Riding the old New Wave

By Emma Brown, Globe Correspondent  |  August 7, 2008

You may giggle at the New Kids on the Block and groan at the B-52s, but the truth is, you love 1980s pop and rock. Everyone does, even the troubadours at Club Passim. Tomorrow night more than 20 of the folk club's headliners and regular open-mike performers are casting off their acoustic guitars in a tribute to the decade no one can quite bear to leave behind. They're faithfully covering hair-band and pop favorites - and they're plugging in.

"It's going to be all wild rock 'n' roll. The roof is going to come off the building," says Jon Svetkey of the Loomers, house band for the night. "It's totally not what you would expect from Passim."

We caught up with some of tomorrow night's performers to see how they'll unleash their inner Cyndi Lauper and Adam Ant.

Performing: "Just Like Heaven" by the Cure
What were you doing in the '80s? I was in high school playing in vegetarian restaurants and stuff, in the corner with a little tip basket. I got my first guitar in 1980, so that's when I was covering a lot of songs, but I was leaning more toward Paul Simon than Paul Young.
So you've played "Just Like Heaven" before? Yeah. I was drawn to its intensity and its sort of tragic love. I was into that phase - love is always tragic and ill-fated - because I was in college. I tried to start a band called the Time Life Operators, and we tried to cover that song, but we never got out of our apartment.
You don't have a lot in common with the Cure's lead singer, at least superficially. It's going to be really easy to dress up as Robert Smith - he wears black and black eyeliner and messy hair, which I have. I can't do the off-the-shoulder "Flashdance" look.
How do you cultivate your inner rocker? It's in there, it really is.

Performing: "Melt With You" by Modern English
Why Modern English? I'm trying to get in touch with my inner British dork. The Modern English vocalist looked like he had about a 24-inch waist and weighed 90 pounds, and he had a nose too large for his face and an Adam's apple that was also too large. Yet they had this hit record and this hit video, and I thought, "Yeah, you go, boy!"
So you weren't that cool in the '80s? Well, I was a math and physics major. Maybe that says everything.
Are you going to dress up? If I can find the hat the lead vocalist wore. My friend Mark Stepakoff is actively threatening to don a Dee Snider wig because he'll be playing "We're Not Gonna Take It," which if you've met Mark, it's about the most incongruous song you can imagine: He's in financial services.
You've done around 15 tribute shows at Passim. What keeps you coming back? Folk music can be a little self-important and can take itself a little bit too seriously. This is a chance to relax some of that.

Performing: "Love Is a Battlefield" by Pat Benatar
How does a folk singer like you transform herself into a rock goddess? I'm a pianist, so I have to learn to use my arms and legs, which is something I usually don't have to worry about. I've been trying to practice in my apartment and yet I don't have any blinds and I'm like, can people see me flailing around? So I turn the lights off and then I'm like, is that creepy?
You thought hard about singing "Total Eclipse of the Heart" before settling on "Love Is a Battlefield." Why Pat Benatar instead of Bonnie Tyler? When I was little, I wanted to be Pat Benatar. She's got pipes. I have very vivid memories of watching her video for this song. Evidently she was a hooker, but I didn't get that when I was a little kid. I was more moved, like, "Aww, she's having family trouble." I listened to her all the time, and now I'm thinking I have to cut down on my cigarettes, so I can hit all the notes.
Nervous? I'm a little nervous. I have to just not care, that's the whole point. We're not out to change lives. It's basically people singing a bunch of songs that we love, and I think that's going to help loosen me up, which I need. Most of my own songs are like, you know, sad.

Performing: "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell
You're 19 years old. What do you know about the '80s? I remember watching "The Neverending Story," "Labyrinth," and "Sixteen Candles." My favorite TV shows were "Fraggle Rock" and "Thundercats." So I'm an '80s kid.
When did you first hear "Tainted Love"? I was about 6 years old, riding in a Nissan Maxima, and that song was blaring. I just started singing it even though I'd never heard it before. I remember confusing the words, thinking it was "Jane's in love." You don't really understand love songs when you're that age, anyway.
The "Tainted Love" video is full of men in togas. Is that the style you're going for? I'm not exactly sure what I'll be wearing - probably a Karate Kid T-shirt, leg warmers, and a Starter jacket.
Where do you a buy a Starter jacket in Boston these days?
You don't. You actually have to have one up in your closet. I have the New England Patriots one, and I wore it for real in '93 and '94. It was a hand-me-down from my cousin.

Club Passim's '80s tribute night starts at 8 p.m. tomorrow. Tickets are $16 at www.clubpassim.com or 617-492-7679.