Ep. 28: Chuck Kaye — Inside L’Amour, Brooklyn’s Legendary Heavy Metal Club

Dean Balsamini (03:21.411)
I know, I know. That's what I'm gonna. Okay. Welcome back, everyone, to the Deep Threads Podcast. I'm your recovering journalist host, Dean Balsamini, coming to you from the cozy confines of the Cedar Beans Coffee Joint in the great state of New Jersey. A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, 1546 62nd Street, resided the rock capital of Brooklyn, Lamore.
Chuck Kaye (03:47.562)
Yeah.
Dean Balsamini (03:50.771)
Where giants such as White Lion, Metallica, Anthrax, Iron Maiden, Cheap Trick once roamed. And the maestro of this legendary music mecca was the one and only Chuck K. Alias The Roar of Lamore. We welcome Chuck K to the program.
Chuck Kaye (04:05.52)
Yeah.
Chuck Kaye (04:13.84)
Yes, indeed. Dean, what's up? I gotta ask you, what are you recovering from? You said you're a recovering journalist.
Dean Balsamini (04:17.619)
Recovering from forty forty years of print journalism, which I loved. You know, working with the Staten Island Advanced newspaper and then the last chapter with the New York Post newspaper. So I pivoted to podcasting and like to have interesting conversations with people like yourself.
Chuck Kaye (04:25.349)
Right.
Chuck Kaye (04:41.466)
But what what did it do to you that you're recovering? That's why I wanna find out the dirt, brother. You're gonna get it out of me. I wanna get some out of you, man.
Dean Balsamini (04:47.784)
I get to book my guests and kind of free form it and just have some fun. No more s no
Chuck Kaye (04:54.586)
All right, so this is like a re so I'm part of your reboot, is that it? Go on.
Dean Balsamini (04:58.087)
That's right. That's right. And plus it's there are a lot of great memories and a lot of people out there remember Lemoore. And before we go deeper into your journey, I just want to put as a disclaimer that anyone I leave out, the band the great bands, the people behind the scenes, also the rock impresarios such as Dean Halterman of Wave Street and those at the Red Spot and Rick Rispoli.
I hope to get to you in the future. I'd love to have you all on. Tonight's about Chuck. So let's let it go. So you started out at a pla you you know you grew up on in in Hell's Kitchen, right? And then you grew up on Staten Island?
Chuck Kaye (05:34.903)
Let's go. What do you got? What do you wanna know, Burly?
Chuck Kaye (05:44.148)
Right. I lived I I was born and raised in Hell's Kitchen. I came to Staten Island in nineteen seventy five, so that was eighth grade. and I actually went to school with the aforementioned Rick Respoli. So I've known him fifty one years. Well Man, we're getting old, brother.
Dean Balsamini (06:00.826)
Wow. And and and you started off musically at the at the factory, right? Because in the end, let me just let me just add on. Chuck was a DJ. He was an MC. He was he booked bands, he was b a PR machine, he did everything. So a and and and was known for his booming voice and his and his
Chuck Kaye (06:11.954)
Well Sure.
Chuck Kaye (06:25.094)
Yeah.
Dean Balsamini (06:30.403)
Being being able to to make connections and execute those connections into s some real kick ass shows at Lamour.
Chuck Kaye (06:30.566)
Yes, I did.
Chuck Kaye (06:41.796)
Yeah, it it the journey began in Staten Island. Now did we know each other in Staten Island? No, right? I don't think like Okay.
Dean Balsamini (06:48.963)
I don't think so, but we might have been you know, th it again there was no social media, so it might have been a press release, it might have been a conversation. I used to frequent the factory myself, in the seventies and the and the eighties.
Chuck Kaye (06:54.561)
Yeah, absolutely.
Chuck Kaye (06:59.684)
Right. Yeah.
Chuck Kaye (07:04.11)
Yeah, the fact factory, I want to give the factory some love. you you mentioned used to work with the advance. I've been trying to contact them to do something because people don't realize how ahead of the times the factory was. Bill said, Hey guy, you're gonna bring in the bodies there, guy. That was what he talked. Yeah, he came up to me one day, 19 late 1980, early 1981. I
Dean Balsamini (07:17.508)
Yeah, that was Bill Shields, right?
Chuck Kaye (07:32.846)
was trying to figure a way to get into music. I didn't play an instrument. I couldn't sing. So I just gravitated to a lot of friends of mine's and their bands. So I'd be at the factory a lot helping out. And one day Bill pulls me aside and goes, Hey band, would you like to work, you know, in the daytime? I go, doing what? He goes, stocking the bar, blah, blah, blah. And I go, long as I'm not cleaning up any bathrooms, you know, I go, I'm not dealing in poop. I'm not dealing in pee, and I'm not dealing in throw up. And he goes, Don't worry about it.
So he gave me a job. I was making $4 an hour in 1981 when I was 18, 19 years old. And I eventually became the daytime manager, meaning I had the keys. So I let the bands in. And one day a DJ called in sick. Bill's on the payphone with him. And I hear Bill go, What am I gonna do? And then Bill yells my name and he goes, The DJ said he he knows you have a lot of albums, he's not gonna be able to come in. I said, I'll give it a shot by the end of the night.
They wanted me full time. I said no, because you know, I'm 19 years old, brother. I d I didn't want to work every night, you know? I wanted to pick and choose. So I wanted to go to keg parties. I wanted a date. I wanted to go to concerts. So we worked it out where I would do all the hard rock and metal shows. So like some night well, you know, some nights they'd have like a new wave band or a Doors Tribute Band and all that stuff's cool. But that wasn't what I was into. I was
Dean Balsamini (08:37.313)
Sure.
Dean Balsamini (08:50.637)
I don't think.
Chuck Kaye (08:59.167)
getting into maiden already. I was an old school Aerosmith fan and all that. So I did the
Dean Balsamini (09:02.508)
Well back in the f at back at the factory there was I saw just I made notes because I went back on some of the history. I saw Iggy Pop there, the Ramones played there, Patty Smith played there. She she played there in seventy nine and but there are a lot of bands playing in and on Staten Island and then obviously later on in Brooklyn, but everybody stopped through.
Chuck Kaye (09:11.923)
Yeah. Twisted. Yeah.
Chuck Kaye (09:24.476)
Absolutely. Yeah, Blue Eyes the Colt played and then you know all the scene grew. A large amount of the hard rock heavy metal scene came out of Staten Island and the bands Yeah. Yeah. Twit Twisted Twisted was a monthly band. bands like T T Quick, that became big. Dreamer with Vito from White Lion, who you yeah, Vito brought up.
Dean Balsamini (09:34.366)
Yeah, you had the Pla you had the Plasm I remember the Plasmatics, but also Edgar Winter and Johnny Winter played.
Twisted sister.
Dean Balsamini (09:48.011)
With Vito Brother.
Chuck Kaye (09:51.853)
A lot of guys began there and it and it was like before Lemoire became Lemoire, you know, the factory was kind of where the scene started building and it was really cool. And it's a shame they and a shame they closed in eighty three when the when the building decided to just close down completely because the factory would have been a nice second club to like Lemoire. It wasn't as big, it wasn't as fancy, it wasn't as run as well.
Dean Balsamini (10:04.02)
Well the
Chuck Kaye (10:21.028)
But it would have been a really cool place 'cause it was dark and dingy and you would have got a lot of hard rock metal guys like going there. They would have loved it.
Dean Balsamini (10:26.868)
Well it was loc it was located by the Raritan Bay and it was a former dental equipment factory.
Chuck Kaye (10:31.824)
Yeah. Yes, exactly.
Dean Balsamini (10:35.583)
So so tell us how you gravitated and how you got the gig at at Lemour. And and and the the beginnings of Lemour, which was during the disco era.
Chuck Kaye (10:40.877)
Well
Chuck Kaye (10:44.663)
Well, yeah, I well Lamore began I I can give you the information that I know. Lemore began in seventy-eight as a disco. it rolled the Saturday Night Fever wave for a bit. around nineteen eighty, obviously that started fading out and Lamore started doing a cover bands like hard rock and rock and roll cover bands on the weekdays when there was still a disco on the weekends. And that's when the cover scene was really big, when a lot of the bands we just mentioned. And
As the disco thing faded, Lamore started doing the cover bands on the weekends, and that grew into heavier and heavier. In 1983, when the factory closed, I became a regular at Lamore. I got I became good friends with the stage manager who lived in Staten Island. He introduced me to the owners. Three or four of them lived in Staten Island. and one of the owners, when he found out I was the guy from the factory in 1983.
