Charlie Channel

I was born in Oakland, CA in the middle of WW 2 1944.  I saw Lionel Hampton's band at age 5.  I was imprinted watching Gene Krupa play the drums and feeling the beat.  We lived at 714 Center Street in the projects in Oakland, CA.  My father worked at Moore's Dry Dock. He also did work after working at the dry dock every day. He was a guy with initiative. Work. Talking. Gone. But, he always came home. He took us to see Hamp in San Francisco. We sat  in the first row in the balcony. That's where I saw Gene Krupa. I heard and saw Hamp play Flyin' Home.

I am a autodidactic musician.  It all began when my father brought in a AM radio home.  Boogie woogie, blues and, of course, Gospel (from having to go to church every Sunday) was heard.  My mother took care of my sister, Jacqui, and me.  She taught me prayers, and how to read and write.  By 4 years of age reading made sense.  

One day, my father brought a phonograph to the apartment.  Ravel's Bolero was in an album comprised of about 6 78 records.  I listened to that almost every day for months.  Loved it, really.  Mahalia Jackson.  Later my father had a piano delivered to the apartment.  I liked playing on it.  I could somehow bang out a melody on it based on what I heard on the radio.  My dad was always amazed I could do that by ear.

My family moved to Venice, CA around 1951.  Violence in the projects motivated him to live somewhere else.   Racism was palpable everywhere.  My dad started his business in Santa Monica, polishing cars.  After being a fairly poor student and was sort of on my way to juvenile delinquency as a petty thief.  Stealing hubcaps and sneaking a cigarette to smoke was about as far as I wanted to go in the criminal activity.  But, I never stole any. However, I started playing drums during my second year at Mark Twain Jurnior High School. I'd been a problem in many classes. My grade were like,  "B" "U" "U" in subjects I liked and "D" "U" "U" in those I didn't.  The grade in the second position was for "cooperation" and the grade in the last position was "citizenship".

Music truly transfored me.  The "D's" went to "A's" and "B's".  The other ones got better, too.  Later, 1959 or so I attended Santa Monica High School. I was in the choir, marching band, orchestra and pep band. Also, I did marching band at Santa Monica City College. In both high school at junior college, I was aquainted with or friends with guys like John Densmore, one of Carmen Dragon's sons (Dennis Dragon, I think) Barnard St. Clair Lee, Tim Weisberg and others. But, bad grades resulted in a loss of my draft deferment. 

I got drafted in 1964, joined the U.S.N. to avoid death in Viet Nam on the gound.  I was in a music company in Great Lakes, Illinois where I completed basic training. I never went to Viet Nam.  Instead, I was sent to Germany.  But, not as a musician.  I was a Communications Technician. I could to Morse Code pretty good and had an amateur radio license.   At my first (and only deployment) I picked up a little bass playing at the urging and instruction another draftee named Les Stewart (great tenor voice and guitarist) and got to see and hear Maceo Parker a lot of times and talk to him once.  Maceo was stationed on the same duty station in Bremerhaven, Germany.  All the cats would hang out Saturnday nights at a bar ran by a Nigerian named Chico.  Maceo played at Chico's Place.  That's where I actually got to have a beer or two with Maceo one morning.

Returning to SMCC in 1967 after active duty, I redeemed myself as a college failure. I attended UCSC and untimately UCLA Law School.  By 1974, I decided I didn't really like law work and practiced poverty law in San Jose in 1974-1977. During that time, I found my truly wanted to be a professional musician.  However, life and love interviened. There was no room for professional life as a musician. 

In 2021, my wife of 27 years passed and all kids were grown and gone.  I figured I get seriously learn how to play the thing. So, as a single unattached free man I bought a good bass from Steve Swan. I joined ISB and got back on track. Whatever comes next is what happened.

Gear

Agular bass gear.  Acoustic Image bass gear. A couple of upright basses (one Chinese made and the other German, circa 1950). 5 string fretted and fretless and a 4 string electric bass. Several guitars.  You know, the usually suspects. A couple of computers and the usual technological toys and software applications.