Photo: Jim Wilson
By PHYLLIS KARAS
Barry Goudreau, the innovative lead guitarist on the band Boston’s first two albums, has played in several bands and recorded many successful songs and albums since those dizzying days in the 1970s.
His songwriting talent, which had produced more than 100 songs in the past 40 years, however, has been pretty much dormant since 2003’s “Delp and Goudreau.” Brad Delp, Boston’s original lead singer and Goudreau’s brother-in-law, died in 2007.
The good news is that the Swampscott resident is now back on the musical stage, with a new band, Barry Goudreau’s Engine Room. The band, which includes Brian Maes, Tim Archibald and “Old” Tony DiPietro, recently released its first album, “Full Steam Ahead” at a well-received concert at Lynn Auditorium on April 22. Future concerts include June 30, Tupelo Music Hall, Derry, N.H.; and August 23, The Hope Music Festival at Cape Cod Melody Tent in Hyannis.
Check barrygoudreausengineroom.com for links to the new music and concert listings.
Here are a few items about Barry that might surprise you:
- Barry was a geology major while a student at Boston University. But the more he got into the subject, the more he realized the only job he could probably get as a geologist would be with an oil company or the government, so he dropped the major and has never regretted that decision.
- Barry is the grandfather of Alyssa Marley and Samuel Hendrix Goudreau. At age 2, Alyssa bangs brilliantly on her play piano and sings beautifully along with “Frozen.” At 3 months old, Sammy is going to be the next Elvis.
- Barry is a terrific cook. His specialties are steak au poivre and baked stuffed lobster. His cooking style is not low-calorie.
- His musical career started early. When Barry was 15 and a junior at Lynn English High School, he was playing his guitar in a band with Sib Hashian seven nights a week, seven sets a night, with even a matinee on Saturday in Boston’s old Combat Zone.
- Unreal real estate. When the band Boston became such a phenomenon, Barry bought his first house next to the former Swampscott High School in 1977. He was shocked that girls from the high school would walk up his driveway, screaming his name every day.