Asked me if I'd be interested in possibly working there. At the time, and folklore of Lamore leaves this out, it was a weird time, 1981 to late 83. They were still having DJs play partial dance music in between the metal bands, because that's what the club knew. They were a disco. And there'd only be like maybe five or ten girls dancing, but they wanted to cater to that crowd.
I couldn't spin dance music. It's a whole different thing than knowing how to go from Judas Priest to Marley Crue to Anvil. So it didn't work out. summer of nineteen eighty-four, they asked me as a favor to come in and do the summer at LaMore East in Queens. At the time, the owners of Lamore had Lamore East in Queens. And I did that and I was like, all right, you know, I'm done. It's over. And he goes, stay with us for a few months. trust me, and I go, all right.
Dean Balsamini (12:10.058)
Right.
Chuck Kaye (12:37.775)
And then in October they said, listen, we're leaving Lamore East. On October twenty first at four AM, Lamore and Lamore East were no longer partners. A lot of people don't know that because Lamore East kept the name for another four years. So the owners of Lemoire asked me the end of September, they said, When we leave, we want you to come with us. You'll be the only employee that we're taking. And we want you to go to Brooklyn. And I started in Brooklyn on my birthday, my twenty second birthday in nineteen eighty four.
Dean Balsamini (12:49.62)
Right, right.
Dean Balsamini (13:06.094)
Now, for the audience, 84 to 88 was were your glory years at Lamore. And at the same time, if you remember, the VJs were taking off on MTV at that same time. So, you know, you had that same big personality to draw people in, which was needed at the time. There wasn't social media. And and how did you utilize that? And what was it that you had?
Chuck Kaye (13:12.817)
Yeah.
Chuck Kaye (13:30.915)
Right.
Dean Balsamini (13:33.967)
The the chops to do this being that you weren't a musician, you weren't a songwriter, you weren't a professional PR person, but your personality lent itself to that as as Cream magazine, which profiled you said, created that tribal atmosphere that blossomed into the the Mecca of hard rock.
Chuck Kaye (13:51.032)
Right.
Chuck Kaye (13:54.499)
Well, kind of I'm glad you brought the thing up about it, Vijay, because you were right.
Back in the day, club DJs doing the dance and the disco, they were the big draw. You know, and they they were who you came to see. Maybe a Gloria Gaynor would do four songs and lip sync, but the DJs were who got the people drawing it up. And if the DJ wasn't good, they didn't go. In the rock and roll scene, DJs were kind of, and this isn't put down to anybody, so it's the truth. They were kind of to fill up in between bands. And that's what I was at the factory. I didn't have a big
voice for his personality. There w it wasn't that type of vibe. L'Amore needed that. And the owners of L'Amour kind of wanted that in Brooklyn. And the first night I started a band called Zebra Blade. I don't know if you remember Zebra from the Club Dave. Yeah, they were signed to Atlantic. I knew Randy really well. So Randy helped me upstairs with my albums. And he goes, Are you nervous? And I said, No, you know, I no. I go, I'm well I'm curious how it's going to work. And he goes,
Dean Balsamini (14:41.966)
Right.
Dean Balsamini (14:45.815)
Yes, I do.
Chuck Kaye (15:00.878)
Use your personality and you're on this place. I didn't know what that meant because how am I going to use my personality spinning looks that killed by Motley Crew? You know what I mean? And it took me the second week I worked there when I had to host a Halloween costume party in front of 2,000 people who didn't want to see a Hollywood I mean a Halloween costume party, Anvil played. All they wanted to do was headbang. And Lamore.
Like every other club in 1984 was like, it's a Saturday before Halloween, we gotta have a costume party. And I'm like, these guys are gonna eat me alive. So I got really drunk and I grabbed a mic and I said, Fuck this, I'm gonna act like Dee Snyder. And I just used the personality and by the end of it, the owner George goes, That's what we want. And that's where I started realizing how I can separate myself is having a mic and having a crowd who wanted
A ringmaster who wanted, you know, a guy to help them have fun in the evening. When you saw Twisted System in the club, D. Snyder just didn't go, okay, this next song is ACDC Rock and Roll. He went, All right, you guys, you better be having a good time. If you're not having a good time, then I want you to get the fuck out of here. If the guy next to you isn't having a good time, you wake his ass up. And I always remembered coming out of here going, and getting punched up and
Dean Balsamini (16:09.642)
Right, right.
Chuck Kaye (16:26.285)
Because Lamore dealt to a heavier crowd than let's say the Manhattan clubs did. Like a lot of Manhattan clubs I always kid around and go, they they were part of an S E E N. Lamore was an S C E N E. And don't
Dean Balsamini (16:37.579)
Well look at it look at it like this. Look at it like this too. it's like today don't they have hype videos for teams. They have hype for bat and the NBA, the NFL, you know, and the they the W you know, WWE, that's that's what it's all about now. So that was kind of the that was kind of precursor when people weren't doing that.
Chuck Kaye (16:47.268)
Yeah.
Chuck Kaye (16:55.053)
Absolutely.
Chuck Kaye (16:59.765)
Yeah, absolutely. And it worked. And also what I did wouldn't have worked at the cat club or the line right. It was a different crowd. The Lamore crowd wanted to come there. They wanted to be loud. They wanted to go crazy. They wanted to yell. They wanted to march. They wanted a headbang. They really wanted an evening instead of just going and saying, there's gonna be a lot of chicks there. Hey, that was part of it too. It was the eighties. But the crowd at Lamore.
Dean Balsamini (17:25.173)
Right.
Chuck Kaye (17:28.425)
was the right crowd for me to DJ in front of. I couldn't have done it anywhere else. And the ones it
Dean Balsamini (17:31.421)
And and and and just to give them their credit, was Mike and George Parente, right, who who owned
Chuck Kaye (17:36.894)
So Mike and George Prente were the two I hate saying main owners, but they were the owners that everybody knew. Yeah, there were two other owners. you know it's not my place to say splits. John Z, not John Zazzula, there was another John Z and the Frank Fel Frank Filet Senior. those now there might have been other partners in and out. I mean, I know there were, but those were the four main owners. And I d
Dean Balsamini (17:41.801)
The the primary owners, right?
Dean Balsamini (18:01.139)
Yeah, a and the parenthes managed the parenthes managed white lion, right?
Chuck Kaye (18:05.811)
They married White Lion, Overkill and other bands by the end. So they they were the primary focus and who I dealt with the most was George and Outside of George was Mike. And they they were great.
Dean Balsamini (18:14.524)
So it was it was it was Mike Tramp who gave you the nickname, right? The the the Roar of L'Amour?
Chuck Kaye (18:21.21)
Yeah, 'cause White Lion used to play, I don't know, probably five times a year. And I was good friends with the band, obviously, because of the Lamore connection. And one day Mike just said it backstage and he told the band, he goes, Don't say anything to Chuck. We'll surprise him and we'll put it in the Pride album. Especially you know, thanks to Chuck the Royal Lamar K and I went, that's funny, 'cause it ties in to Lamore, ties into White Lion and it tied into, you know, my loud, obnoxious voice and personality.
Dean Balsamini (18:49.351)
Well give us give the audience a sample of how you would introduce, say, Overkill or some of the other bands.
Chuck Kaye (18:55.096)
Yes indeed, Lamar, are you ready? I said, are you ready? And that's not loud enough, man. There's no way this next band's coming out unless you guys get louder. I said louder. I said, Mark Hill. And you know, especially and especially because like a band like Overkill, a band like Slayer, those kids wanted to go nuts. So those were my favorite nights to work. I loved working the Slayer night, an anthrax night, and an SLD night, an overkill night.
Those were those were so much fun because those kids just wanted to have fun, man. It was awesome.
Dean Balsamini (19:30.354)
I submit that Lemoire was to heavy metal what CBGB's was to punk. Would you agree with that?
Chuck Kaye (19:39.724)
Yeah. CB's for several reasons is more legendary looking back, but Lemoire was kind of in that vein. Where I would separate it would be metal was happening prior to Lemoire. Punk and CBGBs came around together, so I think that's why people look at that differently. But we were definitely the the premier room and the premier house.
And where everybody played. I mean, you know, I made him play one he played wanted to play a club show and they played it for us.
