Photograph via Facebook
Earlier this week, Mike Safron turned 65. He jokes, though, that he’s not the oldest player in his band Children; nor is he the youngest, as the group’s added a 14-year-old vocalist, making the progressive rock group’s return to stage all the more interesting.
In some respects, Children, which originally operated from 1976-79, was never a group destined for a reunion path. And yet, this Sunday night, the group will reprise last December’s first reunion show, again at the Casa Loma Ballroom.
“Our original bass player came up from Arizona to visit family,” Safron remembers. “Then it was ‘Let’s try to get ahold of our keyboard player in Collinsville.’ Doug Phillips was doing a solo act in Soulard, at 1860's. We just all got together for the first time in many years. The bassist was trying to talk us into doing a reunion, and I thought, ‘Well, who wants to listen to this progressive, outdated stuff that I wrote years ago?’ Well, he talked us into it, but wound up not being involved; he had too much work going on in Arizona.”
Having played out once now, Safron says that “the reunion turned into a more-serious music project. I put together a string section, added female backup vocals. We did a show that show at the Casa Loma and it turned out better than we thought.”
Safron, when founding the band originally, had already enjoyed the highs and lows of being in St. Louis’ flagship progressive rock band, Pavlov’s Dog; the late violinist Siegfried Carver would join him in the group, along with: Phillips on guitar, keyboardist James Dellamano, violinists Drew Perkins and Todd Hellam, and bassist Jeff Zehnle. For this show, Safron, Phillips, and Dellamano will all be taking part, along with the augmented lineup of string players, vocalists and some guests.
“Mike and Jim and I are the only original members for this show,” Phillips says. “Drew did make the reunion in December. Mike and Jim are great friends, and it's really great to be back working with them. As for the music, I think it's timeless, even though I had to relearn all of the material, including the songs that I wrote all those years ago.”
Safron recalls that the original lineup ended in ‘79, largely due to the fact that progressive bands were no longer being signed to major labels. Those that were still enjoying life on labels were becoming more pop-oriented (a la the post-Peter Gabriel Genesis) or experimenting with harder rock (like the Trevor Rabin-influenced Yes).
“It was the end of progressive rock music at that time,” Safron says, while noting that “we were getting pretty popular between here, Chicago and Kansas City.”
Safron would go on to other projects, including the St. Louis Strangers, Pavlov’s Dog 2000, and Pavlov’s Dog itself. He’s frequently toured with vocalist/songwriter David Surkamp in Europe in recent years. In 2016, he says, he’s giving the retooled Children a shot, though unsure how many times the group will actually play out. That said, having rehearsed the tricky, intricate songs of Children for just one gig, well, why go to all that trouble if not to share it?
“The music, old and young folks seem to be really liking it,” he says. “I’m happy about that. I told Pat, who owns Casa Loma, that if it goes well, we’d be willing to do a show every couple months. It’s like an educational art form now, it’s not a typical band.”
This Sunday night, Safron & Company will give their lesson in the sounds of mid-’70s prog/classically-tinged rock to any and all willing to listen. It’ll all go down at the Casa Loma, with Margaret Bianchetta opening. (The Facebook event page is here.)
“I’m very excited about the show," Phillips says. "Children was a band that should have had huge success back in the '70s. We had so much record company interest, but were so mismanaged. After all of these years, it's kind of like getting back with a long-lost love. The magic is still there after all of these years, and there's high hopes of a resurrection. The Casa Loma is a wonderful venue, and I hope now that Children has grown up, we can can continue with new music in the future.”
If you’ve never heard Children and just wish to sample their music, you can visit the group’s ReverbNation page for about a dozen tracks.
Asked about the songs there, Safron answered in a classic Mike Safron way. “I don’t listen to the radio. I’m computer illiterate," he says. "If I had a smartphone, I wouldn’t know how to use it. I’m totally from the old-school of rock’n’roll. Sometimes, Doug will bring a laptop to rehearsal, but having songs at ReverbNation? I didn’t even know what that was!”
Children perform at the Casa Loma Ballroom (3354 Iowa) on Sunday, April 24 at 7:30. Tickets are $20, and can be purchased here.
