By Thomas Crone
No pantheon of St. Louis favorites—St. Paul sandwiches, trivia nights, baseball and beer—would be complete without karaoke. Here, any kind of club, on any night of the week, can be turned into a miniature American Idol set.
At most nightspots, patrons and participants are treated to classic-rock chestnuts, pop tracks or tunes recorded during the heyday of the Rat Pack. But The Way Out Club (2525 S. Jefferson, 314-664-7638) has always done things a little differently. The longtime rock club hosts “Punk Rock Karaoke” every third Wednesday of the month, with a live band, StL Punk Karaoke, taking on the musical accompaniment. The group—Dave Pfeffer on drums, Bryan Clarkson on bass, Mack Mills on guitar, CJ Banks on keyboards and guitar, and Jenna Wells supplying vocals—are proficient at more than 100 punk tracks, from the Sex Pistols to Green Day.
Says Pfeffer: “We play classic punk rock songs and include some classic hard rock, like AC/DC. We have a list of about 120 songs, and that list keeps growing.”
Suggesting fans of punk rock karaoke aren’t unlike those at other nights around town, Pfeffer says, “People will come in, check out the list.” And? “Some will have to get a couple of drinks before they sign in.” If the night’s slow, Wells fills in on vocals; otherwise, she’s keeping the evening moving. And the skills of those singers? “Some know their stuff ... and some don’t,” she says. Organizers might give away kung-fu movies for the best singers of each half-hour or try other fun stunts, but the regular fanbase at the Way Out means that it doesn’t take too much to get a set going.
“Bob”—Bob Putnam, who owns the club with his wife, Sherri Lucas—“gave us a regular gig. Everybody has jobs; two of us are in law school, and one’s in undergrad. This works well for us.”
And equally well for those who can’t wait to sing “Ace of Spades” in a real live rock club.
Those interested in checking out a night of punk rock karaoke can look up schedules and the ever-expanding song list at www.myspace.com/stlpunkkaraoke.
