Why did you choose this song for your entry? This is a new song from an album we're releasing in the spring, and we've been having fun playing it since adding it to our live shows. We did discuss this song and a few others ahead of time, but the whole band kind of assumed we would do this tune when we sat down, so we did it. - Jeff Lazaroff, vocals and guitar
What would be the best thing about a St. Louis act winning the Tiny Desk contest? St Louis can always use a win, and right now is no exception. It'd be nice to expose such a large audience of listeners to a small example of the music being created here. St. Louis has a such a great musical history and unique perspective -- any light that can be directed toward this town is a good thing!
What's been your favorite Tiny Desk concert so far and why? There are tons of great ones, but our current favorite is one of the most recent ones with Daniel Lanois. He just brings his effects processing rig and does some experimental compositions with a killer rhythm section of Brian Blade on drums and Jim Wilson on bass. It's a nice juxtaposition to the numerous acoustic singer-songwriter sessions. Brian Blade is rocking the three-piece drum kit. We like when Grover (our drummer) uses a full drum kit in more quiet situations because he can just adjust the volume of his whole sound without having to take away any drums, so it's fun to watch a master like Blade rock the small office on a kit playing experimental advent-garde breakbeat stuff. That would've been a fun day at work.
Follow Brothers Lazaroff on Facebook, Twitter and at brotherslazaroff.com.
See also: - Ten St. Louis Acts That Deserve To Be Famous Now
DAN JOHANNING AND THE WILDERNESS
Why did you choose this song for your entry? It's our most requested song. I hear "Are you gonna play the 'cold beer under ice' song?" a lot, and we have a video for it. It also features Leo Jalipa of the Johnson Family Band on back-up vocals and Glenn Burleigh of the Defeated County and Union Electric on pedal steel. - Dan Johanning, vocals, guitar
What would be the best thing about a St. Louis act winning the Tiny Desk contest? The best thing about a St. Louis band winning would just be more awareness to the incredible music scene in this city. It's like no other anywhere. All genres have amazing acts, and many folks (like myself) play in different types of bands. All the scenes blend here and get along. It's raw and beautiful like no other other city. I could go on forever.
What's been your favorite Tiny Desk concert so far and why? The T-Pain show. I was never a fan of his, but seeing the pop star stripped down, raw and vulnerable and then just destroy it was awesome. He's an immensely talented guy, and that episode put that on display. Billy Bragg was also amazing because Billy Bragg is amazing. My favorite sentence from any episode is when Pokey LaFarge said "Lets do this one for St. Louis, boys." I think I said "Fucking yes" out loud.
Follow Dan Johanning and the Wilderness on Facebook and Bandcamp.
SALT OF THE EARTH
Why did you choose this song for your entry? "Doorstep" is one of our most-requested songs at our live shows. It has some good energy but still kind of captures everything we do well, like Lynne Reif's and my vocal harmonies, Jim Hieger's lead guitar playing and Jake Brookman's cello playing. - Mike Schrand, bass
What would be the best thing about a St. Louis act winning the Tiny Desk contest? We've been able to gig regularly for twelve years now as a band playing almost entirely original music, so that's a kind of testament to how great of a music city St. Louis is. Plus having worked in public broadcasting for a long time, it would be good to finally see NPR's headquarters and meet Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton.
What's been your favorite Tiny Desk concert so far and why? That's tough. I'm going to have to pick two: 1) Mother Falcon, because who else would fit a seventeen-piece band around a desk and still get a great performance? and 2) Reggie Watts, as he never fails to amaze me with how he pulls such amazing music out of thin air.
Follow Salt of the Earth on Facebook and Twitter.
BELLEVIEW
Why did you choose this song for your entry? We've been a band for something like ten years, so we have a lot of songs. Some emails and texts went back and forth. We made a long list, then a short list, then we took a nap. And then we just asked our friend Jonathan and went with whatever song he picked. - Jamal McLaughlin, vocals, keyboard, guitar
What would be the best thing about a St. Louis act winning the Tiny Desk contest? St. Louis has a crazy amount of awesome music. Would a St. Louis band winning this contest make the world aware of this fact? Probably not, but I'd be glad to see another one of its children do good. I really just want to see what St. Louis submits to this thing, hear bands that I love do one of their songs in a quiet, close-up fashion. So, that's a pretty selfish answer. See what the Internet has done to me?
What's been your favorite Tiny Desk concert so far and why? Of Montreal for sure. Their recordings are so beautifully layered and pristine, and their live performances are so intense and over the top. Seeing and hearing them so stripped down and intimate was really cool. His personal, poetic lyrics are even more revealing when it's just a guy and his guitar in front of a mic. I also enjoyed what looked like Kevin's French striped shirt and beret.
Follow Belleview on Facebook and at belleviewtheband.com.
SCARLET TANAGER
Why did you choose this song for your entry? We chose "Stay Unknown" because we felt that the song was fun and represented our music really well. Since we were lucky enough to shoot in the Urban Outfitter's studio space in the Lemp Brewery, we felt that it would really sound great in such a wide open space. - Michael Logsdon, vocals, multiple instruments
What would be the best thing about a St. Louis act winning the Tiny Desk contest? The Tiny Desk contest gives just enough constraints that we think St. Louis' artists and musicians will find creative ways to flourish and showcase not only the talent that this city holds but also the amazing landscape that we have to work with. If a St. Louis act were to win the Tiny Desk contest, it would really show the rest of the nation how resourceful and driven that we can be.
What's been your favorite Tiny Desk concert so far and why? There are so many great Tiny Desk concerts to choose from, and of course we love Pokey LaFarge's concert, our hometown hero, but we also can't stop watching Mother Falcon's concert and the one done by St. Paul and the Broken Bones.
Follow Scarlet Tanager on Facebook, on Bandcamp and at scarlettanagermusic.com.
More St. Louis songs on page three.
