Combat Zone, the

Does anyone remember Sonny Stanton and his band playing The Palace? 1959-62. He had a very good singer with the band: Moondog

Going back to the fifties, there was a piano bar in the alley way up Washington Street before Avery -- part of the Avery Hotel. I think it was above a restaurant named Dinty Moore. I saw Keith Jarrett there in the late fifties. He played there regularly.

When I first moved into the zone in 83 or so,the place on Tremont Street was Alfies -- amazing place;half Bikers(Red Emeralds),half hookers and pimps.I was there one night when Dominick(who was only part owner at the time) threw a guy through the front window.JB the bartender was the man if you wanted virtually any controlled substance.I worked in the clubs for a few years,then I worked for Alex at the Saxon with Tony and Big Dave Guthrie.That place was almost as rough as the clubs that I had worked in.To the anon who posted on Sept.16,do you remember Brenda ? She had a place above the Saxon,too.She,um,worked at home.She also was a fixture dancing in the 70s,but retired because hooking paid better(her words).How about Richie Allen?Maybe we knew a lot of the same people.Ah nostalgia......

Does anyone remember the cast of characters at the Naked I in the mid-seventies. I think a guy named Ray C? ran the club. There was a supposed FBI agent called Earl. One of the bartenders was Tony and the day manager was Billy. Some of the dancers were Suzanne, Jasmine, Lynda. The band was terrific, but then - as with the other clubs - they were replaced with a jukebox. For a while there was a black woman MC - but I can't remember her name.

I'd love to hear if anyone knows what happened to these folks.

does anyone remember the mouse trap lounge

oh the fond memories of the zone, when I came home on leave from the US Navy, I'd make a beeline to the zone from 1976 to 1982. and then on and off till 1988 when I left the state.
dated a Radcliff sophmore from the naked I, fell in love with princess cheyenne, and had a set of twins with very long brunette hair from the mousetrap/intermission or the 2o"clock club. forgot which club.
Miss the last of the Burlesque dancers from the Pilgrim theatre. Society the poorer for the passing of this art form.

I do remember you, quite clearly. I remember one day, about two or three days before Mel made you a feature, you were dancing in the back room and Lisa Treat walked by saying to Mel that you were the sexiest dancer she had ever seen. You had just started doing "floor shows" (remember those?) and there was a crowd of lunch time construction workers and stock brokers along the stage and on the stairs watching you. I also remember the magazine article we were interviewed for (written by Cheyenne) with that awful picture by Roswell ______. A little while after that, you cut your hair and Mel was pissed about it.

Anyways, it's nice to hear that you're well and intact! Some of us weren't that lucky, I guess. I've heard through the grapevine that some of us have died, others just faded away, strung out. I'm doing well. I left the business for a number of years (4 years) to get into my own business and then headed back when that went south. I ended up staying until the end, when the club closed on New Year's Eve, 1995 (I think). I married one of the bartenders and life's been good to both of us.

I don't know if you've heard any news where you are, but a couple of years ago, Cheyenne's daughter, Torrie, was killed in a car crash. I've not spoken to Lucy in maybe 18-20 years, but her face has been in the news from time to time. Mostly to do with the psychological counseling practice she had somewhere on the south shore, and of course when her daughter died.

Take care, and I hope all continues to go well with you.

I mostly remember the late 80's - 90's at Jerome's Naked i. Let's see ...

(1) Gwynneth (dancer, waitress and bartender). The Irish bartender was her boyfriend: D.., D-something. She was so warm and sweet. She knew Princess Cheyenne and many others.

(2) Katrina (black hair; incredible dancers' legs and flexibility). I think she was a professional dancer by training. What a sense of humor she had!

(3) A dancer with long brown hair whose name was, I think, Mary: she put on spectacular shows with costumes and careful choreography to match the music; she used fake blood capsules in her vampire act; she'd crush the capsules in her mouth and the blood would drip down her body. Unfortunately, the place had become more of a strip club than a show club and when her tips were bad (worse and worse towards the end) she could be so bitter. She was very artistic. I hope she found a more rewarding outlet for her talents.

