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Boston Venue: The Channel StorySEASON ONE, EPISODE TEN, Part 2: “The Not-So-Great Finale”In the long-awaited conclusion of Boston Venue: The Channel Story, the club is going to be auctioned off in bankruptcy–again. Just like everything else in this sordid tale, nothing adds up, the mob is always lurking, and the end of the club–and a life–is imminent.
This is the second part of the tenth and final episode of Boston Venue: The Channel Story, Season 1, the true story of Boston’s legendary live music club, The Channel.
Music featured in this episode: Wargasm, New Models, Bim Skala Bim, and Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Intro music courtesy...2021-05-0523 minBoston Venue: The Channel StorySEASON ONE, EPISODE TEN, Part 1: “What The **** Happened?”In Part One of Episode 10, new money and new partners have forced Harry Booras OUT of The Channel. But the new regime quickly found themselves underwater as the local mob started skimming 80% of the revenue while stiffing vendors, artists and staff. Harry and his brother Peter try to save the club, but guns and cocaine–not to mention a psychotic mafia member–complicate matters.
This is the first part of the tenth and final episode in the true story of Boston’s legendary live music club, The Channel.
Music featured in this episode: Wargasm and The Ne...2020-10-1024 minBoston Venue: The Channel StorySEASON ONE, EPISODE NINE: “Heavy Metal & Heavy Trouble”Heavy Metal was a mainstay at The Channel. In 2015 VH1 named it one of the Top 10 venues for heavy metal ever. National acts including Metallica, Slayer, Motorhead and Alice in Chains played the club. Locals including Wargasm, Meliah Rage and Extreme rocked to packed houses. Yet expenses kept going up, and The Channel needed an infusion of new cash to survive. An old acquaintance reemerged to help bail out the club. He ended up having some dangerous ties…
This is the ninth episode in the true story of Boston’s legendary live music club, The Channel.
Mu...2020-03-2627 min
Original Gangsters Podcast80's Boston Club Owner Harry BoorasThe Channel rock club was founded by Harry Booras in the spring of 1980. The mob, through a series of intimidation and suspected bankruptcy fraud, managed to get control of the Channel in early 1992. There would be threats, car fires, and at least one man would lose his life.
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2020-02-2726 minBoston Venue: The Channel StoryBoston Venue: Season One Bonus Episode: Peter Tosh, In His Own WordsCrafting each episode of Boston Venue: The Channel Story is a painstaking process involving hours of research, combing through a ton of archival material. Occasionally, some incredible hidden gems pop up…like this long-lost interview with reggae icon Peter Tosh. Harry Booras and author Kevin Aylmer drove to New York City one day in the late 80’s to meet with Tosh, albeit each with their own agenda.
You heard a small portion of this previously unheard tape in Episode 7, “Mama Africa.” Now, as a bonus between Episode 8 and Episode 9, we’re giving you a chance to listen to the ful...2020-02-1329 minBoston Venue: The Channel StorySEASON ONE, EPISODE EIGHT: “Nights to Remember. Days to Forget”By the mid-80s, The Channel was a successful venue. Big-name acts played The Channel in lieu of theatre and even arena shows. The legendary Roy Orbison played his final shows at the club. Bo Diddley and Ron Wood brought their “Gunslinger’s Tour.” Management increasingly relied on alcohol sales to subsidize the ever-growing costs. Rent was climbing. Slam-dancing was a regular occurrence, as were rising insurance costs. Ownership was distracted with other endeavors, leaving the club exposed. And since nature abhors a vacuum…
This is the eighth episode in the true story of Boston’s legendary live music...2020-01-0722 minBoston Venue: The Channel StorySEASON ONE, EPISODE SEVEN: “Mama Africa”From the beginning, black music was a primary feature of The Channel’s eclectic lineup of headliners. Episode 7 explores The Channel’s embrace of early hip-hop, reggae, funk and R&B acts–and the impact it had on a still racially segregated Boston, where outsiders feared going to South Boston and black audiences in particular feared visiting Southie for any reason. The Channel’s embrace of this music, along with inside accounts from some of the people who were there, highlights this special episode–including commentary from reggae legend Peter Tosh.
This is the seventh episode in the true s...2019-11-1241 minBoston Venue: The Channel StoryBoston Venue: Season One Bonus Episode: The Channel Back Stories, Volume 1Putting together each episode of Boston Venue: The Channel Story is a painstaking process involving hours of research and hours more coordinating and conducting interviews with the artists, journalists, DJs and scenesters that were there. As a bonus between Episode 6 and Episode 7, we’re giving you a chance to listen to the raw interviews Boston journalist and Boston Venue contributing writer Nate Homan conducted with hardcore legend Ian MacKaye and Dickie Barrett, leader of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. This is the first of these bonus episodes. If you like it, please leave a review on your favorite podcast site or o...2019-10-2740 minBoston Venue: The Channel StorySEASON ONE, EPISODE SIX: “The Kids Will Have Their Say!”Episode 6 dives deep into the pit with a focus on the hardcore punk scene of the ‘80s. The Channel’s embrace of the genre, along with details only the people who were there can provide, is the highlight of this special episode. You’ll hear about the punk phenomenon that transformed popular music and has had a profound effect on our culture that stands to this day. You’ll hear stories from performers, managers, promoters, club owners, and avid fans.
