'The Roar of L'Amour'

THE STAGE MANAGERS AND CREW - The backbone of every show 

THE STAGE MANAGERS

From Sandy to Joe to John ...

The three stage managers during my era

In all honesty, this should have been one of my first entries.

I don't care if you were a local band trying out for the club or an arena level headliner ... the stage managers played a pivotal role.

If they didn't do their jobs at the highest level, there would be a very different L'Amour to remember.

They were both the front and back line (pun) for every band.

They made my life easier and I thank them.

SANDY:

Not sure how I met Sandy, but he was at L'Amour in early 83 when we became friends.

When The Factory Rock Club in SI closed, L'Amour became my new home largely due to Sandy.

He would put me on his guest list for any night i wanted and because I didn't have a car, he would drive me home afterwards (if I needed the ride)

Sandy was responsible for L'Amour finding out that "I was the guy from The Factory" when they were looking for a DJ in late 83 and he was the SM in Brooklyn when I started in October 84.

To this day, I never seen a better job by a SM then when Sandy ran the Metallica/WASP/Armored Saint weekend.

Three headliners, gear everywhere, ego's all-around and he ran it perfectly.

When I started on 10/19/84, we were a great team.

If either of us needed something, we had each other's back.

It's sad that he left the venue in 85, because I can imagine the amount of fun we would have had together on my nights.

Maybe too much, but ... it was the decade of decadence

If it wasn't for Sandy, I would never have been at L'Amour.

I had no desire to be a DJ once The Factory closed, but Sandy pushed for it and one day told George (owner) and down the road we worked it out.

Thank you Sandy and you were the best, and boy can I tell stories, but ...maybe it's best not to.

JOHN AND JOE:

Sometime in 1985, John Burns and Joe Starr became the SM. They were the soundmen, so it made logical sense to hire them since they were there anyway.

John was there the most, but both were crucial to my years.

Because I did more than DJ, my relationship with them was crucial.

Not once in my 49 months was there an argument.

We agreed on everything.

If I wanted to add time to one of the bands set, they made it happen.

If I felt a middle band needed a soundcheck, they made it happen.

We worked together on band set times and it was a well-oiled machine.

I remember one show (I wish I could remember) I told the owners I felt the one opener should do 60 minutes instead of 45, Mike Parente (owner) told John Burns to give them 15 extra minutes and told john to trust my judgment moving forward.

That began an awesome dialog between us.

When I was giving the local book, they would report to me if any acts gave them issues.

If they did, I had their back.

One night a band played their first show at L'Amour and drove John crazy.

The singer was a friend of mine and perhaps he thought that meant he can do what he wanted ... 

That was not how it worked in Brooklyn.

The staff had my back and I had theirs.

That band (with my friend) had the screen lowered during their set and I never talked to him again.

I respected the SM too much.

It was their job to make sure the headlining act went on when they were promised and every 5 minutes mattered.

You disrespected them, you disrespected me and vice-versa.

When I would get to the venue between 8-8:30pm, the first thing I would do is ask John/Joe, how were the bands to deal with.

That went a long way to who I added to bigger nights.

Bands like Hades, Meanstreak became L'Amour staples because they were a pleasure to deal with it.

I remember there was something that occurred with a member of a Brooklyn band called Disciple that had the band banned by the owners.

I asked John/Joe if they ever had an issue with the other 3 and they said no and we went to the owners and asked them to give the band (with new member) another shot and they did and I rewarded them as much as I could.

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The job of SM at L'Amour wasn't an easy one.

Imagine bands with egos.

Imagine bands partying too much.

Imagine bands with difficult management.

They handled them all.

Iron Maiden and Cheap Trick played without issue ...

I can't take credit for that ... THEY CAN

Thank you, Sandy, Joe and John, for making my 49 months so much better than it could have been and thank you Sandy for insisting to George that I was "the guy" to bring in.

THE CREW

From extra hands that helped load-in/out, to our lighting directors and to the follow-spot guys, the help they gave stage mangers and the club was immense.

During my time Joe and John were the sound guys and lighting went from Bobby Johnson to Eddie Lights and the Freddy (I think in that order).

Eddie was one of my closest L'Amour friends and we knew each other from Staten Island.

When we started working together it was a natural that we would hang-out regularly.

Before the Firebird, I bought a shitty beat-up Oldsmobile I bought from Shane from Law and Order for $500.

The t-roofs leaked, the nose was tied to the car by bakers' string and Eddie called it the "mosh mobile" because the car would shake when I drove over 35 mph.

Shit car, but great times.

I remember one night Eddie coming to the booth because he had to ask me a question. A girl told him he looked like "Robert Plant with a crooked smile" and wondered if that was a compliment.

I told him, he would find out.

I didn't see him for a while, so I guess it was.

I had many legendary nights/days with Eddie, including one when he lost a sneaker that nobody would find funny unless you were there.

Towards the end Freddy somehow got the lighting job. He actually lived in L'Amour during the end of my era.

He was one of the nicest guys I ever met and would do whatever he could to help me as both a friend and a co-worker.

One night he told me how he loved working my nights because they were so much fun. I told him to thank himself because the staff made it that way ... not me.

After I quit, I came back to bankroll a SKITTLES evening with him and a neighborhood tech/friend called Vinny (Weebles).

Let's just say I put them in a cab at 8am from my apartment and they were not heard from for a day afterwards ... 

The additional tech/staff/load in/out guys are way too numerous to mention, but you were all part of an amazing era, and I can't thank you enough

Chuck Kaye

Ah Yes Indeed

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