By: Justin Press
August 2004

You’d be hard pressed to find anyone that doesn’t currently own, has previously owned, or at least knows five tracks from Boston’s self-titled mega-hit debut. It practically changed the way record label’s expectations of a band’s first albums should do as far as sales. 20 million plus and still counting to this day, and a majority of that had been done without the marketing dollars of today. It was strictly radio and touring that made that thing into a monster. It is the ultimate in precision production, timeless melodies, powerful performances, all done very organically by founder Tom Scholtz (an MIT grad and engineer for Kodak) and vocalist Brad Delp. Done over the course of several years, it is the equivalent of Dark Side Of The Moon for head bangers, as far as it sounds impeccable still.

The follow-up Don’t Look Back was another stealth production this time done by a full band that also showcased numerous radio giants like the title track and “Man I’ll Never Be”. It would be another 8 years before the band were able to release another batch of new tracks due to legalities and Scholtz’s desire to create absolute perfection in the studio. Most bands’ following would have dried up with that amount of time out of the spotlight but with the release of Third Stage, the fans sent it right into the Top Ten. Due partly to the strength of the band’s catalog at radio and a new generation discovering the first two albums, the band just wouldn’t go away. Though primarily an Scholtz/Delp project by the time of Third Stage, others like guitarist/vocalist Fran Cosmo were making their mark with band by the time of Walk On (with Delp taking a temporary break to help ex-Boston guitarist Barry Goudreau with his band RTZ).

Fast-forward to 2002 and after numerous years without new product other than the Greatest Hits album with several new tracks, and some brief touring, the band was non-existent to the general public. Well all that changed with an appearance at the Super Bowl in Tampa and a new contract with Artemis, the band released Corporate America. A new cast of members joining Scholtz, Delp and Cosmo helped usher back in the classic Boston sound with tracks like “Turn It On” and “I Had A Good Time” leading the way with that patented multi-layered guitar tone and Delp/Cosmo countering one another. The summer of 2003 saw the band hitting the road with a new production and the new band including bassist/vocalist Kimberly Dahme, taking the new material and re-energizing the classics for full sheds everywhere. They are currently hitting the road again focusing on venues they didn’t hit last year including a performance this Saturday the 14th in Austin as the Frank Erwin Center. Vocalist Brad Delp was gracious enough to share his time with the DMG and talk about the band’s legacy, its future, and his weekend Beatles gigs.

(*Note: Tom Scholtz injured his knee prior to the tour opener and pushed the day back by one.)