Peabody’s Glen Ahearn has mounted a successful career as a sales and applications support manager, but few are aware that he’s done so while keeping the band White Lightnin’ alive for 43 years.
Throughout the ‘80s, the rock band went from playing every high-school prom Lynn had to offer to playing South Boston’s The Channel nightclub with Aerosmith’s Joe Perry in attendance. At the height of its fame, White Lightnin’ opened for The Fools, secured first place at Grover’s 1984 Battle of the Bands, and left lasting impressions at sold-out shows throughout the region. Locals who remember, or even participated in, the mania are invited to relive it all this month when Ahearn’s documentary “White Lightnin’ 1980-85” hits the big screen in Salem.
Ahearn initially announced the more than two-hour documentary to his friends and family on Facebook. In a follow-up post, he said the documentary, which includes live performance footage and current interviews with band members, will be available to view at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11. at Cinema Salem. Tickets are free of charge, and the screening is open to the public.
“The number of responses that we got on those two posts and the fondness for which people remembered us was really moving,” Ahearn said. “This goes back 40 years, and these people remember us like it was yesterday. Certainly, we got a lot of love from our Lynn community.”
“I decided that we should celebrate what we accomplished while everyone in the original White Lightnin’ band is alive to enjoy it,”
Glen Ahearn
At 13 years old, Ahearn bought his first electric guitar and invited friends who lived near him on Pine Hill in Lynn to join him in starting a band. Emmet Corcoran and Mark Healy agreed to play guitar, Tony Gallo agreed to play bass, Brian Fay agreed to play drums, and Alan Rheault agreed to play keyboard.
“Every one of us grew up in Lynn and went to Lynn Public Schools, so there is a case to be made that we might have made it the furthest for an all-Lynn band,” Ahearn said.
The teenagers went by the name “Revelation” during their first year of performing together. The band was known briefly as “The Brother’s Blues” and “No Dice” before the group decided on “White Lightnin’” in 1980.
“In the late ‘70s, there was a lot going on. You had the new wave of punk just coming in. You had Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson, and Talking Heads. There was so much stuff,” Rheault said. “We took on a little bit of that attitude even in the way we dressed, but it was kind of old-school meets new wave…We took so much of it in.”
Spurred by the death this year of a close friend to the band, Ahearn decided to take advantage of his collection of old photos, audio, and video — an impressive archive considering the lack of portable recording equipment in the early ‘80s.
“I decided that we should celebrate what we accomplished while everyone in the original White Lightnin’ band is alive to enjoy it,” Ahearn said.
Since its formation in 1977, more than a dozen people have rotated in and out of White Lightnin,’ but Ahearn has always been the glue holding the band together.
Along with Ahearn, Corcoran, Fay, Gallo, Healy, and Rheault, other pivotal players in the White Lightnin’ story include Joe Geary and Greg Gallo (Tony’s brother), who joined in 1980, and the band’s former manager Jo Cook.
According to original band members Tony Gallo, Geary, Fay, and Rheault, Ahearn has always been the group’s “core” and “backbone.” More specifically, he has served as the band’s musical director, principal songwriter, guitarist, and backup vocalist.
Each musician that joined White Lightnin’ brought something unique to the table, according to the original members.
Ahearn, Tony Gallo, Geary, and Fay acknowledged Rheault’s many roles in the group, including serving as its business manager, U-Haul renter, and designated driver on top of playing keyboard and trumpet. Now running the American Plate and Auto Glass company out of Danvers alongside his two brothers, Rheault reminisces on the band’s performances at Classical Night Live — a Saturday Night Live spoof the group sold out at Lynn Classical High School.
“They let a lot of stuff go. There were things where I couldn’t believe they let them say that in high school,’” Rheault said. “It was a different time. That’s a good way to put it. It was a different time.”
Ahearn, Tony Gallo, Geary, and Rheault described Fay, who served Lynn and Peabody as a teacher and principal over the course of two decades, as the group’s “fashion icon” because he’d often change outfits three times in one night.
“The Channel was always my favorite place to play because, as a drummer, to be able to hear yourself was really exciting. They had a great monitor beside me, and to hit those drums and actually hear it come through was really cool,” Fay said. “It was just a great venue with so many great artists that we loved and respected going through The Channel at one point in their careers, so to be on that same stage was really cool.”
All these years later, Fay found his own kids’ favorite White Lightnin’ song is “Slip out your window,” an upbeat song that received radio attention with lyrics like “Why don’t you slip out your window into the night? / In my arms, I’ll hold you so tight.”
Ahearn, Fay, Geary, and Rheault described Tony Gallo as the band’s “quality control” and “ladies’ man” while he served White Lightnin’ as its bass player and vocalist. Although he still performs with White Lightnin’, he described the band’s transition in the early 2000s to playing mostly at weddings and private parties in response to local music venues permanently closing their doors.
“It’s been tricky because I do a bunch of different things,” Tony Gallo said. “There are a couple of places you can play, but they’re late-night. The money is not that good. There’s just not that many gigs around anymore.”
Now also pursuing a solo career, he hopes to release his next EP, “Keep the Faith,” soon.
Ahearn, Tony Gallo, Fay, and Rheault deemed Geary the band’s “enforcer,” in addition to serving as its songwriter, saxophonist, and harmonicist. Geary now works at an engineering firm and said his favorite part about being in the band is the lifelong friendships he has been able to maintain.
“We may have had our ups and downs, but they were mostly ups. Let’s put it that way. We’ve stayed really close throughout the years,” Geary said. “Our kids know each other and were part of playgroups together.”
Although the band’s performance schedule has become more infrequent over the years, locals can still catch White Lightnin’ occasionally playing concerts at Red Rock Park in Lynn. Today’s White Lightnin’ features Ahearn on guitar, Tony Gallo and Kevin Bryant on vocals, Jeff Hanson on bass, Sam Biancuzzo on drums, John DiTomaso on trumpet, and Chris Billias on keyboard.
Those interested in a guaranteed way to see White Lightnin’ perform can head to Cinema Salem on Nov. 11 to view Ahearn’s documentary. Seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis.
“It’s always fun playing in a band, but it’s even more special to do it when you’re playing with people you love,” Ahearn said. “That’s what really makes it special.”
