Memoriesof The Left Banke

Posted over 5 years ago

Artist:
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The Left Banke

Although 1979 was a strange year for me (lots of coke and quaaludes), I have a few brain cells left and I remember a few things. At the time, I was hanging out with two former members of The Lefte Bank. The lead singer, Steve Martin, who you will see in this video below and the bass player, Alan Waters) who played in a band I was auditioning for and hanging out with at Max's Kansas City (we won't get into that here)....were ten years older then in this video. What I DO remember is that I brought him to this rich girl's place and he stole a bottle of 1200 dollar wine from her Dad. (didn't know it till we got back to the bass player's apartment on 12th street). This was VERY good wine. Myself and the bass player commenced to taste it and enjoy the flavor....as we were discussing it...we turned around to see Steve guzzling straight from the bottle....and polishing it off. He was pretty much gone by then. He was a star in the making ten years earlier, great voice....but alcohol and drugs had destroyed him. Little did i know that people would see me the same way years later. But, at the time, I was shocked by his total collapse and inability to control himself.I don't know why i remember this moment. I guess seeing the video triggered it.

Comments (9)

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Spencer Owen says That's truly sad... he had a fantastic voice. Walk Away Renee/Pretty Ballerina is one of my favorite '60s records.

Permalink posted 11/13/2006
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damianmannn says He's still around from what I hear. They even have a myspace page somewhere.

Permalink posted 11/13/2006
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LambCurry666 says I have always really loved that tune, but as a child of the 70's, never really went any deeper in their stuff. Interesting story. More please.

Permalink posted 11/13/2006
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david hyman says wow. nice introspective, heavy and fascinating post.

Permalink posted 11/13/2006
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damianmannn says I should mention i don't do drugs anymore. I AM paying for those days in health costs (hep c). I take a few bong hits in the evening. I'll, probably, hopefully, always do that. And I do enjoy a bit of the Irish Whiskey....in spite of my liver. But, I did fuck up a promising career...as did many people I knew. I don't live with a world of regrets though. I think I would have died if I had pursued riches and fame in earnest. So, I lived a simpler life, had some things published as a writer, worked IN the music business for a while. It all worked out in the end. I do think about all the friends and musicians I knew who didn't make it (from my generation ...and the spots I hung out at) Johnny Thunders Stiv Bators Sid Vicious I could make a very long list. But I'd get so depressed I'd end up on drugs again. many of the people who didn't make it were people whose names you may never have heard of. Those are the depressing ones. They never got the chance to show the world what they could do. Steve Martin, of the Left Banke, was a moron. He stole, he drank too much, he couldn't be trusted for shit. I didn't like him at all. But I found him fascinating...a cautionary tale. I left NYC the night I finally met Bowie and found him to be a paranoid, self-absorbed, twit. (I met him again later, after the drugs...and he was really quite a gentleman) I realized I didn't want to be a part of it anymore. I didn't want to die. I didn't want to be my heroes anymore. I wanted to be myself.

Permalink posted 11/13/2006
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david hyman says your comment is a post in an of itself. words of wisdom.

Permalink posted 11/13/2006
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dermahrk says Fascinating stuff. The best post I've read in a while. Loved the Left Banke.

Permalink posted 11/14/2006
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dermahrk says Fascinating stuff. The best post I've read in a while. Loved the Left Banke.

Permalink posted 11/14/2006
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bubb says Great Post! Very interesting stuff! Thanks for sharing.

Permalink posted 11/14/2006