The World According to Gillespie

  Isabel’s Prince St. Laundry, A Community Friend In Boston’s North End Originally appeared on NORTH END WATERFRONT.COM  Link:   North End Laundromat Fosters Community The most important community spots are often the least celebrated. When I first moved to the North End in 1991, the Italian section of Boston had largely gone unchanged for decades. It was the affordable part of Boston back then. My street level two-bedroom apartment at 4A Prince (currently the location of the restaurant Artu) was $625 per month. The European, Florence’s, and Felicia’s were the go-to restaurants. Pizza could be had at Regina’s, Circle Pizza, Café Pompeii, and Umberto’s (although every pizza in the North End has its own distinct style and taste). Though Mike’s Pastry was already a local stop for tourists, traditional family-run bakeries like Parziale’s and Boschetto’s were the local haunts of those in the know. There was no Rose Kennedy Greenway, only the green expressway sepa...

LISA BASTONI – AMAZING SONGS AT AMAZING THINGS It was not my plan that night.   I had already driven 120 miles round trip to Lowell on two successive days to appear on a local radio show supporting my own songs and then traveled up to Arlington Heights to visit one of my oldest friends so we could play a few tunes together.   But when I received word that local singer-songwriter Lisa Bastoni would be playing at the Amazing Things Art Center in Framingham along with fellow songwriter Rachel Kilgour, I knew it meant returning to the road one more time.   The Amazing Things Art Center is a coffee house performance venue.   I decided to sit directly in front of the stage in a comfortable chair situated conveniently next to a small round table.   As it was already late and I was going to have to drive a considerable distance home following the show, I went over to the concessions counter where I was greeted by three pleasant volunteer...