​Water Liars is Justin Kinkel-Schuster and Andrew Bryant. They're releasing their debut, Phantom Limb, on Friday at Off Broadway (3509 Lemp Avenue, 314-773-3363). You can check back tomorrow for our review of the album, but in the meantime comes the incredibly opportune debut of a new streaming music feature from our friends at KDHX (88.1 FM) called Hear and Now. RFT Senior Music Writer Roy Kasten lends some words, as well.

Listen: Phantom Limb by Water Liars

See also: Introducing Phantom Limb (The band has since changed its name to Water Liars)

via Gary Copeland

South-Fi studio

​We get very excited when there is a new recording studio in town. With each new studio comes the promise of new batch of local releases, so we checked in with Gary Copeland of the minty-fresh South-Fi studio for a glimpse of our future. Copeland gives us all of the important details.

Jamie Lees: Would you please describe your history with the local music scene?

Gary Copeland: I moved to the city about fifteen or sixteen years ago from Illinois. I played in bands and projects (Lofreq, Shame Club, Head on Collision, King City Pinks) around town for a number of years. I worked as the front of house engineer at a few clubs and recently left my last position as head engineer for a club in January.

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Courtesy of Catholic Guilt

​Since 2007, Catholic Guilt's brazen brand of sonic warfare has become a staple in the experimental/noise rock community in St. Louis. Having won the title of the RFT's Best Noise Band of 2011, the band's raw gutter sound continues to emanate from venues all across the South Side area. Comprising the core group of Sean Burk (of Escalade), Joe Stein, and Nick Zengerling (of Maximum Effort and Bug Chaser), the band's constantly evolving take on feedback-laced dirge rock leaves audience with a different set each time.

This weekend sees the result of years of the band's hard work, in the release of their long-awaited debut LP, Beyond Pleasuredome. A rigorous exercise in audial decimation, the record explores the varietal atmospheres of Catholic Guilt's repertoire. With the addition of Shaved Women's Ben Salyers on drums, the current line-up is at its most effective and volatile state.

We caught up with the boys in Catholic Guilt at Sean Burk's Aquarian Magick Happening to talk about its debut LP, songwriting vs. improvisation and the many different trials of the band. Catch them on Saturday evening for their record release with Magic City and Shaved Women at El Lenador (3124 Cherokee Street)

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Kiernan Maletsky

Beth Bombara plays at Schnucks.

​The check out at the Schnucks in Richmond Heights is a gridlock six carts deep and ten lanes wide. The soundtrack is a chorus of bar-code beeps. But if you walk away from the registers, toward the expansive produce section, the mood shifts. The lights are softer, the ceiling higher and what you hear is a woman patiently singing Neil Young through a small P.A.

Beth Bombara is on her second Schnucks gig. She's one of the musicians you can find on weekends at the locations in Richmond Heights, Des Peres just off of Manchester Road and the grocery chain's Culinaria Market downtown. Today, Super Bowl Sunday, Bombara's playing from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., nestled in between a soft-drink refrigerator and a display stand for Kaldi's Coffee. "It's a really good place to play a new song to see if it attracts anyone's attention," she says. "During a certain song I was playing, I noticed a girl shaking her hips while she was picking out produce."

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And that's why the ice caps are melting.

​Dan Johanning is known to many as the axe-wielding teddy bear of adrenaline-driven punks the Disappeared. He remains a huge advocate of St. Louis' original calling card: Rhythm & Blues. In addition to his numerous bands, Johanning has found time to channel his long-time love for funk and soul into the Jungle Fire. Featuring members of the Disappeared, the Chill Dawgs, and Bricklayer, the Jungle Fire's varied pedigree exhibits a diverse crew of music lovers.

In the vein of the Isleys' smooth-as-milk soul and the trademark funk of the Meters, the Jungle Fire put a rambunctious spin on the roots of River City rhythm. Having already recorded a two-song demo, the Jungle Fire continues to write songs, with plans to have its upcoming EP The New Blood released by Spring 2012.

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Pretty Little Empire gives one of the best gut-punches in the city. And "All I Know" is one of its most powerful songs. Captured in it are the band's rough-hewn guitar melody, driving rhythm and, most importantly, devastating lyrical turns. Observe:

"And if that's what you want/to always be alone/then we'll probably get along/'cuz I know I know/what it's like to feel alone."

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Jennifer Silverberg

Sharon Scherer operates a Bed N Brunch for touring bands in South City

​As any band that's hit the road will tell you, the glamours of touring are greatly overstated. Musicians deal with a blurry mess of cold floors and gas station meals. It can be a trial by fire that has ended many a promising career.

Sharon Scherer knows how hard it can be, and she's doing something about it. In the past year, she's opened her spacious south city home to touring bands, calling it Mama's Bed n Brunch. Scherer's operation is the subject of this week's music feature, written by Ryan Wasoba. In it, she talks about her motivations (appreciation for artists, mostly) and practices (clean sheets and hot brunch, always). You can find more information on the Mama's Facebook page.

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Photo provided by Adam Gillespie

Adam Gillespie -- who played bass with the hard rock group Sullen back in the early 2000s -- is the front man for the Black Bears. The group recently played Lemmons and the Way Out Club in January.

​Adam Gillespie has come full circle.

Gillespie was only nineteen years old when he joined Sullen, a hard rock outfit that created a pulsating array of grunge and hard rock music throughout the early 2000s. After naming Sullen the Best Hard Rock Band of 2002, the RFT described the group as having "well-crafted, intelligent, catchy songs that rock balls-out."

The band, though, eventually disbanded. And Gillespie -- who says he left Sullen before the breakup -- traveled on a winding personal path. He earned a law degree, temporarily relocated to Jefferson City, dabbled in solo work and started a family. Now he's the front man for Black Bears, an indie rock group that's been playing at venues across St. Louis.

"It's gratifying in a completely different way just to have your own songs," Gillespie said in a telephone interview. "And you know it might not be the hedonistic joy that Sullen was, but just totally satisfying in a different way."

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​Dots Not Feathers' pristine harmony and elegant song constructions have earned the band a spot near the top of the folk heap in St. Louis. The Mountain EP, released today, comprises two of DNF's strongest songs to date -- both will appear on an upcoming full-length. Listen below or download the EP for free via Bandcamp.

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​The Vondrukes, winner of the RFT's Best Country Band (Alternative) in 2011, just released a full length called Runaway, Goodbye Love. The album is the subject of this week's Homespun column, and in it Christian Schaeffer applauds the band's overall feel: "Fans of good-natured alt-country can stagger along to many of the tracks here." Read the rest of his review and listen to standout tracks "Everything But Fine" and "Take it Away" below.

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