Riding in the Wind

By Tony Pan

Every once in a great while, if you’re lucky, you meet someone you immediately connect with. That’s how I felt when Rogue introduced me to Charlie Brechtel over twenty years ago in Daytona. Charlie was a bundle of energy and enthusiasm, playing with his band on a hot, sultry day at one of the many venues during Bike Week in Florida.

We stayed connected after that first meeting and I was invited to join his Bikers Inner Circle (BIC), which included pretty much everyone he met. And he met thousands of people in his travels around the world and they all enjoyed his stories, his music, and his friendship. I thought of Charlie as being my brother, and he was.

He was born in New Orleans and raised in an area ripe with culture, music, and a cast of seedy characters lurking in the shadows. That all helped develop his personality. As a young musician he was basking in the fame he was gaining as a back-up guitarist for legends like John Lee Hooker, Gregg Allman, BB King and more. It was Hooker who gave him his name, “Goodtime Charlie.” Although set for a career in the Blues genre playing with the greats, he gave that up and moved to California to pursue his love of motorcycles and writing motorcycle themed songs. And he wrote some great ones, telling our history and memorializing people like Indian Larry, Dave Mann, Wino Willie and more.

Long-time friend and photo-journalist Felicia Morgan described him by saying, “Brechtel exuded a childlike, wild-eyed energy in everything he set out to do.” Charlie did a lot in his short 62 years. It all came to an abrupt end on April 25, just two miles from his home in Copperopolis, CA, as he took a curve in the road “too hot” and crossed the centerline into eternity. I was crushed when I was shaken from a sound sleep to hear the news. My friend, my brother, was gone.

I was fortunate to be invited to be part of a movie he was making back in 2016 called “Rebel on the Highway.” Some of you may have participated in the premiere showing in Waukesha back in 2018 and the party at the Iron Horse Hotel in Milwaukee. The soundtrack for that movie is fantastic with song collaborations with Deacon Jones, Gregg Allman, Eddie Money, and Charlie Musselwhite. Then a couple of years ago, Charlie had another idea for a movie entitled “Rough Boys.” I was honored to be asked to be a part of that production too. We just finished filming last October and the final edits were completed just a few days before Charlie’s death. Some edits on the soundtrack are being completed and the movie was set to premiere in June, but the Covid shut down put a damper on that. Still, Charlie and I were talking about a huge premiere in Milwaukee in 2021. Although he’s gone, we’re going to move ahead with planning a premiere in Milwaukee after this crazy virus secedes.

You can help honor Charlie’s memory by coming to the premiere once we have it finalized. Meanwhile, his movie “Rebel on the Highway” is available to rent or purchase on Amazon or you can view it for free if you’re an Amazon Prime member. His BIC Radio show is still going strong with over 250,000 followers with guest hosts like Ron Grottanelli, owner of the HOG Farm in New York, and Rock n Rollz in Illinois.

Life-long friend and executive director of the movies, Dennis Sanfilippo, promises to bring the movie to Milwaukee when he can to honor his friend. He plans to bring the Indian Darkhorse Charlie rides in the movie to the premiere, along with several other of the bikes from the movie. The Indian was purchased from Rob Schopf at Indian of Metro Milwaukee and has some of the greatest Blues legends in graphics on the bike. Hopefully, some of the stars in the movie will attend our premiere too. You’ll know most of them, as they are all legends in the motorcycle community.

Keep riding in the wind, Charlie. We’ll see you again someday. Until then, we have your videos, music, movies, and photos to help us remember you and hear your voice and guitar licks.