Local musician's career takes him from Wollaston Beach to Europe
It’s a long way from just strumming his guitar on Wollaston Beach or playing with his blues-rock combo The Ramblin’ Souls at tiny local pubs like Paddy Barry’s in Quincy, but Squantum’s Jesse Ahern is still enjoying the ride.
Well, most of it, that is.
“Oh man, it’s been snowing since I left home, just me in my Ford Econoline trying to find my way in these Colorado mountains,” Ahern laughed before a Boulder tour stop last week. Ahern is in the midst of a 25-date national tour opening for the rock group The Record Company, the latest sign that his career has really taken off over the past year, especially since the release last summer of his latest album, “Roots Rock Rebel.”
Back on the road
After opening the Dropkick Murphys’ late-summer/early fall European tour, Ahern was right back at it with a tour of smaller clubs throughout Europe until almost Christmas. Now after a short holiday break, he’s back on the road with another prime opening slot, which will introduce him to a more mainstream audience than the punk rock crowds the Dropkick Murphys draw.
The Record Company’s tour, with Ahern opening, stops by The Sinclair in Cambridge on Wednesday, Jan. 31. (The Sinclair is located at 52 Church St., near Harvard Square, in Cambridge. The show begins at 8 p.m. and the club’s website sinclaircambridge.com notes that it is already sold out. Call the club at 617-547-5200 for more information.)
“I think in 2023 I was well over 100 dates,” said Ahern. “I was thinking I got to 120, but I may not have made it quite that high. It has been pretty wild. I spent the fall opening for the Dropkick Murphys and The Interrupters, and then from that tour I went right back out to Europe again. I was gone 74 days, and now I’m on the road for another couple months, and we’re already looking at another European swing too. I’ve really gotten a little foothold in Europe, thanks to the Dropkick Murphys. There’s a little different vibe over there, and they really appreciate live music.
Finding success in Europe
“I’ve become really successful in the Netherlands, France, the U.K., Belgium,” Ahern added. “Not so much in Germany, yet, although I’ve got my foot in the door. We did very well in Ireland, which seems to have more of a rock ethos. It’s tough sometimes to know how you’ll do in another country, how well the songs will translate and so on. But it is a long way – and 20 years – from playing opening gigs at The Beachcomber on Wollaston Beach.”
Looking back: Memories live on as Quincy's Beachcomber building comes down
As many local fans know, Ahern was working a full-time day job as a tradesman, working in construction, and also as a union plumber, when he was playing local clubs. But with the Dropkick Murphys, and especially DKM’s leader Ken Casey, taking an interest in nurturing his career and enlisting him for those opening tour slots over the past several years, music is almost his sole occupation now.
“It has definitely been a life-changing few years,” said Ahern. “I still do some work here and there, but I can pay the bills just with music now. I pick up odd jobs when I’m home, just to keep my hand in. I don’t have to do the daily grind anymore, but I haven’t fully given up working with my hands in the trades.”
But how much of that work can he do without jeopardizing the hands he needs for his guitar?
Still likes working with his hands
“I do have to take care of myself a bit more,” Ahern replied. “I’m old enough that my hands start getting sore if I do too much of that stuff. But, I’m still turning wrenches a bit. I like being able to do that.”
The other potential downside to his career bursting forward is that it takes him away from home, where son Jake is 16 and preparing for his driver’s license test, daughter Rebel Rose is 8, and son Waylon is now 4. Ahern’s partner, Kerri Sheehan, keeps things running smoothly at home, and has been his biggest supporter over the years, but time at home has become ever more precious.
“It has definitely been an adjustment for the whole family, with me being on the road a lot this past year,” Ahern noted. “Being gone all fall, and now going out again is tough. I miss them. My youngest is still asking questions all the time, like ‘When is daddy coming home?’ But the other side of this is that when I am home, I can be there more. If I was working 9-5, I’d be up at 5:30 a.m. and probably gone all day. So I am thankful that when I am home now, I can really spend some serious time with the kids. Jake is getting his learner’s permit soon, so that reminds you time flies. He’s actually coming out to join me for the Boston-to-Ohio leg of this tour, helping out with the merchandise.”
