Wormtown at 20

Timeline of events

The following is a somewhat comprehensive account of the events, transgressions, and accomplishments in the past 20 years of Wormtown. This timeline of events is based on memory (albeit sometimes hazy), press accounts, and the slew of interviews conducted in the past several months. And just for kicks, we added a bit of flavor so you'd get an idea of what the scene was like in Wormtown 20 years, 10 years, or two days ago.

1977

NATIONAL 1977 survey reports 63 percent boys and 54 percent girls drank alcohol by the seventh grade.

FEBRUARY 1977, A Star Is Born opens at Webster Square.

NIGHTLIFE OFFERS new 1977 courses: "How to beat the government," "CB radio," "Latin Hustle and disco dancing."

MARCH 1977, Worcester Magazine reports It's Rock and It's Local, hosted by Brian Goslow (co-author of this article), premiers on WCUW with the Toys, featuring Doug Hartwell, as guest. Following weeks feature Blue Moons, Thunderroad, and DMZ.

MARCH 1977, International Health Spa advertises weekly rate of $3.69 to join the health club.

MARCH 1977, Worcester Magazine reports pitcher Mark Fidrych's salary with the Detroit Tigers raised from $16,500 to $19,000 after the Northborough resident becomes a national phenomenon by talking to the ball (and winning a lot of games!).

SEPTEMBER 1977, After decades of broadcasting on-campus, Holy Cross's WCHC makes its regular airwaves debut.

SEPTEMBER 23 AND 24, 1977, Hooker (billed as "Worcester's Only High Energy Band") play at Circe's.

SEPTEMBER 1977, Thirty thousand ticket buyers get the shaft when Marshall Tucker and the Outlaws cancel a concert scheduled for the Barre-Hiller Airport in New Braintree. The state denied a permit at the last minute.

OCTOBER 7 AND 8, 1977, Blue Moon Band perform at Circe's and release "Main Street Rag" 45 later that month.

WINTER1977, Worcester Magazine reports T&G refuses to run an ad featuring a partially nude cast member from Oh! Calcutta! scheduled for the AUD. The show sells out.

1978

JANUARY1978, Plans to merge WCUW and WICN called off. WICN managers report they are afraid of being gobbled up by the WCUW machine. WCUW programmers counter that 'ICN deejays "lacked creativity."

FEBRUARY 1978, Clark University student newspaper reports that a student was attacked by a "Worcester person."

MARCH 7 AND 8, 1978, Pere Ubu and Suicide Commandos play Circe's as part of their Blank Records US Tour.

APRIL 8, 1978, WCUW Benefit, featuring Blue Moons, Crazy Jack and the Heart Attacks, Troy, Towel, and Count Viglione at Circe's, while Zonkaraz play across the street at Worcester Galleria.

MAY 1, 1978, Lenny Saarinen publishes the first issue of the Wormtown Punk Punk Press, giving the region's budding underground music scene its own name, while changing his own (to L.B. Worm).

MAY 1978, Park Avenue car dealer offers $5 to people who test-drive Le Car.

MAY, 12, 1978, Lapeste scheduled to perform at Circe's but cancel when they're offered the opening slot at the Paradise by the Cars. Count Viglione fills in at Circe's; he later invites Crazy Jack and Blue Moons to Boston to play Boston Bootleg Benefit at Cantone's.

MAY 18, 1978, Lazers play Crazy Jack's birthday party at Circe's. Fire breaks out in upstairs rooming house, killing one and injuring 14 others.

JUNE 2 AND 3, 1978, Real Kids play at Circe's.

JUNE 6, 1978, Lapeste (who had just won the first battle of the bands at Inn Square Men's Bar) play at Circe's. But Crazy Jack, a lovable-but-somewhat-insane mop top half-Mick Jagger, half-Iggy Poppish character, steals the show when he pulls an Iggy by covering himself in glass and blood. His backing band, the Heart Attacks (Cathy Peters and David Iacovelli of Blue Moon and guitarist Preston Wayne), disband afterward but still record tracks for Wormtown '78.

