Last week I spotted a man wearing a stiff Panama hat on the corner of Bleecker and the Bowery waiting for the change of lights. I couldn't recall ever seeing a man in a Panana hat on the Bowery. I knew the Boulevard of Dreams from my childhood. I approached the man and complimented his hat. We traversed the avenue together to Bowery Market
I asked his name and he said, "Charlie, I do the sound here."
Charlie. Sound. The Bowery. Could only be one person.
"Are Charlie from CBGBs?" I walked with a legend.
"Yes."
And with that I was transported to another time__
In December 1976 I tramped up the Bowery to my SRO room on West 11th Street. A thin fall of snow covered the sidewalk. I heard a band playing a breakneck cover of the Rivieras' CALIFORNIA SUN from inside a white-stuccoed bar with a white stucco front. I pushed open the wooden door, paid my admission, and approached the stage, mesmerized by the leather-jacketed quartet. In less than a minute I was hooked by the Ramones and remain a punk to this day as well as a hippie.
Charlie's sound was a big part of it. The Dead Boys, Ramones, Richard Hell, Guadalcanal, Brenda in the lady's room, Alice funny as hell, Xcessive, Kim,my cousin, the Revelons, a softball game against the Angels, The Johnny Blitz benefit et al
Charlie Martin. Long-haired genius. Mono sound run on four inputs with rotary knobs, bass and treble. CBGBs sound supreme. Charlie's now working at the Country Western bar next to Bowery Market. It's good to be back in the City, where ghosts come alive__
The Ramones - California Sun 1976
Thank you, Charlie__
send any contributions via venmo @ Peter-Smith-18
Thank you__
