By Steven Hyden
In We re No. 1, Steven Hyden examines an album that went to No. 1 on the Billboard charts to get to the heart of what it means to be popular in pop music, and how that concept has changed over the years. In this installment, he covers Boston s Don t Look Back, which went to No. 1 on Oct. 7, 1978, where it stayed for one week.
As students return to classrooms, TIME looks at an honor roll of rock stars who really made the grade
BEST KNOWN AS: founding member of the classic-rock group Boston; he played almost every instrument and wrote a great majority of their hits
THE INTEL: A standout student in high school, Scholz attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he earned both a B.S. and and M.S. in mechanical engineering. While employed as a product designer at Polaroid, he built an in-home recording studio in which he famously made a demo that would become Boston s first album a record-breaking debut that sold a staggering 17 million copies.
BRAINIAC RATING, ON A SCALE OF 1 TO 11: 9
EXTRA CREDIT: Scholz has 34 patents to his name, including the Rockman, a now discontinued headphone amp that was favored by many touring musicians.
It's time to dust off long-neglected air guitar skills and relive the glory of rock-and-roll at its finest.
Boston, a representative of the heyday of American classic rock, is in the midst of its first nationwide tour since 2008. The band plays at Treasure Island Resort & Casino on Sept. 1.
Gary Pihl, Boston's longtime guitarist and backup vocalist, never expected to still be touring in 2012, but he has few complaints about taking the stage.
Watching the faces in the crowd smiling and singing along actually gets me choked up, Pihl said. Being away from home for such a long stretch is hard, but the feeling of performing is truly incredible."
You play guitar and sing backup vocals on this tour. What equipment do you ebony porn
use? Are you loyal to any particular brand?
I ve been playing Steinberger for almost 20 years. It stays in tune, sounds good, and is a really rugged instrument. It gives that unique Boston sound.
What do you think you d be doing as a career if you weren t a musician?
I ve enjoyed numerous things over the years and I ve been lucky enough to have been able to tie them together. Working with Tom (Scholz) on the technical aspects of Boston s audio equipment and designing amps over the last 20-plus years has been great. Photography is another interest of mine that I ve been able to incorporate into our music.
What current popular music do you enjoy listening to?
I listen to everything. I m a button-pusher in the car so I m constantly flipping between country, rock, hip hop, jazz, classical, you name it. If I don t know the artist I ll ask my kids. Sometimes they know the answer, sometimes they don t.
On your most recent tours, what have you noticed about the fan demographic compared to 30 years ago? Are they the same loyal, albeit older, fans or are you drawing a younger crowd who may not have even been alive 30 years ago?
Both. It s great to see fans out there who are about my age and have followed our music through the years. Now, thanks to our songs being on video games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero, we see kids as young as 10 or 11 years old singing along and enjoying the music.
What s your favorite song to perform live?
I d have to say Walk On. It s a long song but very technically challenging. Everyone gets to do their thing and show off a bit. The live version is a bit different than the studio version in that it s longer.
What are your plans for when you retire?
Retire? My wife says that I ll never retire. I actually imagine that I ll still be working with music. I have a band on the side called December People. We play holiday songs in the styles of other rock bands and all of our shows benefit local food banks.
Sarah Shonyo is a Rochester freelance writer.
By Mike Wilson
Thursday night, August 16, the Calvert Museum hosted the legendary classic rock band Boston with the local favorite Sam Grow the opening at their PNC Waterside Pavilion.
By Jeff Miers
News pop music critic
Perhaps the band is the epitome of what we call "classic rock." Or, more likely, Boston was simply a concept birthed in the mind of a visionary artist, one that just happened to catch on in a major way in the latter '70s, and we all accepted the pinning of the "classic rock" tag on a sound that was conceived without such pretensions.
By Dustin Schoof | The Express-Times
Boston is among the many classic rock bands who seem content on touring the festival circuit and playing their hits. The near-capacity crowd who showed up tonight to Musikfest didn't seem to mind -- or care.
The concert had all the trimmings of a Boston best-of collection; dropping the staples such as "Boston," "Rock & Roll Band" and "Smokin" all within the first 20 minutes. There were twin guitar solos, vocal harmonies and the occasional ballad. (the acoustically oriented "Amanda" in particular elicited many "aw's," which could be heard from those within earshot.)
That is not to diminish or take away from the musical talents of the group's members. Founding guitarist Tom Scholz proved he can still work a fretboard with the best of them, as he laid into the audience with several ripping solos throughout the night. Perched behind his kit, drummer Curly Smith steered the rhythm section with locomotive force.
Scholz pulled double duty throughout the night, switching between guitar and keyboard -- many times during the same song; including a sizzling finger workout on "Smokin," and later on the intro to the show's closing number, "Foreplay/Long Time."
However, the absence of original singer-guitarist Brad Delp (who died in 2007), coupled with Scholz being Boston's only remaining original member, made the performance come off more like a well-oiled tribute band doing their best Boston impression. To their credit, each song was played with precision without any audible botched licks or dead notes. Cuts such as "Feelin' Satisfied," "Peace of Mind," and "Surrender to Me" sounded just like they do on vinyl; as if they were being pumped out of a turntable cranked to 11, only without the pops and crackle.
Current frontman Tommy DeCarlo showed that he could handle Delp's lauded high notes with ease and did his best to keep the crowed engaged (which didn't appear to be a problem); particularly on the group's massive hit single "More Than a Feeling." The song ended with Scholz burning up his six-string a flurry of hammer-ons and bended notes as the rest of the band chugged along with him.
Though it was far from a poor or lifeless performance, there was a sense of complacency that permeated the show. The music was tight but it was tough to shake the feeling that Boston, now in its 36th year of existence, and several lineup changes later, was simply going through the motions.
At least it didn't rain.