By Christine Varriale and Jeeyoon Kim
This one is for the moms. We caught up with some of the fierce women whose sons and daughters are the movers and shakers in our local scene. This is our thank you. Thank you for supporting us through MFAs, for letting us drop out of school, for letting us wear our own hats, for letting us rock, and for putting a roof over our head (and 11 of our buds). From all of us here at Allston Pudding, Happy Moms Day.
Featured: Sadie Dupuis (Speedy Ortiz), Steph Mangan (RadioBDC), Sam MacKenzie (Wet Dress), Ben Katzman (BUFU Records), Sam Potrykus (Boston Compass), and Perry Eaton (BDCwire).
s/o to Pammy Varriale who rocks an Allston Pudding sweatshirt on the regular
s/o to Momma Kim for loving her ducklings unconditionally
Diane Dupuis, mother of Sadie Dupuis (Speedy Ortiz)
Something that always sticks in my mind is how determined Sadie's always been. She was born a month early and spoke her first word "bird" at ten months. As soon as she was able to stand, she would reach up to the keyboard on our piano and hit the keys. It wasn't long after that I noticed she was tapping out tiny little tunes...unbelievable. That image of a little blond girl reaching up to make music is a tiny piece of watching that fierce brunette shredding on stage.
First, let me say I am proud of her every day. And when I see her on stage again after a tour and see how she continues to grow exponentially as an artist..well, that's beyond cool.
Without doubt, my most proud moment occurred this March when Sadie successfully defended her MFA thesis. Speedy Ortiz was on a crazy trajectory and mere mortals would have ditched the final semester of the MFA thing for another time.... not my kid. She had expected to defend in May, but the weekend before the band was off for a month long tour of Europe, she found it was scheduled for the first week in March. How she managed to pull it together in a weekend is beyond me, but she did.
On the day she had to present, Sadie asked me to come up. We drove her around, got food, green tea, laughed and small talked as she sorted out her book of poetry. Then it was time and we drove into this ice skating rink of a driveway where her committee awaited. As I watched my beautiful rock and roll daughter gingerly walk across the ice, my heart was so full it practically burst out of my chest. I was beyond proud at the way she'd pulled all the disparate parts of her life together into this fabulous moment. I felt the way I felt when I saw her for the first time..indescribable joy. When it was done, she came out beaming, hopped back into the car and we drove the airport. She had a gig that night in DC.
Annie Marie Mangan, mother of Steph Mangan (RadioBDC)
Stephanie has always had a mind of her own, ever since she was a little girl. When she was in kindergarten, I knew she wouldn’t be a follower. The class had to make hats to go along with a story and take a group photo with everyone wearing them. Stephanie said she would only be in the photo if she could wear her own hat. Her teacher ended up allowing her to do it so Stephanie brought in her own baseball hat. She came to class, put it on backwards, and was smack-dab in the center of the photo. Stephanie said she had a better hat so that’s what she did!
At that poi
nt I knew that Steph was her own person. She wasn’t influenced by others and very headstrong. I think she has a strong passion for music and puts all of her time and effort into it. She always has high expectations for herself and I’ve always seen that. I saw it in high school, in college, and now in her career. Her time in radio at first through Northeastern is the path she chose, she’s not afraid to get her hands dirty, and not afraid of what people think. She’s a doer.
The first time I ever heard her on the radio was when she did a Dunkin Donuts commercial. I heard her voice and I just said, “Wow! That’s my little girl!” I’m very proud of her. I think it gives her a confidence. She now does two shows on her own and there’s been a lot of growth. I couldn’t be more proud.
Maureen Madigan, mother of Sam MacKenzie (Wet Dress)
Sam came into this world with a bang, you might say, weighing in at ten and a half pounds. That was the first surprise. Surprised the doc, too. All I remember is him saying, " Quick, where is the scale!" The second surprise was that she was a girl. I was convinced I was having a boy and had the name "Samuel" picked out and ready, so "Samuel" became "Samantha." She answers to Sam, Samuel, Sam Pants, Sammie Pie, and other variations, but almost never "Samantha!"
Sam has a talent for making friends wherever she goes. We lived in a very small town, so it's no surprise when everyone knows who you are; but when I took her to get her permit at the DMV three towns away, it seemed like every few minutes someone was saying "hey Sam!" All these very different people kept stopping to say hello. And this didn't just happen that day at the DMV. It seemed wherever we went, someone always knew Sam! People just seem to gravitate toward her. Maybe it's because they can sense her natural kindness and compassion. She has always been a champion of the underdog. When she was ten years old, she started an organization called The Animal Appreciation Club (AAC). I still have the club newsletter and mission statement. She and her siblings built lemonade stands and raised money for strays, donating the proceeds to a local animal shelter. One day she brought me a turtle that a dog had chewed up. We carefully cleaned him up and used duct tape to piece him back together. She did this even though it scared her and made her a little nauseated. When something or someone needs help, Sam is at her best, a true warrior friend. (The turtle survived.)
