STL Holiday Gifts: Music

Part One, in which the reader (you) gets insights into the best music St. Louis has to offer. Made in St. Louis, so try to buy in St. Louis. Today's recommendations are courtesy of Thomas Crone, Brett Underwood, and Don Beasley.

The local music recommendations have been rolling into my inbox, and I am excited. So, if any of you need to find me a gift this holiday season, take note. I was trying to figure out how to organize all these great suggestions, and then it occurred to me that pretty much everyone has varied taste in music, so I am just gonna hit you with what people passed along to me.

Gentleman Auction House
Quite a few folks, including KDHX spinner Thomas Crone and Brett Underwood, formerly of the No Show, are digging Gentleman Auction House, which Crone cites as pleasing pop that’s a pretty good bet for anyone on your holiday list.

Listen to them here. They are releasing a Christmas album on Emergency Umbrella Records. They also have other releases and all are available at Euclid Records
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On a tangential note, while looking into some stuff I thought was cool for these posts, I stumbled upon the work of graphic artist and designer John Vogl. Unfortunately, his work is not in stores at the moment, and his new site is under construction. That being said, when his stuff is available, I want this. And you might be wondering why I am bringing John into this discussion of music, well... While looking at his work, I also discovered that he did some album covers for Gentleman Auction House and other local bands. So, he’s doubly cool. Check out his stuff here.

Another local music hero, Eric Hall, is also on a few people’s list, including Don Beasley (formerly of punk band Corbeta Corbata and recent STL ex-pat to be dispatched to KC). Eric Hall has long done some really cool things with sound, dating back to eerie recordings he used to do with friends in Dunaway Books on S. Grand.

For more on Eric and his Echolocation Recordings, have a look here. Underwood forwarded the following info: "Eric Hall and Echolocation Recordings continue to release CDs of various electro-acoustic material.  All are available at Vintage Vinyl and Apop Records."

Part Two: Forthcoming recs from Jessica Butler on jazz, more local rock and punk, as well as other STL media that should be please the folks you love. (Hint: there will be sex in a book title, rock n' roll is implied in design, and some products can be purchased at bars.)