Our musical community bands together to save a landmark
I was going to call this “Our Last Night at CBGB” but I felt that sounded too negative. I don’t want to believe that this is a lost cause. Even though every jaded bone in my jaded body knows that NY cares little about its own history. I do honestly believe that, if it were allowed, someone would figure out a way to sell condos in the Statue of Liberty.
This country has named a water tower shaped like a giant Catsup bottle in Collinsville, Illinois an historic landmark. We’ve done the same with buildings shaped like ducks, oranges and other assorted novelties. So why not a club that helped to change the face of a distinctly American form of music and improved the very life of a desolate neighborhood. Not many venues can boast such an impressive history as can CBGB & OMFUG. A history that is caked in decades deep layers of graffiti, stickers and flyers.
By the way, you can forget anything you may have heard about the name of this place. CBGB & OMFUG means COUNTRY BLUEGRASS BLUES and OTHER MUSIC FOR UPLIFTING GORMANDIZERS. It was named initially for the kind of music that owner Hilly Krystal planned to showcase. Then the NYC punks re-wrote that chapter of his career.
In 1974 Television and Patti Smith were the first to play here. A parade of greats would follow such as Talking Heads, Bruce Springsteen, The Police, The Plasmatics, Nico, John Cale, David Johansen, Mink DeVille, The Jam, D Generation, The Damned, Elvis Costello, Agnostic Front, AC/DC and of course The Ramones. Hell let’s face it I could go on and on … and this was all before 1979!
Since then countless bands—some you may know, most you don’t—have cut their teeth here. Including my own band Ya-Ne-Zniyoo. Oh how can I forget having to fend off those drunken French tourists who were hitting on my girlfriend while I was on stage back in 1991? Or the Japanese tourists a couple of years later who thought my friends were real celebrities?
The stage would be moved a couple of times over the years and the sound system would be improved but the bathrooms would remain the same. Of course it’s those legendary johns that attract many of the camera flicking tourists today. It’s all part of the rich tapestry that is the NY nightlife. A tapestry that is being torn apart by greed.
This is what made tonight so important. It was more about saving the ideals that define the raw, edge of independent thinking than it was about saving a building. Although the building is dear to us. Coming together in this way helps to make our community stronger and our fight seem just a bit more winnable. We rocked out, had a blast and raised over $1,600 for the club’s legal fees.
My partner Eric Schmitz and I (Ya-Ne-Zniyoo) had the pleasure of opening the show. We were so happy part of this event and it allowed us to relax for the rest of the night and see all the bands. Well to be honest, Eric and I were pretty relaxed from the start since we had gotten there very early and found a kickin’ nearby happy hour.
Phebe’s on the corner of 4th and Bowery has 2 for 1 drinks from 4:00 to 7:00. Plus the very charming bartender with a fascination for cartoons was nice bonus. Except I think she said she was a fan of ‘American Dad’ but I can forgive that.
Eric and I hit the stage and dedicated our set—and in effect the whole night—to Judge Joan Kenny who just the day before had ruled that CBGB could not be evicted for failing to pay rent increases it was not aware of (read more here).
Thanks to:
Gibby from Upstart Studios and High Speed Chase for putting this together on such short notice. I was there for its inception over a couple of beers in Gibby’s apartment a mere two weeks prior.
Lazlo from Blow Up Radio who, as acting stage manager, kept this to one of the tightest schedules I’d ever experienced at CBGB, or anywhere else for that matter. This in spite of having to keep one amorous tourist off of the stage. She apparently just wanted her hubby to snap a picture. You’ll see he in my gallery. She’s kinda hard to miss.
Jim Testa from Jersey Beat and Ivy from ArtKore for their never ending support and guidance. These are two people from very different ends of the indie spectrum who share a common goal. To save live original music.
A special thanks to the air conditioning for not breaking. God has this summer in NYC sucked or what?!
And of course Hilly, Louise and everyone at CBGB!! Though some, including yours truly, may disagree with their cattle call booking style and assembly line nights of music (5 – 7 bands a night … every night), there is no denying the role CBGB has played in the history of indie music.
Last, but certainly not least, let’s not forget the bands who all gave 110%:
Ya-Ne-Zniyoo, Kukurudu, End Of October, Jim Testa, Arty Shepherd, Pale Horse, Heterogene, Crewman Number Six, High Speed Chase, Downshallow and Diesel Theory
For more information on how you can help, and to keep up with the latest news, go to SaveCBGB.org.
