~ Malden Musings ~ Dino’s, the Dream & Joanne Codi

By Peter Levine

Just once more… I’d like to pull up to Dino’s on Medford Street to see Gary Cherone’s band the Dream (GC’s 3rd attempt out of the garage) with childhood bestie Vinny (Disano) in his blue Pontiac Firebird with the T top roofs blasting the New York Dolls (on eight-track tape).

  Dino’s Restaurant was your typical townie restaurant/neighborhood bar – inexpensive dinners and “Happy Hour” just about every moment the joint was open (HH banned in 1984 by Governor Michael Dukakis). Located on Medford Street where Beansprout, Agaves and Dockside were once located, Dino’s was a Malden hangout and a magnet for Medford hooligans (Meffa was dry). Not only could you enjoy prime rib for $8.95 or lobster pie for $7.50 or spaghetti (with meat sauce) for $1.99, but you could also drink all the Miller High Life or Budweiser you wanted Monday through Friday from noon to five for 85 cents a bottle.

  Dino’s place in Malden history doesn’t end there. Dino’s was also an entertainment mecca with some of the best and brightest groups in the area rocking and rolling Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Legendary East Boston “paisan” Pat Benti and “Sha-Boom” played there so often I could swear I saw Pat waiting tables one night. Fuhgeddaboudit! But the group that packed them in weekend after weekend were those shaggy haired pop darlings from Malden and Medford, the Dream. The Dream were the cutest and cuddliest group on the circuit, and boy did they have a rabid following! Spearheaded by Medford’s Paul Geary and Malden’s Gary Cherone, the Dream would later become Extreme, who would later go on to spawn the now prom staple – the number one smash hit heard round the world (and every Market Basket in the country) – “More Than Words.”

  But it took more than good song writing, great chops and lots of marvelous hair to take the Dream from Dino’s to worldwide stardom. In the beginning it also took an amazing woman. Her name was Joanne Codi (in the Levine/Scibelli Hall of Fame since we met her btw). Joanne was one of the original “do it yourself” hustlers back in the early 1980s, back when D.I.Y. was your only option. Her people skills, vast network of friends and family and extraordinary work ethic were the catalyst that the Dream and (early) Extreme used to propel them into the big-time Boston and environs headliners that they would become. True fact!

  Joanne was relentless in her pursuit to advance the careers of her four mop tops (they added and subtracted various other mop tops as time progressed). In the meantime, she assembled what was probably one of the first “street teams”: volunteers who would spread the word about future gigs – wallpapering flyers, working the phones, organizing mailings, being an extended voice for the band on the street and generally being a relentless pain in the derriere for Joanne and the band.

The Dream made their bones with their in-person performances. They were old school. They knew the key to longevity was perfecting their live show, honing their craft on the road and building that rabid, loyal following (hello Susanne, Fran, Janine, Christine, Carla, Andrea, Linda and Nancy). They knew that to cultivate a faithful fandom they had to earn it live. It didn’t hurt that Gary was a heartthrob lead vocalist with a killer voice, that the combination of Paul Geary and Eddie Goulet holding down the bottom, and that the cute poodle haired guitarist Peter Hunt put on one of the wicked best live shows in New England.

  This is where Joanne did her finest work. She got them playing out as often as any band playing in the Greater Boston area at the time – dive bars, seafood restaurants, hipster clubs – and opening for some of the biggest names in Boston, such as Berlin Airlift, The Stompers and James Montgomery. Here is what a typical couple of weeks (in 1982) looked like for the Dream: April 23 & 24, Dino’s Restaurant; April 29, Jasper’s in Somerville; May 1, the Old Forge Tavern in Easton, opening for Berlin Airlift; May 7 & 8, The Trail’s End in Lynn; May 13, The Channel; May 21, back at Jasper’s in Union Square, Somerville; and May 29, at The Rat in Kenmore Square, opening for good buds Berlin Airlift again.

