When I was in middle school, all I wanted to do was be in a band and play shows. Not necessarily sold out arenas like some rock star, just small local gigs for people my age. There was one venue, The Pit, I longed to play at. It was in a somewhat shady building over off 94 by the St. Charles 18 Cine. The floors were sticky, the chairs were wobbly, it reeked of smoke, and broken bones were commonplace in the mosh pit, but it was a home; a home for local musicians that loved playing music with friends.

And that’s all it was; friends enjoying each other’s company, talents, and music. My friend – senior Ricky Remolina’s – brother’s band Good Luck Friday played there all through those years along with acts such as BAMF! and Wings of Tyranny.

Sadly, in 2008, The Pit closed due to financial reasons. The premier place for local musicians to play in this area was gone. A few of you are probably saying “There are tons of places for bands to play in St. Louis.” Yes, in St. Louis. But what about us suburban brats and mall rats from good ol’ St. Chuck? Where do we go?

Places like The Firebird, Cicero’s, and Fubar are great, but a 45-minute drive (minimum) can be tough on your fans, no matter how dedicated they are. It’s so much more convenient to play 15 minutes down the road as opposed to the Loop or downtown St. Louis. And it’s way easier to sway people to come and watch who have never heard or seen your band before if you’re playing closer to home. Unfortunately, after The Pit closed, it brought a lot of change. Many bands called it quits and moved on to other things. Others reorganized, and most just played at the other venues.

What was really difficult for me was that 2008 was the year I finally got a band together that could hold its own at a place like The Pit. If only a place like The Pit had still existed. The local music scene had really taken a crippling blow. Bands from around here were doomed to play almost an hour away or just acoustically at the local coffee shops. Luckily, O’Fallon has Brewskeez and Cottleville has The Babylon, which have opened up to younger local bands in recent years.

This new breath of hope has filled all of our lungs, and now we’re ready. Bands like Clockwork (with alumnus Jordan Slone, as well as current juniors Logan Slone and Logan Mohler), Worth of Tomorrow (with senior Tyler Gritt and juniors Spencer Foust, Jimmy Smotherman, and Gordon Wade) , The Weekend Routine (with senior Cody Jones on the drums), and my own band The Ragstripes ( with yours truly, obviously, as well as senior Nick Jones and junior Cory Mercurio), just to name some bands with members of FHC in them, are ready to take back the local scene by force and we’re going to make it our own. And hopefully this time the good scene sticks around for good. We (the bands) are going to do everything we can to make sure it does, but we’re going to need your undying support to make it happen.

Let’s do this.

For any questions, comments, and/or concerns, please don’t hesitate to email me at [email protected]