The 1880

“This is a very underrated hang-out spot,” says Matt Shearer, his eyes darting around the reception area of WERS. “Nobody’s ever here, and these chairs rule.” His hat is stuck with buttons of bands I haven’t even heard of yet, who will still probably be big in the punk/hardcore community within four months. We get caught on the subject of Paint It Black’s upcoming album New Lexicon. After the shit is shot, we get down to business.

There are few people I’ve ever met in my life who possess half the apparent optimism that Shearer exudes. It’s almost impossible to feel bummed in his presence, honestly. People, the city of Boston, or radio stations can throw all sorts of shit in his direction, but he just seems to shrug things off, almost as if he simply doesn’t have time for it. At least that’s how things seem at first, but get below that exterior and you’ll find a person who stands so strong in his convictions that his resolve only seems to grow stronger if he is not able to achieve something the first time around.

Shearer lives in Allston, along with ten of his closest friends, in the appropriately named Fort Fuck Awesome, a castle of a house that kind of just fell into their laps this past spring. “When we were looking for a place to live, we only had two conditions: That the rent be $650 or less, and that it has a basement.” The basement part delivered in spades. Since moving in back in September to FFA, Shearer and the crew have managed to put on at least 12 basement shows, shows that feature more driving, punk/hardcore type acts, and just as many featuring more electronic oriented acts, such as Schuyler Stone, aka Benefit Friends. Shearer only has two rules for bands that want to book shows at the basement: “That the day is open, and that they clean up afterwards.” This usually requires mopping the hardwood floor of the basement, and reassembling the living room it usually is during the day. “I think it’s what punk and hardcore are all about. The whole DIY approach to things; just do your part.”

Shearer doesn’t really seem to want to take a lot of credit for the impact his booking has had on the greater Emerson community, attributing most of the house’s success to word-of-mouth. “The majority of the people at the house go to Emerson, so therefore, most Emersonians know at least one person that lives here.” This eclectic setup recently drew the attention of the New York Times, who were doing an article on “punk houses,” showcasing the living arrangements of punks around the country. “The reporter apparently wanted to actually visit one of these houses, so she came, interviewed all of us, brought along a professional photographer. There was pizza, there were sing-a-longs. But, I don’t really think we were what she was expecting. We’re less of a ‘punk house’ and more of a house of people who like punk, but also like to be clean.” The article was instead printed in a newspaper somewhere in Florida.

While writing this article, Shearer posts a bulletin on MySpace stating that FFA has been blacklisted by the Boston Police Department, effectively shutting down shows for the immediate future. I still can’t picture him acting that terribly bummed about it, although I can imagine he probably is.

Then there’s Kill Conrad, for whom Shearer plays bass. Basically, the shining hope of the Emerson punk scene. Calling them merely a “punk band” would be doing them a disservice though, as they easily fall more into the melodic hardcore vein. That’s Shearer you see constantly in the air during their shows, captured in flight on film countless times. After putting out the stellar 32 Short Films About Nothing In Particular EP in Spring ‘07, Kill Conrad already has a new 7″ as well as an appearance on a Kid Dynamite tribute coming up. “All of the new stuff basically picks up right where the EP left off. We’re staying true to our style. Jon [Meyer, lead vocalist] isn’t singing now or anything.”

For the past two years, Shearer has hosted the punk/hardcore show Radiobeat, on WERS. The mere mention of this show seems to trigger something in Shearer, and what follows is probably the most candid parts of our time spent talking. The thing is, Radiobeat was cancelled this past December with almost no warning, finally going off the air the morning of January 27th. “It’s radio, man. Shit happens. Radiobeat was a huge part of my life, and that’s not going to change.” Radiobeat found Shearer reaching people all over the world, and in different situations than his own. “There was this one guy from Newfoundland, who couldn’t see that many punk shows because bands never came up there, who said that Radiobeat was his only way of ’seeing’ bands, by just hearing them play live in the studio. Or the people in prison, who couldn’t access their own record collections, Radiobeat was the highlight of their shitty week being locked up. I feel a lot of guilt about not being on the air anymore, but it wasn’t my fault or choice.” However, Radiobeat went out gracefully, with a show that featured several in-studio acts. “The last Radiobeat was a combination of sadness and warmth, mainly due to the response it got. I knew people were listening, but you never knew how much of an impact it had until it ended. I’m glad too many people didn’t complain though, since their complaints probably would not have gone anywhere, but I’m glad they’re affected.” Shearer continues to look at the bright side. “I haven’t had a Saturday night free in two years, but it was all worth it.”

Now that he can hang out on Saturdays, Shearer has turned his attention to commercial radio, working the boards at WBOS. “I’m really interested in the programming aspects of the whole thing. There are a lot of mistakes that could be solved, but nobody wants to take the risk.”

Those who want to try and make some sort of impact on their immediate environment or the greater scene around them should take a page from the book of Shearer. Honestly, if things happened more in his style, I have a feeling that negativity would be a thing of the past.