Jeff Roth started a band called Riot Act. Over the course of its existence, I believe half the musicians who ever lived in St. Louis and the surrounding vicinity were in it at one time or another.
At the time, I was in a band called Soundtown. Yes, it is a crummy name, and I came up with it. Thank you. We were playing hip oldies and UK Americana—think Nick Lowe and Dave Edmunds. Soundtown was basically the remnants of another band, AKA, which had played hip oldies and original power pop.
It had about run out of steam when my friend and fellow musician Don G. told me to come by and sit in with Riot Act.
I want to say I sat in on two practices, and next thing I know, I’m in the band and a gig is scheduled at the 14th Street Mall in Near North St. Louis. This would track, because Riot Act’s practice space was in an old school building on Hebert Street, about two blocks from Crown Candy, which was across the street from the mall.
Now, I understand that tales of rock and roll require salacious, sordid stories of abhorrent behavior and chemical abuse. But this was a reggae band, so mostly there was beer drinking and pot smoking. Best of all, during breaks the whole band would walk down to Crown Candy and get delicious chocolate shakes.
Ah, the decadence.
So here I was, two practices in, pretty much just guessing what to play. Fortunately, I was guitar player #3, which provided plenty of cover for not knowing the songs. Besides three guitars, bass and drums, there was also a percussionist and three horn players. All I had to do was not turn up too loud and catch the breaks.
As best as I can remember, I did OK.
One reason I’m writing about this show, as opposed to the many others I played, is that there is an extensive photographic record of that day.
The neighborhood around the 14th Street Mall had a large African American community. I mention that because reggae grew out of Jamaica’s Black culture. Yet when you look at the stage in these photos, you’ll see it populated by a bunch of white guys doing our best to play music that came from a culture very different from our own.
Another point of interest is all the underage white kids drinking beer and dancing in front of the stage. Many of them were part of the up-and-coming St. Louis rock scene.
Anyway, enough archaeology. The photos tell the rest of the story.