Ahern’s latest album is as close as possible to a document of his live shows, where his big voice, and dynamic guitar skills provide plenty of energy. And with his songwriting maturing over the last decade to where he can uncork a rousing union anthem one moment, or a tender consideration of the true meaning of love and family the next, he’s been discovered by more and more music fans all over the world. Ironically, he is now a bigger name across the Atlantic, than in the United States, but this tour should help a lot towards correcting that.
Touring with friends
The Record Company is a Los Angeles-based band that brings classic blues rhythms and grit into modern rock. They have developed a solid fanbase, and, for example, sold out the 1,000-capacity Paradise Rock Club in Boston on a recent swing through Boston. And it is a mainstream rock audience, mostly under-40, and not quite the punk rock rebels the Dropkicks draw.
“The Dropkick Murphys are no doubt the biggest reason for the success I’m having,” said Ahern. “That is a huge debt I owe them, but they just see it as helping a fellow musician. I’ve had success internationally I never thought I’d have. I’m not rolling in dough, but I am doing better than I ever imagined I would. Like Ken Casey says, when you play another country you can never be sure how it will translate, but I’ve been fortunate that audiences in Europe really seem to like my music.”
“How I got this slot opening The Record Company tour is simple,” Ahern added. “We have similar friends in the business, and I had done a one-off date with them over the summer in Colorado. Playing for these audiences is kind of bittersweet; I like those punk-rock crowds that first accepted me so well. But I also realize my music is coming from a more bluesy, Americana vibe. I might engage with the crowd more at the punk shows and have more stage banter. With these shows, it is more a case of just standing back and doing my music, which is what the crowds want. The Record Company is just a three-piece, so we have a pretty tight traveling group and get along really well.”
Looking ahead, Ahern is looking forward to some time at home to write and develop new music in the studio. Grammy-winning producer Ted Hutt worked on his last album, and Ahern would love to have him produce the next one too.
A show close to home
“It was nice to have a guy like Ted, with his achievements, kind of introduce me to a larger audience,” Ahern said. “I think I might like to try getting back to small bands, nothing very big, but one or two musicians with me. It is nice to travel light, but a lot of my career hasn’t been what you would call a great business model, so we’ll see.”
The Quincy songsmith returning to play the cozy (525 capacity) Sinclair must have dozens of friends pestering him for tickets, but it’s a good problem to have, even if he can’t help very much.
“As an opening act you only get a handful, and of course I will have family coming to this one,” Ahern said with a chuckle. “I have played MGM Music Hall with the Dropkick Murphys and Turnpike Troubadours, a much bigger venue, but I think a place like The Sinclair is much more my vibe. I like it when the audience can all feel part of the show, and you can really connect with people.”
And once this tour ends in a few weeks, Ahern can sit back and plan his next move.
“Things have been going well, and (radio station) WUMB has been playing my music a lot,” said Ahern. “I just did a live show there with Brendan Hogan, which was cool. I hope to take a break from touring after this, for a bit. But now I feel like I could play a tour of my own, maybe do punk rock clubs or smaller rooms. I think I could do a tour of 200-capacity rooms in Europe, or perhaps see about a package deal with a similar act. But we’ll take some time off, work on new material and see what we can do.”
A Band of Killers coming to Fall River
Saturday, the Narrows Center in Fall River welcomes A Band of Killers, a true supergroup of Boston musical vets, led by guitarists Tim Gearan and Johnny Trama. Gearan sings lead in one version of the band, where the material written by Trama and him tends towards Americana, while another, funkier version of the band has Toussaint The Liberator as main vocalist. In either case, the band is a dazzling combo able to stretch out and deliver some superb jams – but without overdoing it. They aren’t doing three-minute pop songs, for sure, and most of their tunes go five minutes or more, but there is a smart sense of editing and keeping everything tight here, judging from what we’ve heard online. Check out the song “Bigger than the Sky” and enjoy the band’s twangy soul.
GA-20 gearing up for another European tour
It seems like they just got off the road and celebrated with a packed house at the Narrows Center in Fall River two weeks ago, but GA-20 is gearing up for another European jaunt. The Boston blues trio is headed for a 19-date swing through the other side of the ocean, which begins with a date in Luxembourg, and then six shows in France. But Matt Stubbs, Tim Carman, and Pat Faherty will be back on familiar turf in March, when they perform March 16 at The Met Café in Pawtucket. And their opening act that night will be Scituate’s Ward Hayden & the Outliers.
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Jesse Ahearn's career took off in part thanks to the Dropkick Murphys