JULY 1978, The Bad News Bears Go to Japan opens at the Showcase.

JULY 1978, Roger Salloom is "Out of Worcester." He leaves for the West Coast, telling fans, "I'll be back when my new song tops the charts."

AUGUST 1978, Worcester Magazine reports State Rep. James Grimaldi proposes a monorail from Boston to Springfield that would reach Worcester in 25 minutes.

SEPTEMBER 22 AND 23, 1978, Billed as "the new Springsteen," Philadelphia's Alan Mann and the Free Arts Band play the final shows at Circe's, which closes its doors later that month.

SEPTEMBER 1978, Blue Moon play Clamshell Alliance benefit at Simeon's at the invitation of Walter Crockett.

NIGHTLIFE OFFERS new 1978 courses: "Powder Puff Mechanics for Women."

DECEMBER 2, 1978, The Blue Moon Band join Willie Alexander and the Neighborhoods, Fox Pass, Thrills, and UnNatural Axe at "The Count's Boston Rock Revue" at a sold-out Paradise in Boston.

NEW YEAR'S EVE 1978, Having left Zonkaraz earlier in the year, Walter Crockett premiers his new band, Crockett, featuring wife, Valerie, and teenage guitar phenom Duke Levine.

1979

JANUARY 1979, Wormtown '78 released, featuring the Blue Moon Band, Hooker, Crazy Jack and the Heart Attacks, and the Towel.

FEBRUARY 24, 1979, From an Oread Street carriage house, Cable Channel 13 broadcasts My Generation on TV, a video version of the similarly named local rock show aired on WCUW, that features the Blue Moons, Crazy Jack, Crash Street Kids, and a video by the Towel. The second show, on March 24, 1979, features the Diamondz (with Preston Wayne, Ed Levasseur, J. J. Rassler, and John Shriver), who would -- in rapid succession -- become the Bad Habits, Rave Ons, and eventually the Odds.

MAY 1979, Commandos send low-quality recording of "Don't Want You" and "Leave Home" to WCUW and are stunned to hear themselves on air following week. Soon afterward, they're invited to appear on Channel 13, smashing Kiss records with a machete. N.M.E. opens in the basement of Commandos' vocalist Brian Hopper, whose parents are gracious hosts, cheerfully collecting the 25 cent admission charge upstairs. The "biggest band in West Boylston" inspire other groups to form in town, including the Electric Guillotines and Drew Dread and the Psychotic Unknowns.

SUMMER 1979, Crazy Jack joins up with the Automatics, featuring guitarist Steve Aquino. During a live broadcast in front of the Channel 13 Oread Street carriage house studios in a vacant lot facing Main Street, Crazy Jack serenades hookers and drug dealers. It's hard to tell who's propositioning whom.

SEPTEMBER 28, 1979, Clash play Clark University. Punk godfathers Wayne Kramer (ex-MC5) and Johnny Thunders (ex-New York Dolls) open show as Gang War.

NOVEMBER 14, 1979, Final line-up of Zonkaraz morph into the Shades, who came out with a rockabilly sound and New Wave, sunglasses-adorned look.

1980

JANUARY 1980, The Clash's visit to Wormtown is immortalized on the inner sleeves for their two-record London Calling LP, which includes pictures of Paul Simonen at the West Boylston Drive-In and members of the group at the Howard Johnson's lodge where they slept. The Commandos steal the hotel sign-in sheet.

JANUARY 23, 1980, "Right to Life Day" held in Worcester.

FEBRUARY 1980, Beast Records releases a four-song EP featuring the Commandos "Suburb Rock" and "Stay Out Tonight" and Crazy Jack and the Automatics "Twenty One" and "Saddest Man."

FEBRUARY 1980, Olympics hold opening ceremonies at Lake Placid.

FEBRUARY 5, 1980, Voluntary school-prayer law takes effect.

APRIL 19, 1980, Live WCUW broadcast with the Commandos, Blue Moons, Arthur Slick and the Nice Girls, Someone and the Somebodies, Vectors, Vitamen, Ground Zero, and the Maps simulcast on Cable Channel 13. WCUW jazz programmer Kevin Albin goes onto create the pilot for what would become MTV.