Dean Balsamini (20:12.687)
Yeah, and they had they had certain nights, obviously it started out before they pivoted. There were certain heavy metal nights at Lemoore, right? And then they they they moved it over and new wave nights.
Chuck Kaye (20:24.532)
What what what what what what do you mean exactly? I'm sorry, that confused me.
Dean Balsamini (20:26.715)
In other words, there were originally wasn't there like a th a certain night dedicated to heavy metal before it became
Chuck Kaye (20:34.452)
Well yeah, what I that was in well, it was dedicated to rock. really what began the heavy metal inch and you know, with original bands was John Zazula from Mega Force Records. he promoted a show in Staten Island because what the Staten Island was where all the metalheads were, at the Saint George Theater. It was Anvil, the Rodz and Raven, and it was packed and went over well, but they wanted a shitload of money.
Dean Balsamini (20:53.915)
Sure.
Chuck Kaye (21:03.396)
Lamore started this is eighty two, eighty three ish. He brought over the shows to Lamore because they were you know a large venue and he saw them starting to do the hard rock and metal cover bands. So that kind of made them s see the owners see, wow, there's a scene out there. You know, let's jump with this. And when I say this, people think I'm putting down the onus, but it's it's the opposite.
The owners weren't getting in their El Dorados at 4 30 in the morning and listening to Anvil cassettes. But they were smart enough to see something was happening and become the best at it. And I think one of the reasons I was hired was they wanted somebody who looked and felt like they were one of the kids. I was 21 when I got hired, 22 when I was in Brooklyn. I was the exact age and the exact type of vibe that they wanted. So they were smart.
to sit there and go, We need a conduit between us and the kids who like Metallica.
Dean Balsamini (22:02.041)
And also you remember you remember when when MTV broke and was was on fire for the first for their first couple of years, the heavy metal the the metal heads didn't have a place to really migrate or watch because they didn't they didn't have they didn't play the metal guys at first until later on they got, you know, the head the headbanger's ball and everything else.
Chuck Kaye (22:14.576)
Absolutely.
Chuck Kaye (22:21.94)
At Banners Ball. Yeah. Well, until nineteen eighty-six, the and myself and the DJ before me who who I replaced, who's actually became a good friend, Alex, we premiered a lot of stuff. Because you didn't have WSOU in New Jersey as a as a nine to five hard rock metal station. You didn't have MTV, like you said, doing the rotation. You might have saw a Bon Jovi or a Motley Crew or a Def Leopard video.
And it definitely changed when eighty six came around. You know, it did the whole scene definitely blew up. But we still had the underground vibe because we were doing the the bands like SLD and Drax Slayer, who MTV and WSU S O really weren't focusing on. The commercial bands, sure. And we had those White Lion was the biggest band that ever came out of the club. You know, and
Dean Balsamini (23:16.843)
And I I want to make sure to give props to this is right W S O U, W S I A, W N Y U, and W D R E. Like those they were playing the music. So it was like they deserve some some credit as far as to, you know, imagine if we had social media then as far as to, you know, and it was already hot. I mean, White Lion.
Chuck Kaye (23:38.517)
Yeah.
Dean Balsamini (23:40.429)
If you could tell the audience how good Vito Brada was as a guitarist.
Chuck Kaye (23:45.317)
Vito Brano was a more melodic Eddie Van Halen. And what I mean by melodic, partially more commercial, but it where Eddie would shred, Vito would do a lead where you can hum. Vito was incredibly talented. I knew Vito when he was nineteen years old. I think I met him in eighty. and everybody knew that he was gonna go somewhere.
And I I got him a drummer in the band. and you know, we were I wouldn't say close, but we were definitely somewhat tight. And when he got into the bands with Mike, it was a no-brainer. I mean, and again, you know, George and Mike Barrente, they were smart. They saw a guy like Mike Tramp forming a band with a guy like Vito Brato. How do you not sit there and say, Let's manage this band and invest in them? Something can happen here.
And to the owner's credit, the Mansion Company was called Loud and Proud. They really stood by them during the low years, man. And I I recently reconnected with my tramp in Atlantic City. we went out to dinner and we went to see Eddie's kid play in Mammoth VH Mammoth VH. And we talked and they s really stood by the band White Lion while they were dealing with labels, dropping them, tours not working out.
And you know, and then White Lion went, you know, over double platinum on the on the second album.
Dean Balsamini (25:12.447)
I went to high school with Vito at an old boys' Catholic school at Monsignor Faro. But I just remember all the rockers in that school used to tuck their long hair in. Cause we had to w wear those cheesy corduroy jackets and slacks with the ties. And then but when I first saw him play, I'm like, this guy's as good as Eddie Van Halen. It it was amazing.
Chuck Kaye (25:23.124)
Yeah.
Chuck Kaye (25:27.366)
Right.
Chuck Kaye (25:30.877)
Yeah.
Chuck Kaye (25:35.927)
Did you see him in a band did you see him in a band called Storm? Yes, that was.
Dean Balsamini (25:38.546)
Yes, yes. They used to they used to be in the battle of the bands.
Chuck Kaye (25:44.373)
I'm s and I'm sure they won.
Dean Balsamini (25:45.872)
And but but to go to go over some talking points that I had because of of L'Amour to mention, okay, just for the audience out there, I mean I'm gonna throw the names out first and you can comment as we go along. But you had Metallica, you had Megadeth, you had Guns N' Roses, you had Kiss, Motorhead, Cheap Trick, and then look you had Typo Negative, you had Twisted Sister, Biohazard, Overkill, Nuclear Assault, Kicks, Trickster. Which band
Was the most popular band locally and nationally from when you were there.
Chuck Kaye (26:21.694)
Well well obviously the the biggest show we ever had was I made in playing in nineteen eighty eight. May of eighty eight under the name Charlotte and the Hollett's. But ev sha but everybody well not everybody people still go, I thought there was gonna be a tribute band, but you know, I I promoted May May something of nineteen eighty eight, I forgot. There you go. There you go. Yeah, that w excuse me, that obviously the biggest. I'd put the
Dean Balsamini (26:36.605)
That was nineteen eighty eight.
May eighth, May eighth, nineteen eighty eight, and they played fourteen songs. No I'm
Chuck Kaye (26:51.325)
biggest bands that played there, four of them were during my time. The fifth band would have been Kiss after I left. But Cheap Trick, Metallica, Guns N' Roses and Maiden. The
Dean Balsamini (27:00.201)
And also, you know, Soundgarden played there too with Faith No More in ninety.
Chuck Kaye (27:03.496)
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah. and and yeah, it was a lot. Jane's Addiction p was the last show I ever wound up doing at Lamore. After I quit, I came back to host the Jane's Addiction show. So it was you know, it was where you it was where people wanted to play. there were clubs and venues in the city that outbid us for a lot of bands, but a lot of bands are like, No, we want to know what it's like to play Lamore. You know, and like Maiden like Maiden only wanted to play Lamore.
Like that was a four year four or five years actually, even before I got there, trying to talk Maiden into playing it. And it wasn't that they didn't want to. It was just they were Iron Maiden, you know.
Dean Balsamini (27:43.367)
Well then didn't it become a thing that these bands it was a critical touring stop for Guns N' Roses, Metallica, Slayer, Meta Megadeth and Iron Maiden because they wanted a show that besides playing the arenas or stadiums they can also go back to their roots.
Chuck Kaye (27:59.577)
Well well all the bands you mentioned played at different times. Maiden was kind of at their height. Guns N' Roses was just getting there. Guns N' Roses absolutely Metallica never played the club again after nine January nineteen eighty five. They played a three-night stand that was just insane. It was Metallica Wasp and Armand Saint.
Dean Balsamini (28:08.529)
Well that was during the appetite for destruction tour.
Chuck Kaye (28:26.132)
And I was the last weekend in January of nineteen eighty-five. That was insane. The Sunday night show we did an all ages show. My most fun night ever DJing the club because there were so many fourteen, fifteen, sixteen year old kids who never been to a club before and never saw a concert like that. And they just wanted to have the time of their lives. And that taught me that instead of me making the night about myself, let me make it about those people who are paying.
Like you're in and that's who I focused on. And that's where the camaraderie happened and it built into the reputation and the radio and T V appearances. But the band you mentioned, Modahead would always like playing the club. But you know, like a band like Metallica didn't come back after they made it big. That's not a put down for them.
