Somebody called me on the phone, they said Hey is Walter home...

Hope you enjoy this new interview with Walter Lure. He was a member of The Blessed for a short period of time as well a member of one of my favorite bands of all times, the Heartbreakers.

Me: How did you come to join The Blessed?

Walter Lure: I joined the Blessed as a last minute fill - in for Nick Berlin who had just quit. I forget the year - probably '77 or '78. I had seen them a few times at Max's and the Mudd Club and thought they were great to watch although a little raw musically. I knew their manager, Eileen Polk, and various others who were hanging around them. Eileen just asked me one night to fill in after Nicky quit for an upcoming Max's gig and I said I'd love to. We rehearsed a few times and played the gig and it was a blast. I was probably just hanging out at the time and didn't have too much Heartbreaker stuff to keep me occupied - Johnny might have already left to go solo but I forget the exact sequence of events. So I started doing gigs with the Blessed. They were quite the "flavor of the month" at the time and also were popular because they all ranged in age between 16 and 18. The gigs were great fun and I even managed to get a single recorded and released through a friend of mine

Me: Were you playing with the Blessed at the time they broke up or did you move on before then?

Walter Lure: I think I had already left before they broke up although I could see it coming. They were starting to develop egos and they were clashing over direction, songs, ideas, etc. Typical band problems. Things weren't happening as fast as they wanted and their popularity was starting to fade a little. I had some stuff coming up with the Heartbreakers and several other things at the time so it was probably just as well it happened when it did.
Me: What are you best memories that you have playing with The Blessed?
Walter Lure: Memories. Probably the teeny bopper type frenzy that surrounded them in the beginning - all these famous photographers and Warhol geeks were circling around them ( probably looking for a few young necks to bite amoung other things) and they had gotten some great articles in very popular pop magazines. There was always a fun atmosphere when I played with them even in rehearsals. They sort of looked up to me being older and having been in the Heartbreakers so they were having a great time too. I also used to wear the most ridiculous clothes I could find when I played with them ( and believe me, I could find some pretty ridiculous outfits). i wanted to look like some overgrown, teen circus clown because that's the feeling I got when playing with them.

Me: When did you first know you wanted to be in a band?

Walter Lure: Do you mean when I first wanted to be in the Blessed or just any band? It's a little unclear. I thought playing with the Blessed would be a cool side-thing to do, sort of an extracurricular activity. I was still in the Heartbreakers as the main band but things were looking a bit shaky at that point. So if I did something with the Blessed and it took off, so much the better. If nothing happened, then it would just be a fun gig. As far as any Band, I knew I wanted to be in a rock band around 18-19 years old when I was in College. it only took 5 or 6 years to finally get in the heartbreakers.

Me: How do you compare playing with the Heartbreakers and playing with the Blessed?

Walter Lure: The Heartbreakers were very different than the Blessed. The HB's ( in the beginning) were a serious band and everyone came from very well known bands previously. The music was very rock n roll and I really thought that we could have become a major band on the world stage. The Blessed was incredibly fun but I didn't have the confidence in them that I had in the HB's. Now of course worse bands have made zillions before on less talent but that was just how I felt. There was a chance something could happen if they had a little more time to mature and become better musicians but I think they got too much attention too soon and it sort of made them think they didn't need to work any harder to make it.

Me: What are you doing today?

Walter Lure: Today I am still working at a major Wall St brokerage Firm in the operations area. At one point I was a Vice Pres. at an earlier Firm but mergers wiped it out.
I have a Live in Berlin CD coming out on Nicotine Records sometime this year. I did it in Berlin April '07 when I did a 2 week mini tour thru France and Germany. Other than that I gig every other month or so in NYC with my band, The Waldos, that I've had for quite awhile although the members have changed over the years.

Look for upcoming interviews with other Blessed members as well as members from other bands as well as my continuing saga from 30 years ago. You can't put your arms around a memory, so don't try, don't try.

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