Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

I’m back from my break … back from my much-needed sabbatical. I hope you enjoyed those old stories that the paper published while I was away. Special thank you to Bobbie at the paper who always goes above and beyond. Thank you for all the well wishes while I tended to family and health issues. Somerville still and always will lead the way.

I drove down Cedar St. the other day from Highland. I had to inhale and hold my breath as I concentrated on maneuvering my rather large SUV through the ever-shortening streets. I know large vehicles aren’t “green friendly,” but please don’t judge. I carry family members and various equipment around so I need a large vehicle. Plus, I like the advantage of being above most other vehicles. So does my pal Frankie who is actually driving my old white SUV now. You may know him from his funny and often outrageous Facebook posts. We are both careful and always yield to bikes, animals and people.

The empty lot that used to be filled with music and memories.

Driving in Somerville has become a real effort requiring undivided attention. So why do I still see drivers looking down at their phones as they drive? Come on now! I know … these folks are not “from here” right? Somerville is ever changing and we all need to wake up and smell the coffee (Dunk’s) so to speak.

Look how our city has evolved. There are bikes, baby carriages and pedestrians everywhere and there seems to be more every day. We all have to be on the ball, on the money, and wide awake. So, with more and more people, bikes and cars, we have pay strict attention! No one is special enough that they can’t wait till you pull over to check a message or answer a call. I have to thank the city for making the Powder House rotary easier to understand and maneuver through.

Now the sad part. I heard that another one of my old favorite landmarks was gone. The live music venue Thunder Road, formerly Choices, formerly Jasper’s is history. “Plans call for a five-story mixed-use building with 12 apartments and a bar or restaurant on the first floor.”

I’m shocked … not.

A few doors down from Jasper’s/Thunder Road where four of us musicians and three dogs lived in a small studio apartment.

When I drive by the site of a place that I spent a lot of time at that’s gone, I get a lump in my throat and a little pain in my stomach. Time marches on and progress must occur but we don’t have to pretend to like it. After all, Somerville’s motto is honor and progress, right? I’m officially a cranky old curmudgeon sometimes but I truly love our city. I enjoy seeing some of the progress happening like the Green Line extensions and the new high school but I don’t like seeing my old favs obliterated. C’est la vie.

So, the empty space that was once Jasper’s and Thunder Road, etc., was the site of many of my memories. My band The Tools played there a lot. We opened for bands such as Luna and Balloon and I also worked there cleaning up the day after shows. So I’d hear from the manager “Hey Jim, you guys sounded great last night … by the way be sure to get those cigarettes out of the urinals.” Lol!

Truth is, I have a lot of great memories from that place. I actually lived within stumbling distance from Jaspers for a while (see photo). We had four guys living in a studio apartment. We lived on Caesar’s Pizza and beer! At one time we even had three puppies in there but that was Rock ‘n Roll for you. Fun memories. One guy’s band’s name was Thunderhead! How ironic. Eddie C. was in the band and one of the four roommates along with the late Dave Emery, our light and sound man.

Thunder Road, Formerly Choices. formerly Jasper’s.

In between working on this story, I had an old school Somerville moment. I went for a nice walk Saturday morning while listening to The Beatles song Hello, Goodbye and I bumped into my old pal Jimmy O’D. We had a great 10-minute chat. We live three minutes on foot from each but hadn’t talked in years. It was great to catch up. I urge everyone to walk by your friend’s houses and say hello and goodbye.

Back to the razing of Jasper’s/ Thunder Road … hope it’s a live music restaurant they build because we need more of those in our ever-changing Somerville. The former site of all that music will remain in our memories (we even hosted karaoke when it was Choices).

So, have a great week and weekend. We should all try to smile more! As more and more people are moving to Somerville … we need more and more friendliness.

A special shout out to Joe M and the folks at A Plus Auto Body behind the High School on Medford St. They did a bang-up job on our Honda Pilot that was hit by a delivery truck. They want you to know that they are open for business so be sure to drop in if you need A+ auto body work!

Somerville High School’s class of 1970’s reunion was cancelled and sadly will not be rescheduled (my late sister Christine’s class). However, we are extending a welcome to those folks to join our class of 1971’s reunion on October 23 at Anthony’s in Malden from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m. If interested, send $65 to Rosalie DeLucia, 30 Wolcott St., Medford, Ma 02155. It will be a fun time for sure. Masks and hand sanitizers will be available.