Lustman uses music to battle cancer
By CHRISTINA WALKER Special to the Daily Press
PALISADES PARK It’s not every day that God tells someone to write a pop album about cancer, but that’s what Charlie Lustman said he was asked to do a year ago last March.
Lustman, a longtime lover of Santa Monica and off again on again resident, was diagnosed with cancer on March 1, 2006. He went for a routine visit to his dentist. His dentist discovered a lump inside his mouth on his upper left jawbone. Unable to identify the lump he was referred to a periodontist who biopsied it.
Lustman, who had been known in the community for reviving and running the Silent Movie Theater on Fairfax Avenue, said that he had just begun recording music again after a long hiatus of concentrating on the operations of the theater when he received the diagnosis. He was in the recording studio working on a new album dedicated to his son, Shaya, when his internist told him that he had been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of cancer called osteosarcoma.
The news came as a shock to Lustman, who had always lived a health conscious life and never smoked. Wondering why he of all people had been struck by this rare form of cancer Lustman turned to meditation and received an epiphany.
“I said why not me?” Lustman said refer-ring to his diagnosis, “Should it be my children? Should it be my wife or my parents, my siblings, or my friends?
“I’m strong. I can take it and I can make it. That’s how I took on cancer.”
Despite his illness and the understanding that his life may be cut short, Lustman made the decision to live his life not as someone who might die, but as someone who would have a long future with his family.
“Every night I would pray to God or to whatever higher power you believe in; can you please let me stay a little longer and be by my wife and see my kids grow up,” Lustman said.
Surprisingly, he received a reply. Lustman said God answered his prayers, letting him know that he would have to do something in return. One year from the date of his initial diagnosis he began to write “Made Me Nuclear,”a chronological account of the cancer process and, according to Lustman, the first ever pop album about surviving the disease.
Each song on the album chronicles a different phase of his experience from “The Call” when the news was first delivered, to dealing with his own mortality in “Stickin’ Around” to “Do What You Love,” a song that carries the message that people should do what they love during their lives on Earth.
Being diagnosed with cancer allowed Lustman to refocus his life. He sold the Silent Movie Theater and concentrated solely on making music through his bout with the disease.
“I knew at an early age what I wanted to do,” said Lustman, referring to his passion for music.“I was a piano player, but it’s hard to take your piano to the beach.”
As a child Lustman loved to go to Will Rogers State Beach and tote his guitar to Santa Monica and strum on the sand.
In contemplating how to perform his new album and spread his message to the public, Lustman considered taking his show on the road to New York or Chicago. Ultimately, he and his wife, Ri Lustman, decided to keep it local, playing Friday and Saturday nights at the Santa Monica Playhouse off Fourth Street, where he can currently be seen.
Lustman also gives regular performances for cancer patients at City of Hope in Duarte. Natalie Schnaitmann, director of operations at the cancer center, has witnessed the reaction of patients to Lustman’s newest album.
“Audience members laugh, cry and most importantly, feel connected and understood,” Schnaitmann said. “‘This is a sound-track for us,’ I heard one of the patients say.”
Cancer patients and survivors are not the only ones touched by “Made Me Nuclear.” Bob Gray, Lustman’s manager, credits the album with opening up a dialogue for the often difficult subject of cancer with his own children. Gray’s father, Eugene Gray, 88, died of skin cancer in January 2007 after battling it for many years.
“Kids hear this word cancer and they just don’t get it,” Gray said.
After hearing the album his children asked him questions like, “What’s chemotherapy?”
“It opened up this box of curiosity,” said Gray.
Friends and acquaintances who didn’t know how to approach Lustman or deal with his disease also felt more comfortable interacting with him after hearing his album.
An advocate of traditional therapy supplemented by alternative medicines, Lustman refused to hear the cure rate for his form of cancer and also refused to be defined as a statistic. In addition to chemotherapy, Lustman took herbs from the Amazon, drank wheat grass juice, underwent acupuncture, and meditated, amongst other cures. Another patient he met with the same form of cancer ate tons of menudo. He said the important thing about battling cancer is believing in the effectiveness of one’s chosen treatment method.
While going through chemotherapy he and his wife, who also served as his caretaker, delivered a healthy baby girl, Gita. He is optimistic about the future and will add a new addition to the family in March of next year.
“I’m happy that he’s here,” said Ri Lustman of her husband.“It’s really amazing that he’s doing what he loves.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 22, 2008. Read the original PDF.