HISTORY
HISTORYWe take you back to the summer of 1985, in the living room of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity house at MIT. Mike "the drumma" Foley, Eric "Slabby" Swenson (bass), Dave "Smokin'" Husak (guitar), and Larry "Bud" Rosen (guitar/keyboard) are auditioning singers for their new musical ensemble. Just when they're about to hang it up, after Mark Shudt's woeful rendition of "You Shook Me All Night Long," the "Juice" steps up to the microphone. Mark Lucente takes control, and a band is born.
Many names were debated, the least offensive and most popular being The Fine Line. Then they had to learn some songs, focusing on covers from the 1960's, 70's and 80's, from Lou Reed's "Sweet Jane " (an opening staple) to Joe Jackson's "I'm the Man" (always a crowd-pleaser). The first gig, on October 18th, at the Deke house (home-field advantage) was a vast success to the surprise of all involved. Well, nine out of ten, as it goes (there's always a Bach in the crowd)... This gig marked the debut of the (now) well-travelled Fine Line banner, created by Brothers Ashley, Devlin and Dorf; this original design by Mark Lucente still survives, intact, under lock and key, somewhere in Manhattan.
This year marked the band's rise to cover-band stardom. "World Tour '86" had the group playing in arenas such as Wellesley's Schneider Student Center, the SAElor party in the MIT gym, outside at the Kresge oval (in the footsteps of the Grateful Dead), and too many fraternity parties to name (or remember). The Fine Line also spearheaded the founding of the MIT Rock and Jazz Musicians' Guild, leading the somewhat-reputable InFoCus news to highlight the band in their "House Bands" feature in May. But even with all this success playing other people's music, something was missing...
This year was one of ultimately productive turbulence for the band. Disagreement over band direction led to a shakeup resulting in the departure of Dave "Snuzak" Husak and the arrival of lead guitarist Larry "I'm the other Larry but I'd rather be Jimi" Donahue. The group debuted such now-classic FL tunes as "Built for Speed" at the MIT Battle-of-the-Bands in March, under the pseudonym, "MonkeeZunkel." No one was fooled, though, as the power of the pink guitar and Brother Shudt's slightly-decorative tenor sax blew away the competition. After this resounding victory and vindication of their pursuit of paving their own way, The Fine Line was off to club land. John Martin Management secured prime gigs at the Channel, Club III and TT the Bear's Place. Life was good...
Fresh from their success on the Boston/Cambridge club circuit, the group headed into the recording studio to put down some tracks for their seminal self-titled EP. With the aid of second bassist Shin "Call me Panda and I'll kill you" Hirose (the ultimate replacement for the graduating Brother Swenson), The Fine Line succeeded in recording the "best and worst songs of 1988" according to one "Beat" magazine reviewer. We won't go into details; to us, they're all the best and worst. Marc Belladino, sax-player extraordinaire and brother from another planet, added some key riffs to "Somewhere Down the Line" and "Modern Art." He hasn't been seen since. The Fine Line reached their pinnacle when Tower Records in Boston bought a few records (on consignment); most sold quickly. Then the unthinkable happened; in a scene out of "Spinal Tap," drummer Mike Foley was bedridden with a back injury during the band's biggest gig to date, a Saturday night warm-up at the Channel for "Crystal Ship." Armed only with 3 chords and a drum machine, Mark, Larry and Shin did their valiant best, but it was not meant to be. Their reputation and club career in tatters, the group looked destined for that great 1980's musical trash heap, somewhere in the pile with Boy George and Wham (well, maybe not that pile).
Like the phoenix rising from the ashes, the boys recovered quickly, under new management (Ilana Dubin Enterprises). Returning in grand style at the Sigma Tau/DKE 100th anniversary tent bash, The Fine Line enjoyed a brief if not spectacular resurgence. Chris Foley, longtime journeyman guitarist and brother of drummer Mike Foley, infused the group with new energy, and led them all the way back to headlining the 1990 Wellesley Tower Court mixer. Sadly, though, this was to be the band's swan song, their grand finale, their show of shows. Many had heard them, and many have missed them. Requests poured in over the years for a reunion tour, but it was not meant to be. Or was it?
Millennial Miracle (December, 1999 - ?)
As the decade/century/millennium came to an end, there were international murmurs regarding the long-rumoured return of The Fine Line. Nothing had been heard for so long, it was hard to imagine what form the reunion might take. Was that really Eric Swenson lugging his bass into the studio with the boys, after provoking chaos in Seattle by confounding world leaders with his theories on the existence of actual debt economies of scale and their effect on the Y3K bug? Would Diamond Dave Husak return to the fold after much success on the Pure Prairie League reunion tour? No, sadly for some, but one thing was for sure:
THE FINE LINE HAD RETURNED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The much-anticipated, second eponymously-titled compilation of new music from the three remaining, original FL members is actually the first recording released anywhere in the year 2000. At least as far as we know. These new compositions were recorded utilizing ground-breaking digital technologies while preserving those great old vinyl vibes. The Fine Line has been resurrected. Who knows what will follow? Live, streaming video? A world tour? As you can see, anything is possible. Anything.
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