Dean Balsamini (29:12.666)
But did you did you know what you had when they because you also didn't you have the listening prim world listening premier for premier for Injustice for All?
Chuck Kaye (29:19.922)
Yeah. Yes. that really had nothing to do personally with the band. That was their record label. I forgot who was playing that night. I wish I I I should go back and find that out. 'Cause they that's starting to get some publicity. But Michael Lago who signed Metallica, I I used to have a bouncing in the boots because I also booked bands. So everybody and their mother wanted to spend their time smoothie with me and I get it.
I had to work. You know, I couldn't be DJing and talking to twelve people, whatever. So so a bouncer would stop people and he stopped Michael because he saw the album. He didn't know, you know, he thought it could have been an indie indie guy. And he sees her and I say it's Michael and he brings up, I What do got? He goes, You got to Metallica two weeks before anybody else does. I go, Wow. So that was that was fucking awesome. Things like that were cool. But yeah, I mean, I would have loved to have like worked another Metallica night after eighty five.
Dean Balsamini (30:18.468)
Did you did you know what you had at the time? I mean, you remember the you know the songs on that album and and how good Metallically was gonna be? Because I know one of your traits was that you had a feel for bands that were up and coming or what what you like like that Japanese band, was it Loudness? Loudness?
Chuck Kaye (30:34.116)
Thank you. loud the loudness story. Yeah, we can get loudness. well Metallica was already Metallica was Metallica by the time I I was at Lamore. I can't take credit in in really doing anything about them except having the premiere, which I'm not really taking credit for. They just happened to trust me with it and thought it would be cool.
Dean Balsamini (30:41.911)
Right.
Dean Balsamini (30:52.737)
Right, but that still was a that still was kind of an exclusive or a fun get because you had it first.
Chuck Kaye (30:57.493)
absolutely. no, it was it was awesome. But I think anybody who heard Metallica knew that they were special and unique and they were gonna be leaders of a scene. That I think that forty five years later they'd be still playing in front eighty thousand people? No. Who who thought like that? Yeah.
Dean Balsamini (31:16.001)
Right. I was looking at a Lemoore Facebook group, and this gentleman, I won't give his name because I don't know if he wants it out there, but he made a post about the about the show on October 29th, 1987, during The Appetite for Destruction. They played 11 songs, including Mr. Brownstone, Welcome to the Jungle, Sweet Child of Mine, Rocket Queen, Paradise City, Knockin' on Heaven's Door. How how was that?
D you you were there that night, weren't you?
Chuck Kaye (31:47.521)
Yeah, yeah, that was a Thursday night. Easy O, another Japanese band, not the the loudest man will probably tell the story about, opened up. Places packed. the best way to say it and be honest, Guns N' Roses were in the thrones of partying. It was it was phenomenal. It was amazing to see. But they made a sloppy version of Arosmith seeing my dream theater. But that was part but but that was part of their charm, man. So I I enjoyed it.
But a lot of people, you know, were just like, man, that wasn't that great of a show. I'm like, Skuns and Roses in a fucking club, man. They could have fought it on stage, it would have would have been kinda cool. Like bands like Guns, bands like Arrowsmith in the in the late seventies with Tyler Perry, when they were the toxic twins. You can get away with doing that. Yeah.
Dean Balsamini (32:34.539)
Did you did you have any interaction that night with either Axel or Slash or any of the guys in the bin?
Chuck Kaye (32:39.876)
that night I talked to him a bit. I had interaction with Axel about a month before the album came out. he came into New York to do some press and somebody from I I did I gotta tiptoe around this story, but somebody from another band knew me and Axel was coming into New York and they were looking, you know, for a night. So yeah. So so I met Axel through that. But guns wasn't really part of the Lamore scene.
They just played them all, but they're guns. So people are like, I saw Guns N' Roses before I mean, you know, this is before they were playing arenas and it's in stadiums. So, you know, it's part of the folklore.
Dean Balsamini (33:10.313)
Right.
Dean Balsamini (33:20.073)
Sure, but it's it's it's it's always fun to kind of hit a band when they play small venues. Tell us about tell us about some of the band drama that you dealt with and some of the funny incidents at Lemoire that
Chuck Kaye (33:25.713)
absolutely.
Chuck Kaye (33:31.726)
But what here here's the crazy thing is a lot of the band drama came from local bands that thought they were bigger and better than they were. It didn't happen a lot because Lamore kind of had a rep or stage managers or security, myself and the owners didn't take no shit. You know, I think being located in the middle of Guidoville, Brooklyn, and you know, kind of scared people and we kind of
played into that a little bit, you know, you know, like tr like John Gotti wasn't working the door more, but some people thought he was, you know, I you know, fine. You know, that works. It works. But most of the national acts, I mean there was some things, but most of most of the bands were really cool. Like, I'm trying to think, I like when Cheap Trick played, it wasn't them being drama filled, but the night was. I am a huge Cheap Trick fan.
Dean Balsamini (34:05.364)
Right.
Dean Balsamini (34:29.851)
Me too.
Chuck Kaye (34:30.789)
I'm into this I love him. when Tom Peters
Dean Balsamini (34:32.999)
They're actually playing they're actually playing Saturday night in Morristown, New Jersey.
Chuck Kaye (34:37.289)
Yes, yes. I and Rick is back to on with them. Rick got had a health scale last week where he had leave the stage 'cause he's seventy seven. He had to leave the stage for a few songs and came back and he played the rest of the sh the to set in the chair. But I saw the video from last night, his first show back and it were good they sounded good. But I wanted to get Cheap Trick there badly. Even though they didn't fit their Cheap Trick. And the people I knew like
Even the guys in Amtrak and Overkill were like, wow, man, Chief Tricks, awesome, because they knew I liked them. So I was a good bridge for them to play the club. So I went to Electric Lady Studios on Wesse Street in 86, and they were mixing an album called Standing on the Edge. And I went in and talked to Rick and I tried to convince him to play the club. And and he was like, don't you guys do that slayer stuff? And in
You know, and I said, Listen, the biggest reaction I get is when I play a song off your first album called Hello Kiddies when the Ramones play. And he thought that was really cool that the Ramones play there. He just, you know, you didn't know. You just heard Lamore thrash music. You didn't realize we you know we were a place you know, the every band went, hold on one moment. So Rick goes, All right, go back and tell him to up the offer. So I go, what was the offer? So there's typical Rick Nielsen. He goes,
I go I go, what was the offer? He goes, I don't know. Tell them just tell them to up it and we'll do it. And we wound up booking them. They canceled. In be you know, the the change of tour. When they booked we booked them again, I became good friends with the bass player that left Chief Trick Tom Peterson in the meantime. So I told Tom Peterson, guess who's playing the club? And and and he goes, No way, Chief Trick, I Yeah, and he goes, put me on as an opener. And I went, I you know, that's something that
Dean Balsamini (36:22.278)
Sure.
Chuck Kaye (36:34.18)
I don't know if they're gonna like it. He goes, I'll call Rick. I'll call you right back. So he calls me back in ten minutes. He goes, Rick says to do it. I said, All right. So I I knew enough to call our agent who dealt with the contracts. And I said, Listen, make sure this is okay with everybody. He calls me back. They said no. I call back Tom Peterson and Tom Peterson goes, All right, let me call Rick again. Maybe something happened between him and the agency. It happens.
Rick said to try it aga to do it again. I do it again. I get a phone call a half hour later. Tell Chuck if he keeps trying to book Tom Peterson to open up Cheap Tricks canceling. So I'm like, I finally get my favorite band playing and now I'm the reason they're gonna cancel. So I call Tom and I tell him, Listen, here's the story and he goes, Fuck And he goes, You know what? You put me on the guest list that night. I won't even go on a guest list. I won't say nothing. I'll come there as your guest. I go.
Yeah, absolutely. So I set him up at the bar. Cheap trick fans are going crazy because they see, you know, the original bass player hanging out. He comes up to the boothies hanging out with me. Everybody says, my god, the DJ's hanging out with Tom Peterson. At the end of the show, I go, Were you gonna go back? And he goes, What do you think? I go, go back. You know, so he went back and he went back with his lead singer who was his girlfriend at the time. And she came up to me at the end and she goes,
Dean Balsamini (37:40.186)
Yeah.
