FAVORITE BOSTON MUSICIAN

Rita : We'll there's a lot of “picking” going on here. Lolita, why don't you ask more of your buddies to “pick” their favorite Boston musician? Lolita : I'm right on top of him… I mean “it.” PETER C. JOHNSON (solo): A few names of generous, kind, modest, and skilled artists: Asa Brebner, Billy Conway, Dana Colley, Rick Berlin, Laurie Sargent, Linda Viens, Tim Gearon, John Cate, David Champagne, Andrew Mazzone, Jabe, Dennis Brennan, Billy Loosigian, Billy Beard, Kevin Shurtleff, Mike Castalana, Ian Kennedy, Kris Delmhorst, Shaun Wortis, Clint Conley, Paul Ahlstrand, Monique Ortiz, Session Americana, Peter Wolf, Bo Berringer, Chandler Travis, Jennifer Kimball, David Minnehan, and Jimmy Ryan. Put them in a room together and something beautiful will happen—count on it. I say stop the awards and the silly polls. They detract from the state of grace that we inhabit together. *** LOU SUSI (Beware the Haberdash): I'd have to say Chris Mascara. The guy is just over the top with his power trio. I mean, anyone who saw what went down during “High School” back at The Midway last fall knows that the guy brings it each and every time—rawk perfection incarnate. *** FRANCIS DiMENNO (Wrong Hero/ The Noise ): Daved Hild is my hero, for his role in bringing The Girls' 1979 single “Jeffrey I Hear You” to fruition via David Thomas' Hearthan Label. The song packs a whole novel's worth of feeling, and is perhaps the very best example of what has made the Boston music scene such an interesting field of study over the last 30 years. *** JASON HALOGEN (The Luxury): It's going to sound cheeky, but the brightest star in Boston for me is Steve Foster, our drummer. Not only is he a fantastic drummer, but he did something amazing this year: he recorded a 14-track record from top to bottom entitled Steve Foster & his Christmas Chickens , in which he re-wrote every major Christmas carol as a song about either befriending or cooking and eating chickens. Songs like “Ovens We Have Set On High” and “You're Beginning To Look a Lot Like a Chicken” will not soon fade from my playlist. All of you should be so dubiously lucky. *** BROTHER CLEVE (Del Fuegos/ Wheelers & Dealers): I think my favorite Boston musician after all these years is Dennis McCarthy, god of drums. So many bands since the early '80s, so many styles, and still he gets better all the time. From The Prime Movers then to The Prime Movers now, and especially those years that he and I played together in the Wheelers & Dealers. He's back behind the drums making it look easier than it is, and he hasn't spilled a drink yet. *** MC LUSCIOUS (Stormin' Mormons): For a favorite musician I'd have to go with Jay Allen. The man is a one-man rock 'n' roll juggernaut that has a song for every situation. His whole record ( Fun is Fun But This is Insanity ) is great but if I had to pick one song I go with “Frying Pan Justice.” I know that feeling. *** MARTY WHITE (Mr. Curt Ensemble/ The Couper Brothers): I know I am going out on a limb here, but the most underrated and amazingly talented musician not only in this city, but in any city, is Mark Bowden—lead guitar player for the Emily Grogan Band. The fucking guy's solos have actually moved me to tears on more than one occasion. And no one, and I don`t care what anyone says, can do what that guy does with an E-bow. I know I have support on this one. He is truly a musician's musician. And one of the humblest guys out there, too. *** PHIL AYOUB (Phil Ayoub): Aaron Perrino. I still listen to the Sheila Divine songs and think “How did this band not take over the world?!” And to see him continue to write incredible songs with Dear Leader, like “Raging Red”: “Hands are... sh-sh-sh-shakin', raging red it's yours for the takin'!” It's such good shit! It's actually caused me to get few speeding tickets. Think I could get him to reimburse me for them? *** DAMIAN DAVID (4” Stud): My favorite Boston musician would have to be John Brookhouse (guitarist in Irreverends). Listen to him on Irreverends self-titled LP. What killer tone! When can we expect that full-length album they started recording what feels like ages ago? *** ERIK LINDGREN (Birdsongs of the Mesozoic/Arf Arf Records): Willie Loco Alexander has spanned four generations and he is still on the cutting edge. Besides, he wears makeup on stage and looks like a Bimbo. Willie is our New England musical treasure and the Godfather of Boston punk. We should have named the third harbor tunnel after him. *** RAY MASON (Ray Mason Band/ Lonesome Brothers): I have way too many favorites to pick just one, but today I'm going with Charlie Chesterman. Charlie brings the roll back to rock! One of America 's best non-trendy, no-frills songwriters with a band to match. Check out “Skunk On The Loose” or “Ham Radio” and you'll know what I mean. Why do so many of my faves get described as “best-kept secrets”? Rita : It's because Lolita wants to keep them all to herself.