'The Roar of L'Amour'

OVERKILL - Rotten to the core and the audition of Bobby G.

Partially taken from a Facebook post

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As most L'Amour regular during my era/error know, i was a huge supporter/fan of Overkill.

They were "thrash" but also appealed to the Maiden/Priest crowd and they put on an arena level stage show in clubs.

I knew Blitz, DD and Rat (original drummer) prior to Bobby G. joining (see story below) and a lot of regulars at L'Amour identify me with the band.

So much so, I played 'Rotten to the Core' on KRock (92.3fm) in NYC

Actually, RTTC is still one of my fav thrash songs.

I remember Bobby G, bringing me the first Overkill album. I was friends with him before he was in Overkill, heck I went to the first audition with him after helping him get it.

I was hoping that it sounded decent and that there was something I could turn the crowd onto.

When I heard 'Rotten to the Core' I knew I had something.

One local band was frustrated they weren't getting the big gigs and asked me "do we need to cover Rotten To The Core?", I thought that was fn hysterical.

I remember Jon Z. thanking me for breaking Overkill locally.

I told him that the band deserved it and a DJ taking credit for playing a song is silly.

I was doing my job, bands wrote and performed the song, not me.

He respected that.

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How Bobby G. met Overkill and a joke I played that almost backfired.

Before he was lead singer in Law and Order, Shane was actually an awesome guitarist. He was in a SI band at the time that needed a drummer, and he asked me if I could get Rat from Overkill interested (I knew the guys from the scene), I said "I doubt it", but somehow that turned into Shane auditioning for them.

We went to a rehearsal studio (I think) in Hoboken and he killed it. I am pretty sure he auditioned on Maiden and Priest songs.

They either offered him the gig or another audition, but he was obviously not a fit and when he told them that, they asked if he knew any other guitarist that liked heavier stuff.

About 4-6 months prior I introduced him to a 17-year-old kid I knew called Bobby Gustafson, Bobby was still in HS.

Shane said, "Chuck has a friend that is into stuff you guys are" and an audition was set up.

I don't know why, but somehow, I was told what songs for Bobby to audition on.

I believe it was 4 songs, and I remember one being Transylvania because I kidded with Blitz that the band never sounded better (no vocals).

When I read the song list to Bobby (over the phone) I added a 5th song as a goof. I said "Oh and The Ballad of John & Yoko" by The Beatles.

I had no idea Bobby would take it seriously and learn it

On the ride to (I think) DD's house to audition, Bobby mentioned that learning that song drove him crazy because he couldn't see how it could be played heavily.

I was both dying of laughter and felt bad. I never thought he would think I was serious.

He was pissed at me (which was part of the Chuck/Bobby dynamic) but by the time we got there we moved on.

When Blitz asked what song to start with, I said The Ballad of John & Yoko and the band looked confused (as they should be), I explained the story, and we all laughed and it broke the ice.

Bobby obviously killed it and the rest is Overkill history.

I was proud of Bobby and still am regarding those days.

The band wound up being managed by George/Mike (owners) and in-between fights, Bobby and I had some legendary nights.

I recently told this story to Sid Falck (drummer) recently and he cracked up. He told me that Mike Parente (owner and later Overkill manager) would try to keep him from hanging out in my DJ booth.

I guess Mike felt my influence on Bobby G was bad enough.

Now sing it with me ...

"Christ you know it ain't easy

You know how hard it can be

The way things are going

They're going to crucify me"

Chuck Kaye

Ah Yes Indeed

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"Chuck was an institution in the NY tri-state area, in the 80s metal scene. All the bands knew who he was. The funny thing is, he was probably more well known, than many of the bands who played at L'amour"

- Sid Falck from Overkill