This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Business & Tech

Rock Legends Bring Talents to Chan's

The line up includes David Hull, John Muzzy, Charlie Farren and Jon Butcher.


On Saturday April 14, four legends will rock Woonsocket.

Charlie Farren, Jon Butcher, David Hull and John Muzzy wil help celebrate the 25th anniversary of the release of the two iconic CDs — "Wishes" and "Farrenheit" by Farren and Butcher. All we be performing the music of Farren Butcher, Inc., Jon Butcher Axis, Farrenheit, David Hull and The Joe Perry Project at April 14 at 8 p.m.

The guys spent some time recently considering their careers and reminiscing about how they each knew they wanted to become a musician and who were their earliest inspirations?

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

"Music was always a part of the natural fabric of my family," Farren said. "My three sisters, my parents and I would take a day trip in the car and we would sing. I never understood what folks meant when they said they didn't sing since we all would sing whenever the opportunity arose including after a family dinner. I realized that music could be a profession when I first heard the Beatles. I'd seen singers and orchestras but they were older, the Beatles seemed more accessible. I was hooked on the British invasion sound and soon drawn in by the soul singers like Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye and Wilson Pickett to name a few."  

Butcher knew at age 6, when he got his first guitar, that he wanted to be a musician. "My early inspirations were from the Saturday morning black and white singing cowboy westerns, Roy Rogers and Hopalong Cassidy."  

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

Hull was surrounded by music as a young boy as well. His father was a jazz and alto sax player who led a hard swinging big band. "Whenever he and my mom would have a holiday party, the house would be filled with these people that looked like adults, but behaved like kids," Hull said. "They laughed a lot, would pick up instruments and magically conjure up the coolest imaginable noises. That was music and I knew that I wanted in." 

A memorable moment for Muzzy is when he joined David Hull and Charlie Farren to form Farrenheit back in the 1980s. Farren had been the lead singer of the Joe Perry Project from 1981-1982 and Hull had been the bass player from 1979-1982. With Muzzy on board, the 3 formed Farrenheit and received radio airplay as well as coverage on MTV thanks to three singles off their Warner Bros. self titled album — "Fool in Love," "Bad Habit" and "Lost in Loveland." Farrenheit also opened for the band Boston in their 1987 summer fall tour.  

Former lead singer of the band Boston, Brad Delp, who passed away a few years ago after taking his own life in Atkinson, New Hampshire at the age of 55, started Beatlejuice, a Beatles Tribute Band with Muzzy in 1994. Muzzy is still the drummer for Beatlejuice but the band has changed its name to Beatlejuice and Friends and play regularly around New England.  

Farren Butcher Inc. put out a recent CD entitled, "FBI" which has been well received and has generated a new fan base for two men who have toured extensively over the years.

"Reactivating fans with whom we've lost touch is the challenge for artists like us today," Farren said. "The major mechanisms for engaging these folks are no longer in place: record companies investing in developing careers, radio stations with extended playlists and autonomy to break in new acts. Of course, there are new channels through the social media and the Internet and great new opportunities through innovation. Butcher and I are working to reconnect with old fans and working on new material to keep the current fans engaged."

"Farren and I have known one another for 25 years," Nutcher said. "I've had some memorable stand-out concert moments, but I'm not sure anything can exceed the excitement of doing a music video with my all time favorite guitarist, Jeff Beck. The video was an ambitious MTV video by Jeff Beck where I acted as Beck's lead singer."

Hull said a few of his most memorable moments are when he played his first professional show with Buddy Miles at the Forum in Los Angeles in 1970. "We opened for Jimi Hendrix and after the show Hendrix came into the dressing room and shook my hand and said he really liked my playing. Then in 2011 I played at Wembley Arena with the Joe Perry Project. Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin was in the audience and came over to me after the show to say that he thought I sounded great."

Muzz prefers to talk about the here and now and said, "There is nothing better than seeing a teenager standing next to a Grandmother who knows all the words to the Beatles songs. What makes it special is that it is mutli generational."  

"Getting the job as lead singer for the Joe Perry Project is one of the high lights of my career and hearing my record on the radio, East Coast, West Coast by Balloon for the first time was pretty special as well. The Cotton Bowl in 1987 where we performed with Aerosmith, Boston, Poison and Whitesnake was an amazing event. There were 80,000 plus in attendance," said Farren.  

John Chan of Chan's is so supportive of the music industry. Being back at Chan's must feel like old home week. Hull agreed. He said, "I love playing Chan's and I love John. (I do too!) He has created a room where people can consistently hear great music, and made that room survive, which is saying a lot in this era of disposable art. It's one of my favorite places to play." 

Butcher continued, "I love Chan's and appreciate very much all the love and affection bestowed upon me since I've returned to New England. It's an honor and a privilege to be part of the Boston music scene, and nobody supports that more than John."

Showtime: 8:00 P.M. Tickets: $25.00

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?