Pitters Café & Lounge

Tucked away in an unassuming row of old storefronts along Broadway there sits an old building with history living within its walls. The front half of the building was a jazz bar in the 1920s and there was a speakeasy in its basement during Prohibition. During the Cold War era, the building was rebuilt by World War II veterans to withstand any possible attack. Today, this building is living up to its legacy by housing Pitters Café and Lounge, Cape Girardeau's newest up-and-coming music venue.

Pitters has been family-owned and run for many years, offering different names and services. It was named after Pitter Seabaugh, the mother of J.J. and Timexx Seabaugh, who are responsible for booking bands and bringing in crowds Wednesday through Saturday nights. The family-owned business went through quite a journey to reach the point where it stands today.

Originally, it was Cherokee Trails, a souvenir shop. Later, the upstairs became the Enchanted Forest, which was also a music venue. The Mississippi Mudhouse was next, serving primarily as a short-lived coffee shop. The name was changed, the full bar was stocked and Pitters was established two years later, serving food, drinks--both alcoholic and non--as well as entertainment.

The Seabaughs are a family that thrives on music. They have been playing music since the early '80s when Timexx and J.J.'s father was a promoter who helped advertise for and book bands.

"We actually, as children, learned how to exploit bands long before we ever learned how to be in them," Timexx said.

The family holds countless connections to other band members, friends, family and promoters for musicians. These connections help when booking bands, but booking a full show can still be difficult, according to Timexx. Pitters usually opens at 8 p.m., but on nights when the brothers can't arrange a show the doors remain closed.

"It's not only booking the headlining band, but then finding a local act who can open for that band who's similar in genre and will pull people in," Timexx said. "We pride ourselves on the acts that we choose, and we pay a lot of money to get them here."

Joey Parent is one of those local acts. The singer/songwriter plays acoustic guitar and harmonica. Parent has played at Pitters a couple times in the past and was booked to open for a band out of Kansas City on Oct. 15.

Pitters is the only music venue in Cape Girardeau that has their own in-house sound system and equipment, J.J. said. Parent said that having this setup is what helps to make Pitters an ideal music venue.

"They've got a good sound system in there. They've got a sound deck up there, they've got someone controlling the sound and they've got monitors, speakers--they've got a good setup," Parent said. "It's nice to show up and setup your instruments and plug into someone who has their own microphone and everything."

Timexx said having their own equipment makes it easier for the bands to set up and play, and it helps with attracting and booking bands.

"We're able to get some of the bands we have because of house gear," Timexx said. "They don't have to come in and spend three hours setting up the PA, and then playing the show and then three hours tearing it down."

Connections and a great sound system aren't the only things that draw bands in. They host an open mic night every Wednesday for everyone from big name bands to comedians to never-before-seen artists.

Parent often goes to Pitters on Wednesday nights. Sometimes, he doesn't even get his guitar out of his car. He goes to listen to the unique artists.

"Most of the time I go in there and I just kind of watch," Parent said.

Open mic nights are a big hit for the venue. Timexx said it is a great way for young musicians to showcase their abilities and also grow into better musicians. He joked that the only way for a comedian to know if he's funny is to get up on stage and see if he gets laughed at, or thrown out.

"We have seen several bands that kind of come about because of our Wednesday night open jams," Timexx said. "We have a lot of bands that are now big Cape bands playing all over who started here as teenagers upstairs in the [Enchanted] Forest."

Southeast student Nick Shedd has seen shows at the Enchanted Forest, as well Mississippi Mudhouse and Pitters. Shedd said he thinks it's a cool venue with an atmosphere that allows original artists to perform and grow. He mentioned the local band Isabella, who used to play at the Enchanted Forest, as an example.

"Pitters is the only venue in Cape that is consistently trying to book original bands," Shedd said. "To me, Cape Girardeau's music scene is more cover artists because there is no outlet for the original artists, aside from Pitters."

The main focus of Pitters is to bring in great bands that will pack the house. Pitters opens its doors to all sorts of original artists, from cajun to reggae to death metal.

"We really like being an all-music venue," Timexx. "You may hit five different styles of music in the course of a week, here. It just depends who we book. But we like having continuously different music."

According to Timexx, Cape has a good music scene because it is a halfway point directly between St. Louis and Memphis, creating a great pit stop for touring bands. Location is key and plays a huge part in drawing in not only bands, but an audience as well. Timexx said Pitters' location keeps them from getting lost in the wandering bar crowd of Main and Spanish Streets.

"People who are coming here are strictly coming here because they want entertainment," Timexx said. "They're here to see the bands, they don't complain about paying five to 20 bucks at the door. They come here because they want to see a show and it keeps them from having to drive all the way to St. Louis."

Timexx said Pitters hopes to compete with the bigger venues located in St. Louis, like Pop's and The Pageant. The owners are thinking of remodeling soon by expanding the bar to three times its current size and breaking down walls to make the stage bigger and allow more room for an audience.

"They've made a big step, it seems like recently, from all local stuff to starting to get bigger bands--they have more of a reason to get that [expansion] going," Parent said.

The Seabaugh family is always looking for unique ways to get more business and attract more people. From hosting "Crappy Movie Night" on Tuesdays,to booking a pirate-themed band, complete with pirate instruments, songs and attire.

As long as the ideas don't stop coming, the bands don't stop either. Pitters hosted an '80s Night on Oct. 22, featuring '80s cover band the Bone Queens. Kill Devil Hill, featuring Vinny Appice, former drummer of Black Sabbath and Dio, will play Nov. 5.

"They're definitely focusing their energy on getting bands in there, keeping it growing, keeping it interesting," Parent said.

And they love every minute of it. When they're not touring with their own bands, J.J. and Timexx are at Pitters booking bands, working sound and eating their mom's homemade specialty Cherokee Salad in the café. The Seabaughs have put a lot of work into their business in hopes to provide Cape, the "undiscovered music city" as Timexx coined it, a venue with great music potential and awesome entertainment.

For further information and show listings, go to Pitters Café and Lounge on Facebook.