Remembering a Worcester music 'superfan'

Many knew him, but few remember how they met him. That was Jason Macierowski, a fixture of the Worcester music scene. “Everyone’s biggest cheerleader,” as Katie Tucker, a friend and former bandmate, said, who never seemed to see a band he didn’t like. Macierowski died in a household accident in early January, and it is a loss that has reverberated throughout the city’s music community. 

Everyone called him Tintern, which was his handle on an old message board for Worcester musicians and the name seemed to have just stuck. All that his friends knew was that it was from college, based on the Wordsworth poem, "Lines Written a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey." So his friends and former bandmates, in order to honor his contribution to the music scene, are organizing Tinternfest.

“We wanted to have something for us, especially those who couldn’t go to the funeral,” said Deborah Beaudry, one of the organizers. The funeral was held on Jan. 13 in Western Massachusetts. Because of the timing and location, many of his friends were unable to attend.

“He would want something a little bit louder than a Catholic Mass," she said, "so we’re hoping it’s a way for people to celebrate instead of mourn — dance and have fun, as he would have wanted.” 

Macierowski’s former bandmates are coming together to “resurrect the music of seven groups he played in and one where he loved dancing shirtless.” In order of appearance, the bands performing are The Easy Reasons, Shepards (representing Paper December Orchestra, Eastern Eyes and Small Victories), Das Happening, Necktie Party, Suicide While Driving and The Deadites.

Macierowski was well known for dancing in the front row of a show, making meals for people who had contracted COVID-19, his passion for motorcycles and his love for animals, even adopting a feral cat and its kitten. Beaudry inherited the two cats that he had adopted. “That was a whole process," she said, chuckling. "Friends who went to his house to feed the cats, first had to find them and catch them.” 

Michael Mars of the Deadites explained that Macierowski was not a member but attended almost every show he could — “the scene’s little big brother — kind and wonderful and we miss him very much.” Mars can’t remember a time in the history of the band that Macierowski was not in the front row or having drinks with them after a show. Losing him was a loss “that just leveled the band — there wasn’t anyone like him — I know everyone says that every time they’re talking about him, but the reality is that everyone has a Jason story.”

Mars shared that he used to bump heads with Macierowski but also that he was a very giving man. “There are times we would sit out on my porch and talk till almost the morning about making shows, so it means a lot to be on this bill,” he said about Tinternfest.

Macierowski played multiple instruments in various bands at different times, so Mars is sure that “every one of those bands would have had to replace a different musician in replacing Jason.”

Beaudry agrees that Jason could play almost any instrument and was always the one to step up as well as being a “superfan” for a ton of bands. “I can’t remember how we met. It’s been so long and I just knew him from around, the same people going to the same clubs.”

Worcester is a tight-knit music community and as she put it, “if you’re not playing in a band one night, you’re going to see another band and dragging some friends along. Jason was always up for whatever and often lent his basement recording studio for demo tapes.”

That "up for anything" vibe and the playfulness that came with it was accompanied by a dedication to getting things right when set to music. 

It was an energy that lifted us up,” said Pete Zeigler, of the bands Easy Reasons and Das Happening. “When we watch old tapes and see the energy coming from the song, it largely comes from the drums.” He was a hard-hitting drummer and “he was so crisp and present in those moments.” 

Easy Reasons and Das Happening are both inactive at the moment, but Zeigler said they would be coming back together for Tinternfest.

“Jason was our drummer, and I first came in contact with him years ago when I was playing a gig for a Boston-based band at Ralph’s Rock Diner.” Zeigler saw Macierowski playing bass for another Cambridge-based band and “thought it was cool that he was bridging two music scenes — Boston and Worcester — the way I was.”

So, when the Easy Reasons needed a drummer, Macierowski stepped in. “He picked up all the songs very quickly and was just awesome to be around — a breath of fresh air when he joined. When the business of music could get in the way of things, he was the one to bring the fun back.” 

They became very close friends, being on the road and playing shows together. “He was always on my call list if I was looking to start a different kind of band and had actually reached out to him a couple weeks before he passed — losing him was a real heartbreaker.”

Tim and Katie Tucker, of the band Necktie Party, met Macierowski in 2005 when he was brought on to their band. Katie remembered how he was always supportive of everything in local music and then chuckled when she said, “to the point that we were kind of annoyed by it but he made it a point to make everyone feel included or involved.”

“He really respected anybody who made an effort," Tim Tucker said, "never met another musician that he didn’t get along with — always very present and didn’t do anything halfway.”

He was always the first to help a friend or someone in need and they didn’t have to buy musical equipment for many years, because he had everything and could fix most things.

“He didn’t want anything else but to play music,” Katie said. Well, besides driving his car and motorcycle way too fast on “a lot of scary drives home.”

Zeigler recounted his favorite memory of Macierowski when the band was recording "Southern Boys," a single release. Though Macierowski is not on the recording, he was on the cover. “The band was playing a show in Allston and had met up at Common Ground. Jason was already there when I arrived and there was an eggshell pink Mercedes parked there with Jason sitting on the hood of the car posing shirtless while the bassist took photos. One of those ended up being the cover for Southern Boys.”

Tinternfest: A Celebration of the Life and Music of Jason Macierowski (1974 to 2022) on May 21, 7 p.m. at Ralph’s Rock Diner. $10 cover charge, 21+ with all proceeds going to the Worcester Animal Rescue League.  Before the music starts, people will gather at 5:30 p.m. to share memories and stories.