MARCH 29, 1980, Battle of the Bands at Grafton Hill American Legion Hall won by Blue Moons. Guest band are Neighborhoods, who then go on to play to a packed Sir Morgan's Cove. Runners-ups were the Bobby Barnes Band, Automatics, Commandos, Performers, and the Worst.

APRIL 8, 1980, Troggs and Blue Moon perform at Sir Morgan's Cove.

APRIL 24, 1980 After topping the WCUW charts as a studio group, the Nebulas makes their live debut.

SUMMER 1980, WCHC broadcasts during the week "Why Listen to the Clampdown When You're Working For It?" Sunday-night Wormtown series brings regional and national underground acts to Sir Morgan's Cove. (When Washington's Insect Surfers play, they're forced to play with the Shades. The set ends in chaos when Shades leave set to fight 'CUW staff members thought to be raiding their dressing room.)

JULY 1980, US Census released. Worcester's population drops to 156,286.

SEPTEMBER 3, 1980 Worcester Magazine cover features "Wormtown Rock" with Peggs, Commandos, Blue Moon, Vejtabils, Performers, M.O., and Jeff Gallagher.

NOVEMBER 1980, Wormtown Punk Punk Press announces the new happening place is the Blue Moon Saloon at Ralph's Diner, which features a phenomenal jukebox (mixing best punk, reggae and rockabilly hits) and a unique character running the bar named Butch. Lynch Mob perform at the club on Monday nights, Fragile and the Eggs (who score a WBCN hit with "If You See Kay") on Saturdays.

1981

JANUARY 1980, 9to5 opens at the Showcase.

SPRING 1981, The Westborough-based Vejtabils (formerly the Bobby Barnes Band) reach No. 1 on the WBCN charts with "Ed King," a song about the Massachusetts governor to the tune of "Wild Thing." The group are a favorite of patients at the Westboro State Hospital, where they play regular shows as part of its "expressive therapy" program.

APRIL 1981, Fueled by an appearance on Late Night with Tom Snyder documenting a riot at one of its recent Los Angeles shows, the now-notorious Black Flag play Ralph's. The hardcore pioneers turn out to be nice guys, although the Cape Cod club they destroyed afterward might disagree. The group returned the following year to play Xit-13 with a new vocalist, Henry Rollins.

JUNE 6, 1981, Stray Cats play at the Sanctuary, one of their first US shows. The crowd's energy level drops when the show is delayed more than an hour while the group's representatives make sure no one in the crowd has a camera.

SPRING 1981, With its signal reaching from New Hampshire to Rhode Island and into Boston, WICN's rock department becomes a late-night staple of underground rock fans and brings in TSOL and the Red Rockers.

MAY 1981, U2 release October. Worcester Magazine reports that buying guitars is a new trend.

JUNE 1981, The Lady Di cut is in!

SEPTEMBER 14, 1981 Rolling Stones play Sir Morgan's Cove as the Cockroaches. Owners report that ASCAP request dues right after the show.

FALL 1981, It's a Wormtown vinyl goldrush as the Lynch Mob (who include Doug Hartwell) and who'd built a following at weekly gigs at Steeple Bumpstead, Sir Morgan's Cove, and Ralph's, release their first 45, "Naughty Girl"/"Pick of the Litter." Northborough's Bob Trimble, claiming to have been inspired by the Wormtown '78 LP, puts out Iron Curtain Innocence. The Commandos and Performers release a split EP, while the Blue Moons put out "Hate You Want You"/"Wild Weekend."

OCTOBER 30, 1981, Automatics drummer Joe Poulin jumps from 23rd story of the Worcester County National Bank Tower. The next night, his death casts a heavy spell over a live broadcast on WCUW featuring the debut of the Unattached, who had moved to the city from Indiana to get closer to the thriving Boston scene. They soon amassed a huge local following before moving to Boston, where they recorded an EP for Throbbing Lobster Records.

