Harnish and Ross. Photo by Sofi Seck
Matt Harnish is a St. Louis institution. From his long-time, ongoing work in the anti-pop pop group Bunnygrunt to his tenure as record-store-clerk-slash-music-encyclopedia, his musical myopia is nothing short of a vision. It makes sense that Harnish had the idea—conceived eight years ago—of tracking down the remnants and lost recordings of St. Louis new wave. He and label partner Jason Ross have unearthed music that was overlooked and underheard. Compared to critical-darling music cities like Seattle and Minneapolis, our erstwhile punk scene may have been rather insular—but that doesn’t mean its existence should implode in a cloud of obscurity. In Harnish’s own words, he wants to “right the long-standing wrong national perception that punk never happened in St Louis. We never had any bands that really broke out of the local scene—but there were as many disaffected rock fans looking for something new in the boring late ’70s in St Louis as there were in ‘cooler’ cities.” Though Harnish acknowledges that some bands became successful later on, there was a scene here in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s that was pretty much uncharted. But thanks to BDR, the label Harnish runs with Ross, the MIA St. Louis punk scene has essentially been rediscovered. They’re out to bottle the era of Jet Lag magazine (one of the first punk fanzines in the country), DIY critics like John the Mailman, and even a punk-rock store in upscale Clayton (the late, great New Values). It’s a bottle that’s been lost at sea.
Harnish speaks as an historian. “Punk bands were playing their hearts out at VFW halls, house parties and the occasional club that was willing to take a chance on a dead Monday night, and let a bunch of weirdoes play a show.” While you really had to be there to soak up the atmosphere, BDR makes it possible to hear what you missed. Among the label’s releases is Test Patterns, a reissue of a compilation that could have single-handedly (middle finger up for attitude) put St. Louis on the punk map. Featuring energetic, stripped-down combos like the Felons, Mopeds and Zanti Misfits, the bands are at once quintessentially D.I.Y. and symbols of a blink-and-you-missed-it local zeitgeist.
Harnish and Ross had a huge undertaking, which involved a bit of detective work—the intersection of gumshoe and safety pin. “The Retros were one of the bands that we knew existed,” relates Harnish, “but we had no idea whether they had recorded anything.” Eventually he tracked down a tape. “The songs were good,” he recalls, “but there was almost nothing usable. We asked about live recordings, or if there were any other sources of the tape.” Abetted by The Retros’ old sound engineer, Harnish tracked down a tape reel the group had recorded for a student project. His homework paid off. “We were blown away,” he says, “to find a complete 12-song session that was amazingly solid. It was a no-brainer for us to put that session in the BDR pipeline.” The dozen Retros songs will come out on a vinyl LP—still Harnish’s preferred format –that will include a bonus CD with all of the songs, along with four live tracks.
“Jason is most definitely the brains of the operation,” insists Harnish. “He’s been handling the national and international distribution of the releases. He also has an amazing label of his own, Rerun Records, that deals with non-St. Louis punk and new wave.” Harnish and Ross make a case for local punk’s historical viability, and they’re doing the sort of unearthing that doesn’t happen in most major cities. They’re releasing stuff by the Welders, Ray Milland, Dear John…the list goes on and on, and is still being written. Up next is a full-length release by Belleville’s Max Load—described by Harnish as “sci-fi punks.” BDR doesn’t discriminate when it comes to music formats. 45 singles, vinyl LPs and CDs are given equal reverence; and in each case, the format is thoughtfully chosen. For example, it made sense for Test Patterns, which came out on vinyl in 1981, to be reissued on CD. It’s that blend of careful thinking and crazed-fan enthusiasm that puts BDR on the brink of something old.
On Friday December 23 at Off Broadway (3509 Lemp), the label presents a tribute to The Retros, the band who put Harnish and Ross in history-detective mode. The show will feature Bunnygrunt and punk legends from an earlier era, including Antimation, Alley Ghost (with Bob Reuter), The Camaros, The Zanti Misfits, and, of course, the band of honor. Cover is $8, $11 for those -21. Doors open at 8:30 and the music kicks off at 9 p.m. And of course the reissues of The Retros' Inner City Rockers (1979) and Dear John's Frustrated Conversation (1981) reissues will be available at the merch table.
