The rock band Pastiche was playing various nightclubs in and around Boston by the summer of 1979.¹ It was an interesting year of transition. '70s punk had gotten a very bad name and newer acts were being called the "new wave." In New England, hot rock bands included Robin Lane and the Chartbusters, the Neighborhoods,² and the Rings. Oak, with ties to both Maine and New Hampshire, followed a successful indie single with the promising major-label debut, Oak (LP, Mercury, 1979). The North Shore band, the Fools, was living up to its name with "She Looks Alright in the Dark" on the various artists compilation, The Best of the Boston Beat (LP, Infinity, 1979). The Atlantics' major-label release, Big City Rock (LP, ABC, 1979), was a fine collection of songs which was, unfortunately, badly marred by poor sound quality. It was, through no fault of their own, a serious commercial disappointment.

In 1979, the Neighborhoods won the first annual WBCN Rock and Roll Rumble; and a semi-finalist band, the Rings, got signed to a recording contract with MCA. In 1980, a field of 70 bands was narrowed to 24 by Oedipus and Carter Alan. And then the competition began. France, a metal band, was a big surprise, beating favorites Third Rail and the Peter Dayton Band to advance to the finals.³

Pastiche, the other 1980 finalist, was fronted by Ken Scales; Mr. Curt was on lead guitar, Ron Marinick played keyboards, Brad Hallen was on bass, and the drummer was Rick Martin. They performed some favorites, including "Talk Show," and covered a '60s hit, "I'm Not Your Stepping Stone." Evidently it was hard to take your eyes off Scales, as he and Pastiche put on quite a show.

Steve Morse called their second set in the finals "as compact and as magical as you'll ever see." And Pastiche won.⁵

So far, Pastiche had received little notice beyond its core following. Their Rumble victory changed that. Lead-guitarist Mr. Curt said, "It gave a boost to our confidence. The tag 'Best Boston Band' stays with you for a year. It got us a booking agency, a lot more respect, a lot more public attention."⁶ And their 3-song EP, Wicked Intense! (45, P*P, 1980)⁷, was getting favorable reviews and was going into a second pressing. It looked as though this band was going to make it big. When asked about the band's direction, Mr. Curt said, "Forward."

Pastiche was playing Boston and Providence, with shows, too, up in New Hampshire. They were having particular success in Portland, Maine, and wanted to get to New York. Word of their Rumble victory had traveled there ahead of them.

As Mr. Curt told it, members of Pastiche, with Steven Pofcher, were working hard at meeting all the responsibilities that were involved in running a band. Joe Harvard recalled that these guys were in an ideal position, too, to help new bands get started, and they were always happy to do so.

Pastiche had a lot of momentum carrying them into 1981. Early in the year, they would be releasing a terrific single, the reggae-flavored "Lock It Up" (45, Modern Method, 1981; b/w "Like I Always Do"); and the advance word on it was causing much excitement. They had two excellent compilation cuts, "Psycho Blonde"⁸ and, especially, "This Reminds Me of the Future" on A Wicked Good Time (LP, Modern Method, 1981). And they were receiving broad support from their hometown press. In a very flattering review in the January 5, 1981, issue of the Boston Globe, Steve Morse wrote that "it will be sinful if a major record company doesn't pick up on the group."

In the same notice, Morse spoke of the "commanding presence" of Ken Scales, saying he could "rightfully be counted among the most charismatic new singers in rock." And then he praised each band member and spoke of their "fast-paced, incendiary set."

AN UNATTRIBUTED NOTICE in the Boston Globe said,

Last year's WBCN/Rat Battle of the Bands winner does a lot of things well, the most striking being a talent for blending simple hooks with more complex arrangements. Additionally, guitarist Mr. Curt is a lyricist who sees nothing wrong with rocking and thinking simultaneously. "Lock It Up" marries a slinky reggae groove to accelerating rock verses, as singer Ken Scales weaves through a jaunty exploration of new found love.⁹

Julie Panebianco of Boston Rock wrote, "'Lock It Up' is a very catchy song, and it sounds terrific on the radio. Ken Scales' singing, good lyrics, and the band's choppy reggae beat combine to make what could be a hit. Great single."¹⁰

The major-label recording contract that seemed to be Pastiche's destiny was proving, instead, to be elusive; but Boston rock fans, who knew Pastiche best, were often quite enthusiastic. Country singer, scenester, and one of my favorite e-mail correspondents, Miss Xanna Don't, said, "[T]here weren't too many Pastiche gigs I ever missed--we'd drive anywhere to see them."¹¹

By the time of the next year's Rumble, in 1981, city papers reported that Pastiche was breaking up. Some members of the group were said to be planning to come back with a new, bigger ensemble in the fall. A very fine recording, "Running in Place," was included on the compilation, A Wicked Good Time Volume Two (LP, Modern Method, 1981). That performance is credited to the "mini-band"--Mr. Curt, Rick Martin, and Ken Scales.

