“Being a great guitar player is always coming up with the right part for the right song, or the right solo”: The Fleshtones’ Keith Streng explains what he learned from a misspent youth at CBGB’s –and the merits of pointless practice

Keith Streng sits on a doorstep wearing all black, dark shades and slime green leather shoes. He blues a blue Supro.

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.”