I found out about Charlie Angel when Freedom Kerl, whom I’ve interviewed on this blog, mentioned that he produced Charlie’s new EP, Quiet as a Bang. Any friend of Freedom is a friend of mine, so I checked out the lead single, “Nico My Friend,” and wrote a review of it on the AMS Radio blog. In any case, Freedom put us in touch, so I sent Charlie a few questions…

How long have you been a musician?

I’ve played guitar for over 40 years now and have been a singer/songwriter for about 30 years. I started playing guitar in the 4th grade because I could get out of class for 45 minutes for my lesson each week.  My first guitar book was named “Guitar for the Small Fry” which still makes me laugh.  I played on and off throughout high school and picked it back up seriously in my early 20’s.  I started singing when I was 23 and have been a vocal work- in -progress ever since.

Do I remember correctly that you used to play in a band with Freedom Kerl?

Yep.  We played in a band named Tangeena Barren in the mid-90’s until about 2001. He learned to play guitar along the way, and I learned to sing along the way. We’ve known each other since high school and became fast friends towards the end of our senior year. He’s always encouraged my creativity and musical development through the years of friendship and musical collaborations.

Did he play a role in recording your new album, Quiet as a Bang?

Yes again. Freedom’s the producer of the album and played the biggest role in recording Quiet as a Bang because it was his idea.  He really loves the song Nico My Friend. Especially the line that starts with “Sappy Sentimental Scenes”.  He was over at my place just after Christmas this year and said we should record it and suggested we do an EP. I had most of the tracks recorded already for Nico My Friend and three other songs on the EP, and Freedom wrote the lyrics to one more song that I added some chords to named “You Only Live Twice” which gave us a nice 5 song, 15 minute EP.

The first single from that album is called “Nico My Friend.” I understand it’s about your dog. How did you two meet?

I had some serious anxiety issues during Covid and adopted Nico from the Providence Animal Shelter in Media during the Covid craze. It turned out Nico had serious anxiety issues as well and we really became a perfect match in helping each other though things. Maybe a year or so after I adopted Nico, I realized that we were both super happy and our anxieties had really faded into the background which inspired me to write a song for her.

In my review of the song, I picked up on a bit of a Buddy Holly vibe. Are you a fan of his?

Buddy Holly is probably the first musician I was a diehard fan for.  I still love Gary Busey because of him playing Buddy Holly in the movie. When we first started to play music in Tangeena Barren, we did covers of “Oh Boy” and “Rave On”.  True Love Ways was the song me and my second wife danced to at our wedding. Although the marriage didn’t work out, I still love the song and Buddy Holly.

I love the rockabilly feel of “Nico My Friend.” What draws you to that genre?

My dad was from a small town named Eupora in Mississippi. He grew up in a house with no indoor plumbing until the mid-1960’s. I used to spend 3 of the hottest weeks every summer in Mississippi when I was growing up. My dad was a first-generation superstar who went to Mississippi State, Ohio State, and the University of Delaware to get his PHD. He got hit by a car and killed when I was 16. I very much leaned into the Mississippi side of my family when I started to find my voice and style as a song writer as a tribute to him.  The last song on this album is named David Lee, and it’s about him and for him.

That’s incredibly touching! I couldn’t help but notice the wooden cobra on your album cover. Can you tell me a little bit about that? 

Well this Freedom Kerl can’t stay out of this interview (hahaha). Back when I was married, my wife and I had a party, and Freedom and his wife Cheryl drove by a yard sale on the way over. They bought the four-foot cobra for 10 bucks. Best 10 bucks ever spent. Best housewarming gift ever. And one of the few things I kept after the marriage went sour.

When does the album come out?

The album will drop on Valentine’s Day this year. For all the love birds out there.

Do you have any plans to play the songs live?

No plans really. I’ll keep singing songs to Nico and getting together with friends to play music. I do have a great group of musician friends that like getting together to play, and playing music with my friends is what I love doing the most.

What’s on the horizon for you? 

I’ll keep collaborating with Freedom on some of his projects. I’ll keep writing songs, playing guitar and singing, and hope that Freedom suggests another EP down the road sometime in the not-too-distant future.