Chuck Kaye (38:01.919)
You missed it. I go, what? I go, is he gonna be back in the band? She goes, I don't know, but something happened back there. And that was the beginning of him rejoining the band. And he rejoined the band a year later and that's when they had their comeback with the flame and you know and the double platinum mountain called Os No, no, no, no, he no, he didn't play. They didn't want him nowhere near the stage.
Dean Balsamini (38:18.266)
Did he play that night or he didn't play that night? But the he did he
Dean Balsamini (38:24.397)
They just repaired the relationship though.
Chuck Kaye (38:27.167)
Yes, he went backstage at the end of the show and he did you know, she said it was like old times and the band they just had the magic together in the room.
Dean Balsamini (38:35.596)
What did Peterson say about Bunny Carlos? 'Cause Bunny's not there anymore, right?
Chuck Kaye (38:40.794)
Well what we I haven't talked to Tom in years. so y yeah, the bunny thing I mean there's two sides to every story. They're not the same band without Bunny, but they're still fantastic. You know, you know, they they they had issues. You know, it's tough being in a band together for forty, fifty years. Tom Tom left for five years. And and it seemed like there were issues between Bunny and Robin. And you know, Rick is gonna side with Robin. He's Robin, you know, that you know, you can get another drummer.
And still be called Cheap Trick. It's hard to get another singer and still be called Cheap Trick. I mean some bands have done it like you know, Van Halen and A C D C but you know, the Rick and Tom decided to go with Robin.
Dean Balsamini (39:22.264)
And and how about the time when you had a little bit of an accident while talking to a musician? You had a little incident.
Chuck Kaye (39:30.561)
that could be a few, you mean in person?
Dean Balsamini (39:32.056)
With Maiden I think it was, right?
Chuck Kaye (39:35.013)
You okay, yeah, okay, yeah. yeah, Steve Harris and I got to know each other prior to Lamor. I was just Steve Harris bass player, songwriter, the main maiden guy. You know, the maiden maiden guy. one day his assistant calls me up and goes, What are you doing later today? Steve's in town. It was a Wednesday night. I go, What do you want to do? He wants to go out. I said I could put something together. So he goes, I meet us at electric lady at a certain time.
Dean Balsamini (39:42.174)
He's the bass player, right? It's just for Yeah.
Chuck Kaye (40:04.587)
So I get to electric lady and Steve's like, it's gonna be another hour. So we go out and we hit a bar I knew, and me and this guy who's basically like a wall. He was a Hells Angels bouncer. He was like six foot, three fifty. He just he looked like he ate La Walzado. His name is Big Sal, R F. So Sal and I drink and I'm keeping up with him and I'm getting pretty, pretty drunk.
So we go back and Steve goes, I'm gonna be about another half hour. I'll just meet you ever. I go, meet us at the cat club. So we go to the cat club and now we're doing shots. People are buying the shots. And I tell the guys at the door, I said, No, Steve Harris is coming in. Cat Club was so Bon Jovi Manhattan scene, they're like, who's Steve Harris? I'm like, basically for Iron Maiden. Just he'll the Astro Chalk, you know, let him know. So he comes walking in, everyone's like, my God, the guy from Iron Maiden.
He taps me on the shoulder, I turn around and I drew up on his boots. You know. That was I went, whoa! And drew up right on his boots. So he looks down, he's dying laughing. And I was nicknamed Up Chuck for the rest of the night. And this and this was the night I was trying to talk him into playing the club. And I I don't know if it helped, but it actually made the night funnier. He came to the club that Saturday to see a band called Fates Warning. And he walked in and he told the owners.
So the owners we had an intercom in a DJ booth and one of the owners who last name ended in a vowel goes, could you stop throwing up on the band for trying to get to play the club? And he hung up the phone on me. Yeah. But we we got him. We got him. yeah, I was an elevated booth. and that also added to whatever I became, because it was easy to spot me. I was in the corner, like if you were looking at the band, you would look to the left.
Dean Balsamini (41:42.173)
You had you were in the elevated booth you were in an elevated booth, right? When you when you
Chuck Kaye (41:59.244)
And I was higher than the band was in the air. So that kind of
Dean Balsamini (42:01.553)
And and back then you had long flowing curls, right?
Chuck Kaye (42:05.986)
yeah, yeah. Yeah, I guess I yeah, I f I fit the I fit what the I fit exactly what Lamore wanted. I kinda look like what like if you're gonna dry draw what a customer looked like, I kinda had that.
Dean Balsamini (42:06.771)
I mean that was the scene. That that was the scene.
Dean Balsamini (42:19.197)
Who who are the bands that you think should have been should have made it or you thought were gonna make it that didn't really reach those heights?
Chuck Kaye (42:27.194)
Well, that's interesting because you know, I get asked that not not a lot, but I get asked that a decent amount. There were bands that made it but could have been bigger. I think overkill could have been a bigger band. Overkill I think could have been in the conversation to you know, they called the Big Four, Metallica Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax. I think Overkill if things went there way better, it could have been the Big Five.
bands you mentioned, Nuclear Assault, I think could have been bigger. Both of those bands were bigger in Lamore and in New York than they were anywhere else. So I saw how big those bands could be. another band called Law and Order. They were they actually lived on Staten Island. Two of the guys grew up on Staten Island. They were signed to MCA Records, they just got no support by the industry. I think they could have been bigger. There was a local band
Dean Balsamini (43:18.893)
Was one of them in was one of them in docking or am I conflating things?
Chuck Kaye (43:22.747)
No, no, no. no, it was no, there was no connection between the two of them. And then there was a band called Playmate that was local. they never got signed. The singer just wanted out of the industry. And it was and I was actually shopping the band, so I was talking to labels. And then there was that l bands like Mean Streak and All Girls, heavy metal band, band called Hades that was real good. there was a lot of bands that could have been bigger, but I'm gonna leave one spot.
Dean Balsamini (43:27.59)
Okay.
Chuck Kaye (43:52.894)
For everybody listening to this podcast that was in a band in the eighties that tried to get booked at Lamoire or got booked in Lemoire, yes, your band could have been bigger. Because everybody blames me if their band didn't make it big. They were like, man, 'cause I was the gatekeeper or something, you know. And it was like, you know, not everybody could open up for White Lion, Cheap Trick and Slayer, you know. But you know.
Dean Balsamini (44:16.689)
For for the audience, describe what Lemoore was like. It was kinda dingy and grim, right? But rockin' and c you smelled of
Chuck Kaye (44:24.186)
Well it well it became that way. When Lamore opened up, it was called an elegant disco tech. That was what it was opened up in 78. When I started going there in 82, it was I kind of liked it because it was like almost going out to Manhattan because it was fancy, people dressed up. As the scene grew, Lamore didn't replace the disco lights, it didn't replace like you know the fanciness of the club.
So it was basically kind of a warehouse by by the time eighty s middle of eighty five came, eighty six. I used to have a bunch of lights and the DJs before me had a bunch of lights. So they do like a light show, like while they're playing some strobes and stuff. They never replaced any of those. So it basically just became this big dark room where, you know, we had the heaviest of the heavy place.
Dean Balsamini (45:15.705)
Mini controversy you could settle. Is was Lemoore in Bensonhurst or Bay Ridge? Now geographically it's it it's in Bensonhurst, but as you know
Chuck Kaye (45:24.3)
It's funny.
Here's here's the height. Here's the funny thing. Without knowing we were gonna talk like that, I was having this conversation with a good friend of mine, who's kind of a little more historian. His name is Alex. He's the DJ that I replaced. And he helped me out by Yeah, Alex Kay. He was one of my backups when I was running the club. and you know, we've remained friends all these years. It's technically on the edge of
Dean Balsamini (45:39.663)
Was that Ca was that Kane, Alex Kane?
Chuck Kaye (45:55.906)
Bensonhurst and Borough Park, but Lamore always called it Bay Ridge. Now, why? That was done before I got there. What I think happened was Bay Ridge was the area in Brooklyn that was known to have the big discotheques. Like it was like, you know, that was where everyone's like, I'm going to Brooklyn. going to Bay Ridge, right? That was where the discot. So when they started as a discotheque, they were close enough to Bay Ridge.
I think I think they felt that it would be called Bay Ridge. So we called it Bay Ridge. I was told to call it Bay Ridge and the ads Bay Ridge. But if you look it up on the map, it's not Bay Ridge. But funny timing on that brother.
Dean Balsamini (46:35.021)
That's funny. And Yeah, and and as far as you know, you checked out from there in 1988. The club officially closed in 2004. If you want to tell the audience, what happened, you know, what caused the you know your departure, and then we'll get to your resurgence.
