q+a
Q+a: BiLL Streeter on apriL 7Th, Lo-fi sainT Louis and Tower Groove Records team up to film Lo-fi Cherokee, a series of live music videos along Cherokee Street. The South City-based Tower Groove Records is the collective effort of nearly two dozen local bands, and Lo-Fi Saint Louis recently entered its eighth year producing local music and culture videos. Lo-Fi’s creator – and director of the St. Louis architectural sleeper hit Brick by Chance and Fortune, among other things – Bill Streeter sat down with Eleven at FOAM Coffee & Beer to discuss Lo-Fi Cherokee, St. Louis’ evolving music scene, and more. » story and photo by Tara Pham Eleven: You’re working with Tower Groove Records to film a bunch of St. Louis bands along in and around Cherokee Street storefronts. What’s your plan for the project? Bill Streeter: We’re going to do it on April 7th, and basically it’s going to be a live music video [shoot] in multiple locations on Cherokee Street, and it’s going to be all in one day. The idea sort of evolved from doing a few here and there on different days to “Why don’t we try to get them all done in one day?” 11: You’re from the Chicago area. What inspired you to start Lo-Fi Saint Louis? BS: First of all, when I lived in Chicago, there were a lot of things that hadn’t happened yet, technologically. The web was still pretty young when [my wife and I] moved here [in 2001], and nobody was doing video on the web then… I knew that stuff was probably going to happen eventually, but I was sort of just waiting for it to happen. When I moved here, I discovered just from talking to people going back to the ‘70s and ‘80s, there’s always been some kind of music scene here, of one sort or another, and it’s just constantly evolved over time… I was blown away by all the music that was here. Even [compared to] 10 years ago, it’s amazing that just in the last 5 years or so, the music scene has, I think, really matured. It’s probably more dynamic than it even was when I first moved here. I’m not sure why that is.
it seemed like, all at once, and everyone was [saying], “Oh, this is horrible for the music scene locally.” But really, I think the music scene has thrived in spite of all that. 11: What’s next then? What’s a good trajectory for the scene, overall, to take? BS: It’s kind of funny, because it’s kind of multiple scenes going. It’s not really one thing – but that’s good, it’s great… I think if this scene progresses, you’ll start to see more and more acts break nationally. You’ve seen that already with a few acts that have started to get a little bit of national attention… y’know, Pokey Lafarge, who I’ve worked with quite a bit. A funny thing, though, is that a lot of it isn’t how talented you are or how good of a band you are or anything. It’s just a matter of how hard you work at it. A lot of Pokey’s success comes because he’s worked harder than any other local act that I’ve known. He knew what he wanted, and he went for it, and he did all the things he could do… He went out and got a manager, he tours his ass off, and he’s developed an audience… I mean, if it were just based on talent, there are lots of acts here that could be really big break-out acts—Sleepy Kitty or the Blind Eyes or… There’s a lot of them have a really great pop sensibility that could totally be national acts.
"I mean, if it were just based on talent, there are lots of acts here that could be really big break-out acts."
11: What are the indicators to you that it’s matured? BS: You just hear a lot more buzz. First of all, there’s a lot more people doing stuff like Lo-Fi Saint Louis now that you wouldn’t have seen before, necessarily. I mean, I was sort of the first person to do that locally, so of course nobody was really doing it before anyway (laughs) because video just wasn’t happening… It seems like the younger group of bands that are coming up are a lot more savvy about promoting themselves, and this whole culture that’s grown up around Cherokee Street is pretty new. That’s a really good indicator of things. I remember when Mississippi Nights closed, and everybody was thinking that was a terrible blow to the local scene. Creepy Crawl closed, and a bunch of other clubs closed,
11: With the event on April 7th, what can we expect? BS: It will be like Lo-Fi Sessions, except it will be on Cherokee Street … and the public can come and watch, or be a part of it or whatever. I like serendipity; that’s why I always liked the idea of Lo-Fi Sessions… I like the idea of rolling the camera and letting things happen… let it happen naturally and just capture it, rather than trying to force something to happen. Like serendipity. » Eleven, Lo-Fi Saint Louis, and Tower Groove Records present Lo-Fi Cherokee, filming along Cherokee Street in the Benton Park West neighborhood on April 7th. Follow elevenmusicmag.com for the extended interview, exclusive release of updates, videos, and more.
elevenmusicmag.com | ELEVEN | 8