Charlie Kent

Charlie Kent:

On January 4^th 2014, I would be doing a song at The WCUW 40^th
Anniversary Celebration at The El Morroco, in Worcester.
Pete Zolli happened to be there and we played a song together.
It was the first time in over a year that we had seen each other
and the first time in a couple of years we had played together on stage
(the last time being when I subbed for Dan Stanley at an Atomic Trousers gig
at The Blue Plate in Golden.) It was a lovely time and wonderful sharing the stage.
The next day I couldn't wait to tell Charlie, tell him what had happened.
Before I could make the call, the phone rang. It was Charlie's daughter.
It is never good when you get a phone call from a relative of a friend that
you have never spoken with before. It was very bad news.
Charlie had passed away in his sleep the night before.

We had spoken only a week before, over the holidays.
He told me he had woken up a week previous and couldn't move.
I suggested that it might have been a stroke and maybe he should see a doctor.
I wish he had.

Charlie had sung and played in a band, before his army days.
He started hanging out because he dug the activity in the studio.
Charlie became as much of the spirit of Toad Hall as anyone else.
He was conscripted as a go-to backup singer for The Unusual Suspects.
His band, Saturn V became one of the first bands on my public Access show
(Cheap-TV) he even sang the theme for it. He helped rebuild the control room
on 2001as well as designed and built the studio furniture. He helped me
panel the editing suite upstairs. I was recovering from pneumonia
(January, 2001) and had a bad case of laryngitis, Charlie, along with Pete Z,
subbed on lead vocals for a snakes and ladders gig at The Above Club.
He was amazing that night (probably should have hired him.)
He tape-opped so many sessions, shot video (when you see band clips
from Toad Hall, it is most likely his eyes you are seeing through)
fixed my computer, recorded with me and was just so much of my life.

Along with Greg, he was my other best friend.
He taught me honor and integrity. He once said he would have
taken a bullet for me. If anyone else had said that,
I would've thought they were full of poo. Charlie meant it.
He was an amazing beautiful man. We disagreed now then,
but one thing I know, and I said this at his memorial –
He didn't always understand me, but he accepted me.

Bless you Charlie Kent.

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You are forever frozen

every word an echo

standing near not so long ago

now shadows stretch

days go by

I don't want them

I want to be close

to the moment

when you were there

when I held your hand