After disbanding his group Mother’s Milk after just a year of performing, musical impresario Tom Sholz recorded a bunch of demos on which he played all of the instruments except for drums. Those duties were taken by Tom’s friend Jim Masdea. Vocals on the demo tracks were provided by Tom’s friend Brad Delp. Tom’s demo tape was picked up by two record label execs who wanted to expand the songs to a fully-realized album. Tom began to flesh out a group of musicians to replicate his signature sound. He recruited guitarist Barry Goudreau and bassist Fran Sheehan, as well as Delp on guitar. The label was not happy with Jim Masdea. Jim, meanwhile, was ready to leave the group anyway. Tom signed on Sib Hashian to duplicate Jim’s work note for note, drum roll for drum roll — with little to no room for Sib’s own style. The album — Boston — was released in August 1976 and went on to become one of the best selling albums in history.
Legal debates over song ownership delayed the release of Boston’s follow-up, but a lengthy two years later, Don’t Look Back hit the streets. Tom, a lifelong perfectionist, was unhappy with the album. It sold about half as many copies as the band’s debut.
While Tom Sholz concentrated on writing songs and arrangements for a third album, he suggested that his bandmates pursue other opportunities. Barry Goudreau released a solo album, with the help of Brad Delp and Sib Hashian. When Sholz began recording Third Stage, Sib was replaced by Jim Masdea.
Sib grew disillusioned with the music business. He sued Sholz for back royalties and eventually came to an out-of-court settlement. He invested in a chain of tanning salons in the Boston area and also owned a record shop. Occasionally, Sib would drum at a gig, but those were few and far between. He did, however, briefly join Sammy Hagar’s backing band in the early 2000s.
In 2017, Sib was one of a number of musicians on the line-up for the “Legends of Rock” cruise aboard the MSC Divinia. Alongside The Grass Roots, Mark Lindsay (late of Paul Revere & The Raiders), Lou Gramm (former singer of Foreigner), Ron Dante (the voice of The Archies), Sib and his former bandmate Barry Goudreau were scheduled to perform a set of Boston hits. Five days into the cruise, Sib collapsed behind his drumkit during a performance. CPR and defibrillator treatments were unsuccessful and Sib was pronounced dead. He was 67 years old.
Sib was survived by his family, including his daughter Lauren and her soon-to-be husband, former wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.