Ernie Boch & The Automatics - Music Drives Us
Nothing goes better together than fast cars and rock and roll. That's one reason why Harmonix is glad to be working with Ernie Boch Jr., Boston's own automotive magnate who doubles as the leader of the band Ernie & the Automatics. But the main reason is that Boch's foundation, Music Drives Us, has ideals we can get behind: Boch is committed to funding music-education projects in grade schools, and Music Drives Us has already funded more than two dozen grassroots programs. We've been honored to work with Ernie Boch and join him on a few school trips, furthering our own mission of universal fun through Rock Band.
Music Drives Us came about when Boch hit the realization that nobody was about to step in and do the work for him. "Everybody's got a foundation, and everybody's out to save the world," he told us recently. "So I said 'The hell with it—I'm starting my own thing.' I put two million into it from the start. I thought I needed to prove this thing was viable before I asked anybody else for a dime of money." So far there have been more than two dozen grantees, ranging from high schools in the Boston area and Rhode Island; to local institutions like the Harvard Square folk-music center Passim, to a youth program for the Boston Classical Orchestra. A full list of grantees can be found at musicdrivesus.org.
Music isn't a luxury, it's a necessity.
"Music isn't a luxury, it's a necessity," he says. "The essentials are reading, writing, arithmetic and rhythm. The kids that study music in schools become less violent, more communicative. And they do less drugs—hard to believe, but it's true. Since the beginning of time there has not been a civilization that did not have music; it makes you a better rounded person. So now we're heading out on all fronts. We're trying to have bands adopt us, and for artists who come through town to sign a guitar for us. My big dream is for it to start here in Boston and to spread through Massachusetts and New England, then through the East Coast down the Mississippi and eventually go worldwide.
"It's unrealistic to think we can change the world, but we can do things that matter. For instance, we recently went into the Patrick O'Hearn School, a great high school in Dorchester. We got them a new PA for their auditorium, so now when the kids do music and plays, people can actually hear them. That's the sort of thing that makes a difference."
Boch has also thrown all his own profits from his band, Ernie & the Automatics, into the bucket. The band's been tearing up local clubs and theaters, even opening recently for rock godfather Chuck Berry. The Automatics can also boast a Rock Band connection: Boston's first album is a big hit in the game, and two of the Automatics are original Boston members — guitarist Barry Goudreau and drummer Sib Hashian. Also in the band are keyboardist Brian Maes and bassist Tim Archibald (who both played in the Boston-related band RTZ and with local legend Peter Wolf), and saxophonist Michael Antunes (who scored a big hit in the '80s as part of John Cafferty's Beaver Brown Band). That leaves Boch to play rhythm guitar, which you might expect is a pretty thankless task in a band of all-stars.
I love being the worst guy in the band - because if I'm the best, then the band's got problems.
"I'm the worst guy in the band," he proudly admits. "Always have been—in high school, college, any band I had. And I love being the worst guy in the band - because if I'm the best, then the band's got problems. But you know, the secret of my success is having good people around me. The guys in my band have sold 35 million albums, so you know they're good. And now people are starting to film us and put us on the internet. A couple weeks ago we had a gig, and I swear I played the worst solo I've done in my entire life—From the first note I knew, 'This is gonna suck'. And of course, that's the one that got posted on the net."
Does he see a connection between cars and rock'n'roll? "Well, you can put rock 'n'roll with anything and it works. I do the band because I love it—I'm married with kids and I can't skydive, so there aren't a lot of adrenalin rushes left out there. There are people who'd rather jump off a cliff than speak in front of people—Not me, talking in front of people is easy. I'm on Fox News all the time, that's like nothing. On the other hand, when I go to the recording studio and they hand me my guitar and say, 'You've gotta play your part now'—Talk about terrorized, talk about scared! That's where I get my rush."
Posted
April 15
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