When I set up some time to chat with Kit Kellison, owner of Off Broadway, I only knew a thing or two about one of St. Louis’ more storied venues. I knew it was one of the first places in the city to voluntarily ban flaming the cancer sticks inside, I remembered puffing on said nic-sticks while staring at a funky Airstream Trailer in their outdoor rock garden/patio, and I also remembered times spent waiting for a drink during one of their many awesome shows (some national, some local) pondering where they found all of the Lemp Beer boxes they have stacked on the side of the bar. When talking to Kit I learned a few more things about one of St. Louis’ hallowed halls of rock.  Three years ago, Kit and her husband Steve sold the metaphoric farm and returned to St. Louis to buy Off Broadway and fix ‘er up into what she is today. Like  lots of you folks reading the one person reading this, I have lived in St. Louis most of my life and tend to take the River City for granted, but Kit and Steve have lived in cities from sea to shining sea and, for them, the decision to come back home wasn’t all that hard. “We were ready to be home,” Kit said, “I really love St. Louis. If you seek it out, there is a lot of culture and sophistication.” (In light of that we should probably consider about laying off the ‘Lou a little, eh readers?)

Kit has gotten her hands messy with just about every fine and creative art you can imagine, but her love for aesthetically pleasing spaces and her ten years experience in selling high-end, professional audio equipment are what have really taken root and helped shape Off Broadway into the venue it is today. From the handmade, acoustic curtains behind the stage to the some of the black and white band shots that co-mingle with the famous Johnny Cash giving the bird pic, Kit’s goal is to make her music venue-baby through sight and especially with it’s sound. “Our entire reason for being is a good sound system,” Kit said, “That is why people want to play at Off Broadway.” Kit explained that people experience listener fatigue when they go to a place where the sound system is bad, and many people will leave without knowing exactly why.  ”They don’t know why they are getting a headache or sick,” Kit explained. Kit said that after a while, her sound guy (and drummer for Gentlemen Auction House and The Dock Ellis Band) Ryan Adams eventually developed kind of a groove in working together to achieve the best sound they could.

Aside from making Off Broadway home to one of the city’s most kick-arse sound systems, Kit has also been working on projects that will make Off Broadway a larger part of the community. Kit’s love of fine art and photography has prompted her to begin work on developing a non-profit arm that would utilize Off Broadway’s space during the day to help bolster the arts education for the community. “The way the arts programs have been slashed in schools has been detrimental to the possible options available to kids,” Kit said. “[Art] actually changes the physical makeup of the brain. It would be nice to do more on that end.” In addition to developing an artists space during the day at the venue, Kit has also been working on a community garden project somewhere in the space around that Airstream Trailer.

All said, Off Broadway is a passion project for both Kit and Steve, they work about 15 hours each day doing booking, promotions and managing the venue. “We don’t have the chance to go out as much as we like to,” Kit said. Trying to be the sneaky, get the inside scoop on best spots around the city type gal, I asked her where she likes to go when they do have a night out. She emphatically said, “There are just so many good ones,” but I did pull out of her that The Wedge and WayOut Club were among her favorites and, “Beale on Broadway. Intimate and comfy…nothing like a night with Kim Massie to send me over the back of my chair in ecstasy.”

If you haven’t had a chance to judge the quality of Off Broadway’s sound system or behold the awesome Airstream Trailer (yes, I am slightly obsessed with it, thank you very much) you should head over to Off Broadway’s website to check out upcoming shows, or go ahead and jot down the June 16th Kentucky Knife Fight show or the August 4 John Lee Hooker Jr. show.