The Channel (nightclub)

The Channel was a Boston music venue that was part of the underground arts community of south Boston (known as Fort Point).

History

Joe Cicerone founded The Channel in 1980, choosing the name because the club sat at the edge of the Fort Point Channel, which separates South Boston from the Financial District. The club was on the other side and a little South of where the Boston Tea Party took place (old Griffin's Wharf) in 1773. Please use the Fort Point Channel link to see a photo of the area. Looking at the photo you can see an empty lot just South and to the right of the bridge (the exact spot of the Channel). In 1990, Harry and Peter Booras, the last owners of the club, filed for chapter 11. The authorities had revoked the liquor license several times with fines for serving minors. The doors closed on December 31, 1991. There were rumors that mob boss Frank Salemme had a foothold in the club, and these rumors proliferated after The Channel reopened its doors as an exotic dance club, which closed after less than a year. Frank Salemme Jr. was listed for a time as the assistant manager of the club. In the late 1990s, developers demolished the building to make way for Big Dig construction.

In the mid to late eighties the club was in it's prime. Local up and coming Boston bands of the day relished the opportunity to make it to this legendary stage and plug in. The wall of sound was provided by the soundman extraordinaire Dinky Dawson. He had settled in Boston from his native England, where he had already made a name for himself in the 60's and 70's from his road work with bands like Fleetwood Mac, The Byrds, The Kinks to name but a few. Many of these old acquaintances like Mick Fleetwood or John McVie were seen milling about The Channel visiting with Dinky on the occasion that they were in Boston. The sound system that Dinky owned and brought with him to The Channel was rumored to include the same sound cabinets that first blasted Manfred Mann's "Doo Wa Diddy" in a recording studio back in London in 1964. Dinky's colorful past is well documented in the book "Life on the Road" published by Billboard Books in 1998.

Notable DJ's

The club's first official fulltime DJ was Carter Alan. Carter was a hugely popular DJ at Boston's WBCN when the club first opened. Carter is currently working at WZLX in Boston today. Many other WBCN DJ's worked as fill in jocks like Albert O, Tami Heide, Bradley Jay, Peter Choyce to name a few. Debbie Southwood-Smith, Mike Idlis and Mod Todd (Todd Nichols/WGIR-FM) ushered in the mid to late eighties era along with BCN's Metal Mike, DJ "Black Starliner" and Jim Mitchell.

Environment

The Channel had a legal capacity of 1,700, although management often oversold the venue for major acts. Upon entering the club, the patron faced a large raised wooden corral that provided a view of the stage from the far end. The look of the venue was that of the classic roadhouse. The 4' high stage faced a 20' square sunken dance floor, nicknamed "the pit," which was surrounded by drink rails and tables with padded stools. For punk rock and heavy metal concerts, the management locked this furniture up in the coat room. When the bands were playing and the crowd was jumping, the entire wooden floor often bounced up and down, causing the 15' high PA system, to sway precariously back and forth.

In addition to a dozen bar stations (the Channel bartenders were some of the best in the city), the club had a concession stand that sold hot dogs, candy, soda, and popcorn, as well as official club merchandise (t-shirts, jackets, sweatpants, etc). Directly behind that was a semi-private game room with a half dozen video games.

There was also a back bar area that had the ability to be closed off during all-ages shows by lowering metal grates over the window openings. All ingress/egress was restricted to a single door that was manned by a bouncer who checked for hand stamps to allow the over 21 crowd to enter for a drink, as well as prevent them from bringing alcoholic beverages out into the rest of the club with the underage crowd.

To the rear of the back bar area was yet another, smaller room that was usually closed off on nights when the club wasn't sold out. This was known as the VIP room, and regularly played host to artist's like Jimmy Page, U2 and Aerosmith when they were in town and wanted a private place to sit with friends and have a few drinks.

Depending on who was playing, the pit would become a mass of sweaty skinheads, punks, metalheads, goth kids and the occasional hippie slamming into each other. In the late 80's, shows would be stopped because kids were getting too violent. The bouncers had a notorious reputation of being overly aggressive, and while there were certainly a number of incidents in which this was the case, those stories were greatly exaggerated.

Music

The Channel started out booking New Wave bands such as Human Sexual Response, Jon Butcher Axis, and The Cars. During the early and mid-80s heyday of hardcore punk, bands like Husker Du, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys and Minor Threat were headline acts. Later, local bands such as The Pixies played alongside major touring acts such as Big Audio Dynamite, Los Lobos, The Damned, and Einstuerzende Neubauten.

The Channel was booked by Warren Scott from 1980 to 1991, and was not limited to punk/metal bands. The Godfather of Soul, James Brown played there, as did jazz legend Ornette Coleman, Devine with John Waters. Classic rock/oldies acts such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Gregg Allmann, Eric Burdon, Meatloaf, The Go-Go's, The B-52's and Steppenwolf as well a major boxing matches - live broadcasts, also packed in the crowds. The Channel was many times the 1st stop for many major tours as well as sometimes the last stop or date(s)of a tour.

The club also regularly booked reggae shows featuring acts such as Yellowman, Dennis Brown, Steel Pulse, Toots and the Maytals, and Black Uhuru. Blues greats B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, Charlie Musselwhite, and Pinetop Perkins graced the stage on more than one occasion.

Notable acts

References

* Ernie Santosuosso, Boston Globe, May 30, 1980

External links

* http://www-tech.mit.edu/V102/PDF/N57.pdf#7
* http://www.myspace.com/thechannelboston
* [http://www.bostonharborwalk.com/audio_tour/fortpoint/ City of Boston's free walking tour of Fort Point]
* http://bostonsbestliverock.com/