Boston Rock

The soundtrack of my life as a musician in Boston when punk blew everything apart, and what followed thereafter. In 1977, I was 18, and moved to Boston to go to Berklee. Definitely the right place at the right time.

Boston was an amazing melting pot of creativity. A relatively small city, with an enormous student population from all over the world, who brought their influences with them. All the bands knew each other, and everyone cross-pollinated. I was right in the middle of it. A steady diet of long nights at The Rat, college radio and free-form FM, such as WZBC’s No Commercial Potential, and playing a million gigs in every joint in town helped form my warped outlook on life.

Herein, my personal diary through the era. My desert island playlist of over 100 songs and counting, as diverse as the scene itself. Even though there’s twists and turns, I tried to make it flow. I’m a drummer with DJ inclinations – sequencing is important to me. 😉

For the uninitiated, there are many hidden gems herein. So many songs that should have been much bigger hits, but now at least, they’ll become a hit with you.

When hardcore came in, the scene changed. It kind of crowded everything else out. So, for me, the era pretty much ended with “This is Boston, Not LA,” even though I like a lot of that album, and included The Proletariat and Gang Green. This is a YouTube playlist, so any comments on the individual songs come from the original person who posted it, and are not editable by me.

Hope you enjoy!