DECEMBER 1981, WCUW's "Wormtown on the Rocks Top 50" for the year include the Nebulas' "Suspicion" at No. 1, Blue Moon Band's "Wild Weekend" (#9), Commandos' "Too Much Pressure" (#22), Performers' "Overthrow" (#28), and Bobby Barnes Band's "Chop Your Mother Up" (#46).

1982

JANUARY 1982, WCUW playlist includes Performers, Odds, UnAttached, Nebulas, Crockett, Bobb Trimble, Commandos, Drew Dread and the Psychotic Unknowns, Siblay, and the Screamers.

MARCH 11, 1982, Xit-13 (named after the I-290 Kelly Square off-ramp and subsequently known as Xit) opens with Flipper (vocalist Will Shatner, wearing prison manacles on his leg, marches down Highland Street to eat at the Acapulco). Former New York Doll Johnny Thunders was busted on March 12 at the club on drug possession charges and sent out of town before performing. National acts who did perform include Fear (on Good Friday), Wayne Kramer, and the Fleshtones.

MARCH 1982, Porky's opens.

JUNE 16, 1982, Spring Rock Showcase at the Sanctuary in the basement of Worcester Center won by Odds over Nebulas, other semifinalists were Prefab Messiahs (who featured Ringo, a programmed drum machine, much to the chagrin of the seemingly more serious, but less successful in the competition, musicians), Lynch Mob, Natural Rhythm, and Unattached.

SEPTEMBER 1982, The Centrum opens. Frank Sinatra performs. T&G runs headline "No more little town blues."

SEPTEMBER 11, 1982, With drummer Mark Zadroga, a full-time member of the Unattached, and Bob and Cathy Peters, full-time parents, the Blue Moon Band play their final shows at Xit-13.

1983

JANUARY 1983, Worcester Magazine reports that the public library will cut a total of 56 staffers due to budget rollbacks after the Proposition 2 1/2 tax cap went into effect.

JANUARY 5, 1983, The Verdict, based on a book by Worcester native Barry Reed, opens at Lincoln Plaza.

NIGHTLIFE OFFERS new 1983 courses: "How to Beat Ma Bell legally."

FEBRUARY, 1983, The Worcester Rock and Roll Party, featuring the Nebulas, Performers, Foamin' Agents, Crippled Dog Band, and Premonition, attracts nearly 500 fans to E.M. Loew's Theatre, which also hosts shows by Adam and the Ants and X . A scheduled show by Culture Club, climbing US charts with "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me," is canceled due to slow ticket sales.

FEBRUARY 1983, WAAF changes its slogan from "Crank It Up" to "Rock of the '80s." Program managers also announce format change away from Ozzy in favor of Flock of Seagulls. Two months later, station execs. drop new slogan.

MARCH 16, 1983, WCUW benefit at Xit-13, featuring Outskirts, Electric Blues Band, Rachel E's Liberteens (with Duke Levine, Rachel's brother, on guitar), and Hollywood Hollowbodies broadcast with station's newly acquired remote equipment, giving it broadcasting capabilities throughout the city.

APRIL 20, 1983, Zonkaraz hold reunion at Sir Morgan's Cove.

APRIL 27, 1983, Tootsie opens at White City.

SPRING 1983, Metro opens in a former Chandler Street rifle range Shows include Jim Carroll and the Alarm (who had opened for U2 at the Centrum the day War went gold).

SUMMER 1983, Bob and Cathy Peters return as the Creatures of Habit. Bands of the time include Ashcan School, Muffy and the Patriots, the Dialtones, Jimmy Devastation.

SUMMER 1983, The now-Rev. Joe Longone (who was ordained by a mail-order California church) prints the first issue of Fuz Brains. By the time the garage-music centered publication closes shop a half-decade later, it's an expensively published magazine with a worldwide circulation and reputation. Early issues includes stories on the Chain Reactions and Alex and the Droogs and retrospectives and tributes to Worcester '60s favorites Beep Beep and the Roadrunners and the Joneses.

SEPTEMBER 1983, Wo-Town Observer hits the streets.

