Remedy

The members of St. Louis' reggae-jam band Remedy run on dependability — even if their cars do not.A few hours before the band's early October show at The Blue Fugue, guitarist Joe Foerster's hail-damaged '94 Corsica — carrying a carload of guitars and amps — suffered a flat on I-70, 45 minutes from Columbia. Other St. Louis bands might have missed the show. But Remedy had a trick up its sleeve: Columbia resident and band member Josh Funk.
"They called me and said that AAA was going to be too expensive," Funk says. "So I drove all the way down and picked them up."

Funk is the only band member who lives in town, and he is responsible for all local bookings, including the band's Halloween show at The Blue Fugue. Thanks to I-70, the five twenty-somethings of Remedy know they are connected physically and will be on time to gigs.

"It was a bad deal," Foerster says. "But I knew that Funk wouldn't mind, and he'd have no problem coming to get us."

Call them weekend warriors. St. Louis members, Foerster, Jeff Hanewinkel, Nick Heath and Josh Aichs, practice a few times a week sans Funk. But when the school week is over, Funk, an MU student, heads to St. Louis and plays catch-up. Despite their easygoing vibe, the members of Remedy, who met in high school, find the situation a downer.

"It's difficult as hell," Foerster says. "Everything is harder. Writing songs, practicing and all. But we love playing shows in Columbia, so it's worth dealing with him being far away."

And Funk doesn't only leave Columbia on the weekends. On Oct. 19 he headed to St. Louis for a Remedy concert after classes, only to return that night so he could cram for a physics test. He agrees that the distance frustrates the band, which performs mostly original music.

"It really hurts our ability to write new material," Funk says. "The chemistry is also a lot better when we're all at home practicing all the time."

Remedy's Sublime-like sound is still sharp and energetic despite its strange practice schedule. The band strives to mimic The Grateful Dead's and Phish's ability to build a song into a climax. It also works to vary the lyrical structure of songs.

Although it doesn't have a label, Remedy plans to release its first album sometime in November. The band hopes to get radio play in St. Louis and Columbia once it saves enough money to finish album production, which is a financial struggle.

"The fun is just beginning," Foerster says. "We are having such a good time with this band."

— Phil Owen
- Vox Magazine-Thursday, October 26, 2006