The First St Louis Punk Fest: January 11, 1977

"The rest of St Louis was at home listening to their Doobie Brothers records."

The Story of the First St Louis Punk Fest

It may be hard to believe but there was a burgeoning punk rock scene in St Louis in the mid-1970s, one that should rival those of New York, London, or wherever else the powers that be have told you punk rock began. It wasn't a large scene, there were maybe five or six bands who were only nominally influential on a regional level, but it was independent and organic and all of the bands that developed in St Louis during this period developed alongside, but were not influenced by, what was happening in the traditional hot spots of punk culture. There were bands like The Back Alley Boys, a Sparks influenced act who played at spots like The Gate, and the The Moldy Dogs, a Kinks and Stones influenced duo that had been gigging around town at family restaurants for a while, and The Dizeazoes, a freaky, Stooges inspired cover band that performed whacked out versions of "Louie Louie" and "My Generation" for largely confused and unreceptive audiences at house parties. There were guys like Paul Wheeler, founder and bassist of The Dizeazoes, who wandered around town in homemade Iggy Pop shirts, and record stores like Akashic Records that catered to their freaky subbacultcha indulgences. And there was Dave "The Rave" Thomas, who, from his studio at KWUR 90.3 on the campus of Washington University, supplied them all with the latest and greatest punk and new wave music during his "Rock It!" show. Over time other bands would emerge like The Welders, an all girl group of teenage punkers, and The Screamin' Mee-Mee's, an anything goes psyche-punk basement-garage-attic-bathroom-kitchen sink act made up of the infamous duo of Bruce Cole and Jon Ashline. Things were starting to happen - and it all culminated on January 11, 1977, at a club called 4th and Pine, as the First St Louis Punk Fest.
"We were all just friends," laughs Norman Schoenfeld, who organized and booked the show. "I think I was just trying to have one last good time."

(Left: Paul Wheeler)

And it was a good time. The acts that performed that night included The Welders, The Moldy Dogs, and The Cigarette Butts, a one time, jokey off-shoot of The Back Alley Boys headed by Schoenfeld, Jim Maresca, Joe Schadler, and Billy Love. They performed songs with titles like "I'm Lou Reed", "St Louis Sucks from A to Z", and "Nugent is King".During the song "Take Drugs" the Cigarette Butts emptied a giant prop pill bottle on stage, and were bombarded with it's contents through the duration of their set. The crowd loved it, the writers from Circus and Downbeat enjoyed themselves, and even the owner of the club was pleased. The Moldy Dogs even received a call from a record executive the next day.
Everything was coming together. And then it all fell apart.



(The radio ad, broadcast on KWUR 90.3, in St Louis, for the First St Louis Punk Fest.)


The First St Louis Punk Fest was planned as a going away party. Two of the bands that performed that night, The Moldy Dogs and The Cigarette Butts had plans to leave town almost as soon as the curtain fell at Fouth and Pine. Each felt that they had a better chance of achieving their goals in coastal climates and within days the Moldies had skipped to Los Angeles and The Back Alley Boys to New York. The show at Fourth and Pine was their denouement - the coup de grace in their on going attempt to bring good music to the midwest, something they'd been working on for a few years.
"We did it with the thought that it was possible, maybe, to get people in St Louis interested in bands that performed original music and had an underground appeal," says Schoenfeld. "We were emulating what we saw and loved in music that came out the UK. I was a big Sparks fan. I wanted to make Sparks happen in St Louis since I couldn't see them."
Originally the show was scheduled for a December date, but was pushed back to January due to a blizzard. Schoenfeld had organized and booked the show rather haphazardly.
"I think I just asked the guy!" he laughs, when asked how he was able to get a bunch of goofy punk rock bands booked into one of the larger venues in St Louis. "I have no doubt that we just asked 'Hey, can we use your place to throw a music show?' and somebody said yes!"
The venue, 4th and Pine was housed in an old building that had previously housed a
bank. It was not the ideal spot for an event like this. The crowd was large, but not large enough to fill the space and, as a result, things seemed a bit awkward at first.

(Right: Fourth and Pine today)

"The club was huge with an incredibly big stage," says Wolf Roxon, who fronted The Moldy Dogs. "This created many problems for us since we had never performed in such a large space with so much distance between band members. The window space was also at a maximum, so the sound tended to bounce around. The space lacked intimacy and warmth. You could never be cramped for space in this place. The problem with a large venue is that, even if they are half-filled, it still looks empty. Had the First Punk Fest been at a small club, it would have been standing room only. Hot, sweaty, and loud. At 4th and Pine, there was enough room left over for a mini mall."
(Left: The Sheiks, a popular St Louis band performing at 4th and Pine) 

Indeed, the crowd consisted of the usuals - a regular who's-who of the burgeoning scene: The Toler Brothers and "Mean" Gene Scott, who owned and operated Akashic Records, Jon Ashline and Bruce Cole, of the Screamin' Mee-Mee's, David Thomas, and others
"It seemed like everybody else at the show knew each other," says Steve Scariano, who today plays bass in The Jans Project. "It felt more like a private party than your typical rock show."
"I saw the same 60 or so people," says Dave Thomas. "The rest of ST Louis was at home listening to their Doobie Brothers records."

The Cigarette Butts performed first. As stated, they were a joke band, a one time off-shoot of the Back Alley Boys that was put together for solely for the fest. Their set list consisted of songs with titles like "Take Drugs" and "I'm Lou Reed". Legend has it that the band wrote and practiced their entire set in a four hour setting.