Chuck Kaye (46:54.269)
Well, actually the club originally closed in ninety-one. Okay. The Lamore that most people remember, and that was part of my era, closed in 91. they tried a at Discotech, they tried a GoGoba. And those didn't work out. And then they reopened and they came Lamore again. I don't know, 93, 94. Yeah, I don't know exactly. I was gone by then. And then they
Dean Balsamini (47:05.472)
Okay.
Chuck Kaye (47:23.345)
Did different variations of the club, like one side would be this, one side would be metal, different entrances. And they did that until the early early zeros. And then they closed and then they did two or three years in Staten Island at a really small, like four hundred, three hundred and fifty foot place. I left because I didn't like the scene anymore. it wasn't what I knew. I I came into the scene at the same time the scene was growing.
So I kind of grew with it. Mike Tramp and I had that conversation. Like not comparing myself to Tramp, but we all kind of grew as the scene was growing. Bands like Overkill and all that. It was what I loved about the scene in the early eighties before I I got to Lamore was the discovery. You didn't have MTV, like you said, you didn't have social media. You would have to take buses and trains to go to Manhattan to find a cool record store that had the
The albums from England that didn't come into the States for the bands that you only read about in English magazines that you got a month later. There was that camaraderie that really made the scene. By 88, I was 26 years old. And, you know, I had to kind of get my shit together. And being in the nightclub three days a week, partying the way I partied, and just seeing the scene changing made me go, why am I here? So I quit abruptly. In 88, I left all my albums, all my videos. I said,
Go for it, man. You know, keep it going. I came back for Jane's Addiction show in nineteen eighty-nine. I think in February to host it because Faces Magazine wanted they were promoting the show and they wanted me to host it. Or you know, not promoting the show meaning paying, but it was like a Faces Magazine night. And they said they wanted me to host it. And when I I did it, and I knew in my heart that that would be the last night. It just it was a good way to go out. Everybody said goodbye to me.
Dean Balsamini (49:08.916)
Right.
Chuck Kaye (49:19.841)
There's a great picture on the internet of like two thousand people cheering for me. And I was like, you know what, let's go out like this instead of trying to make something that doesn't feel right work.
Dean Balsamini (49:28.5)
While while you were there, how intense was the parting?
Chuck Kaye (49:32.841)
very. I mean it was the eighties. I kid around and I call cocaine excuse me, cocaine skittles because I was telling a story about somebody who passed away and it dawned on me that his family might not know, you know what I mean, you know, or knew. So I was like, so we pull over in my eighty-seven Firebird and I take I take out of my pocket Skittles and I wrote in the big letters and everybody figured it out and it kinda stuck.
And even Cream Magazine like brought that up a few times in in the article and in one of the pictures. they were like Chuck looks like he just did a a copious amount of Skittles in one of the pictures that they put of me in there. So but yeah, I mean co cocaine was around. L'Amour wasn't a drug club, but it was an eighties club, so it was there.
Dean Balsamini (50:20.274)
What was what was your to describe maybe for the younger people, what the look was for the average, you know, guy and girl went to the went to the club.
Chuck Kaye (50:32.517)
You couldn't really say that because on a white lion night you got the poses. You know, you got the guys who put you know, hairspray in their hair, the acronette people, you got the girls who dressed up to meet the guys that look like that. On a Slayer night you had a bunch of denim leather kids marching and sweating and you know, they didn't care about their hair. You know, they just had it long. You know, their bangs were down to here. You know, it was
And then you had the middle ground. I was into all that music. So I kind of had my look was kind of in between. I never teased out the hair or did anything like that. But you know, I could appreciate like my favorite band, you know, I cheap tricked Ramon Slay. I I loved all that. so you really couldn't, you know, like if you look at Metallica and you look at my trample white line, those are two very different looks. And and and Lamore covered all of that.
Dean Balsamini (51:25.926)
How many cans of hairspray do you think you guys confiscated over the years?
Chuck Kaye (51:30.742)
We're not confidence schedule, we actually had a men's room attendant who like let people use it for like, you know, they'll tip my buck or something back then and they'll let them use it. Like, you know, on on the poser nights he would rival the ladies' room attendant and how much has been sold. Yeah.
Dean Balsamini (51:47.289)
What was wha who was the nicest group and if you wanna mention by name you can, but if you don't, you don't. But w if you could describe who are the biggest kind of clowns and who is the the your the best band to deal with.
Chuck Kaye (52:03.083)
I really enjoyed working with a lot of the local bands because they were hungry and they just really appreciated getting a shot. I mean, forty years later people still contact me and they were like, Man, you gave us the best gigs we ever had. That's awesome. And guess what? They got because they deserved I didn't do a lot of favors. I was really, you know, I wanted again, my my thing was the kids in the crowd. Maiden were gr Maiden were great guys.
Dean Balsamini (52:23.364)
Right.
Chuck Kaye (52:32.415)
Trying to the White Lion guys are great. There wasn't really there's one incident that happened with the band Cinderella, and it's not because they were divas, it was just what it worked out. The guys from Kix tell the story all the time. Kix was one of her regular bands. They play like three times a year, always packed the club. And now they have their record out. And Cinderella was a band that was located out of the
I like the Philly, New Jersey area, like that. Area New Jersey that was near Philly. There was a club called The Empire. That Cinderella and Britney S Britney what what's the Brit's band, Brittany? I won't say Britney Spears.
Dean Balsamini (53:12.784)
I forget the name.
Chuck Kaye (53:14.863)
They had the song Girl School. Britney Fox. Brittany, so Cinderella opened up for kicks on their second night at the club, and the place was packed, and the album was just about to come out, and they got over really big, and they missed two of the Qs to leave the stage. And we had to get kicks on by a certain time. So I had to bring the screen down and we had to cut off the PA. So I you know, it's in print and it's legendary on the internet.
big screen with the metal weight at the bottom of the video screen hit Tom Keeper in the head and he got got a little loopy. And to this day he blames kicks. But now that I'm back telling stories, I'm like, nah man, you could blame me. Yeah. Yeah.
Dean Balsamini (53:55.139)
That's hilarious. And and and as far as you earlier this year launched the website for Lemoire, right?
Chuck Kaye (54:07.544)
Well this website for me, not for the yeah. I don't wanna it's it's the Royal Lamore and it was just right.
Dean Balsamini (54:12.045)
The Roar of Lamour dot com, but it it it it it sh it recreates and it shows the good times, the photos, the st tells the stories. Tell the audience about that.
Chuck Kaye (54:19.655)
Right.
Yeah, well what happened was about six seven months prior to that, one of the owner's sons, Frank Filas Jr., contacted me. He was a bouncer at the club and he managed the club on the nights that I ran the club. I had a production company called A Ryan Entertainment and he kind of stood in for the owners on those nights because I didn't want the responsibility of IDing people and liquor and all that. You know, I just did the entertainment once you got inside.
So he contacted me and he goes, Listen, you've been out of the scene for all these years. A large part of the little more story isn't being told. nobody talks about my dad. There are things out there that he thought were misrepresented. And he goes, just come on and start telling stories. I went, All right, you know, I love your dad. Why not? And I started telling stories and people really liked them. In December of last year, 2025, I was like, All right, I'm done telling stories. And I was going to delete my Facebook and I went,
Well, if I do, all the stories go away. Let me just copy paste them, put them on like a site. I didn't know anybody would care and read it and it would get popular and get on the news. If I did, I would have made it look better. Like I really had no frills website, which kind of fits the vibe a little more. And I was just like, Well, let me put my stories. And then all of a sudden news and magazines and like New York One contacted me. we've been waiting for something like this. And I was like, I
Dean Balsamini (55:21.366)
Right.
Dean Balsamini (55:45.281)
So
Chuck Kaye (55:49.53)
And it you know, it's like the Pacino and Godfather three. Every time I leave they pull me back in, you know? And now I got this thing where, you know, I'm the storyteller. And it's Yeah.
Dean Balsamini (55:59.049)
And it refreshes a lot of memories. Just seeing the ticket stubs, hearing who was there that night, people refreshing memories as to the set list and everything, you know, it
Chuck Kaye (56:09.298)
Yeah. Well, I don't really get into things like the settlers and stuff. I tell the stories from behind it. Like I have an area where I give credit to like all the staff, from the bouncers to the waitresses to the backup DJs to each individual owner. Because one thing about Lamore, they were a big part of the vibe of Lamore more than other clubs. Like all bouncers were known. I don't know if a lot of clubs people even knew who the bouncers' names.
