La Peste v.2.0:
a history by singer/guitarist
Ian Kalinosky

Rewind to Boston, late 70s.... You didn't need to do much more than hang out at The Rat in Kenmore Square to experience a thriving and vibrant local music scene. Bands that waxed and waned through the late 70s and early 80s included The Real Kids, Nervous Eaters, Human Sexual Response, Classic Ruins, DMZ, Lyres, The Atlantics, The Neighborhoods, The Count, Pastiche, Unnatural Axe, Mission of Burma, Thrills, The Outlets, La peste and others too numerous to mention here.

I suppose in a backwards kind of way,I owe my connection to La peste to Cheap Trick. In the summer of 1977, my brother Tom and I saw Cheap Trick at Shaboo in Connecticut, then drove to Boston the next night in hopes of catching them at the Paradise. After striking out on getting tickets, we ended up at the Rat, in time to see La peste finish their set (followed byDMZ). Although I only caught the last three or four songs, they made a deep impression on me with their intensity, tightness, lyrical imagery and great songs. 'Better Off Dead' was burned into my psyche, and I remember thinking these guys weren't messing around. Roughly two and a half years later, I joined La peste, taking over guitar and sharing vocals with Mark and Roger. Playing with these guys was an incredible experience, as they had grown up together as a rhythm section and seemed to communicate telepathically! Roger was the ultimate propeller, always pushing us faster, forward. Mark's bass evolved from being a rock-solid bottom to more of a counterpoint to guitar. Our songs were about a variety of topics, but central themes of isolation, relationships, and the future weave through most of what we wrote. (And yes, 'Metal Men' was inspired by the storm troopers in Star Wars!)

Over the next two years, we down-stroked our way around the Boston scene and the Northeast. Time and money permitting, we recorded with Ted St Pierre at Electro-Acoustic in Boston. I recall four sets of sessions over this period - some well planned and some that were essentially live recordings of the band. Recording with Ted at Electro-Acoustic suited the bandwell as it allowed us to capture our live sound pretty effectively. The nineteen songs included on v.2.0 represent the core of our live sets circa 1980 / 1981. Back in the day, we were very careful about releasing any tapes, so most of this is being heard outside the band's inner circle for the first time.

We were three regular guys, helped by a few of our friends, playing in any club we could, blazing a trail of blue smoke across the Northeast with our green mail truck.