Monthly Archives: April 2007

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KDHX pledge shifts

Just stopped by KDHX to see how the pledge drive was going. It was surely a coincidence that my arrival mirrored that of lunch, pasta from Bar Italia. What luck!

Beyond the foodie update, my visit also spawned a couple of pledge pitching shifts, in addition to the one previously noted here:

Tonight, 6-8 p.m.: Coin-Operated Radio w/ Nico

Monday, April 23, 7:30-8 p.m.: The Wire w/ Amanda Doyle and guest Francis R. Slay

Thursday, April 26, 10 a.m.-noon: Greaser’s Lunchbox w/ Al Swacker

“Please pledge.” That’s the sum of my pitch. “Please pledge. Thank you.”

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The Mayor & KDHX

Okay, here’s the drill: over the past few pledge drives, The Wire has veered between making stupid amounts of cash and rather modest tallies. That’s the risk, perhaps, of a half-hour show which gets only one crack at the listener’s pledge dollar. It’s hard to gauge what might come in, with everything from weather to Cardinal games impacting the drive. More difficult is the decision on whether you simply talk about the station for a half-hour, or you try to work in a guest. This week, Amanda Doyle and I are opting for the latter. Luckily, we have a high-profile guest.

The Mayor of St. Louis City, Francis Slay, will be our in-studio guest from 7:30 – 8:00 p.m., on Monday, April 23. We’ll ask the questions you might expect (SLPS changes, Highway 40 prep, etc.) and we’ll ask questions generated by you: send them to wire@kdhx.org. If you can’t listen to the show during the normal slot, please visit kdhx.org for streaming.

Instead of emphasizing the pledge pitching as much during the show, we’re inviting you (via this blog and thecommonspace.org) to pledge via this format. If you’ve ever enjoyed the show or find some value in it, please consider a membership during our slot. Thanks.

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Preservation spin on Thursday

Cut’n’pasted from the website of fellow Carondelet Coke snoopers, a longer version of this can be found at www.eco-absence.org:

Mullanphy Effort Hits the Royale on Thursday

The Historic Mullanphy Alliance raised over $12,000 at its fundraiser on Saturday at the Schlafly Bottleworks in Maplewood. Keep the momentum going — here’s your next chance.

Steven Fitzpatrick Smith, Claire Nowak-Boyd and Michael Allen and the Historic Mullanphy Alliance invite you to the MULLANPHY SALOON to benefit the effort to rebuild the historic Mullanphy Emigrant Home and for informal conversation on urban issues featuring music by DJ Akita.

Thursday, April 19, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m., The Royale, 3132 S. Kingshighway.

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Carondelet Coke

Sometimes, you just have an interesting day, full of odds and ends. A soccer practice to organize, a quick stop at school for a student interview and a performance of Free Candy, let’s say, all on a sunny Sunday.

Let’s throw in a trip to the Carondelet Coke plant with a couple of folks that know their way around the 41-acre complex.

After a couple of false starts heading into the plant, today was the day to jump right in, despite what seemed to be active demolition – if a bit disorganized demolition, with a tiny, mostly man-power crew.

Also seen: a woman jumping out of a car, only to drop off a dog in the street nearest the St. Louis Skatium, then jumping back into the car, which speeds the wrong way on a one-way street; and a Chevrolet truck loaded with debris, heading into the coke plant, driving out a quarter-hour later with an empty bed. The latter plate was seen and will be called into the CSB tomorrow; the plate on the former, unfortunately, was not caught, nor was the dog. Alas.
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In-stock (and rather “cute”): the SOUND disc

So, the CDs are in and the booklets are in. But the CDs aren’t all in the booklets, which is another way of saying that…

Tomorrow and Saturday, the 52nd City SOUND CDs will hit local shops and eateries, with stock going to: Subterranean Books, Vintage Vinyl, Star Clipper, The Royale, Hartford Coffee Company, Dunaway Books, Left Bank Books, Riley’s Pub, the Firecracker Press and Snowflake.

And, quite honestly, if you know a joint where our product would simply move, Move, MOVE, please drop me a line, as a couple of our trusty distribution points have gone to that great retailer-slash-coffeehouse in the sky. Danke!

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A “High Fidelity” evening (and morning… and afternoon)

Deciding to tackle the logjam of stuff in my house (a nod to the current issue of 52nd City, see?: “stuff”), I decided to cull my increasingly-unwieldy record collection, snatching a couple hundred slabs of vinyl from the teeming stacks, while going to a new, genre-free organization system. Fascinating, eh?

Well, in recognition of this coming Saturday’s SOUND release at The Royale, I will be attempting to unload as many albums for money as I can over the course of the week. What doesn’t sell, I’m considering bringing to the patio expanse of The Royale for an impromptu record swap-meet. If anyone’s interested, I have a feeling that my seldom-seen “Bright Lights, Big City” soundtrack won’t be snapped up by canny record clerks this week, making it a clear target for the thrifty in six days.

See you there. I’ll be the guy with the records and semi-frown.

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52nd City – Sound CD release – April 14

Last weekend, those of us involved in the 52nd City empire were treated to some great music – by the Dock Ellis Band – in a great space – the Mad Art Gallery. A select group of friends and supporters made it a fun time, though 99% of St. Louis was interested in the St. Louis Cardinals first loss of the season, while the other 1% was on the way to White Flag Projects for the James Fotopolous vs. Grandpa’s Ghost show. Alas.

A more tangible way to support the ongoing project comes up in just a week-and-change, as our SOUND CD will be available for the first time, with an event at The Royale, 3132 S. Kingshighway. On Saturday, April 14, from 4-7, we’ll have the disc on-hand, mixed by Tim Gebauer and featuring the usual splendid cover by the Firecracker Press. This time, all the text will be found on our website, while the CD will be offered in lieu of our usual book. A ton of great local talent is represented, along with a few cuts by expats.

Admittedly, the Cardinals are playing at 12:10 and the rest of day will feature everything from zeppelin races at Queeny Park to the Larry Conners jazz set at Finale, but we’re hopeful that you can slot us in during the late afternoon. It’ll be a kid-friendly environment on the patio. Food and drink’s available inside. Much mirth will be had, as the disc plays over the garden PA.

And remember, we don’t take plastic.