Riley the rock star

The Dirty 30s' Jason Riley, 33, is one of Cape Girardeau's more recognizable musicians. The singer/guitarist, well-known for his barroom antics, has matured considerably since leaving Cape Girardeau for St. Louis, and is preparing himself to get back into the recording studio this month. SE Live caught Riley at Broussard's, where the 30s were playing last weekend.

James Samons: It seems as if the 30s are making an effort to get back down here to play. Is that an unfair assessment?

Jason Riley: Well, I know it might seem like that now because we've had back-to-back shows at Broussard's, but we've always played down here. I have always tried to get us down here at least once a month ... and nothing's changed.

JS: But that's about to change when you guys head into the studio, right?

JR: Yeah ... we won't have any shows in Cape ... until probably March. We're gonna have this one mixed by the same person who did it last time, which means we'll stay in St. Louis and record. Main thing is we seem to always play when it's snowing and we're a little sick of that, so we've got January and February, and then we'll be back in March.

Jason Riley performed with The Dirty 30s Friday at Broussard's.The band is getting ready to record a new album and Riley said they won't play another show in Cape Girardeau until March.

JS: It's been around a year now since ex-bassist and grand showman Jeb Venable left the band. How has losing Jeb affected your band chemistry?

JR: That's a hard question for me to answer 'cause Jeb's my friend and I still talk to him every day. Thing is, Jeb still gets up on stage with us every so often ... like last week.

JS: Do you think Jeb's absence has affected the crowds?

JR: I don't know. Last time we played down here, the place was really packed. And it never hurts to have a guy from Jackson like Jeb in the band. But to say it has hurt our fan base is something totally different. Fans are people in Germany who don't even know you and buy your record online or whatever. Most of these people who show up to these gigs are our friends.

JS: Now there has been some question about what genre the 30s fit into. What do you think you're up there playing?

The Dirty 30s perform on Friday, December 14, 2007.

JR: I like to say it's all rock 'n' roll because most of my stuff, writing-wise, is written off blues. Thing is, when you come from Cape Girardeau or you come from Missouri and you're not playing new, progressive indie-rock ... you know, more of what I like to call "city sound" ... people get the idea that you have country in there. But we're not a country band, we don't fit with country bands ... we don't even fit with the "Red Dirt"-type bands. We like to have a lot of energy and we like to have bands open for us who have a lot of unique energy.

JS: So I guess if you know where you fit, what is your ultimate goal for the 30s?

JR: Bottom line is I like to play the songs that I write, and that's about it. There's no pot of gold at the end of the road ... it's harsh. But I enjoy coming down here and playing anyway. I enjoy playing in St. Louis. I enjoy playing in Columbia, Carbondale, Nashville, Memphis, Kentucky ... I like all those places about five hours from St. Louis. But I don't think my music is that commercial ... I just don't think everybody would like it or accept it.