This is nifty news: Steve Wynn is coming to Euclid Records on November 15 to kick off the record store's new in-store concert series. Recordings of each one of these mini-concerts will be pressed to 45 RPM singles—and Euclid is donating $1 for each single sold to New Orleans Musicians Relief Fund (NOMRF). One-time St. Louis resident and legendary rock poster designer Art Chantry will design the labels and back sleeves; the front will feature a 7x7 piece of art by folks like Chantry, Gary Houston and Guy Burwell. (There is also the promise of colored, etched and otherwise specialty vinyl.)
Steve Wynn is best known for his work with Dream Syndicate, a 1980s-era band that was associated with L.A.’s “Paisley Underground” (a phrase I love, because it makes me think of paisleys growing underground, like potatoes. Which then, of course, makes me think of the grubby smell of patchouli, and ... Anyway, I digress.) Dream Syndicate was a highly influential band that toured with R.E.M. but never enjoyed quite the same mainstream success; a puzzling thing to me, because my heart belongs to any band with a wicked Velvet Underground influence and a deep suspicion of the drum machine. Wynn will be in St. Louis on November 15 to play Off Broadway with his new band, Miracle Three, and has kindly agreed to play an ancillary concert on Euclid’s stage at 3 p.m. that day.
So far, Wynn's the only artist that's been announced, but the promise is that the series will wander all over the map as far as bands go. Kudos to Euclid for widening St. Louis' live music offerings, turning an art project to heartfelt ends, and finding a really cool way to tap into the vinyl zietgeist—according to the L.A. Times and Huffington Post, the stuff's making a comeback. —Stefene Russell
Euclid Records, 601 East Lockwood, 314- 961-8978. Singles are available through Euclid’s website, www.euclidrecords.com, and normf.org.
