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John Burroughs grad (class of 2000) Bhi Bhiman left St. Louis after high school and now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. But once a Redbirds fan, always a Redbirds fan -- Bhiman once wrote a song in celebration of former Cardinals star Albert Pujols -- and when RFT Music asked Bhiman to tell us the three things he misses most about St. Louis, the top of the list was a no-brainer.

"Cardinals games."

Next?

"The prevalence of cheap, decent barbecue. I grew up playing a lot of baseball, and people would just bring burgers and a barbecue to tournaments and sell 'em for, like, a dollar."

And finally?

"Nice summers. I like the hot summers."

Bhiman spoke with RFT about his forthcoming (May 14) release of a covers EP, the subject of a feature story in this week's paper.

See also:
- Deep Covers: Bhi Bhiman discusses new Substitute Preacher EP
- Bhi Bhiman talks baseball, boyhood and blues with RFT Music's Roy Kasten (2012)

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Fresco Kane

East St. Louis' Fresco Kane continues his recent rise to hip-hop prominence with the release of a brand new music video for his latest, appropriately named "Fresco Kane." The song itself serves as an introductory banger and may be one of Fresco's strongest singles yet, while the video plays in black and white and features Kane and his crew partying in a variety of fairly run-down looking industrial areas. Videos, music and more for the So So Def rapper can be found on his official website.

See also:
-Fresco Kane on 106 & Park: "I Get My Confidence From Doing it for So Long in St. Louis"

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By Jarred Gastreich & Anna Kohlweis

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Ian Fisher & the Present debut a new video today for "Why Do I Go?" off of the band's latest, self-titled effort. The video was shot in Vienna, Austria (half of the duo takes up residency in Germany) by Anna Kohlweis with assistance by Yavuz Odabas. In it, Fisher and Ryan Carpenter (aka "the Present") burn things and display a shocking lack of concern for fire safety, backed by the band's stripped-down, mournful (and beautiful) folk music.

The song featured in the video can be downloaded for free at the band's Soundcloud page. You can stream or purchase the entire album on the band's Bandcamp page, and physical copies will soon be available (March 1st) via Vienna's Seayou Records.

See also:
-Homespun: Ian Fisher & the Present

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Bob Reuter's Alley Ghost

Last week Left South Pictures released a new music video for the song "Dana Dew" by Bob Reuter's Alley Ghost. The song is the first single from the group's upcoming EP on Left South Records. The video is only available for a limited time only; we're told it will be pulled from the internet at 11:59 p.m. tomorrow, so check it out while you can!

See also:
-Big Muddy Records Plans Free Releases From the Vault, Introduces the Groundhogs and Lonesome Cowboy Ryan
-The Weather Channel Would Like To Tell You About Old Lights and Bob Reuter's Alley Ghost
-Homespun: Bob Reuter's Alley Ghost

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Here's something you don't get to say too often: It's a shame when Paul McCartney turns up. Before McCartney arrives, rasping, puppy-eyed, and eager to have a go at the hot new grunge sound of 1993, Dave Grohl's Sound City is an exciting, sometime illuminating documentary about how a squad of technicians and engineers in a hole-in-the-Valley music studio helped great rock 'n' rollers make great rock 'n' roll. Grohl treats us to just more than an hour celebrating the history of Sound City, the Van Nuys dump where a clutch of rock's great records were bashed out--but the movie's 107 minutes long.

See also:
-Dave Grohl On His Film Tribute to the Studio That Gave the World Nevermind

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Credit: Sami Ansari

Dave Grohl

[Note: Dave Grohl's new movie, Sound City, will be showing in town Thursday night only, at 7:00pm at the Tivoli Theatre (6350 Delmar Blvd, 63130).]

The lobby of Dave Grohl's Northridge-based 606 Studios has a Joan Jett book on the coffee table and a row of classic arcade games like Donkey Kong Jr. against one wall. On top of a photo booth sits an iconic "Moonman" MTV Video Music Award, festooned with a roll of toilet paper around the MTV flag.

See also: Nirvana's Photographer Kirk Weddle Recalls The Day He Shot Nevermind's Cover (Plus Rare Photos)

What it doesn't have on this chilly morning in January are helicoptering publicists or managers restricting access -- Grohl is unaccompanied as he heads into the studio for an interview. And he has no intention of avoiding controversial subjects.

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The St. Louis Underground Music festival and awards went down on Saturday, January 19, 2013 at the Atomic Cowboy. This annual event recognizes St. Louis talent in the ranks of the hip-hop world, and is always a well-attended affair. Performances by Tef Poe, Legend C4mp, Midwest Avengers, Skiddlaz, Doorway, Trixie, MME, St Orleans, T-Dubb-O, Doughboy, The Domino Effect, DJ Nico and others served as highlights for this years awards. RFT Music's Theodore Welling was in the house taking pictures, all of which can be seen here.

Below you will find videos and music for all of the winners of this year's awards, along with the categories for which they were nominated. Congratulations to all within!

See also:
-106 & Park's Freestyle Friday Champ Tef Poe Releases New Song: Listen
-2012's Best Hip-Hop Artist Nite Owl Signs Deal with Monarchy Records
- The Top St. Louis Hip-Hop Artists to Watch in 2013

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Photo courtesy of the Jungle Fire

If you weren't busy sleeping in 9:00 a.m. yesterday, thanks to the national holiday, you may have seen some familiar faces / heard some familiar sounds on your television. St. Louis' the Jungle Fire, named by RFT Music as one of seven local bands to watch in 2013, made watching particularly easy this week with an appearance on Fox 2 News in the Morning with Tim Ezell. The band played a soulful, upbeat track that surely served well to awaken those poor souls that didn't have the day off.

See also:
-The Bands Leading St. Louis' Ass-Shaking Groove Revival
-Seven Local Artists to Watch in 2013

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Image via

Now usually we don't do this, but, uh...

Rockwell Knuckles has a new music video. Watch it right now because it is everything that is great about one of our city's most singular artists: Weird, apocalyptic, mesmerizing and impossible to watch only once.

See also:
-Five Years of the Best St. Louis Song: Listen Here
-Fist City: Rockwell Knuckles aims to punch through St. Louis hip-hop's glass ceiling
-Rockwell Knuckles' "Silly Human" is NPR's Song of the Day

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The 21st St. Louis International Film Festival officially kicked off last night. There was a line down the block at the Tivoli, news crews were on hand and it took us forever to navigate the traffic. Safe to say this is a big deal. For the uninitiated, SLIFF is a ten-day mega-celebration of films, held at six theaters in the St. Louis area. The full, impressive schedule, along with ticket information, can be found at the Cinema St. Louis website.

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