Lenny Kaye talks Patti Smith, Eddie Vedder and new book 'Lightning Striking'

Lenny Kaye's writing changed rock 'n' roll. 

The young Kaye was working at Village Oldies in New York City in 1969 when he wrote an article on doo-wop music for Jazz and Pop magazine. The piece caught the attention of Patti Smith, who tracked Kaye down at the record store.

It was instant chemistry.

“Patti called me out of the blue and came to the record store where I was working and we danced to 'The Bristol Stomp' (by the Dovells) together and we got friendly,” Kaye said. “It was just about the time she was going to do a poetry reading and she asked me to bring my electric guitar and shake it up a little bit. So I did, and who knew that 50 years later we’d still be shaking it up.”

Smith and Kaye's collaboration rocked rock music. They called it punk rock.

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Now, Kaye, a North Brunswick native, has a new book titled “Lightning Striking: Ten Transformative Moments in Rock and Roll” (Ecco/Harper Collins, $28.99), which artfully, and informatively, examines pivotal scenes of rock music.

“The music lifted my spirit and gave me a calling and a reason for inspiration,” Kaye said. “I’m grateful to the music, and this is one of my ways I can pay back that debt.”

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The lineup is this: Memphis 1954; New Orleans 1957; Philadelphia 1959; Liverpool 1962; San Francisco 1967; Detroit 1969; New York, 1975; London 1977; Los Angeles 1984/Norway 1993; and Seattle 1991.

“I knew some of this stuff but it was worth it to immerse myself in the various times and spaces that changed rock 'n' roll and it was enjoyable,” Kaye said. “It was almost like telepathic teleportation into these magical moments.”

Sure there's the Elvis, the Beatles, Patti Smith and Nirvana in “Lightning Striking,” but Kaye also draws out the also-rans, the fervent fans and the money men behind the scenes.

“They don’t call it the music art, they call it the music business,” Kaye said. “It's the before that’s sometimes the more intriguing part of the tale. How it comes to be? Where it is in the country? What's the social situation like? What is the music they’re reacting against and who will provide the next stage of music — and how do they plant the seeds for what will come next? It's a continuum and an evolution, and what I really enjoy is tracing it. It was a good way to get the long view of rock 'n' roll.”

Kaye's prose dazzles with a lyrical energy seemingly drawn from the Beat poets and the pages of Creem magazine (which Kaye wrote for). The research is on a firm foundation, too, as the selected biblio-discography and index are nearly 50 pages long.

“I wanted to tell the story right with all the minor characters, with all the major characters and all who watched it unfold, including myself, because the timeline of the book mirrors my growth as a musician and an aficionado of the music,” Kaye said. “It was a beautiful journey to undertake.”

Yes, the meeting of Kaye and Smith, and the evolution of the New York City punk rock scene, is in “Lightning Striking.” Kaye was instrumental in changing music — and by extension, our culture — in several ways. His collaboration with Smith gave punk rock a cerebral edge, an infusion of Rimbaud to go along with the Johnny Rottens and Richard Hells.

Kaye was the first to identify garage rock as a sub-genre with his landmark double LP “Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968,” released in 1972 on Elektra Records.

“That is the godfather of garage rock!” said Little Steven Van Zandt. 

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It all a started in New Brunswick, where Kaye's bands, the Vandals and the Zoo, played Rutgers frat parties in the '60s. His current band played the Sea Hear Now music festival in Asbury Park last September.

He, Smith and Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam hung out on the beach.

“We were just backstage and ... we were walking along the beach and Eddie came out to say hello, and it was kind of sweet,” said Kaye, who lives in the Poconos in Pennsylvania.  “I got to sit in with Pearl Jam that night, which was a great honor and total fun to play 'Rockin' in the Free World.' ”  

Kaye will be center stage for “Lenny Kaye and Friends — A 75th Birthday Bash” on Sunday, Feb. 27, at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City. The show was postponed from December.

The delay has given everyone time to read “Lightning Striking,” which came out in early January.

“I worked really hard on it and I took it very seriously and I wanted to tell the story correctly,” Kaye said. “I also wanted to make sure my place in it was modest and bended the knee to the music first. I didn't want to write a memoir. I wanted to show how the music reflected who I am and pay it honor.”

Lenny Kaye and Friends — A 75th Birthday Bash,” 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 27, Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey St., New York City. $50. Attendees must be fully vaccinated. mercuryeastpresents.com.

Melody Bar reunion 

Lenny Kaye was no stranger to the Melody Bar in New Brunswick.

The rocker used to play Wednesday nights at the former French Street music club with the Slaves of New Brunswick in the 1990s. The experience renewed his passion for rock 'n roll, he said.

The annual Matt Pinfield-era Melody Bar reunion is set for Saturday, Feb. 26, at the New Brunswick Elks Club on Livingston Avenue. The DJs include Pinfield, known for his work on MTV in the '90s.

Denizens included local wipe-outs and rock 'n' roll legends like Kaye. The club closed unceremoniously in 2001 after a nearly 20-year run, but the Melody lingers on.

Pinfield-era Melody Reunion, 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26, New Brunswick Elks Club, 40 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick. $15. Vaccination proof required. www.facebook.com search “2022 Melody Bar Reunion!!”

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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at @chrisfhjordan; cjordan@app.com.