Turn Down That Racket!
During high school Steve played bass guitar alongside Boston Pops conductor Arthur Fiedler’s son Peter in the Boston rock band “Fire!” The boys were honored by an invitation to play at the opening of the Boston Government Center, although apparently not honored enough to turn down the volume when Tip O’Neill and Barney Frank requested they do so. With Edmund Muskie giving a speech several floors above—and struggling to be heard over the raucous band—the young musicians were subsequently escorted out, making headlines in both the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald. Of course, there’s no such thing as bad publicity. Their new notoriety garnered “Fire!” an invitation to play at the first annual Cape Cod Pop Festival where they shared billing with the Guess Who and Orpheus.

Say What?
With 20/20 hindsight, Steve now attributes some of his high school band’s excessive volume to the wall of Ampeg and Marshall amplifiers he used to optimize the presence. “We thought, good enough for Hendrix, good enough for us,” Steve says. “There were warning labels on the amps that said they might cause damage to your hearing at high volumes,” he adds, “and you know what? They were right!” In retrospect, he muses, two speaker cabinets with four 15-inch speakers and a 300-watt amplifier might have been a tad extreme, but the sound was amazing!

Make Mine Neat
In another brush with Boston politics, Steve remembers serving Ted Kennedy a vodka tonic during a college stint catering parties for Boston’s elite. (Only one?) “What amazed me,” Steve recalls, “is that all of these Boston politicos kept asking for ice in their wine. It was a hot day, but ice in good wine?” Even Steve, as a young man, knew that was a no-no!

Welcome to the Working World
Steve’s first day on the job at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst’s Student Union is one he’ll never forget. When he arrived on the job, he was prepared to work hard and learn the ropes of bar tending. Instead, he was handed a picket sign and asked to join his co-workers on strike. “That was my first dose of reality as far as employee versus management dynamics,” Steve says. “It helped me expand my perspective beyond that of a sheltered student and try to see every situation from different angles.”

That Gives “Starched Shirt” a Whole New Meaning
Steve loves antiques and old houses. He has been involved with renovating his 1860s-era Victorian Farmhouse in the historic district of downtown Los Gatos for the past eight years. During renovations he knew he would likely find unusual surprises. But even he was surprised to find one side of the garage was supported by a century old ironing board, and nothing more. Only later did Steve discover that the former resident ran a laundry service out of the garage to supplement the family income.