Meet the Remains

When the Remains—a young American band from
Boston—were selected to open for the Beatles in 1966, lead singer
Barry Tashian’s father told him to keep a journal. Sensing some of the
moment’s importance, Tashian wrote in the journal daily, but there were
things the 21-year-old couldn’t have known—like the fact that the
tour would not only be the Remains’ last, but the Beatles’ as well.

Tashian’s journal became a book, Ticket to Ride: the
Extraordinary Diary of the Beatles’ Last Tour, which presented the
Fab Four as more human than myth. The entries are somewhat puerile, as
the Beatles had yet to really delve into drugs (except when John shows
up in the hotel room with a joint). In 1966, it’s clear that the
Liverpudlians were somewhat insulated from politics and the burgeoning
counterculture.

While being brought along by the Beatles was a significant advance
for the group’s career, the Remains made their earlier steps
unassisted. By phone from his home in Nashville, Tashian discusses
playing The Ed Sullivan Show. “We didn’t really like it much at
the time,” he explains. “We didn’t think they knew how to mix rock ‘n’
roll very well, and they made us turn down a lot… I was kind of
pissed about that. We all were.” Years later, after receiving a taped
copy of the performance, Tashian’s opinion lightened considerably.

But that youthful sense of omniscience led the Remains to disband
their garage stomp shortly after the tour. “I was 21, and I figured all
I had to do was start another band and I’d wind up on Ed
Sullivan and touring with the Beatles again,” says Tashian. “As it
turns out, you know, that didn’t happen.”

In the decades since, however, Tashian stayed musically fulfilled as
an active member in the Nashville country and bluegrass scene. The
Remains reunions began in the late ’90s, but they only do a few shows
each year to keep things fresh and exciting. The Portland date will be
the reunited band’s first ever—their most recent visit to the
Pacific Northwest was the August 25, 1966 performance alongside the
Beatles at the Seattle Center Coliseum.

“The great thing about playing now is that the pressure is off and
we can have a good time without the stress of saying, ‘We’re trying to
make it,'” Tashian adds. “We were really trying to make it before.”