Ex-Boston guitarist rocks into Saugus for Veterans Benefit Concert

On July 16, Barry Goudreau’s Engine Room will kick off Rockin’ 4 Vets summer Veterans Benefit Concert Series outside at Kowloon Restaurant (Rte. 1 North, Saugus), just before their run as opener for the Hollywood Vampires. Barry Goudreau’s Engine Room features a stellar lineup with longtime bandmates: keyboardist and songwriter Brian Maes along with bassist Tim Archibald and drummer Tony DePietro. Also joining the band are a powerhouse group of vocalists in Mary Beth Maes, Terri O’Soro and Joanie Cicatelli. Maes and Archibald have worked together extensively over the years, both in Peter Wolf’s band and with Goudreau in Orion the Hunter, RTZ, Ernie & the Automatics and now Engine Room.

There is nothing more to say about Barry Goudreau (former guitarist for arena rockers Boston) regarding this band. His guitar sound was largely responsible for the sale of over 40,000,000 copies of the band’s first two records. When the first note of any of these songs comes on, you know the songs; they are so distinctive to a generation. After all, who can forget the soaring riffs on songs like “Long Time,” “Don’t Look Back” and “Rock & Roll Band” – which led to their debut album being the best-selling debut record of all time.

Prior to Goudreau’s departure from the band, he continued in a similar style, producing work of his own. In 1980 he went on to record his first solo project, which was titled “Barry Goudreau.” The LP successfully hit the airwaves with the songs “Dreams” and “Mean Woman Blues.” In 1984, Goudreau formed the band Orion the Hunter and released a debut LP with Fran Cosmo as lead vocalist. The album included the single “So You Ran.” The band toured in support of Aerosmith.

General admission and VIP packages tickets are available at gimmeLIVE.com. The show starts at 1:00 p.m.