NOVEMBER 1983, Bob and Cathy Peters return as Creatures of Habit at Xit-13, Muffy and the Patriots open. The club closes for good after its New Year's Eve show.

1984

JANUARY 1984, Worcester bookstores report to Worcester Magazine they have sold out of George Orwell's classic 1984.

NIGHTLIFE OFFERS new 1984 classes: "Automechanics for foreign cars."

JANUARY 1984, Tammany Hall hosts a Rodney Dangerfield impersonation show simulcast on WAAF.

FEBRUARY 1984, WAAF launches new slogan "Non-Stop Rock." Station management announce plans to target Boston listeners.

SUMMER 1984, Rick's starts hosting bands. The club's bartender, Kerri Casso, books the groups and earns an eternal place in the city's heart by spray painting "Wormtown Rocks" in six-foot letters across the front of the bordered up furniture store across the street. Some called it an eyesore, others found infinite inspiration.

SUMMER 1984, Captain P.J. (a/k/a William LeBlanc) releases his "90 Minutes of Mental Torture" cassette. He later crashes through a hotel wall to become mascot for Bay State Bombadiers, Worcester's CBA minor league basketball team. P.J. narrates film documentary on Providence garage rockers Plan 9. Since then, the longtime WCUW deejay has hosted close to 1300 shows. There are also the puppets, Majestic Gizmos, Fuz Brains, and P.J. as the "Human Bowling Ball," a regular feature on Channel 27's Bay state Bowling.

OCTOBER 1984, Worcester Magazine reports T&G is one of three papers in the country that refuses to distribute an issue of Parade magazine in its Sunday paper because the national weekly features a "Sex in America Today" cover story. Chattanooga News-Free Press and New Hampshire Sunday News also refuse to distribute.

OCTOBER 1984, Channel 27 finally drops the last of its local programming after a two-year court fight with staff members.

1985

JANUARY 1985, Worcester named Hepatitis B capital of the nation.

JANUARY 1985, In the middle of first season in Worcester, Bombadiers say their future in the city is questionable unless fans start coming to the games. Larry Bird takes in a game at the AUD and sees Captain P.J. land a half court shot . . . or should we credit his puppet Sharky?

JANUARY 1985, City Hall announces plans to rejuvenate Main Street.

NIGHTLIFE NEW 1985 courses: "Uncoupling: What happens in the Separation Divorce process."

JANUARY 1985, A Spencer woman named "Muffin" opens "The Yuppie Service" -- a personal shopping, errands service.

MARCH 14, 1985 Evening Gazette's "Time Out" section features "Women in Rock" with Cathy Peters on the cover, along with Virginia Rubino and Rick's manager Kerri Casso.

MARCH 1985, WAAF's on-air personalities begin to say Worcester/Boston in the station's tagline.

1986

NIGHTLIFE OFFERS new 1986 courses: "Sewing Cabbage Patch clothing," "Job searching skills."

JANUARY 1986, In describing his stage antics Danimal Hartwell tells the Worcester Magazine, "One day I went into Honey Farms and I saw this can of Crazy String, and I was, like, `Ding!'"

JANUARY 1986, V-66 favorites New Man, who sang "Bad Boys," play McGillicudy's.

FEBRUARY 14, 1986, First teenage dance held at Quinsigamond Village Community Center.

MARCH 1986, Gov. Michael Dukakis okays a $13.8 million Mass. Pike/Route 146 connector project.

MARCH 1986, Heartbeats' "Shake It Down" video is in regular rotation on V-66.

SPRING 1986, Time Beings land two cuts on the California-based Voxx Records compilation Beasts from the East.

JUNE 1986, City council unanimously votes to convert Union Station into a convention center, thereby rejecting a proposal to build a convention center next to the Worcester Centrum.

SUMMER 1986, Hundreds of the city's walls and sacred monuments are spray painted with the name of Starchild, a mysterious artist of the night. After months of alluding capture, he's arraigned at Worcester Superior Court, where he tells the judge his actions are part-Salvador Dali, part-Batman. SPLAT!

JULY 1986, Local bands come together to save Summer's World from the budget ax. They hold a benefit called the "Big Gig."