Dean Balsamini (56:22.123)
Right.
Chuck Kaye (56:38.467)
But the bouncers were part of the the the kids. They were older and bigger and stronger, but you know, they'd hang out with them, they'd get to know them. So I just made this user-friendly, no-frill site where it's n it's not really I I write on the site, this ain't nostalgia, this is fucking testimony. And that's kind of the angle I use because you know I think this time is kind of boring. Testimony. Here's what really happened.
I don't tell stories that I don't know. I tell my stories. If
Dean Balsamini (57:09.948)
I does it do you laugh when you think of what Brooklyn is now? I mean, parts of Williamsburg and Bushwick and other parts that have blossomed and there's a real energy in Brooklyn again.
Chuck Kaye (57:21.752)
Honestly, I don't laugh and I like that the play Saint Riders. No, I know I know what you mean.
Dean Balsamini (57:24.804)
I mean not laugh not laugh not laugh in a derogatory way, but I mean the fact is i who knew.
Chuck Kaye (57:31.914)
No, no, I knew it. It's I think it's really cool that there's a scene, a metal scene, and it's still in Brooklyn, but it's in Williamsburg. I think it's awesome that a a bar that turned into a club they just reopened called St. Vitus. They just had anthrax and my boys in Overkill are playing there next month. They wanted me to come introduce the band, but you know, I live in Atlantic City and I have bad health, so I couldn't you know, that's a three hour trip, two nights in a row, it didn't work out.
I think it's really cool that there's something out there. It's not as big, but it's still keeping it vital. And hard rock and heavy metals, like the dying breed of live music, man. So I think it's great that, you know, somebody who wants to see a band play their instruments in front of them without tapes, without too many effects, could still do it. And it's in Brooklyn, so I think that's awesome.
Dean Balsamini (58:26.8)
What what was the best part besides obviously the people and things like that about the Club Lemour? Was it was it the acoustics? Was it the sound? What was what made it so special as far as the club itself?
Chuck Kaye (58:40.94)
That's a good question. The PA was pretty good. I mean, it was really loud, but a lot some bands brought in their own, like like Manowar and Kicks would bring in their own PAs. Manowar was the loudest band I've heard in my life in the club. I just it was the perfect place for me to be working at the perfect time. And I think that's another reason why it might not be as revered as people think it should be, because
It was kind of encompassed to the eighties. And in the nineties, Lamore was still vital, but it wasn't as big. They opened up in different areas. hardcore was taken over. And I love the hardcore scene. But it was it was just a bunch of things pointing in the right direction. And a lot of credit goes to the owners of the club who like again, I said, you know, they didn't come into this saying they wanted to manage a metal club. They saw what was going on and they embraced it.
Dean Balsamini (59:40.54)
Do you still have your your vinyl collection?
Chuck Kaye (59:44.506)
No. I left everything I owned in the club when I quit. I I d I I'm like that. I'm a completist. When I'm done, I'm done, man.
Dean Balsamini (59:48.846)
What w who is who is
Dean Balsamini (59:53.976)
Who was who was in your collection? And if you had to reclaim five of those albums or three of them, what were the albums you would get back?
Chuck Kaye (59:58.979)
god.
I had two of the guys from Cheap Trick were in the band on Epic in 69 called Fuse. I had the original that I had the original Motley Crue first album that they pressed on Leather Records. That was rare. I had rare forty fives. it was yeah, there's a lot of things I look back on. I'm gonna blow your mind with this. I didn't even keep my gold albums.
Dean Balsamini (01:00:26.232)
Wow. Which gold which was who were they for? Which gold albums?
Chuck Kaye (01:00:29.231)
Chief Drake and White Lion. I didn't even keep I didn't even keep my gold album. I had 40 something album credits. I didn't keep it up. I didn't keep any of my radio or TV appearances. Anything that you see now attached to me, somebody else kept. There are things out there I wish I wished I could find more of my radio appearances. one of them, one of them is out there and it took somebody like eight months to find. Like they just put in all different code words and stuff like that.
And they found it because the guy said Chuck K, just the initial K from Lamore, and that's how we found it from K Rock. I that that was awesome. What do you mean which albums? it was Heaven I was given Heaven Tonight kind of as a goof and then White Lion Wade. I well not wait, Pride. Pride, the one with wait on it, yeah.
Dean Balsamini (01:01:04.164)
Which which album which albums were they, Chuck? The gold the gold ones, which were in for
Dean Balsamini (01:01:15.352)
Okay.
And and and if you had three rock and roll dinner guests, who would they be?
Chuck Kaye (01:01:23.073)
shit.
Hmm. Now or back then? Because it might change. I haven't thought about it.
Dean Balsamini (01:01:30.549)
Now now
Chuck Kaye (01:01:34.675)
Hmm.
Rick Nielsen just to see how he's feeling. you know, 'cause since he's been sick. let me see. I'll go with Steve Harris again so I can get drunk control up on him. and I g and I gotta get a female in there. let's go with Lena Ford just for the hell of it, just to have a girl at the table.
Dean Balsamini (01:01:39.947)
Okay.
Dean Balsamini (01:01:57.429)
Cool. Just folks, I want to say we're coming to you from the cozy confines of the Cedar Beans Coffee Joint in the great state of New Jersey. And it's my pleasure to have Chuck Kay, part historian, MC, DJ, Impresario. We're we're bloviating and yapping about the great Lemoore Club in Brooklyn. And you can check out the memories or testimonials at the Roar of Lemoore.
Chuck Kaye (01:02:26.085)
Yeah.
Dean Balsamini (01:02:26.635)
dot com. Before we before we say goodbye, Chuck, I just wanted to ask, you know, if you had to do it all over again or right now, who would you like to announce or have in your club, if you had a Chuck K club, who would be your band and how would you announce them?
Chuck Kaye (01:02:45.165)
You mean in twenty twenty six?
Dean Balsamini (01:02:46.751)
Right now, yeah. Give me a give me a ch give me a roar for a a band that you'd have at your Chuck K Club today.
Chuck Kaye (01:02:55.235)
Well, I would love to bring back Maiden. You're in I mean, after all these years, 'cause that was the biggest thing. I mean, I'd maiden in Brooklyn at Lemoire. It was a special. So you w you want me to go out when I maiden introduction? Is that how we do it? Okay, well yeah, so I'll set it up. I'll kinda imitate what I said on the Lemoore hotline that people called. Cause you gotta remember for anybody young, listen to this.
Dean Balsamini (01:03:08.627)
Yeah, but I'm gonna have one more question after that, but but yeah, give me the
Chuck Kaye (01:03:22.302)
You learned what was playing the club by calling the hotline. There wasn't on social media. So you had a call. So I went, yes indeed, this is Chuck Kay on a special show coming up. The rumors are true. Run to the hills and get those tickets. Because Charlotte and the Hollots are playing. That's right. I said, Charlotte and the Hollett, run to the hills, get those tickets now. And that's when people went, shit, I think it is automated.
Dean Balsamini (01:03:47.445)
And finally, do you have any problems with rockers playing forever or or some of the y you know, people were kinda ripping David Lee Roth or other aging rockers who are playing and maybe they don't have their fastball. What's your take?
Chuck Kaye (01:04:01.257)
Okay. I here's it is I am never gonna tell somebody not to do something that they want to do. It's their place and no and it's up to the people to buy those tickets or not. It's up to the people to sit there and go, it's w is it worth it or not? there are some people I cringe when I see them. I feel no.
Dean Balsamini (01:04:21.693)
Anybody particular you want to mention?
Chuck Kaye (01:04:25.991)
Because they're either friends of mine or they're friends of friends of mine. But there's some people that like we'll put it this way. You you mentioned David Lee Rock, that's not a secret. He can barely sing. But are you going to hear Dave
Dean Balsamini (01:04:36.543)
However, he's pivot he's now pivoted and he's doing these funny vignettes, which he's a great storyteller.
Chuck Kaye (01:04:41.004)
Yeah, that's what I'm saying. But but I mean, were you going to see David Lee Roth in twenty twenty-five and twenty twenty six to hear great vocals? Were you going just for the nostalgia factor? So I'm not gonna slam somebody for doing that if the audience is there. I've been dealing a lot with that because of my love for cheap trick and Rick getting very, very ill lately. you know, like the guy wants to the guy's seventy-seven and even when he's home in between tours.