(4) I think Lady Linda Lemaya traveled back and forth between Boston and Florida. She must have been more than 6 feet tall. Some Boston musician wrote and performed "Queen of the Naked i" about her and she would sometimes dance to it. "Let's go on down, right next to Chinatown, In the cabaret, it can be night or day. Number 666, it's still the same old tricks. ... Raise your dollars high, to the Queen of the Naked i." She had a butterfly tattoo on her derriere. Some people say that PC is the Queen of the Naked i but did anybody write a song about PC?

(5) Topaz: incredible Japanese or Japanese-American gymnast. She danced to Miami Sound Machine's "Conga" and would do energetic backflips and splits and was just amazing. She wore a peach or tangerine colored shift / dress and matching bikini.

(6) Cassie and M-something. Cassie was short and had short hair that was sometimes blond and sometimes black. M-something might actually be Cassandra because they sort of kept changing names. Other members of that clique were "Ankh" or "Anka" (brown hair) and a petite bleached blond whose boyfriend was a big Native American biker dude. She showed me her Dream Catcher.

(7) The owner of Montien was a regular patron.

(8) Chicken George was a regular.

(9) There was some guy who was supposedly a Harvard Prof who sat in the front near the main stage area on the "Essex St." side. Dancers told me he was very weird but safe.

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runway main stage
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(10) The Brazilian Sisters! I forget their names. Mercedes? and Something. They were NOT twins. Skinny with bolt-ons and athletic with small, beautiful naturals who had won some bikini and or wet T-shirt contests at other local bars. I can "hear" their music sets in my head but I don't know the names of the songs.

Sic transit gloria mundi.

I happen to have a large-ish framed photo of Sandy Shore. Very tastefully done, soft focus photo (one breast is kind of visible). It is actually autographed to my dad, Henry. He no longer wants it, but it doesn't feel right to me to huck it into the trash. Does anyone want it? You'd need to pick it up at my place of business in the center of Peabody, Ma. Let me know.

I'm a journalist and novelist writing a non-fiction book about the Puopolo murders and the two trials. I am trying to write an objective book from all sides and see the event as social history which captures Boston at a pivotal time. I need to reconstruct the Combat Zone in 1976. I'd also love to hear from anyone who knew or knows Richie Allen, Edward Soares and Leon Easterling. I think some if not all of them have passed away, but would love to know more about them.

Please email me at [email protected] THANKS!!!

THE FERRARI'S OF CANADA, ANYONE REMEMBER???I'M GEORGE MARTINELLI, THE LEAD SINGER. WE STARTED PLAYING IN JEROME'S ON WASHINGTON STREET IN 1963. WE WERE THERE FO 8 YEARS.I'D GO ACROSS THE STREET TO SEE ROGER PACE ON MY BREAK AND AGREE, ROGER WAS AWSOME. WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM PEOPLE THAT WAS AROUND AT THAT [email protected]

Does anyone remember ths store or Mr. Alan. It was around 600 Washington.

I was there, I remember the Caribe Lounge, Leo, Hot Ice, Michelle, etc.,etc. It seems like a million years ago, anyone remember "Candy" ?

"If you ever find a way out of here,just keep on going, run, don't look back,and don't even think about looking anyone up later."

man i remember as a 16 year in the late 70s i was hook on them strip clubs.i love the pussycat.you may wonder how did they let me in,i had MONEY!!!!!!!!! i had got my first job as a lifeguard,and lets just say that most of my money went there.i remember this black striper name symone.MAN THIS WOMEN WAS BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!! as soon as i saw her,lust just over came me.there was also this beautiful white stripper name STAR.man she was hott.but i remember this man that tould me when i came in,to make sure i could remember all the beer.so he wort out a list and tould me to remember it,so when i came in i knew what i was doing.

i remember one time when i was about 17 i went in to liberty book store.i was looking at doors that had a girl inside a booth. and the door had a photo of each girl behind the door.i remember seeing this one girl pic,and it had a strange name.it said LARITTA SEXY SHEMAIL.AGAIN IM ONLY 17 AND I HAD NO CLUE WHAT THE HECK THAT MEET.so i put my money in the booth,and i saw a women there,and yes she look very much like a women.so we made small talk.i ask her to open her legs,and she could tell that i was young,and did not know who she really was.so after a little more begging from me,she did open her legs,and what i saw was a LONG FREAKING CROOKET PENIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!. MAN I WAS LIKE YOU GOT A DICK!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND I FELL AS I RAN OUT OF THERE.LOL

I was a dancer at the 2o'clock lounge. I had a great time ,lots of fond memories .

