Today, Boston is remembering their early drummer Sib Hashian. Hashian died while on board the Legends of Rock cruise with the fellow ex-Boston member Barry Goudreau.
“Our thoughts go out to the family and friends of Sib Hashian who unexpectedly passed away yesterday,” they wrote on Facebook. “Sib’s high energy drumming on the early Boston albums and tours leaves a legacy that will be remembered by millions.”
Some other musicians, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who is in a relationship with the Hashian’s daughter, have also weighed in on Hashian’s passing
Hashian replaced the original Boston drummer Jim Masdea at direction of Epic Records, and also his relationship with Scholz seemed to be strained from the first.
He appeared on the Boston’s 1976 self-titled debut, playing on all but one track, only after Scholz painstakingly guided Hashian through the album’s original six-song demo, so that his performance matched with Masdea’s. Scholz kept old drum track for the “Rock ‘n Roll Band,” and even added some of his own parts to the album.
Their 1978 follow up Don’t Look Back was not preceded a similar demo, however, and the exacting Scholz resorted to editing different Hashian takes together to achieve the sounds he wanted. The title track, Scholz later said, boasted over 60 splices. “I’m now pretty good with a razor blade and tape in the studio,” he told the to fan site Boston.org in 2002.
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By the time Boston issued Third Stage in the year 1986, Hashian had been replaced by Masdea. That followed a lengthy legal tangle which pitted Scholz against the members of his band, as CBS Records. In the interim, the now-departed Barry Goudreau released a 1980 solo album which also featured Hashian and Boston lead singer Brad Delp, as well as the future band vocalist Fran Cosmo. Hashian later sued Scholz for back royalties and they settled out of court.
Hashian then turned his attentions to his business pursuits, opening a chain of Boston-area tanning salons and also a record shop. He only occasionally sat in with the former Boston bandmates, most notably as part of the Ernie and also the Automatics with Goudreau.
Mrudula Duddempudi.
