2008 Woodie Awards
Keeping St. Louis on the musical map
By: Lanz Christian Banes
Issue date: 3/23/06 Section: LifeStyle
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"We've already been over this, like, five times already man. I wouldn't be upset at all if they never existed," retorted Chris Baricevic, unabashed at the increasingly worried look on Burk's face. Baricevic, also a sophomore audio production major, was similarly strumming his guitar in a haphazard fashion and smoking a cigarette in their crowded South St. Louis apartment.
The issue, like so many other musically-related arguments between the two or their friends, was never resolved. With each having his own different band, this is far from surprising.
However, these differences did not stop Baricevic and Burk, along with two of their high school buddies, from forming Big Muddy Records in August 2005.
"We just want to do our part"
From its small beginnings, with only Baricevic's popular "trashabilly" band Johnny O & the Jerks and Burk's nearly-defunct Future Explorers of Outer Space carrying its logo, Big Muddy has grown to include two more bands, releasing records, booking shows and even putting one band on tour.
"We started Big Muddy Records because we felt that there was a lot of good music happening in St. Louis that needed exposure and support," said Charlie Hall of Bard College in New York City. Hall, along with Tom Fucoloro of Knox College in Illinois, was part of the same graduating class at St. Louis University High School as Burk and Baricevic.
"Big Muddy" is a reference to the Mississippi River - a symbol as indivisible from St. Louis as the Arch.
"We just want to do our part in getting St. Louis back on the map as far as a nationally respected town for music," said Baricevic, who decries what he terms as the "trendy" bands that come out of St. Louis as not being representative of the St. Louis music scene.
However, though Baricevic and Burk knew what the St. Louis sound wasn't, (they gave an unprintable diatribe on the St. Louis pop-punk band Story of the Year) they were hard-pressed to solidly define what it was.
"There's so many different types of bands," mused Burk, finally deciding that "there's no real sound, more of an aesthetic. It's guitar-driven music. We're just regular dudes making music - there's no rock star mentality."
Burk also criticized trendy bands as ignoring or, worse, not knowing American music history.
"A lot of that (history) gets lost sometimes," Burk said.
Baricevic in turn criticized the money-driven pop bands.
"You can definitely tell when a band is in it for the love of music, and when the band is it in it for the money," Baricevic said.
"A very trashy blend"
According to Baricevic, Big Muddy sold more than 300 CDs of the Vultures since their CD release party at Vintage Vinyl on the Delmar Loop in mid-November 2005. The Vulture's album, which is currently the top selling punk CD in Vintage Vinyl on the Delmar Loop, was the first that Big Muddy put out.
The Vultures, described by Baricevic as "the sound of the Los Angeles punk scene ala X, with Chuck Berry guitar," is a trio the label picked up in 2005, and includes Ryan Koenig, who spent the 2004 fall semester as a Webster audio production major.
In addition to paying to print 1,000 Vultures CDs, Big Muddy also organized a two-week tour across the Midwest, through cities as far apart as Detroit and Des Moines.
"Booking the tour was pretty big," said Baricevic, the unofficial head of the record label, based on his entrenched involvement and his sheer organizational skills. "I did the entire thing without going through a booking agent - that's tough to do, because I don't know the clubs outside St. Louis."
Their current project is Casey Reid, whom the Big Muddy Web site describes as "another story about a boy and his guitar." Reid sometimes plays with Chris Powers, the upright bassist for the 7 Shot Screamers, and Webster's own Chelsea VandeDrink, a senior audio production major.
Reid plays more acoustic stuff, Baricevic said. Big Muddy finished recording Reid's debut album in February, and is now in post production with Webster alumnus Mike Tomko, who graduated last year with an audio production degree. Baricevic estimated a May release of Reid's album, with demo tape distribution in April.
Baricevic is also planning to re-release Johnny O & the Jerks' album "Taking Out the Trashabilly," under Big Muddy Records. The album, according to Burk, was the No. 1 "punk" album at Vintage Vinyl for several weeks.
Johnny O & the Jerks blends punk, blues and rockabilly, Baricevic said.
"But it's a very trashy blend," said Baricevic, who routinely calls the Jerks' brand of music as "trashabilly."
Baricevic also wants to work on a split 7-inch vinyl record of the Vultures and the Jerks this summer, and a DVD collaboration between the Vultures, the Jerks and the 7 Shot Screamers.
Burk's band, the Future Explorers of Outer Space, is also tentatively planning an Internet release of the band's first album, whose songs are all named after the nine planets.
Though running the label is often stressful, the boys of Big Muddy have kept a positive attitude.
"I'm having a blast," Baricevic said. "I'm having the time of my life."
Burk agreed.
"If I could do this and nothing else, I'd consider myself good," Burk said.