For every veteran musician, there are shows etched into memory over the course of a career. They’re usually high-water marks: a gig at a lauded festival; a reunion, an opening slot for a national to international touring act, and/or a night when everyone on stage performed with uncommon synchronicity.
And then there’s the other kind of memory, one West Palm Beach-based drummer/vocalist Charley Lugo (Electric Rubber Band, the Feeder Band, Rumour Hazit) would forget if only he could. The date was Sept. 1; the setting the Blue Pointe Bar & Grill in Jupiter, where the Feeder Band was playing a reunion show that would also prove dubiously memorable for how it ended.
“They’d just finished one of their last songs,” says Lugo’s wife, Lorie Kelley Lugo. “It was ‘Get Ready’ [the Smokey Robinson composition that became a hit for both the Temptations and Rare Earth], and they were about to take a group photo when Charley just passed out, fell, and hit the ground. He was unconscious and unresponsive. We thought it might be heat exhaustion, then maybe tonsillitis, but his swollen glands eventually proved to be the result of acute myeloid leukemia.”
She speaks by phone from her husband’s room at JFK Medical Center in Atlantis, where Lugo had just finished his second round of chemotherapy in October.
“I feel pretty good, considering,” Lugo says. “I could’ve died onstage when everything went black, but woke up to paramedics. The first chemo round was for seven days and 24 hours straight, and it was pretty bad. I woke up one night, couldn’t breathe, and there were about six doctors standing over me, so it was touch-and-go. Thankfully, they let me go home for a few days after round one, which energized me. The second round was also 24-hour but for five days, and better, although I have some new issues. They’ve had to constantly poke me with IVs, and I have blood clots in my arms.”
“They’re checking for blood clots in his legs just to be on the safe side,” Lorie adds. “He got pneumonia during the first round and blood clots during the second. And we found out from the oncologist that round two did not get rid of the leukemia.”
At the oncologist’s suggestion, the Lugos set up an appointment in late November with the University of Miami’s Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, which has more targeted and specialized treatment options.
Prior to his collapse, Lugo had become one of the hardest-working men in area show business. With his wife handling public relations, the two-year-old Electric Rubber Band (www.facebook.com/TheElectricRubberBand) trio had become a frequent booking through Palm Beach and Martin counties. Vocalist/guitarist Tommy Hernandez and bassist/vocalist Galen Rowe have since soldiered through several shows with Angels of War drummer Kevin Fruge filling in, but some bookings became casualties.
“I already have the ERB booked for the first half of next year,” Lorie says, “so we’re anticipating Charley’s return, although his arms are very weak and he’ll have to get back into playing shape. But about 20 of the previously booked shows had to be canceled.”
\At this point, Lugo can only look toward an inexact return sometime in 2024, despite the progress he’s made thus far in his cell counts.
“His first test came back with a really high percentage of blast cells, so he was really sick,” says Lorie. “After the first round of chemo, he was down to one percent. But if they release him, they know that the one percent will multiply. He has to get down to zero percent to be considered in remission.”
The couple is retired from their day jobs, which allows Lorie to spend ample time with her husband as he recovers. She’s also avoiding crowds as a precaution. But the Lugos don’t have health insurance, a fact that makes this uphill climb even more steep.
In late November, the Blue Pointe Bar & Grill hosted a benefit featuring the Kevin Kelly Trio, Tulucci & Friends, the Raub & Suma Duo, the Mighty Quinn, the Big Dog Band, the Feeder Band, and the Electric Rubber Band, with guest drummers Fruge, John Tulucci and Rob Stevenson.
The venue donated 10 percent of its earnings during the event, and raffles and auctioned merchandise brought additional revenue toward the cause. A second benefit in January is being discussed with Johnny Q’s in Palm Springs. But a GoFundMe page had already been set in preparation for what’s certain to be massive hospital bills.
“We won’t even get our bills until we leave,” Lorie says, “so we have no idea what the amount will be.”
“But I’m so blessed,” Lugo says. “Lorie has been such a trouper, and there are so many people out there who have been so supportive. I’m very surprised and thankful for that. It’s very touching. I feel like I’m ready for anything that might happen, but that all helps to create the positive energy I need now.”
To donate to Lugo’s GoFundMe page, visit https://gofund.me/d9e32a06.