Listening to 104.1 WBCN was a daily occurrence for me throughout the 1990′s and 2000′s. They were the first station to ever play some of my music and introduced me to a lot of new artists. It was a shame they were taken off the air in 2009. But today was something very special to be a part of. In addition to a host of former BCN DJ’s in attendance, including a phone-in from Charles Laquidara, WBCN’s first Program Director and Rock Radio Maverick Sam Kopper was there.

As I write this I’m only now fully realizing the talent and historical significance of the people on that bus today. Kind of ironic that the radio station that brought the freeform rock and roll format to Boston had to be parked on the street next to it’s original building. I wanted to drive the bus through the wall of Remy’s!

However, WBCN does live on and is starting to crossover from robot radio to live human beings like at today’s broadcast. Help us support them by listening HERE.

Back to the music. Our set was 4 songs and featured Magen on keys and myself playing acoustic. I thought we sounded really good and it was cool to hear the songs played like that. I hope we can play them like that again.

For more photos check out this set by Johnny Anguish from Daykamp Music who called our set “intoxicating.”

Michael Marotta, Music Editor of The Boston Phoenix, said “Parlour Bells added a slick, moody firestorm of post-Hedwig neo-glam to the prelims and were defined by the commanding presence of guitarist Nate Leavitt.”

We’re also releasing a retrospective promo CD which includes all of the singles, “Heart Beatings” EP, Heavy Dream Remixes and our cover of Jane’s Addictions “Classic Girl.”

We’ll celebrate the release with a show at Precinct with our friends The Daily Pravda, Eddie Japan, and Crooked Streets.

Back in March I flew out to Austin, TX for a couple days to play South by Southwest with Old Jack. It was my first time in Austin, never mind SXSW, and I had a great time playing, drinking Lone Star and eating Texas shaped waffles at my Super 8 Motel.





The band played two shows on a Saturday afternoon hosted by The Outlaw Roadshow and The Weekly Dig.

Once armed with the drum files I got to work tracking the other instruments at home under the watchful eye of our co-producer Chuco the Rabbit.

When the songs were almost complete we headed back to The Q to track vocals and anything else that needed recording.

The finished product and final track from those drum sessions is now our latest single, “I’d Like To Think.”

The Preliminary round begins April 1-7 followed by the Semifinals on April 12th and 13th and the Finals on April 20th.

The schedule for the Prelims will be announced Sunday, March 11th.

Photo by Johnny Anguish check out the whole set here

Photo by Sooz check out the whole set here

Gene Dante joined us for a cover of the Bowie/Queen classic “Under Pressure.”

We also debuted a new song called “You Don’t Wear That Dress, The Dress Wears You” featuring Joel Edinburg on Sax.

Parlour Bells had an interesting October with two gigs at Boston’s best new joint Radio. The first show was a set of originals followed by a Halloween show playing as Jane’s Addiction two weeks later. Glenn and I are huge Jane’s fans and it was very cool to play dress up and play the tunes of a band which transformed us nearly twenty years ago. An interesting and unimaginable thing happened too. Glenn and I recorded an acoustic cover of their song “Classic Girl” to help promote the show and as we spread it around the internet it came across the ears of Dave Navarro who listened and tweeted that it was a great cover! Cool. Check it out for yourself.

The show as Jane’s Addiction itself was great too.

Here’s a video of us doing “Summertime Rolls”

As we roll into the Holiday season we’re working on our next single to be released soon. More details to come! In the meantime here’s a pic of Glenn tracking vocals earlier today.

In addition to keeping busy with Parlour Bells I had an equally enjoyable couple of months with Old Jack. We played 4 gigs including Oktoberfest in Harvard Square, CMJ in New York and Patriot Place in Foxboro.

We released a new Maxi Single……

And were nominated for a Boston Music Award as “Best Live Act”




Lastly, on November 18th I played my final gig with Brendan Boogie and the Best Intentions. I really enjoyed the time I spent with Brendan and he is a talented, hard working and professional musician…and a cool guy. I look forward to continuing playing with him in Parlour Bells and whatever else may come along.

My favorite part of the shows at that time were when the bands would perform the power ballad. Dokken were no different and their song “Alone Again” was the highlight for me at their show. The video for the song was like many at the time portraying the band as a tired horse on their last legs while being on the road endlessly. Live shots of them onstage, lonely hotel rooms and fans with lighters high in the sky built up a mystery and fascination I still have today.

When I recorded my version of “Alone Again” I closed my eyes and envisioned myself on that stage.

Nate Leavitt – “I Came Here Tonight” @ The Rosebud 8.25.2011 from Johnny Anguish on Vimeo.