‘Rockhouse’ music reaches all ‘round the world

by MaryAnne Block

news@thenewsleaders.com

A gem hidden in plain sight is Rockhouse Productions, located in downtown St. Joseph on Minnesota Street across from the Catholic church. The gem “shines” in its high-tech sound equipment, acoustics, the musicians that record there and the history of the building.

An open house was held at Rockhouse July 3 during which members of the public had the chance to enter the building and see the piano room, the guitar room, the bank vault, music posters through the decades, historic mementoes and more.

The current owners are brothers Tommy and Jeff “Vee” as they are known, though their actual last name is Velline. Their cousin Matt Vee and Tommy’s son Bennett are the four that comprise the core of the band dubbed “Killer Vees.” This local group has been singing all over the country and internationally for decades.

The Bobby and Karen Velline family lived near Richmond for years and established close ties to people and places in the nearby St. Joseph area.

The Vees seem to have “inherited” their musical talents from Bobby Vee, an American teen idol in the 1960s who is the father of Jeff and Tommy. Born in Fargo, N.D., Bobby got his first big singing break when he was just 16.

After a Buddy Holly concert in Clear Lake, Iowa on Feb. 3, 1959, three musicians and a pilot took off from the local airport. The rest of the musicians rode the bus, but Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson decided to fly. The plane crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all four.

The following night the band was scheduled to perform in Moorhead. Rather than cancel, it was decided the concert would go on. But opening performers were needed, so a request was placed on the local radio station for volunteer musicians. Bobby Vee and his brother were chosen, and that night they were the opening act for Buddy Holly’s band.

That was a huge opportunity for Bobby, who went on to be a prolific song writer, singer and musician. He became a 1960s teen idol, not only in the United States but internationally.

Years later, when Bobby’s two sons Tommy and Jeff toured and performed with their dad, they were able to meet in person some big-name musicians.

“Led Zeppelin, the Beatles and many others told me and my brother how much they were influenced by our dad’s music abilities,” Tommy said. “Dad not only performed on stage but also with really big names throughout his career. It was really cool to travel internationally and sing and perform with him (throughout) the years.”

Bobby, born in 1943, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2011 and died in 2016. During his career, 38 of his songs made the Top Billboard Hot 100 list, including “Take Good Care of My Baby.”

The interior walls of Rockhouse Productions display many large posters that list well-known musicians, and Bobby Vee is on each of those posters.

Rockhouse is housed in the old First State Bank building that was built in 1917. In 1982, the building was added to the National Register of Historical Places. That designation was in part because of the unique Egyptian-Revival style architecture (very rare in the state) which decorates the outside of the building.

“Rockhouse started in the 1990s,” Tommy said, “and we moved to St. Joseph in 2000. We were pleased to find the old bank building, which had been empty for several years. The acoustics were truly phenomenal. We did very little to the building structurally, other than put up a wall to divide the lobby area.

“(During) the years we have worked with several thousand performers and artists. Everything got real quiet starting in March 2020 due to COVID. Music production was nearly halted everywhere. Then in 2022 it started to come to life again.”

The “Killer Vees” band has performed far and wide. They currently perform three “tribute” concerts – “Neil Diamond Hits,” “Remembering Bobby Vee” and “The Golden Era of Country.”

From 2022 through early 2023 they upgraded the Rockhouse Productions building’s interior and added state-of-the-art recording technology. That was about a $200,000 investment, mostly in equipment. Their high-tech recording equipment and skills are in demand across the country.

“So much of the recording is done digitally now,” Tommy said. “MP3s are popular, but a few CDs are making a comeback, and there is a growing interest in vinyl. The sound quality of vinyl cannot be matched with digital.”

Rockhouse has three basic businesses. The first is recording, mixing and mastering music for performers from throughout the nation. The second is providing everything for large outdoor music festivals, including all the sound equipment, stage and electrical hookups for each venue throughout the upper Midwest. From mid-May through August is a very busy time for festivals, Tommy said. The third component is headed by Jeff. He does the management and booking of many big-name groups. He schedules concerts, venues and performances and he does the advance advertising. That is in addition to the ‘Killer Vees’ concerts all over the country.

To reach Rockhouse Productions, the best way is to use its website, rockhouseprod.com, and leave an email. The office phones and the mailbox fill up very quickly so it is difficult to reach them that way.