Today’s Cityscape segment about the musical "Fun Home" included music from the score that featured piano. This got us asking: How are different St. Louis musicians using the piano? Are they hammering away at the keys behind Springsteen-esque rave-ups? Are they setting a bittersweet tone with simple melodies that grow and expand into orchestral pop arrangements? Are they digitally manipulating samples of old piano lines and pairing them with glitchy drums to create neo-R'n'B gems?
Uh, yes. Yes, they are.
Coultrain was recently named one of the RFT’s musicians to watch in 2015, although he has been around for a while. His particular strand of soul music has influenced various of St. Louis’ hip hop, electronic and R'n'B acts over the past couple of years.
Lizzie Weber had a breakthrough in 2014 with her song "Falling Like Fools," which was featured locally on KDHX and nationally on Huffington Post. The music video for the song was screened at several film festivals around the country from the Best Shorts Competition to the Women’s Independent Film Festival in Los Angeles.
The Educated Guess has been pursuing symphonic pop music in St. Louis since 2006. The band's music is influenced by the Boss, 1950s pop acts and the approachable, sincere, Laurel Canyon rock of the 1970s. Vocalist Charlie Brumley’s more recent project Palaver also leans heavily on the piano.