Anybody remember roni silver?

How about some type of reunion get together, would that be too weird? Probably not a good idea.

WOW, great coming across this thread. I use to hang out at the game room. My friend stacey worked at 66. My uncle worked at a parking lot of Washington, across from a religious store.Ohh the memories. I hung at at T.C's too! I heard that mentioned,i lived upstairs.

Does anyone remember Cindi Plowden who worked out of the Combat Zone in the late 70s up until 1980 or 1981?

Or Pam or Savi (aka "Indian Debbie") from Good Time Charlie's?

Does anyone remember a woman by the name of Vivian, very pretty. She was a go-go dancer for awhile at the Intermission around 1964 to 1965. She hung at Jerome's, the King of Pizza and Dino's. Married an Italian guy named George, but I don't believe the marriage was long-lasting. There was also a short guy named Dino we hung out with, outside of Jerome's mostly. Just wondering.

What a great site! Played at all of the aforementioned clubs in late 60's, but most memories from the Intermission. Band was called THE CHAIN GANG, our initial stab at full time music. Six sets a night; they turned the jukebox off 18 minutes into your 20 minute break, and if you were late you were fined! Seven nights/wk, with an additional matinee from 3-6 Sunday afternoons, and that was the norm for all those clubs. THE GIRLS weren't naked-YET-but there was a lot of other action going on in that place, believe me! Remember the Balliro people, envelopes passing at the door, and the circus outside in the streets. But that was a fast way to learn about being pro musicians. It served us well, along with countless other bands from that incredible era in Boston Rock&Roll. We all could identify with what The Beatles did at The Cavern, in Hamburg, and all that. It FORCED YOU to be professional-or else! so many stories, so little time... Fascinating memories.

I was serving in the Navy aboard the U.S.S. Boston from 1967-1969 and went to the Combat Zone often. I was in my early 20's and didn't have a care in the world! I liked the Garden of Eden especially. The manager was Larry Messina, then in his late 60's or early 70's, and it was rumored that he was a son of the founder of Boston's Mafia. To me, he was just Larry, a kindly, grandfatherly type that always came over to my seat for small talk. One of the bartenders was named Richie, who told me he had been on a chain gang in Florida. He was nice to me and slipped me a free drink occasionally. I dated Elaine Paul (stage name "Tootsie Roll")from the Garden of Eden for a brief time.
I also liked to go to Kim Toy's in Chinatown (good, cheap food!)
I wish every well who went through that stage of life in the Combat Zone.

Hey there CZ refugees! Where are my 1989 homegirls??? I went by Kayleigh Morgan back then and I remember Trixie and Karen, my god I wanted to grow up to be Karen! And Jennifer Storm and Chloe and Tabitha and who could forget Kristara Knight! Yeah it was tough by that time and it was the first real eye opening experience for me.Damn near got shipped off to Hong Kong by one of the Chinese crew but I made it out alive:-) My time in the Combat Zone did alot to inform my perception of the world. It was there that my regulars noticed that I could write and they encouraged me by buying me copies of "Tropic of Cancer" and "Lolita" and they told me to circle all the words I didn't know and look them up in the dictionary. I may have been nothing more than a pretty face but there were good people there who were willing to encourage true talent when they saw it. I am now at Kent State earning my bachelor degree and yes, dancing and the champagne hustle are an integral part of my writing aesthetic. Would love to hear from and catch up with anyone from back in the day. By the time I got there, at the Naked I, Teddy had a goiter on the right side of his neck the size of a grapefruit. Hope all are well. Blessed be.