BUCKET LIST: Chat with a member of the Boston band The Cars
Not to sound too jaded, but once you go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and see Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr — the last living Beatles — sing and play together, it is pretty much all downhill from there. So when we were invited to to the ceremony this year, it wasn't quite as exciting for us. That is, until we learned that local Boston legends The Cars were going to be honored.
Growing up in Braintree, Massachusetts, 20 miles south of Boston, we and our three siblings spent a lot of time immersed in the local Boston music scene. And in the early days of our sister Beth and brother Lee "going clubbing in town" they found themselves entranced by the music of a local Boston band called The Cars. They followed them around to the various nightclubs like The Rat and The Paradise and got to know them a bit from playing in bands themselves.
When The Cars hit it big it was a great source of pride for all Bostonians, especially those involved in the music scene. Flash forward 40 years and Ric Ocasek, Benjamin Orr (posthumously), Elliot Easton, Greg Hawkes and David Robinson were voted as new inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Suddenly, the idea of attending the ceremony didn't seem like such a step down after all.
We literally cried and beamed with pride when our Boston boys took to the stage and and played their hits after accepting their spot alongside other music greats. And when our dear friend Karen Herman managed to score us tickets to the after party, imagine how we felt spotting Greg Hawkes across the room. We made a beeline, hovered until we had our opening and then approached him. We thanked him for representing Boston and for the years of great music they had shared with us. He was kind and humble and even agreed to snap a picture with us.
Bucket List: Chat with a member of the Boston band The Cars — CHECK!
