Bob Reuter

Bob Reuter met me at City Museum on Martin Luther King day, after hours. He had a rental car for the day so I didn't need to pick him up like we originally planned when we arranged this impromptu show on a phone call before the weekend. We made a little small talk as we walked around to find an appropriate place to shoot. He decided on the nautical themed room on the main level. There are fish tanks there with actual fish that are native to Missouri, some big Carp and Gar---which I've only seen dead before washed up on the shores of the Merrimac while camping in the summer time.Bob, is a main-stay of the current music scene in St. Louis. I've heard third hand that he played in some of the cities first punk bands back in the late 70's. I've also heard whispers that he was somewhat of an early musical mentor to some performers who've gone on to become rock stars on the national stage.  He's also known for his photography which was a subject of an earlier video I made about him several years ago. He's a punk rock troubadour, and a raconteur. I love to read his stories on his myspace blog--he could be a serious writer if he wanted to be.  Once we determined the performance space, he took off his hat, tuned up his guitar and we rolled. We walked around each other like fighters before the first blows of a prize fight. He played a song about South St. Louis called Dirty South. The southside of St. Louis being at the bottom of the city that is a gateway not just to the west, but also the Northern border of the southern part of the US--the "dirty" south as Bob calls it here. The title of this song also shares it's title with one of his bands. Then, almost as soon as he started, he donned his hat, packed up his guitar and we were done.  He had a rental car to return.