I’ve been in a lot of bands over the years, some good, some bad, some moderately successful, some obscure at best. A few of of these bands had web sites that have long since disappeared to a place where not even the Internet Archive can find them, and given my librarian and archivist tendencies, I thought I’d take some time to document them here. With time, I hope I can turn this into a song archive in the same way the my friends Eric and Jon have on their sites.
Cafe Society
1986
Thomas Crone: drums/vocals
Kurt Groetsch: guitar/bass
Matt Struckel: keyboards
Proving the theory that every musician in St. Louis will eventually play with every other musician in St. Louis, Matt Struckel went on to join the MU330 lineup that included John Kavanaugh, who I’d play with 15 years later in Jenny Kavanaugh and the Band of Outlaws.
If It Said
1986 - 1988
Steve Boyd: guitar
Thomas Crone: drums/backing vocals
Sean Garcia: guitar/vocals
Kurt Groetsch: bass
Scott Brandon: bass
Sean Garcia went on to form the very fabulous Three Merry Widows with Scott Brandon, until Scott left and was replaced by Charles Shipman. Sean currently plays with the equally fabulous Tinhorn.
Sugarstickygirl
1993 - 1995
Todd Dorsey: bass
Kurt Groetsch: guitar
Toby Mechem: drums/backing vocals
Mary Alice Wood: guitar/vocals
Listen:
Sugarstickygirl - Sixteen (5.0 MB)
Sugarstickygirl - My Heart (4.9 MB)
Sugarstickygirl - Would’ve Rather (3.8 MB)
Sugarstickygirl - Where Have You Been? (3.5 MB)
Audiotone/Sugarfree
1995 - 1998 (including a 14-month hiatus)
Todd Dorsey: bass
Kurt Groetsch: guitar
Terry Kelly: guitar/vocals
Toby Mechem: drums/backing vocals
Drift
1998 - 2001
Greg Berg: keyboards
Todd Dorsey: bass
Kurt Groetsch, guitar
Brian Hayes: bass
Brandy Johnson: guitar/vocals
Toby Mechem: drums/backing vocals
Drift were probably the most successful of all the bands I’ve been in. Even though we were sometimes dinged in the press as “5,000 Maniacs” (and probably deservedly so) we had a respectable following and managed to play most of the larger venues in town, including the then-recently-opened Pageant in University City. Near the end we took a trip to Columbus, Ohio to record some demos, two of which are listed below. I think they’re probably the best work I’ve ever been involved with, “Down in the Middle” in particular.
Listen:
Drift - Down in the Middle (4.0 MB)
Drift - Planes (4.4 MB)
Jenny Kavanaugh and the Band of Outlaws
2001 - 2003
Darrell Barber: keyboards
Kevin Buckley: fiddle
Kurt Groetsch: guitar
Jenny Kavanaugh: vocals
John Kavanaugh: guitar/vocals
Toby Mechem: drums
John O’Brien: bass
Patrick Turek: drums/backing vocals
Dave Drebes Players
2002 - Present
Jenna Bauer: upright bass
Thomas Crone: drums
Dave Drebes: keyboard/vocals
Kurt Groetsch: guitar
Fred Hessel: guitar
Jeff SMith: drums
Listen:
Dave Drebes Players - The Way It’s Always Been (3.9 MB)
Dave Drebes Players - Leaving the Narrow Place (2.2 MB)