• Comment: Do you have access to any offline databases? Can you find coverage in Boston Rock, The Real Paper, Boston Herald? Jim Sullivan in The Boston Globe? To establish notability, extensive coverage via independent, reliable sources is required. (Ping me if you don't have access to offline resources and I will take a look.) (I was a fan!) JSFarman (talk) 00:49, 9 December 2025 (UTC)

• Comment: It is probably best to use the citationsin the reference list into the body of the article. ToadetteEdit (7M articles) 06:47, 26 May 2025 (UTC)

Loose Ties
Loose Ties in 1985.
Background information
Origin	Boston, Massachusetts
Genres	rock
Years active	1981–1988
Members	Terry Kitchen Bill Kuhlman Chris Peeler Brice Buchanan Barry Singer Debra Jeremy Chase

Loose Ties was a Boston-based rock band that performed on the Boston club scene from 1981 to 1988. Initial members Terry Kitchen (aka Max Pokrivchak) on guitar and vocals, Bill Kuhlman on bass and vocals, and Chris Peeler on drums were joined in 1984 by Brice Buchanan on lead guitar and vocals and Barry Singer on keyboards and sax; vocalist Debra Jeremy Chase was added in 1987. Their 1985 vinyl EP release Loose Ties, produced by Fred Pineau of the Atlantics, included a single that reached #1 on Boston rock station WBCN's local countdown, resulting in an invitation to the 1986 WBCN Rumble. Loose Ties broke up in 1988, since releasing retrospective compilations Perpendicular Universe, Where the Action Is, and Loose Ties Dance Party! A fictionalized version of the band's story forms the basis for Kitchen's 2013 novel Next Big Thing.

Terry Kitchen (born Max Pokrivchak), Bill Kuhlman and Chris Peeler met in high school in 1973 in Findlay, Ohio. Kitchen was just learning guitar and writing songs, Peeler was already an accomplished drummer, and Kuhlman was a singer in drama productions. Kuhlman was convinced to take up bass and the band (Shadow) was formed, playing rock covers of the era and Kitchen's originals for the Ohio teen center circuit. After graduation the band was semi-active, reuniting during college vacations. In 1981 the entire band moved to Boston.

Their first show in Boston, under their new name Loose Ties, was at The Rathskeller in Kenmore Square in February 1982^[1]. Over the next six years they played and developed a following at premier '80s Greater Boston rock clubs including The Channel, The Paradise, Storyville, and Jack’s in Cambridge. Their first radio tape, a ska version of the Monkees' For Pete’s Sake was played on local rock station WBCN, and their single Take a Ride charted on alternative station WFNX.^[2]

In 1984 they expanded from a trio, adding Brice Buchanan on lead guitar & vocals and Barry Singer on keyboards & sax from the band Sensible Shoes. In 1985 this lineup recorded their EP Loose Ties, produced by Fred Pineau of [The Atlantics]]. The single from the EP (a ska reimagining of the Rolling Stones' Last Time) began airplay on WBCN in early 1986 and reached #1 on its local artist countdown. Loose Ties appeared in the [[Rock 'n' Roll Rumble|1986 WBCN Rumble], losing to eventual winners Gang Green.^[3] Videos of Last Time and later The Crying in Her Heart appeared on MTV and other outlets.^[4][5] In 1987 vocalist Debra Jeremy Chase was added for a more R&B-based sound, and the band showcased at the China Club in New York City in conjunction with the New Music Seminar.^[6]

In 1988, with no record contract, Loose Ties disbanded, releasing a "goodbye" single, Get Out of My Novel. A retrospective compilation Perpendicular Universe appeared in 2001, followed in 2018 by a second compilation Where the Action Is, and a covers collection Loose Ties Dance Party in 2023.^[7] All of the former Ties have also appeared on Kitchen's solo albums. In 2013 the band reunited for a benefit concert for the documentary film Let's Go to the Rat! at Johnny D's in Somerville, Mass. Bill Kuhlman passed away in 2018. Debra Jeremy Chase passed away in 2022. Barry Singer and Brice Buchanan continue to be active on the Boston music scene. Terry Kitchen has released a dozen solo album and performs as a singer/songwriter.^[8] In 2013 he published the novel Next Big Thing with accompanying Loose Ties songs and others,^[9] and in 2020 published the short story collection Coping Mechanisms.