A member of the pioneering psychedelic rock band The Godz, Lawrence Lee “Larry” Kessler died in an automobile accident in Baltimore on Thursday, Mar. 24. The longtime Randallstown resident, who most recently lived in Fort Myers, Florida, was 80.
Kessler was reportedly struck by an alleged drunk driver while on his way to a recording session.
“With a heavy heart, we have terrible news to share about our beloved father, Larry,” his son, Gregg, posted on Facebook. “Our dad was fatally struck in a car accident while parked in downtown Baltimore about to step out and do what he loved. While this devastating news is fresh for our family, the investigation is still ongoing. That said, when we have more details and funeral arrangements we will be posting here, to our friends and family. RIP to our legend Larry Kessler.”
An affable, easygoing man, Kessler was the proprietor of Larry’s Record Shop, an appointments-only vintage record store located on his Randallstown property near Liberty Reservoir. He also performed frequently at venues around the area.
A New York native and child violin prodigy, Kessler met guitarist Jim McCarthy and drummer Paul Thornton while working at a Sam Goody’s record store in Manhattan in 1964. They formed The Godz with auto harpist Jay Dillon, based in Greenwich Village. Kessler sang and played bass and violin with The Godz. Among their contemporaries were The Fugs, the Mothers of Invention, and Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground.
Influential rock critic Lester Bangs once fondly called The Godz “the most inept band I’ve ever heard.”
With their anarchic performing style, belligerent attitude toward audiences and acid-fueled, dissonant sounds, The Godz were considered a seminal band in noise-rock circles. Among the bands that later claimed The Godz as an influence was Sonic Youth.
“We come straight out of them,” Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore once said of The Godz. “If you can find ‘The Third Testament” by the Godz, that’s a great record.”
The Godz were signed by Bernard Stollman’s free jazz ESP-Disk record label. The band’s first album, “Contact High with The Godz,” was released in 1966, followed by “Godz 2” and “The Third Testament of the Godz.”
“Few bands in the annals of rock & roll were stranger than the New York City-based Godz,” wrote pop critic John Dougan for the music database AllMusic. “The Godz coughed up some of the strangest, most dissonant, purposely incompetent rock noise ever produced. … While that may not be your idea of pop music, this works, in large part, due to the absolute glee and unself-consciousness with which they approached their peculiar brand of aural nonsense.”
The Godz broke up in 1968 and reunited for a short while in 1973.
In a 2014 interview with the website psychedelicbaby.com, Kessler said the primary concept behind The Godz was “freedom. Freedom from the music business boundaries, and the boundaries of what was the norm. … We were total anarchists/punk rock type of thing. We were angry and people did not like us. We were totally misunderstood.”
In 1975, Kessler, who graduated from Forest Park High School, moved back to Baltimore with his wife, Claudette, a teacher, and opened The Music Outlet in South Baltimore, selling musical instruments and used records that he purchased in bulk at flea markets. He also operated another store opened in Highlandtown. The Music Outlet closed in the early 1990s.
Kessler continued to write, perform and record music locally and around the Northwest under the name of The Godz. He also drove a cab on the side.
“R.I.P. Larry Kessler. One of the greatest joys in my life was playing Larry’s songs in the GODZ,” local musician Rick Sambuco posted on Facebook. “For the past 10 years we’ve hung out, played music, traveled, ate diner food, and enjoyed each other’s company. I am immensely proud of our GODZ legacy — our shows at Baltimore’s great Reverb club, our gigs in NYC, our EPs. Larry was a singer, a husband, father, grandfather, record collector, dog lover, wordsmith, and so much more. Gone way too soon. It hasn’t even begun to sink in how much I will miss him.”
Wrote Joshua Polak, a local musician and owner of the now-defunct Guitars of Pikesville: “We always looked forward to Larry’s visits and performances at Guitars of Pikesville. RIP my friend.”
Kessler was the subject of a 2019 documentary, “Here to Eternity with The Godz.” In the film, he returned to the New York neighborhood where he and The Godz produced and performed their experimental music a half-century earlier.
Kessler is survived by his wife of 47 years, Claudette Kessler (nee Kakitsis); his children, Paul Kessler, Eric Kessler, Billy (Michelle) Kessler, Kevin (Dawn) Kessler, Gregg (Wendy) Kessler, Steve Kessler and Michael (Cara) Kessler; his brother, Bobby (Honey) Kessler; and grandchildren, Ethan, Kierstin, Julianna, Jason, Hailey, Dylan, Emma and Julia. He was predeceased by his granddaughter, Victoria; his parents, Paul and Evelyn Kessler; and his grandmother, Suzanne Kessler.
Services was held at Arlington Chizuk Amuno Cemetery, 4450 N. Rogers Ave. in Baltimore, on Tuesday, Mar. 29. Contributions in Larry Kessler’s memory may be sent to The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore, 101 W. Mount Royal Ave., Baltimore, Maryland 21201.
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