'The Roar of L'Amour'

THE BACK UPS

When it comes to my tenure (10/84-11/88), I had a lot of help in the booth.

THE VJ'S

JO ROCKSTAAR:

When I first got to Brooklyn, I told the owners I wanted to keep the VJ on as long as possible.

I felt replacing two locals that were popular to the staff was not a good idea.

Jo was the VJ at the time and he was a pretty smart guy that read the writing on the wall. While he still had a job, he was basically pushing buttons, because the club wanted me to do all programming.

I liked having him in the booth for when I needed to do something else, plus he was good company.

Eventually Jo went to L'Amour East to DJ/VJ there and later The Cat Club.

ANTHONY/ANTENNA:

For a bit in 85, I hired a local named Anthony to be the VJ. His job was similar to Jo in that I did the programming.

I told the club to hire him because he had MTV and would collect videos for us anyway. I thought instead of paying him per tape, let's give him a job.

I have no idea why, but I started calling his tapes ANTENNA 1, ANTENNA 2, etc. and the name stuck.

Eventually, he got frustrated being limited to just pushing buttons and quit.

I get that but still appreciate his time.

THE DJ'S

MICHEL GUTTMAN:

In May of 1985, I booked a vacation to LA. I told the owners and they replied, "DJ's don't take nights off" and I explained that this one did.

After a back and forth, we decided to do a DJ search and put an add out. 

We had 4 DJ's spin an hour each (2 on Fri and 2 on Sat between 9-11pm) and we will choose the "official backup".

The obvious choice was Michel.

While the others had DJ experience, Michel knew the room and my style and fit in perfectly.

I liked him so much that when the club did Summer Sunday All Ages shows, I gave him that night as his own.

I had zero problem rewarding loyalty.

Michel left in fall of 85 to be the DJ at Far East.

ALEX KAYNE

You can read about him HERE, but Alex was kind enough to offer himself to me as a hand, because he saw me doing 4 jobs at once and I immediately told the owners "I am hiring him".

I rewarded that loyalty with nights when I possibly could and regulars would hear "Alex To Da Boot" many nights when I needed to leave to do something.

He drove me crazy and still does, but I thank him for his help, and he knows I was his biggest supporter in the venue

KEN KRIETE

Ken was a local who was trying to get into management and bookings. The owners couldn't stand him after a failed show fell through and it took a bit for him to get back in good graces with them, but I always liked him.

When the venue started bringing in more "core" bands, Ken was a godsend (to me).

I loved Punk, so I would love the core bands, but because of my L'Amour schedule I really couldn't do the CBGB Sunday matinee scene. 

Ken would school me on the bands and eventually I would have him DJ from 9-10:30 on the heavier nights, while I did other work.

I would pick him up at home and drive him in with me and I cannot thank him enough.

Eventually he fell back into good graces with the owners and after I quit they hired him to work for both the club (booking) and their management company.

JEFF THE BARBACK

Jeff was ... "the barback" and loved to spin and it worked out perfectly that the only time he was free at the club was 9-10:30pm because everything was already set up.

So, on commercial nights he would spin while I did my office duties.

A great guy that never let me down

DAVID GIZZO

Read all about him HERE.

F'n Gizzo. My right-hand man and one of my best friends.

He worked all my AYI nights (60 a year) while I ran the club and was a huge part of any "AYI" business.

If I worked with a band, he would road manage, etc.

When I quit the club, Dave could have stepped up to replace me, but he didn't want to work there without me.

He was one of the first that saw the end of an era was happening and thought best to move on.

RIP GIZZO - miss ya buddy

-

I applaud all seven men for their help, loyalty and hard work and hope you realize how much I appreciate each of you.

Chuck Kaye

Ah Yes Indeed

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