He plays with his he he he does local gigs with his sons and daughter. He's just a machine. It's tough seeing your idols get older. But if they're having fun and people want to see them, God bless anybody's still doing it. To be 77 or 67 or 57 and still being out there and being a true rock and roller, man, that's fucking awesome, man. You know, I so I I can't put anybody down for doing it, man.
Dean Balsamini (01:05:37.031)
Well, I thank you so much for your time. If you just hang on with us for about thirty seconds and we also do it now after they edit the back end of it out so it doesn't we don't lose anything. But thank you so much. We have to have a I have to come see you sometime. And Yeah.
Chuck Kaye (01:05:39.587)
Preacher.
Chuck Kaye (01:05:50.98)
Yo yeah, anytime you want to come to Atlantic City. but it so are we still live?
Dean Balsamini (01:05:55.517)
We're this is like after we're not live anymore, but they'll cut they'll it's just so we don't lose it, we go a little extra, so
Chuck Kaye (01:05:59.287)
Okay, okay.
Chuck Kaye (01:06:02.999)
Yeah, yes, no no no problem. if if when you plug the thing, if you could put the the help because we didn't really get into my health or anything. yeah, no. A anything that's on anything that's on my website.
Dean Balsamini (01:06:09.691)
Yeah, I didn't want I didn't know if you wanted to and the point is what I'll do what I'll do is I'll put the I'll put the GoFundMe and I'll talk about that you were gracious enough to do it despite some health challenges. So that's the what
Chuck Kaye (01:06:20.983)
Thank you. Yeah, yeah. Any a just so you know in the future, anything that's on my website that's public, it's public. I you know, I mean it's out there for now I can take this shit off.
Dean Balsamini (01:06:27.609)
Yeah. No, I really I really appreciate it and it was a lot of fun and there's a lot of cool stories and it really was a great time. It was a lot of fun. It was a real blast.
Chuck Kaye (01:06:37.972)
Thanks, man. I I I appreciate it. And like I said, I appreciated your interest because like I get a lot of hey, I'm Tommy from Tommy's metal warehouse. Let's do a podcast. And I'm like, yeah, I mean it's cool and I appreciate it. And I love like those guys are vital to the scene. But you know, it's like
Dean Balsamini (01:06:56.496)
yeah, and please on your end share it too because I'm also I'm also burgeoning, trying to expand what I do. I just when I did this, I decided I'm not looking to to scream and yell and everything like that. I'm looking to find out people's journey and tell stories like you said.
Chuck Kaye (01:07:02.948)
No, no
Chuck Kaye (01:07:12.582)
Yeah. Well that's what I'm saying. Before we get into the thing and I'll I'll email you places you should promote it. Because there's like there's like Facebook groups who have jumped on what I do, like you know, like you post any like there's Brooklyn Facebook groups and stuff like that. But but like what I was saying is I like the fact that you're were an actual journalist. So I I yeah, I come from
Dean Balsamini (01:07:28.174)
Yeah.
Dean Balsamini (01:07:37.358)
Yeah, forty years.
Chuck Kaye (01:07:41.136)
Like my grandfather used to hang out with Jimmy Breslin in Manhattan. Hell's Hell's Kitchen is where they all hung out. That's where all the you know, within five blocks of where I lived on fiftieth and ninth, all of so my grandfather knew all those guys. what was the they called him the greatest sports writer of all time.
Dean Balsamini (01:07:44.488)
wow.
Dean Balsamini (01:07:59.897)
was it was it Red Smith? Dick Young?
Chuck Kaye (01:08:02.68)
No, no, no, no. He no he's no the dick was local. He started the national.
Dean Balsamini (01:08:08.658)
right, right, right. I know who he is. It's it's because my friend worked for the national. I'm trying to think I could see him with the musta with the mustache.
Chuck Kaye (01:08:13.643)
Yeah, yeah, he started in the Yeah, yeah, he did he was in the commercial the the middle light commercials. Yo, he was that famous. something with a D. Frank DeFord. Frank DeFord. Like he knew Frank. Like you know, like so I I grew up with like the newspaper comes out at eight thirty on the day before, and you'd go five blocks to the newsstand.
Dean Balsamini (01:08:21.568)
Right, I know exactly who you're talking about.
Dean Balsamini (01:08:28.685)
Yes.
Chuck Kaye (01:08:42.484)
There'll be fifty people waiting to get the newspaper thrown out of out of the van. And I I grew up around real journalism. And it's one of the things that I think sucks now of about everybody and their mother could it's just doing it. And you know, and it's like you know, I what I liked about Cream and New York One was they vetted everything I said. But Yeah.
Dean Balsamini (01:08:55.468)
Yeah.
Dean Balsamini (01:09:03.126)
yeah, and I used to read Cream as a kid. Lenny Kay used to write for them, Lester Bangs. I used to always I I was f became friends later with David Johansson a little bit. And and and and I'm big into Patty's I have a radio show every other Tuesday for Maker Park Radio. NYC. They got Tommy Stinson of the replacements coming in a couple weeks. Yeah. So
Chuck Kaye (01:09:14.159)
wow, Staten Alga.
Chuck Kaye (01:09:21.547)
Okay.
Chuck Kaye (01:09:25.248)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. The mats, yeah. Yeah, now you now do you have connections still at the advents?
Dean Balsamini (01:09:32.662)
Yeah, I do, but I mean it's a different place. They have their own, you know. But they have a robot they have a robust online, so but I'll I'll reach
Chuck Kaye (01:09:36.81)
Yeah. Yeah, no, I know because
Yeah, that's I could 'cause no, because here's the funny thing. They contacted me in May and they wanted to do this big podcast thing with me. and I was like, Well, you know, I can't travel, I got health issues. And the guy's like, All right, well, we'll do it by Zoom. And it took the and they were like, we really like to have the people in person. I'm like, I can't do it in person. They wanted to do kind of what we talked about at the beginning and maybe do it a cover thing. And then the guy left.
Dean Balsamini (01:10:04.107)
Right.
Chuck Kaye (01:10:11.206)
and I don't know anything. So I I wanna get some love to Staten Staten Island scene. So I'll email I'll email you some ideas. Cool. Yeah, it was funny because
Dean Balsamini (01:10:14.89)
Yeah, I'll I'll I'll reach out. I know I know the main I know one of the main managers, so. We're we're done, Dave. We just would go in afterwards, just wrapping up. Thank you so much. I just was going doing the extended. This is the owner of Cedar Beans Coffee Joint, which we and also the producer engineer. So he's the Yeah, he's the he's the brains of the outfit. Yeah. Hey, have you caught
Chuck Kaye (01:10:27.163)
Yeah.
Chuck Kaye (01:10:32.74)
But we kinda we kinda met before, Ben. We kinda met earlier.
Now now how close are you to how close are you to Montclair?
Dean Balsamini (01:10:40.778)
Have you caught Iron Maiden on this tour?
Chuck Kaye (01:10:45.944)
No, it's tough for me because I have a severe dire heart condition. So it's tough for me to be somewhere for like four or five hours at a time. So unless unless it's in Atlantic City, I don't really go to anything. I I don't know if you guys know anything about professional wrestling, but I'm friends with a lot of wrestlers. I went I'm friends with Cody Rhodes and I went to SummerSlam two years two summers ago and they had to put me in
Dean Balsamini (01:10:47.722)
He's got health concerns. okay.
Dean Balsamini (01:10:54.7)
Gotcha.
Chuck Kaye (01:11:13.614)
in the press room so I can be in an air conditioned and sit down. So I I I go to see sometimes shows in Atlantic City and I'll leave in the middle of it because you know, I only have about twenty percent of my hard work in at any given moment.
Dean Balsamini (01:11:25.844)
Gotcha. He he threw up on one of the Iron Maiden guys. did he? Yeah, I wait to hear the story. I'm sure it's in there.
Chuck Kaye (01:11:31.034)
Yeah, yeah, that was in that was in eighty six, though. That's nothing to do that that has nothing to do with my heart condition. That's to do with me being a j alcoholic. Later guys. Hey buddy, good luck with your business, man. Take care, guys. Bye.
Dean Balsamini (01:11:35.81)
I don't. Well, thank you so much, Chuck. Appreciate your time. All right. See ya.
Thanks. Thank you.