Ann Spencer Gates, of Cambridge, known to her friends as Spencer, died peacefully at home on July 6, 2008, after a courageous two-year battle with breast cancer.
Spencer moved to Boston in 1978 from her hometown of Buffalo. She quickly fell in love with the Boston music scene, introduced by her brother Peter Gates, already established as a DJ at MIT's WMBR. In 1981, she and her best friend Sheena (Lisa Buchholz) became hosts of the beloved show "The Mystery Girls" on WMBR, which ran Friday afternoons for 5 years, and was, by Spencer's own admission, "the most unprofessional thing ever on the radio." The show featured many of the bands of the city's burgeoning punk rock scene, and was an irreverent Friday afternoon cocktail party on the air. Said Mission of Burma's Clint Conley, "Spencer was such a gas--so funny, and sassy and tuned in. I was a dedicated listener of her show in the 80s--total irreverence, anarchic fun, such a psych hearing them getting all jacked up over the music they'd be checking out that weekend. Thinking of Spencer, I am more convinced than ever that the most inspired part of any cool music scene usually has less to do with the musicians than the musicians would like to think."
The memorial service for Spencer Gates will consist of a service at which any of Spencer's friends are invited to speak (play, dance, read!) followed by a reception with many of Spencer's favorite passed hors douvres (deviled eggs will flow). WMBR's Joanie Lindstrom will DJ. |
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