When asked years ago for permission to use the BOSTON trademark for a fan-based website, I was flattered. The idea that some internet users were so enthusiastic about my music that they would form their own Boston website was exciting.

Of course I agreed, and made some small donations, but also made the decision to keep a "hands off" policy towards the site and its content. I really didn't want to interfere with any fan's perception of what BOSTON meant to them. Besides, I had my hands full writing, producing, and performing.

This meant that most of the information on the site came third hand from news articles, which I have found to be generally about 90% inaccurate. Some of these sources may also have been somewhat hostile. We have plenty of detractors because we were too successful, because we avoid association with the sleazy element, because we were open about our strong ethical views, and because our surprise victory in the old CBS lawsuit spoiled any plans certain people may have had to exploit the name BOSTON.

In spite of all the wonderful sentiments that are shared on the site concerning BOSTON's music, the volume of misinformation on the site and the growing misunderstandings expressed in the postings have become more than an annoyance to band members and friends, who have repeatedly complained to me. Although most of you have been incredibly supportive and understanding, some are not.

Most people believe this "official" site is controlled by the band and don't know that it is a purely fan-based site. Virtually everyone who comments to me about the site asks why we allow the detrimental statements, and why we provide information that appears to benefit people who have interfered with our pursuits as BOSTON. It may come as a surprise to many of you, but nobody in the band, including myself, ever approved or reviewed any of the material presented here. In fact, until recently I had never read most of it, as I was constantly juggling the high demands on my time. (My last vacation was in 1997!)

We are very grateful for the excellent work done by our friends and listeners who created the site and maintain it; it is one of the best on the net. But the fear for us in the band is that many new listeners, and now the media, are coming to the site as a result of our new CD, and are finding false "facts" and less-than-flattering comments. There is speculation that the site has even been used as a tool by individuals who would like to see BOSTON fail. The musicians who have created "Corporate America" put heart and soul into this project for 4½ years, and all our futures depend on its success.

We would really like to correct the info about the origins of the music and the people responsible for bringing it to life. My goal is to provide more accurate information about these people, and a factual account of how the music came to exist, "from the horse's mouth." For the older music, most of it was recorded by me with no one else present, except Brad for vocals. All of it (except one song) was recorded and mixed with me physically there in the driver's seat.

The time has come to debunk some of the myths that have been allowed to taint people's perception of Boston. Particularly distressing has been the undeserved elevation to virtual sainthood of long-departed, so-called "original" band members by fans of the first 2 albums. Because of the deliberate effort to hide the precise performers' credits on albums 1 and 2, few people realize that Brad and I alone actually performed most of the tracks by the process of overdubbing.

Once the drum track had been laid down by Jim Masdea or Sib Hashian, I played all the instruments, one at a time, on most of the recordings, including More Than a Feeling, Smokin', Party, A Man I'll Never Be, etc....11 cuts in all, and most of the instruments on 4 of the other 5. Brad similarly sang all the vocals painstakingly, one track at a time. This is exactly how the demo was recorded that got us the deal - so convincingly that for years even Brad thought he had sung to a tape of a band playing!

The 3 musicians picked by Brad and me for our performing group were chosen long after the work of attracting major label interest was done. Later, although I tried to use them on the recordings to make them feel involved, they ended up having only limited roles in the recording of the first 2 albums. They had no involvement in the long, costly process of recording the mythical "6 song demo" (which was actually a 4 song demo, followed months later by a 2 song demo).

The story of these demos, which got three major record labels interested, and finally cinched the deal with CBS/Epic, has been badly mutilated by the "FAQ" section. Here is a short version of what really happened:

THE BOSTON DEMOS

After 6 years of developing my writing, arranging, recording, and performing skills, and after spending ALL of our savings (my wife was a real trouper) from my Polaroid day job, I finally recorded a 4 song demo with Brad and Masdea which attracted genuine interest from 3 big labels. I remember jumping around on top of my desk at Polaroid in a victory dance after a vice president of A&M Records tracked me down and called me there.

This started a long string of events, as a coworker observing my unusual animation (I was normally asleep at this part of the work day), later played the tape for his cousin at ABC Records. There Charlie McKenzie "discovered" it, eventually leading to the Epic contract.

Several months after the first demo sent me to the top of my desk, I finished another 2 song demo which included "More Than a Feeling." This resulted in the contract being offered by Epic. The misleading accounts of a "showcase set" sealing the deal are fictitious. Epic reacted only after hearing "More Than a Feeling," which occurred months after the showcase attempt.

The only performers on these demos were Brad Delp (vocals), Jim Masdea (drums), and myself (all other instruments). I persevered with the painstaking work of overdubbing the keyboards, bass, and guitars one track at a time because earlier attempts at recording using other musicians never captured the emotion I was looking for. I realized that this unorthodox method would be the formula if I were to succeed at creating the music I envisioned.

The point is that none of the other 3 "original members" played any part in these demo recordings which were years in the making. My then good friend, Barry Goudreau, after learning of my success with the 4 song demo, approached me, asking if I could use another guitarist on stage. Trusting our friendship, I agreed to let him, and eventually his two longtime buddies Hashian and Sheehan, take part in the band.

But Brad and I could have chosen anyone to fill out the roster for our public appearances, and their subsequent involvement had little effect on the eventual recording. They were not even named in the CBS contract for the "Boston" album; only Brad and I were signed. But they did stand in the picture, got named in the credits, and collected a royalty share equal to ours.

What about the credits? The 1st and 2nd album credits were intentionally vague, so as not to embarrass the new "members." This adhered to the promotion peoples' marketing image, presenting this as if it were a real recording group in the traditional sense. Maybe they felt the world wouldn't accept the music if they knew most of it was recorded 1 track at a time by 2 people.

Consequently it is not mentioned in the liner notes that I laid down most of the instrument tracks. At the time I didn't mind people thinking that Sheehan played those bass lines, or that Goudreau played guitar on "More Than a Feeling" (the video clip of him playing it on commercials was just a lip-sync). Fast forwarding to 2002, reading the complaints of fans who mourn the loss of the great "original" bass player, etc, threatens to undermine our future. I wonder if Masdea has similar resentment, knowing that the drum arrangements he and I worked out for demos were studied and replicated by Hashian in the studio.

In spite of this, all 3, at my direction, received exactly the same royalty share as Brad and me. Neither of us were particularly concerned with the money; there was plenty. Hopeful that this generous arrangement would eliminate envy within the ranks, I was soon to learn some bitter lessons about human nature.

None of this is to be construed to mean that Goudreau and his pals did nothing in the studio; they all took part to some extent.