This is the sixth episode in the true story of Boston’s legendary live music club, The Channel. T...2019-09-1828 minBoston Venue: The Channel StorySEASON ONE, EPISODE FIVE: “Where’d You Go?”The Channel became a musical melting pot in a city still divided by parochial neighborhoods and lingering racial animosities. A club on a desolate stretch of the Boston waterfront became a hub for rock ‘n’ roll, punk, hardcore, straight-edge, and a rapidly developing ska scene. Radio stations were battling for dominance. Politicians were looking to score points by using The Channel to further their agendas. And another local club owner–and Godson of a fearsome mafiosi–is hanging around The Channel. Little did he know that his time was running out…
This is the fifth chapter of the true a...2019-08-1027 min
OA On AirEpisode 54: The Origin of the Channel NightclubThis week Cosmo is joined by Harry Booras, the founder of the legendary Channel rock club to talk about the club's origins, best acts, and infamous end. Harry has his own podcast, The Channel Story https://thechannelstory.com/ where you can learn all about the famous venue in great detail. Make sure to catch up in time for Episode 5!
Plus, we're joined by SVP Peter Goelz, OA's resident aviation expert, who talks about his recent New York Times Op-Ed on the failure of leadership surrounding the Boeing 737MAX crisis.
Plus, Apollo 11 turns 50, how we beat the heat, and Tom discusses "...2019-07-1933 min
Jay TalkingThe Channel (Prt2)Harry Booras, founder of Boston nightclub The Channel, and Cha-Chi Loprete (Breakfast w/ The Beatles) talk about the legendary music venue in the second part of a two part episode on JayTalking.2019-07-1239 minJay TalkingThe Channel (Prt1)Harry Booras, founder of Boston nightclub The Channel, and Cha-Chi Loprete (Breakfast w/ The Beatles) talk about the legendary music venue in the first part of a two part episode on JayTalking2019-07-1240 minBoston Venue: The Channel StorySEASON ONE, EPISODE FOUR: “Lawyers, Guns and Money”The Channel finds itself in the midst of a decade of profound change in Boston. Live music was a major part of that cultural shift. In the halls and streets of power, long-entrenched attitudes and traditions are being challenged by new players with new, sometimes radical ideas. The Channel was a part of those changes, engendering diversity while dealing with music industry bigwigs, rebellious bouncers, and ambitious mob capos…
This is the fourth episode of the true and complete story of Boston’s legendary live music club, The Channel. As this 10-episode season continues, you’ll hear all ab...2019-07-0727 minBoston Venue: The Channel StorySEASON ONE, EPISODE THREE: “I Fought The Law”In its first 60 days, The Channel had a run of winning shows featuring a schedule of first tier rock ‘n’ roll headliners including Levon Helm, Joe Cocker and Johnny Thunders. But booking national touring bands into The Channel wasn’t easy. Entrenched promoters didn’t want the competition. Local radio held an outsize influence on the success–or failure–of each show. Getting acts like The B-52’s and Gang of Four booked took a combination of balls and finesse…not to mention keeping in-house security under control at a time when Southie turf wars raged and cocaine was everywhere.
...2019-05-3125 minBoston Venue: The Channel StorySEASON ONE, EPISODE TWO: “Opening Night”Spring, 1980 on the desolate South Boston waterfront. Harry Booras and his partners have spent a long winter scrambling to get the doors to the club open. There’s a lot of money going out, and none coming in. Staff needs to be hired, bands need to be booked, and promotions need to be launched. At the same time, crooked cops and local tough guys start showing up looking for a piece of the action. These guys can smell money and fear.
This is the second chapter of the true and complete story of Boston’s legendary The Chan...2019-04-3024 minBoston Venue: The Channel StorySEASON ONE, EPISODE ONE: “Channel One: The Beginning”Boston, 1980. A hungry young entrepreneur named Harry Booras is ready to make the jump from a gig with an air-freight company into the nightclub business. Before long, he’s set to open the largest entertainment club in Boston…in a part of Boston most people avoided, in a venue notorious for failure. What could possibly go wrong?
This is the first chapter of the true and complete story of Boston’s legendary The Channel nightclub. Over the course of this 8-episode season, you’ll learn about the club’s gritty beginnings, long heyday throughout the 80s, and the bitter...2019-04-0326 minBoston Venue: The Channel StoryMusic, Nightlife & Murder: A Sneak Peek at Boston Venue: The Channel PodcastThis upcoming podcast tells the true and complete story of Boston’s legendary Channel nightclub, from the gritty beginnings, through the glory days, and the bitter end, when Boston mobsters leave the club in ruins–and one man dead.
2019-03-0601 min