The Agenda was saddened to learn of the recent passing of a beloved figure in Providence's arts & music community. The following memorial for Eugene P. Severens was written by longtime friend and musical contemporary Terry Linehan.
The Providence and Worcester music scenes suffered a great loss on Sunday when Eugene P. Severens (also known as Gene and Geno) died in Worcester at age 43. Gene was a singer/guitarist that performed for such acts as: The Aggressions, Muffy and the Patriots, My Way, Benny Sizzler, and most notably 80's punk stalwarts Boneyard. He had been struggling with chronic liver disease for a decade.
Gene's music career began in Worcester in the early 1980s and moved to Providence a few years later. It was during this time that he began the group Boneyard with Chil Mott, Jack Praskievicz, and Gail Greenwood. Boneyard made its mark on Providence playing gritty punk rock in the spirit of early 80's CBGB's acts. During this time Gene was able to pen the two classics that grew to define his career. These songs were "Problems" and "Scarecrow." "Problems" was an aggressive anthem of alienation and dissatisfaction while "Scarecrow" took shots at the hypocrisy of organized religion. While a minimalist in his playing, Severens and Greenwood used guitar counter melodies to contrast against Mott's and Praskievicz's heavy rhythms. Boneyard's most notable achievement was a split 7" with Lookout Records legends Crimpshine in the late 80's.
After Boneyard's split in the early 90's Gene became a well known bartender at One Up (the only bar that mattered). During this time he played with My Way and later with Benny Sizzler, reuniting with Mott and Greenwood. As his health declined in the last four years he played as much as he could while turning his attentions to the visual arts and his love of fishing.
Like most artists of his era, Geno was a very two sided person. While he excelled at writing scathing social commentary, he also was a very caring, sensitive person that would always go the extra mile for a friend. He was always taking in strays, animal or human, and had a heart of immeasurable proportion. Although he would probably like to be remembered for his snarl onstage, he will be remembered by friends for his smile and sense of humor.