JULY 3, 1986 Worcester Telegram's "Time Out" section features "Teen Bands," including Loaf and the Missionaries, Bob's Diner, Big Hunk's O Meat, and Providence's Neutral Nation and the Quinsigamond Village Community Center. Fred Dusak documents the scene by recording entire sets for broadcast on WCUW. He lugs a sound system back and forth across the city each weekend to the QVCC so the bands can play. Soon afterward, Worcester Magazine follows with a story on the Clock. Discussing the growing hardcore scene, vocalist Kim Nault says, "It's a little world of it's own."

JULY 1986, Bands of the time include Perfect Strangers (featuring Gregg Levins), Jimmy Head and the Hunters, Danimal and the Wild, Hip Civilians, Fabulous Ones, Ghost Shadows, and Mighty Bel-Mars. Brian Commando joins the 3rd Platoon in Ft. Knox, Kentucky

OCTOBER 1986, Childhood beat 39 local bands to win McGillicudy's Rock 'N Roll Runoff.

DECEMBER 1986, E.M. Loew's closes. It opened again . . . and it closed. It was Clubland, Heart of the Commonwealth . . . (now it's the Palladium -- for now).

1987

NIGHTLIFE OFFERS new 1987 courses: "Understanding the Soviet people," "The professional woman."

MARCH 1987, Sid and Nancy opens at Worcester Center.

MAY 1987, Uptown, an all-ages club in Worcester Center opens. Bands who performed there include Creatures of Habit, Hip Civilians, Kidz, Mighty Bel-Mars, Dharma Bums, Diversions (former members of the Perfect Strangers).

JUNE 26, 1987, Childhood win the 9th Annual WBCN Rock 'N Roll Rumble (and an appearance on MTV) at the Orpheum in Boston (semi-finalists included the Unattached and Treat Her Right, who included Mark Sandman and Dana Colley, now of Morphine).

SUMMER 1987, Rick's closes. Joe Longone's Rock 'n Roll Party premiers on WCUW.

SEPTEMBER 1987, Danimal runs for City Council, he doesn't get past preliminary round.

OCTOBER 1987, High Sobriety, an alcohol-free club on Shrewsbury Street, opens.

OCTOBER 1987, Baby Boom opens at Webster Square.

1988

JANUARY 1988, Fuz Brains Issue 15 features Top 50 of '87 with Time Beings #1 ("Why Don't You Love Me") and the Shambles #2 ("You Look Good in Black").

JANUARY 1988, Worcester Magazine reports city councilor Ray Mariano announces a local program to have Worcester County Jail inmates shovel out the elderly and the disabled.

NIGHTLIFE OFFERS new 1988 courses: "Building Self-Esteem through Assertiveness," "Adventure (hiking, mountain climbing, river swimming, flat water canoeing)."

JANUARY 1988, United Way offers venture grant to AIDS Project Worcester.

MARCH 1988, Worcester Magazine reports Worcester Heritage Preservation Society holds seminar "Nice Enough To Live: A New Use for Old Buildings."

APRIL 1988, Riff Raff Compact Discs, the city's first compact-disc store, opens on Park Avenue.

APRIL 8, 1988 Telegram column by James Dempsey, "Straight Edge Frames Personal Boundaries," focusing on hardcore scene.

MAY 1988, Melange: The Art of Worcester, a Clark University student project, features "The Artists of Harlow Street," including Virginia Rubino and saxophonist Paul Walker ("The Boy From Mars" and now co-owner of the Above Club). For most, the article serves as the official introduction to the Worcester Artist Group, an artist co-op located in an old factory building on Harlow Street, which soon becomes the home of the city's independent and all-ages hardcore scene.

JULY 1988, Money magazine ranks Worcester 209th best place to live out of 300 US cities. In 1987, Worcester was ranked 90th.

OCTOBER 1988, Childhood release Room To Breathe.

OCTOBER 1988, Artists evicted from Hammond Street. Arts advocates express need of a local arts district.