"We formed the band for laughs just to do the show," says Schoenfeld. "The Cigarette Butts was a joke band to have fun! We had way more bands that were more relevant."

"The musicianship was not good," says Paul Wheeler. "They were under-rehearsed, but it was good fun, and some of it was fairly clever satire of rock and punk rock, probably inspired to some extent by The Tubes. 'I'm Lou Reed' was just 'Sweet Jane' with Norman ranting in his Lou Reed persona about how he invented punk rock--in fact, how he invented cool. 'I Like Beer' was a Maresca rock song about liking beer. 'Take Drugs' was a fun rock song about drugs, the climax of which included Maresca and Norman pulling out big bottles of pills, opening them up, and showering the crowd with the capsules. I have no idea what they were actually capsules of."

"They did strange intros and Jim [Maresca] kept asking who liked Harry Chapin," says Jane Welder, drummer of The Welders, who performed last that night, in her diary of the evening.

"Norman also stopped on song to ask Joey [Shadler] what an E chord was!"

The Moldy Dogs performed next, and were plagued by problems.

"We just struggled to hear each other and there were too many moments of musical anarchy for us to believe that we came across as a tight, dynamic band," says Roxon.

But, despite their problems, the Moldies' performance ended up being a success. Though the band performed mostly covers that night, their originals were outstanding. "House of Buttermilk", their signature song, came off as "very energetic and very tight, with [guitarist] Paul Major ripping some amazing leads."

"'Ace Babe', a Paul Wheeler composition, rocked, even though we made one big flub which we all immediately caught and pulled back together effortlessly," says Roxon. "It almost seemed like we did it on purpose!"

At the end of their performance the band tossed posters to the crowd.

"Were they disappointed or happy to find out that they were Olivia Newton John posters?" laughs bassist Paul Wheeler.


But the real treat of the night was the performance by The Welders. Managed by Schoenfeld, The Welders consisted of five teenage girls, Rusty, Stephanie, Julie, Jane, and Caroline. According to Roxon, one of the reasons the The First St Louis Punk Fest was organized was to introduce the band to the fledgling scene.

Influenced both musically and visually by bands like the Bonzo Dog Band, The Troggs, and The Who, the Welders also represented a new breed of St Louis punk rock in that they had an affinity for "this new band from New York City called The Ramones", according to Roxon.

"They were a very young band at that point." says Wheeler. "The story I heard is that they came up to Norman in a record store and told him they were a band. He became their manager. At that point they hadn't even decided who would play what instrument!"

Despite their age and lack of experience, The Welders performance at the fest was highly anticipated and the band did not disappoint.

(Left: Jane Welder's drums)

"The moment The Welders took the stage you sensed that the rules of performance had just been changed," says Roxon. "The area around the drum kit looked as if they were preparing for a sleepover and decided to bring along their bedroom - stuffed animals, a Cleveland Browns pennant, a sign warning of rat infestation, and some other cuddly things. Not your usual props."

"They were not tight musicians at this point, but it was a joy to see young girls (14-17 I believe) getting up and playing punk rock," says Wheeler. "The Welders had a huge comic slant in their presentation, and I had a lot of fun watching them. I was seeing them for the first time that night, though I had met them before that. I was enthralled! Stephanie was an outgoing performer. She announced they were going to play The Nutcracker Suite, and then they launched into 'Wild Thing'.

From Jane Welder's diary:
"There are all these photographers and stuff around the stage. I see Dirt [Paul Wheeler], and Karen [Maresca] taking pictures. I don't remember how much applause we got or anything. Stephanie introduced us as the Partridge Family. Then it was into "Yummy Yummy Yummy". Stephanie simulates childbirth by sticking a dolly up her shirt and pulling it out during the chorus. Then she throws it on the ground and jumps up and down on it (applause) and then bashes it with my pink plastic hammer (laughs) and then '1-2-3-4'ack into the verse!"

They played a mix of covers and originals. The covers included the Bonzo Dog classic "You Done My Brain In", during which members of the band donned "arrows through their head", and the Ramones' "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend", which the band jokingly dedicated to the Moldy Dogs, who stood near the stage and "pretended to swoon and stuff".

Their originals were high quality neo-punk classics that stand up to anything produced by other punk bands male or female. "SOS Now", includes the lyrics "Vulgarity is overused / Debauchery leaves me unamused / So if you really wanna be in the groove/ Be like me and be a prude!"

There was some confusion after the show. The encore, performed by the Moldy Dogs, turned into a disaster that may or may not have included some very unsavory characters and perverted things, which embarrassed the Moldies and turned into an argument between the club owner and the bands. Everyone had to clear out of the club quickly, things were getting "too freaky", and The Welders were pursued by creepy "groupies" smoking "funny cigarettes". The whole thing even inspired a "blonde and spectacled" writer from Downbeat to claim to be "a punk at heart".

According to Jane Welder's diary: "Norman said it went like he’d pretty much imagined a punk rock festival would go."

Within days, both the Moldy Dogs and The Cigarette Butts would leave town, one for New York the other for Los Angeles. The Welders would persevere in St Louis until 1980 alongside bands like the Singapores that had been inspired by the First St Louis Punk Fest.

Further Reading:
Jane Welder's Diary
The Moldy Dogs @ Perfect Sound Forever
The Moldy Dogs @ Ugly Things Magazine
The Dizeazoes
Akashic Records
BDR Records

Bonus:
KWUR ad for the "Rock It!" radio show.