ION INDIE MAGAZINE August 2014, Volume 3 | Page 59

ravaging his body—he would be a prime candidate for aggressive treatments that they would use to save
his life.
Over a year later, he’s totally clean of all signs of cancer. He gets regular checkups and his beautiful
daughter SOPHIA just celebrated her first birthday. Life has been rewarding to Charlie on a personal
and professional level. The depth of his talent has never quite matched the success that you would
expect of someone who can play and write such beautiful music. While he’s had some tastes of huge
success, he’s always thought of himself as someone who would be successful in music later in life. Now,
with The Russello Project, that projection is on the verge of becoming a reality. During the worst times,
when things looked the bleakest, he was always playing guitar. During a benefit that family and friends
had for him to offset some of the enormous medical costs, was the first time that The Russello Project
in this incarnation played in front of anyone. The result of this initial performance left the crowd stunned
and speechless. Forget the circumstances, that Charlie was still in treatment—but the pure beauty and
virtuosity these guys display as a unit is what created this response from the crowd of supporters.
I had the chance to sit
down with the entire
band before a gig one
night and get a few
questions answered
about this amazing tio.
We got to talk about
their formation. How
Charlie and John had
started a previous
version of The Russello
Project a few years
ago, but it had gotten
put on the shelf for one
reason or another, and
that during Charlie’s
cancer scare, he was
determined to put it
back together again.
They needed a new
bass player, as their
former had moved on. I
asked how they met
Mike Bosi. Charlie
laughed and stated,
“The magic of CRAIG’S
LIST! I put an ad up
explain what I was
trying to do…and the
right guy answered.”