1989

NIGHTLIFE OFFERS new 1989 courses: "How to think and argue like a lawyer."

JANUARY 1989, Greater Media Cable introduces Pay Per View.

FEBRUARY 1989, Worcester Magazine reports WAM closes its doors for one day in protest of massive state budget cuts to the arts.

SPRING 1989, Sir Morgan's Cove converted into Deke's Sports Bar. Boston promoter Mickey O'Halloran sweeps into town, brings it back as a rock club, plans out a Worcester compilation to put the city on the map, gets in an almost life-ending car crash, and leaves town in July without ever releasing the album.

MARCH 1989, WCUW folk and acoustic music series in "The Front Room" opens, featuring Holiday Clocks, Michael Hurley, Chicken Chockers, Horseflies, Poodles, and Slipknot.

MARCH 1989, Childhood play New York's CBGBs, the legendary birthplace of punk.

JULY 1989, When Harry Met Sally opens at Lincoln Plaza.

NOVEMBER 1989, Hot Lyx, an ambitious downtown recording studio, releases a compilation featuring Doug Hartwell's Heartbeats.

1990s

JULY 1990, Navy Blue Nuns, Pale Nephews, Bonehead, Mondo Mojo, White Trash, Public Works, Pritty Ugly are all popular bands, playing the club circuit.

JULY 28, 1990, WCUW/Channel 13 reunion at Barlin Acres in Boylston and Gilrein's.

JULY 1990, Chameleon Club offers live music (later renamed Coco Bean Cafe, and then the Above Club).

NOVEMBER 28, 1990, Joe Longone and Tina Zlody present "The First Rock and Roll Festival," featuring the Lyres, Belmondos, Time Beings, and Furies, at the Shrewsbury Sportsman Club. Bob and Cathy Peters presented with the first "Worcester Rock and Roll Achievement Award." Old wounds opened between those celebrated and those ignored, but we won't name names.

DECEMBER 1991, Worcester's Megan Jasper, working at Sub Pop Records in Seattle, original home of Nirvana, creates "grunge lexicon" while goofing on a New York Times reporter looking to document the Seattle scene. Sister Maura Jasper creates the covers for Dinosaur Jr.'s Bug album, along with its "Just Like Heaven" and "Freak Scene" 45s.

MAY 1992, on 100th anniversary of both cities losing National League baseball franchises, Worcester and Troy play a home-and-home 19th-century rules re-creation series, with each team winning its home game.

FEBRUARY 1993, Worcester Phoenix debuts.

APRIL 1993, Bands of the time include Super Greg and Waterpark, Rex Pluto, Flubber, the Rhythm Party, Link Brothers, and Furies.

SPRING 1993, Surreal McCoys release "Party in Wormtown." MDA Sir Morgan's bash features Bonehead, Black Rose Garden, Life Goes Wrong, Banshee Bribe, Flat Stanley, Missionarys, Mundo Mojo, Organized Noise, and Section Eight

SUMMER 1993, Mars Records and Pastiche open at 100 Grove Street, bringing in Jean Smith of Mecca Normal and sponsoring Black Rose Garden performance of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, subsequently aired on WICN.

DECEMBER 1993, Bands of the time include Dr. Bewkenheimer, Borderland, Native Rage, Jive Lama, Product, Johnny Style and the Underworld, Furious Dance, the One, Post Mortem, and Canister.

WINTER 1993, Apostrophe Records releases Puddle's ". . .and they all began with A" and The Curtain Society's Where Are You?

APRIL 1994, Time Beings edge out Black Rose Garden and Bonehead in the First Worcester Phoenix Best Music Poll, proving there's more people dying on a daily basis in Southbridge than Worcester.

MAY 21, 1994, Chillum win Sir Morgan's Cove Sound Off, beating Vision Thing, Mass Exhibit, Ohm, Thundercock, and Controlled Aggression after 10 weeks of preliminaries featuring 40 bands.

