By Nora Onanian, Web Services Coordinator
617 Day — WERS' celebration of the local talent and culture wrapped into Boston's area code — is less than a week away. And in the spirit of celebrating all things local, we're looking back on Boston's music history roots. The photos below picture locations that played significant roles in shaping the careers of some of the most influential musicians of our time. You might have walked, biked or driven by some of these unassuming spots, and hopefully will come away from this photo series with a new appreciation for the streets you call home.
1. JOAN BAEZ — 1325 COMMONWEALTH AVE., CAMBRIDGE
In 1958, just after Joan Baez graduated high school, her dad accepted a faculty position at MIT and the family of five moved into this apartment in Cambridge, at the corner of Bow Street and Mass. Ave. Baez had already spent most of her teens years writing and playing music, even purchasing her first Gibson acoustic guitar a year prior to the move. Luckily for the aspiring musician, Boston was a center of an up-and-coming folk scene of which she drew great inspiration from. Joan Baez performed her first official concert at Club 47 (now know as Club Passim) not far down the road from this apartment.
2. AEROSMITH — 1325 COMMONWEALTH AVE., ALLSTON
Boston-formed, but soon globally acclaimed, rock outlet Aerosmith lived in this Allston apartment on Commonwealth Ave. in the early '70s. A track on their self-titled debut album, titled "Movin' Out," was even an ode to this spot that holds a special place in the group's hearts. Today, a plaque outside the building shares this history with those passing by.
3. TRACY CHAPMAN — HARVARD SQUARE, CAMBRIDGE
While attending Tufts University in the '80s, Tracy Chapman would busk underground in T stations, and in outdoor spots— notably, Harvard Square. She was photographed in this spot in 1985, and in an interview with the Boston Globe, reflected on some key lessons she learned from her early days busking in Boston.
“I never wanted to play with an amp, and after a while I found that I couldn’t hear myself over a train. The trains come pretty frequently. It’s pretty difficult to project over a train unless you’re an opera singer. (…)
Busking adds to the quality of urban life to have music in public spaces, and it’s something Boston is known for. It’s part of the city, part of what it’s about. People come up to me all over the country and tell me they remember seeing me in Harvard Square.
I think what I like about it is that in a way, making music in a public space — it’s sort of an experience that epitomizes a democratic free society, what are the requirements? There really are none. It’s about having the nerve to put yourself out there and take a chance, to see if you can do it, to see if people would be willing to stop what they’re doing, look up at you, and listen. That’s music.”
4. FORT APACHE STUDIOS — 169 Norfolk Ave., Roxbury
Fort Apache studios, a place instrumental in shaping the alternative rock sound of '80s and '90s — and which relocated to Cambridge, and Vermont before eventually shutting its doors for good — started here in 1986, at this unassuming, industrial-looking space on Norfolk Ave. in Roxbury.
Fort Apache, founded by Gary Smith, has an impressive resume. In the late '80s, Smith advised Newport, Rhode Island group the Throwing Muses to move to Boston, joining an alternative scene that they flourished and eventually outgrew. He produced early works for other artists local to the area such as the Pixies and Juliana Hatfield. And soon, gaining acclaim for the DIY spirit that helped creativity flourish for these artists, Fort Apache expanded its clientele nationally and internationally, working with artists from Radiohead to Weezer to Billy Bragg.
5. DROPKICK MURPHYS — 654 Hancock St., Quincy
In 1996, founding member of Dropkick Murphys, Ken Casey was studying to become a special education teacher at University of Massachusetts Boston, and working a construction job. But in his off time, a friend — Karen Kelly — let Casey practice bass in the basement of the barbershop she owned, and cut his hair as he talked about his dreams of starting a band.
Eventually, Casey recruited a few friends who weren't particularly musical. Casey told Billboard in a recent interview, “There was almost a Bad News Bears effect,” recalls Casey. “People were like, ‘Man, these guys suck, but something makes me want to root for them.’” They practiced often in this spot on Hancock Street in Quincy (now a cellphone repair shop rather than a barbershop) and eventually moved on to clubs like Rathskeller and stadiums, more recently.
6. THE MODERN LOVERS — ROUTE 128, HEADING TO NATICK
Jonathan Richman, frontman of the Modern Lovers, grew up in Natick, Mass. He began writing songs in his teens, performing solo for the first time in 1967, and then eventually, with a group of bandmates he called "The Modern Lovers" in the early '70s. One of the staples of their early setlists (and still today, when Richman does a rare solo performance) is "Roadrunner." Inspired by driving down Route 128 on his way to and from Natick, the lyrics go: "I'm in love with modern moonlight, 128 when it's dark outside. I'm in love with Massachusetts. I'm in love with the radio on," later, also referencing the Stop and Shop sign. The song couldn't get more Massachusetts-inspired, gave Allston venue "Roadrunner" its namesake, and has even been proposed to be Massachusetts' state song.
