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.