Auditions and rehearsals went on evidently much longer than expected. Then the Pastiche "big band" gave a sneak-preview performance on New Year's Eve at Spit on Lansdowne Street.¹² Jeff McLaughlin of the Boston Globe wrote, "Advance reports are that the material is half-old, half-new, with more of a techno-pop approach being taken this time around."¹³

Pastiche continued performing well into 1982; but on the 23rd of April at the Channel, the band gave its last show with Ken Scales doing the singing. The remaining members let it be known that they planned to carry on. Yet in light of Pastiche's numerous lineup changes, as well as the breakup rumors that followed them for many months, it seems ironic that the latest contemporary article in our clipping file contains one last denial that they were disbanding.

A couple years later, Mr. Curt released a Pastiche compilation tape, "Pastiche Tense '77-'83" (cassette, Camaraderie, 1984).

These guys were talented individuals and Pastiche was an exciting band. It was great fun while the band lasted.

-- Alan Lewis, October 12, 2001

1. Actually, there were three previous Pastiche lineups. Mr Curt--also known as Curtis Naihersey--and Ron Marinick were both members of the third version of the band. "Ken and I had worked earlier and I got him back into the fold and I knew I wanted Rick and I just had to wait for him to come back from the mountains. We spent a while looking for a bass player, and finally this southerner came in from Connecticut and we nabbed him into the fold."--Mr Curt, Boston Rock, 8/1980, Issue 3

Mr. Curt, incidentally, goes back farther than I realized. Joe Harvard reports, in his Pastiche profile at the Boston Rock Storybook, that Mr. Curt shared rehearsal space with "the very early Modern Lovers...." According to Jonathan Richman in the notes that accompany The Original Modern Lovers (CD, Line, 1981), that first version of the band, including John Felice, David Robinson, and Rolfe Anderson, was formed in the fall of 1970. The best-known lineup of that band broke up in the fall of 1973. It seems likely, then, that Mr. Curt was on the scene by around 1971 and no later than 1973.

2. The debut release by the Neighborhoods, "Prettiest Girl" b/w "No Place Like Home" (45, Ace of Hearts, 1979), was a big Boston-area hit. On that initial recorded effort, the Neighborhoods were John Hartcorn, David Minehan, and Mike Quaglia.

3. Among the contestants in the 1980 WBCN Rock and Roll Rumble was the veteran act, the Peytons, a group that was probably trying to revitalize its career. Young upstarts included Boy's Life, which would become much admired in the next couple years, and a promising band, the Hot Dates.

4. Boston Globe, 7/7/1980.

5. Back when he was in the group, Third Rail, it was Mr. Curt, interestingly enough, who announced from the stage that Willie Alexander had won the Tournament of the Bands at the Club in Cambridge. This 1976 competition was the immediate inspiration for the Rumble, which was first held in 1978 at the Inn Square Men's Bar. The Rock and Roll Rumble received much more publicity starting in 1979, the first year that WBCN sponsored the event.

6. Boston Globe, 6/19/1981.

7. P*P Records got its name because Wicked Intense! was "a Pastiche and Pofcher production."--Mr. Curt, Boston Rock, 8/1980, Issue 3. Steven Pofcher's folks live nearby, and it was my pleasure once to discuss Pastiche with his father.

We have quoted the great Pastiche song, "Boston Lullabye" (their spelling) off Wicked Intense!, several times on these pages.

8. "Psycho Blonde" is a cover of a Marc Thor and Nola Rezzo song. Thor and Rezzo, by the mid-1970s, had established themselves as important parts of Boston's emerging rock underground.

9. Boston Globe, 5/21/1981.

10. Boston Rock, 4/2/1981, Issue 14.

11. E-mail message, 9/5/2001.

12. This new lineup of Pastiche included Mark Cohen, Mr. Curt, Dan Foley, Richard Lynch, Lord Manuel, Rick Martin, and Ken Scales.

13. Boston Globe, 12/28/1982.

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