BOSTON mainman/guitarist Tom Scholz has issued the following update:

"After hearing that BEATLEJUICE planned to put on one last concert as a tribute to Brad (Delp), we decided we would really like to do something similar with Boston. After all, people around the world have listened to Brad singing these songs for thirty years. We planned to let several well known singers that had a history with Boston cover Brad's lead vocal parts, and invite all our former band members to sit in during the performance. The musicians and crew members of Boston feel like they are a part of a family, the loss affected us all, and we needed to get together again one more time. Boston concerts are what brought us together in the first place, so it seemed like the best thing to do for everyone.

Within a couple of weeks we had acquired a roster of great singers to fill in for Brad, and contacted many of our former band members, who were very excited about sitting in. Our guest vocalists were eager to sing the songs Brad made famous with Boston. All together we had about 20 performers who would be included in various parts of the concert. Since we had begun rehearsing for our spring shows early last winter, we were basically ready to play any time in April or June. We prepared a tentative set about two and a half hours long that included our most popular songs, with the extensive live arrangements we have presented in the past.

A note here about getting ready for a Boston concert - While we do our best to make Boston performances look effortless, in reality the parts are difficult to play and the intricate arrangements are a lot to remember. To be prepared for a typical concert requires both constant drilling so that the changes are automatic, and peak performance level to accomplish playing some of the instrumental passages. Once we have done this, improvisation on themes becomes possible, and concentration can be directed to emotion rather than simply recalling parts.

In my personal case this requires several months of preparation, followed by a time consuming ritual of daily rehearsal. Even during a tour, I practice 2 to 3 hrs a day.

Back to reality. Unfortunately, the local Live Nation promoter, who is the only game in town for putting on a major concert, was not able to give us a date for our Boston concert any earlier than late October. By that time the layers of rust would be very thick, and all those arrangement details long forgotten.

Rather than spending the time necessary to perform up to Boston standards six months from now, we've decided to let go of the idea and return to the studio where I had several projects already in the works. I'm also looking forward to possibly completing an engineering design I've neglected which could improve many people's lives.

Hopefully someday we will be able to resurrect the idea and put on a Boston reunion concert. Meanwhile we are planning to play a few songs along with several other bands at an August 19th tribute being put together by Brad's son and daughter. Although this won't be a Boston concert, we will play a few songs, as will Beatlejuice, SAMMY HAGAR, EXTREME, GODSMACK, RTZ, CHEAP TRICK, ERNIE AND THE AUTOMATICS, and CHARLIE FARREN, according to the information we have.

A bit of other news I've just finished remastering Boston's Greatest Hits CD which now includes I Had a Good Time. It sounds a lot better than the old 1997 version; we'll let you know when Sony plans to release it. I plan to start mixing live tracks for a Boston Live CD next.

Walk On and Don't Look Back, Tom Scholz."