  The Dream were never “hip.” Mostly ignored by the musical cognoscenti in Boston, barely a blip on the burgeoning “new wave” scene that was overtaking Boston – they survived by reaching out to the kids in the burbs – the ones that still wanted to hear good old fashioned rock music. They released an EP that garnered airplay and exposure beyond friends and family. At the time of the release, Gary worked at Record Town in Medford’s Meadow Glen Mall; he increased album sales by featuring his vinyl on the counter as you entered the store. In 1984 the band was approached by the producers of a lame TV sitcom who wanted to buy the name “Dream.” The band’s name was sold to the highest bidder. I don’t believe the sitcom ever saw the light of day – the Dream became Extreme (get it, EX dream….). The rest, as they say, is history.

  Eddie Goulet was bass player and resident fashion plate for the Dream: “Playing with the Dream was an incredible experience. Peter, Paul, and Gary were/are extraordinarily talented and creative musicians. Plus, they were just great guys to hang around with. The Dream was more than just the name of the band, it was a statement of what the band meant to us; music was our dream. We used to call Dino’s ‘Dino’s by the Sea,’ not sure why. It was a great venue because it was casual and relaxed, and it was so easily accessible to all our friends. Because it was a long night there, Peter and I created an acoustic act that we called the Cuz-n-Eddie Show that we used as an opening act on a couple of occasions. Now, Joanne! Man, she was an absolute dynamo. Joanne was as passionate about the band as any of us players. She was tireless in creating and pursuing opportunities for us to gain experience and exposure. She had a lot to do with the success we found in those early days.”

  Mary Scully LoPreste, an original “Dream Street Team” member, speaks: “I have known Joanne Codi since I was 15. I have never met anyone more willing, more dedicated, and more encouraging than Joanne. When I first met her, she was managing the Dream and I marveled at her ability to be confident and successful in the world of rock & roll which, at that time, was heavily dominated by men. I remember her involvement in every aspect of the band’s career; from rehearsals to performances, from stage clothes to photoshoot makeup and from song review to recording, Joanne was always engaged and committed to the success of the Dream and eventually Extreme (the early years). For a young band to have recorded an independent album, competed in and won the MTV Basement Tapes competition and been awarded 2 Boston Music Awards is a clear reflection of the stellar management afforded to them in their early years by JC. I have been privileged to have worked for and with Joanne and know very few people who would give as much of themselves as she did.”

  As Peter Falk’s iconic TV character Columbo would say, “Just one more thing, sir” – Amerige Park’s most famous son, Gary Cherone, has come a long way in the past 45 years. From Dino’s to The Channel to Fenway Park and beyond, Gary has travelled the world, made the cover of Rolling Stone, sold millions of records, improved his hoop game and made his mom a very proud and happy woman. The photo that accompanies this article just goes to show what you can accomplish when you set goals and dream a dream (no pun intended). Gary Cherone, who grew up on Highland Ave. (Alice Cooper poster above his bed), did just that. Take it away, Gary….

  “We were playing the Yokohama Arena in Japan the day after George (Harrison) and Eric (Clapton) played as part of a UDO Artist show. We were in a van on the way back to the hotel, we drove by the arena and saw that they were playing that night, so we pushed the promoter to get us in. The performances blew us away. After the show they took us backstage and brought George (‘Quiet Beatle’) Harrison in to meet us. He told us he was ‘out of touch with current music’ and that he (paraphrasing) enjoys simply having friends over the house to jam and swap licks. He was very gracious and kind, considering we were all in awe! We knew that it was a very special moment in our lives meeting one of the Fab Four. We felt it didn’t get much better than this, the top of the music food chain, in the presence of the Lord, oops I meant, a Beatle. I still get chills thinking about it! One of life’s more precious memories.”

—Peter is a longtime Malden resident and a regular contributor to the Malden Advocate and can be reached at PeteL39@aol.com for comments, compliments or criticisms.