Tanya Donelly, center, with Belly
Tanya Donelly is giving away a set of 10 demos that laid the foundation for her band Belly’s 1993 debut Star in honor of the man who produced and engineered those recordings: Joe Harvard, co-founder of Boston’s famed Fort Apache Studios, who died Sunday.
Donelly tweeted Monday that she was making the “Breeders-to-Belly” demos — songs she originally intended to record with the Breeders before leaving that band — “permanently free and in tribute to Joe.”
You can stream and/or download the demos below via Bandcamp. They include 10 of the songs that ultimately were included on Star, including versions of “White Belly” and hit single “Feed the Tree” with Donelly’s former Breeders bandmate Kim Deal pitching in on guitar.
Of the tribute to her late friend, Donelly writes:
These demos were produced and engineered by Joe Harvard, who we lost yesterday. Joe was a founder of Fort Apache studios, a singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist, a much loved member of the Boston music family, a brilliant and hilarious friend. His part in the birth of Belly is a major one, as he was one of the first supporters of these songs (originally Breeders-bound) in their fledgling state. He used to call me Bogie Gwang, after the quirky guitar intro of a Muses song I wrote (The River), because he greatly enjoyed making fun of me (and vice versa). This nickname stuck for while at the Fort, and felt like an initiation. I loved it, because it came from him, and I loved him.
Travel on, Joe.
Love you always,
Bogie
Harvard, 60, died on Sunday in Asbury Park, N.J., of cancer. He had co-founded Fort Apache Studios with three friends in 1986, opening the recording studio in an industrial space in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood. The studio would play a key role in Boston’s indie music scene, with acts including the Pixies, Buffalo Tom, Juliana Hatfield, Lemonheads, Morphine and the Throwing Muses — of which Donelly also was a member — recording there over the years.
Donelly reunited Belly in 2018 and released the band’s first new album in 23 years.
Below, stream and/or download the Star demos.
PREVIOUSLY ON SLICING UP EYEBALLS
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- Watch: Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donelly reunite onstage for a little ‘Two Step’ in Boston
- Belly returns with new album ‘Dove,’ plus U.S. and U.K. tours — hear 1st single ‘Shiny One’
- Tanya Donelly recording new album with Belly, playing Boston with Kristin Hersh
These are cool.
Thank you Tanya!