several local bands
My wife and I catch over 35 live shows every year and don’t plan on slowing down!
Great idea and thanks for the effort; now that I am retired, if you need some volunteer effort on this new endeavor please give me a ring.
Thank you for doing this and keeping me informed.
Thank you for this service.
Thanks for doing this. It has been very helpful.
Your Free Concerts website is a fantastic service. Thank you.
Again, thanks to all who took the time or submit the survey and offer comments.
If you like to share your preferences for LiveMusicSTL.com, please click here.
A Concert Pitch Podcast
- Episode 19 — Adam Jaschek, Whitaker Music Festival
- Episode 18 — Todd Mosby
- Episode 17 — Darren George of Mirage Entertainment
- Episode 16 — Tyler Stokes of Delta Sol Revival
- Episode 15 — Peter Martin Jazz Pianist
- Episode 14 — Vincent Golomski of Fanfare
- Episode 13 — Songwriter Steve Williams
- Episode 12 — Randy Mayfield
- Episode 11 — Tim Callihan
- Episode 10 — Dave Brubeck
- Episode 9 — Joe Mancuso
- Episode 8 — Tony Viviano