“If you couldn’t play House of the Rising Sun, you couldn’t get in a band” - Charlie Karp
Download: ITUNES
This installment of Roadie Free Radio is coming to you straight from the sound studio of long time Rock 'n Roll veteran, Charlie Karp. A man who has been through it all, Charlie landed his first big gig at the tender age of 16, thanks to a chance encounter at the Filmore East. That fateful night would introduce Karp to Buddy Miles. Charlie would go on to tour, write, and record for Miles over a period of two years. Did we mention all of this happened before his 20th birthday?
After leaving Miles, Karp went on to form White Chocolate with longtime friend David Hull on the bass. It was after the band reformed under the name The Dirty Angels and gained greater success with Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye that they were able to play with Aerosmith on the Double Live Bootleg Tour.
The decades that followed would bring countless other projects his way. He has written songs for the likes of Joan Jett and Joe Perry, and also has the credit of producing one of Rocks great bands, Ram Jam, of Black Betty fame . Additionally Karp is an EMMY award-winning music producer for various sports networks and documentaries.
After all of this time you can still find Charlie playing at local venues with he and Danny Kortchmar’s band, Slo Leak and the Name Droppers. One of my favorite parts about watching this guy perform, is the ear to ear grin that shows he is still having just as much fun playing as he did over 50 years ago.
Special Mentions: Buddy Miles: Them Changes, Band of Gypsy's, Charlie Karp, Bill Walton, Portland Museum of Art, Aerosmith Live! Bootleg 2 disc, Slo Leak, Ram Jam: Black Betty, Hagstrom Guitars