MAY 31, 1994, Dave Smiley presents Underground festival at Coffee Kingdom, featuring Sunny Day Real Estate (members went on to join the Foo Fighters), godheadSilo, and Mecca Normal. Smiley also brings Heavens to Betsy, Excuse 17, Lois, Team Dresch, Mary Lou Lord, Bikini Kill, Stereolab, and Tsunami to Bowlers.

SUMMER 1994, Arena Football comes to Worcester in the form of the Mass Marauders, whose mascot hovers over the Centrum throughout the summer. Problems between the league and the team's owner ensures it's a one- year deal, despite the team averaging 9000 per game.

JULY 1994, Ultrasound fanzine asks "Is Worcester Really Dead?" and features stories on Black Rose Garden, Bonehead, Curtain Society, Edge of August, Boneyard, Pooka Stew, Johnny Style and the Underworld, and Flat Stanley. WAG schedule includes Puddle, Beyond Id, Super Greg and Waterpark, Soulbasket, Holdstrong, and Metropolitan Rage Warehouse.

FALL 1994, Rick Blaze puts out Exile in Wormtown, a tribute to the Rolling Stones. Locals Huck, Surreal McCoys, Sheez Late, Time Beings, and Rex Pluto go international!

FALL 1994, Link Brothers, featuring Steve and Paul Aquino (ex-Automatics), release Link Brothers Go Mental.

OCTOBER 1994, Worcester IceCats open first American Hockey League season. Despite spending most of the season at the bottom of the standings, the team are among the league leaders in attendance, with 12,316 attending the first sellout ever on February 10, 1995, against the Hershey Bears.

DECEMBER 1994, Worcester's Polar Beverages takes on Coca Cola in the beverage wars which escalate after Polar mimics Coke's polar bear adds, claiming the soft-drink giant was infringing on its Orson trademark. Polar supporters recreate the Boston Tea Party by pouring cans of Coke products into a Main Street sewer. The moment is lost, however, when the young son of the protest leader, wanting to be like dad, starts pouring his own can, albeit of Polar Cola, down the same drain in front of TV cameras.

APRIL 1995, Curtain Society release Inertia on Washington, DC-based Bedazzled Records. Second WAGFest features Pelvic Carnival (with Black Rose Garden and Industrial Sonic Echo).

MAY 1995, Moshers Day Mothers Day Music Festival at Chooch's in East Brookfield, featuring Only Living Witness, Dr. Bewkenheimer, Bonehead, Chillum, Thundercock, Stoolface, Black Rose Garden, Altered Dominance, Moshall Law, First and Last, One Way Down.

SEPTEMBER 1995, Bonehead release First Crop CD

SEPTEMBER 1995, Fourth Localpalooza features Green Apple Quick Step, 11, Dr. Bewkenheimer, Bonehead, GFY, Rawhead Rex, Classic American Hamburger, Gas Food Lodging.

DECEMBER 1995, WICN discontinues its long-running late-night rock programming.

SPRING 1996, Bob and Cathy Peters return as the Free Radicals. Pothole, featuring longtime rocker Gregg Levins, are voted Worcester Phoenix's Best Local New Artist and Best Local Alternative Act. Time Beings release debut CD It's About . . .Time and a 7" single on Stanton Park Records.

SPRING 1997, Black Rose Garden bassist David Robinson produces the Union Station compilation, featuring Super Creb Star Dynomax, East Coast Psychos, Chillum, Wordsworth, BRG, and Runaway Brain (featuring Bret Talbert, ex-Public Works).

SPRING 1997, Deb Beaudry, with help from Captain P.J. and Rick Blaze, brings Fuz Brains back to life. The longtime scenester, known for her staunch defenses of the city's underground scene on the editorial pages of its daily and weekly newspapers, previously made her recording debut by contributing her version of the Rolling Stones' "Happy" to the Exile on Wormtown CD.

DECEMBER 1997, Black Rose Garden disband.

SUMMER 1998, Seven Hill Psychos release debut CD. Wormtown Mayor L.B. Worm announces plans for 20th-anniversary bash to be held in late summer, featuring fully or partially reformed line-up of Blue Moon, Commandos, Performers, Odds, and Prefab Messiahs, along with members of favorite Boston bands of the early period.