Guitarist Keith Streng made his CBGB debut with first-wave NYC punks the Fleshtones in 1976, just as the scene was coalescing around young bands like the Ramones, Blondie and Talking Heads, all of which collectively brought a sense of abandon back to rock music.
“Everything was new and fresh, and everybody was bringing something to the table; it was exciting and unbroken ground,” Streng says. “That’s what motivated me to become a guitar player, because it wasn’t all about scales and technique. It was just taking it back to what rock ’n’ roll should be minimal, emotional and simple.”
In the heady early days of punk, the Fleshtones injected their garage-rock sound with classic R&B touches like sax and Farfisa organ. But Streng has always been the glue between those aesthetic touches and the band’s stomping rhythm section, alternating tight guitar lines with funked-up chord vamps and keeping an emphasis on the melodic arrangement.
“To me, being a great guitar player is always coming up with the right part for the right song, or the right solo,” he says. “The guitar player’s job is rhythmic, and when there is a lead, it should be something that gets your attention and you can remember it.”
Streng’s performances on the band’s 20th studio album, It’s Getting Late (…and More Songs About Werewolves)are remarkably on-brand. Those jangly electric guitar tones, largely coaxed from a prized pairing of his Supro Westbury with a Supro Comet amplifier his weapons of choice for at least 3,000 shows, he says sound as raw and immediate as anything he’s recorded.
Album opener Pussywillow has all of Streng’s signature moves, culminating with a melodic solo that peaks on a screeching unison bend. Wah Wah Power rides on a back-and-forth guitar rhythm like its title suggests, while the sonics of songs like It’s Getting Late rely on his garage-y clean strumming tone.
If it sounds like Streng never lost the plot, that is by design. The Fleshtones are probably the only band of its era to remain active without feigning a breakup or hiatus, and they remain as potent as ever nearly 50 years later. For his longevity, Streng swears by the most fundamental rule of guitar: keep practicing.
“A lot of guitar playing is a good thing,” he says. “Play guitar as much as you can, even if you don’t get better. It’s just a lot of fun.”
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