Every time Sam gets up and plays to a crowd, I am overwhelmed by how proud I am of her. I know how hard it is for her to put herself forward like that. I know how much work is behind it, since she has never had any formal training. Hearing her voice, and what she has to say is something I will never get tired of.
Smadar Katzman, mother of Ben Katzman (BUFU Records)
Honestly, coming to Boston for BUFU Fest was an amazing moment for me. Ben wanted to move to Boston but didn’t really want to go to Berklee. He auditioned on [his father and I’s] request. We told him he had nothing to lose! When he got in it was like, “Oh my God! This was meant to be!” He had always wanted to leave Miami and move to Boston.
Shortl
y after moving he said, “Look, Mom. I’m getting into the music scene, I’m meeting people here -- I really do not need to go to school.” He explained to us that he could do so much more without going to college and if we really wanted to invest money then we should be investing in BUFU Records.
It honestly wasn’t until we saw [BUFU Fest] and we saw what he did. He put together this two-day event, this record company, the t-shirts, the bags. I can’t even tell you, it was like clockwork! My husband and I come from a professional background, he is in the hotel business, I’m a pastry chef; we know what it’s like to put on events. There are so many components and so many people to mobilize. Everybody came to us and had something nice to say and everybody had something to say about Ben and they were just happy to be there! For somebody at the age of 22, he proved me wrong.
This is one kid who is very focused, very energetic, who knows exactly what he wants and loves what he does. He has that line that he uses everywhere that he’s chilling mad hard. This is how he does everything, he gets it done and he has fun. I’ve been telling him lately, “Ben, when I grow up I want to be just like you.”
He’s 22 and he’s helping mobilize an entire city, I mean look at what he is doing! You’re calling me to write about him! I’m sitting here with tears in my eyes. This is what he set out to do and getting to Boston was our wish for him but everything else is coming from his own two hands. He’s infectious! I’m so proud, I can’t wait to see what he’s going to do next.
Jan Potrykus, mother of Sam Potrykus (Boston Compass/Boston Hassle)
Wow. Having a kid for a musician is really exciting. I think I had far more fun and continue to have more fun than any soccer mom in America. Sam started playing rock shows when he was 12 or 13 and that’s what we’ve done for year. We absolutely love it!
Have you seen the commercial where the dad is doing something that the mom wouldn’t approve of and the phrase gets repeated, “Don’t tell mom,” have you seen that? I think Sam was the originator of that phrase. When he and his brother were out a couple of times, I know there was an occasion where they were trying to outrun a tornado and of course they told dad but said, “Don’t tell mom.” I learned then and there, never ask what’s happening on tour. Years down the road when everyone is safe and sound, they tell me these things. Had I known at the time I’m sure I would have lost years off of my life. I think as a musician, that was the one thing that Sam did to this day still gives me chills. Every time they go on tour I’m just on edge, I’m always really glad when it’s over and they are home.
Touring is just one of Sam’s favorite thing to do and I always hope he comes through this way because we have had so many bands come through and stay with us. It’s really fun! Just last month, I think it was Guerilla Toss, they were all going to come through and stay at our house. We know all of them, we were excited! Then just about two o’clock in the morning, Sam calls me to say another band was coming to stay. The next thing I knew I had eleven musicians all over my house! And we had a great time! I think that was the most we’ve ever had at one time and we took a commemorative photo of all of them on my front steps and Sam posted it to Facebook saying, “Bringing 11 hippies home to Mom, always a highlight of tour.” It sort of sums up being the mom of a rockstar. The best part is that the fun doesn’t stop. Music is forever, music is for your whole life!
Cathy Eaton, mother of Perry Eaton (BDCwire)
Perry's been a "rocker" since his very early days. He got a keyboard for his second birthday, which he would play—Jerry Lee Lewis style—day and night. He wore his signature cowboy hat and tickled the electric ivories to our delight (or headaches, depending on how the day had gone). Ask him to play "When the Saints go Marching In" sometime.
Perry lives his life with courage, compassion and kindness. He has a wonderful sense of humor, an abundance of loyalty for family and friends, and a true gift with children. A kid at heart, Perry has been a hero to hundreds of campers at Chickami. After long days at work, he still finds time to mentor teens at the Newton Y. Both Perry and his sister Brooke, make me a proud mother every day.