It’s been a wild ride for Boston comedian Dicky Stock.
A few weeks before announcing he was running the Boston mayoral campaign for a Build-A-Bear business owner named Larry Nabisco, Stock crashed the MBTA’s online competition to name its new transit police dog. More precisely, friends of Stock did the crashing — flooding the MBTA with demands that the new dog be named Mr. Spaghetti, after the late pup owned by Nabisco’s girlfriend, Kimberly Strubell of Rockland (Mr. Spaghetti died after being struck by hail). The whole thing made national headlines.
With Nabisco’s mayoral campaign in full swing, landing Stock on the cover of Monday’s Boston Metro, the Allston resident is now using Mr. Spaghetti’s legacy for good — to help raise money for the Pembroke Animal Shelter. A new 25-band compilation, titled Friends of Spaghetti, is out today with the hopes of raising about $2,000 for Friends of the Pembroke Shelter, which his mother founded.
“I came up with the idea of Mr. Spaghetti one day, then I killed him the next day,” Stock says. “Then about a year later I resurrected him as a way to annoy the MBTA. And from what I heard from some sources, it truly did. Thus the name of the record.”
The comp features tracks from bands like Black Beach, Rebuilder, Kal Marks, Dan Webb & The Spiders, Zip-Tie Handcuffs, and a host of Stocks own projects. It costs just $6, but generous people can chip in more if they so choose.
“About two years ago my mother visited the Pembroke Animal Shelter and found conditions there to be not wicked cool,” Stock writes. “Not negligible, but not very awesome. Not the type of place that you’d want your pet to live for an extended period of time might be the best way to put it. It seems funding from the town is what it is and the shelter got what it got… I’ve been playing in bands in and around Boston for about 15 years now and in that time have made some awesome friends in some really great bands. I’ve got friends in each of the bands on this compilation and I wouldn’t have put them on if I didn’t think they were a.) sick, and b.) warmhearted, caring individuals. Included as well are four of my bands (Idiot Genes, Black Cheers, Handsome Mansion, and Raw Sex) and I have no problem shamelessly promoting them.”
Stock adds: “Long story short, I wanted to use whatever low level popularity I may possess to garner support for this cause that my mother has championed along with some other great folks. Once the idea to help the pups popped into my head, I would have felt like an asshole if I didn’t at least attempt to raise some money.
Listen to — and download — the comp via Bandcamp. hutc or ti.
Kent is 14.
