The Ballad of Rondo The Dog
THE BALLAD OF RONDO THE DOG
LAST CHANCE SALOON POUGHKEEPSIE OCT 1978
Many people know of the band The Police playing the Last Chance Saloon on October 23, 1978 to 3 paying customers. I will save that story for another time. This is the story of an event that happened exactly a week before at The Last Chance. We gathered a loose aggregate of musicians on the Monday prior to The Police to rehearse a Halloween show at the club.
Mike Chiriatti (the owner with partner Larry Plover) on soprano sax, Bill Rinaldi on Fluegelhorn, Greg McCurdy on trumpet the late Jerry Starpoli on tenor sax, Chris Starpoli on drums and two guitar players…forgive me , I do not have their names… I played harp…Rinaldi’s dog Rondo wandered the stage.
The acoustic guitarist had written a chant like song … just repeating tuna fish and milk… tuna fish and milk … it was turning into a combination of Jonathan Richmond meets James Brown. Loose would be an understatement. Gerry loved free jazz and although a wonderful fine artist and sign painter (he did the Chance curtain along with Howie Slotnick) . Gerry had just gotten the sax that day and had never played it beforeand had never taken lessons.
The club was closed. The photos were taken by Rosie Shankman of Millbrook. I would occasionally drop to my knees during a harp solo for dramatic effect. A move I learned from James Brown and Mitch Ryder.
I was wearing Nike running shoes…. They are designed for lateral forward motion… Do not try to dance or spin in running shoes.
At one point my goal was to spin around face Chris on the drums and close the number cold. You will note one of the photos shows my body in motion. I look like I was either really into it… or in pain. It was the later. I had torn the Cartlidge in my left knee. My body spun but my leg stayed straight thanks to my running shoes. I fell to the stage pounding with my fist . Chris kept playing drums thinking I was getting into something… It then became apparent that what I had gotten into was trouble. I wound up in St Francis Hospital where they drained my knee.
I woke up and there was a cross on the wall in front of me and a diminutive little man in a black suit with a black hat at the foot of my bed . He said to me… “excuse me young man,… are you Jewish?“
I glanced at the cross then back at him. “Do I have to tell you now?”
He chuckled. This was the first time I met Rabbi Erwin Zimet who included Pete Seeger among his close friends. Five years later June 12, 1983 Rabbi Zimet would marry Rosalie and me at what had become The Chance .
Also years later , in the early 80’s Mitch Ryder played the Chance. I had heard that he had destroyed his knees doing knee drops…. I met him backstage and said… you know… I saw you at a Murray The K Show at The Brooklyn Foxin 1966… you inspired me with those knee drops… and I tore up my cartlidge. Mitch said… I got it from James Brown… nobody told me that he was wearing knee pads..
I was on crutches for a week or two. I don’t know if that Halloween show ever happened. My buddy Joe Lomoriello was in a band that coulda shouda been big …They were called Expose’. Joe on bass with Randy Ciarlante drums , Danny Louis on keys , and John Platania on guitar. They all sang . Platania had already been on four Van Morrison albums, Danny was in an early version of The Cars, he has been and remains currently a member of Govt. Mule for over 20 years, Randy became second drummer with The Band ..right next to Levon.
The band Expose was looking for a 1978 direction. Punk and new Wave were growing camps of fandom. Neither came naturally to any of these guys. They did come up with some good power pop but after my accident Joe wrote a killer punk song titled I Wanna Hurt Myself. A cross between the Ramones and Sex Pistols …and he dedicated it to me.
Oh yes… The night of that rehearsal at the Last Chance Rondo the dog had wandered into the kitchen ( the Last Chance served food) and cleaned out the grease pit behind the stove… he died two days later.
