Riverboat Gamblers @ CBGB in 2006 (more)

As discussed, Gothamist revealed the other day that a new CBGB was in the works. People have since run with that news and more information is surfacing. The East Village Local (at the NY Times) writes:

The CBGB brand -- and the merchandising empire that comes with it -- changed hands three months ago, a representative of the new owners told The Local.

"We bought the entire estate, the physical assets of the former club. They dissembled it as a theatrical unit so in theory they could put it back together -- say, 80 percent they salvaged," said the spokesman for the new owners, who wished to remain anonymous in anticipation of an announcement in the coming weeks regarding the return of the legendary club. "There are all kinds of tapes, photos, and the global trademarks and licensing."

The spokesman added that his group bought the CBGB estate from Lisa Kristal, the daughter of the founder of the club, Hilly Kristal. A man who answered the phone at Ms. Kristal's number had no comment regarding the transaction.

Dana Kristal has now commented on the sale. "We don't know that it was completely sold, or whether my sister is part owner," he said. "Whoever says they're the owner says they have a partner and they're not saying who it is. My sister and her lawyer say they made a deal where only my sister can use the name in a film for up to seven years. I asked him, 'Do you mean I can't use the canopy?' and the lawyer said, 'Yes.' If there is a new owner - I don't know - I would like to find out from the actual owner if we can use the canopy or not."

In related news, that tweet I linked to about the CBGB festival has since been deleted

Gothamist has a story today, and it says:

"We have it on good authority that the legendary venue is still alive in spirit, and angling to take over a new space in Manhattan. With the contents of the original club still around in a basement somewhere, if all goes according to plan it will even look like the old space. We'll update when we have more information, which should be filtering in over the next few weeks."

In related news, I noticed that there's a CBGB Twitter which claims to be "official", and on it they tweeted earlier this month, "who would you like to see at the #CBGB Music Festival this summer? No band to big or to small."

Continue reading "'CBGB' planning new club in NYC? summer festival?"

by BBG

Featuring members who would go on to join Straight Ahead, Youth of Today, Sick of It All, Agnostic Front, and many notable others, NYC Mayhem was a short-lived hardcore band that flirted with death metal and crossover in 1985. While that lineup may indicate a particular aesthetic, NYC Mayhem definitely owed as much to metallic greats like Slayer, Venom, and Dirty Rotten Imbeciles as they did to Necros, Void, or Negative Approach, using negative hardcore, thrash, and blast beats to blur the lines between metal and punk.

During their uber-brief run, NYC Mayhem was comprised of Gordon Ancis on Guitar, Tommy Carroll on Drums, and Craig Setari on Bass (Tony Marc in the early days). Over the years various demos, numerous rehearsal tapes and even an aborted 7" have bubbled to the surface, floating around the tape-trading realm and the blogosphere. But now Hells Headbangers Records have compiled the entire anthology along with some live material for The Metal & Crossover Days, a two-CD set out now via the label. Check out three tracks from the release below, alongside some live video from CBGB's below.

Recommended for fans of negative hardcore, crossover, early death metal/grind, or anything violent and with tons of attitude.

Continue reading "NYC Mayhem anthology released on 2 CDs"

words & photos by Benjamin Lozovsky

ZZ Top

While many designers tagged trendier (see younger) performers to appear at their Fashion Week soirees, many of which happened the day before for Fashion's Night Out, John Varvatos and show curator/drummer Matt Sorum (Velvet Revolver, Guns N' Roses) stayed true to the spirit of the Bowery store located where CBGB once stood, picking a lineup that would make Wayne and Garth tremble with a lack of self worth (Mike Meyers sitting on the side of the stage with a giddy grin would seem to confirm that).

Alejandro Escovedo performed first on Saturday night (9/11), churning out garage crunch with no less than 4 guitarists blazing on the Varvatos store's small stage. Ian Hunter (lead singer of Mott the Hopple) followed and was joined by Escovedo for a performance of glam cornerstone anthem "All The Young Dudes."

To break up the boys club, former Runaways singer Cherie Currie, one of rock's more underappreciated female frontwomen, came on next. Currie performed "Cherry Bomb," the Runaways' ode to young female rebellion, with a still palpable sense of angst, proving at the same time you're never too old to stop flaunting sex appeal (and to fit into leather corsets).

The Darling Stilettos

Taking a cue from the icon that preceded them, the night's youngest performers, The Darling Stilettos (think rock's answer to the Pussycat Dolls), danced and felt each other up in all the right places while screaming classic rock covers (and one original tune) like over-sexualized banshees.

There were new groups from established rockers as well. New York icon Jessie Malin performed with his latest musical collective The St. Marks Social, and recently formed rock super group Black Country Communion, consisting of former Deep Purple frontman/bassist Glenn Hughes, blues guitar god Joe Bonamassa, and prodigal son Jason Bonham (Led Zeppelin, Foreigner) gave a sneak preview of some of the heavy tracks from their upcoming self-titled debut.

After a brief pause, Los Angeles superstar cover band Camp Freddy settled in as the house band for the remainder of the show, welcoming on stage a revolving door of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alumni as the evening catapulted upward in intensity. Some played covers, like ZZ Top (who were in town to play two nights at Beacon Theatre) evoking the spirit of Hendrix with "Foxy Lady" and Perry Farrell aggressively launching into the audience during "Sympathy for the Devil." Others did their own songs, like MC5's outspoken guitarist Wayne Kramer urging the crowd on during "Kick Out the Jams" with help from Handsome Dick Manitoba, or Alice Cooper being diabolically stylish while performing "I'm 18" and "School's Out."

By the time Farrell ended the night with Jane's Addiction's "Mountain Song," the Varvatos store crowd had finally reached the feverish level of turbulence one would expect for such a night. In fact the performers throughout the night consistently displayed more energy than the predominantly younger audience. For an event full of aging rockers, it really just felt like a riotous gathering of all the young dudes.

The crowd was full of familiar faces as well. Chris Brown, Jimmy Kimmel, Rachael Ray, and Matt Pinfield were among those getting their picture taken on the red carpet and mingling with the fashioned-out crowd. Iggy Pop (who played Don Hill's the night before) and Robert Plant (who played Bowery Ballroom the next day) were nowhere in sight though. More pictures and some videos from the whole night below...

Continue reading "ZZ Top, Perry Farrell, Alice Cooper & many more played John Varvatos' 10th Anniversary @ the Bowery store (pics & video) "

"CBGB Holdings LLC, which two years ago purchased the name and copyrights associated with Manhattan's legendary punk-rock club CBGB, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Friday." [Wall Street Journal]

The annual Joey Ramone Birthday Bash at Irving Plaza is happening on May 19th. So far no artists have been announced for the festivities, but tickets are on sale. In related news, Joey Ramone could be heard rolling in his grave last night as Axl Rose performed a late night set in the former home of CBGB. Video of the Ramones playing there 33 years ago, below...

Continue reading "Joey Ramone Birthday Party returns to Irving Plaza in May"

"Been waiting outside the Varvatos Bowery store for six hours now. This party better be fun :(" - Nat Thomson

photos by Nate "Igor" Smith

Alberta Cross did in fact play the fashion week party at the Varvatos Store on Thursday night, but it ended up that they were only the opener for a much larger band. That band was Axl Rose and friends aka "Guns n Roses". Packed when it started, people waited for hours for the headliner to appear in the store that used to be CBGB. Over 90 minutes later, after Axl and band had finished a set of seventeen songs to the lucky (and fashionable) people in attendance (like Sebastian Bach and Kevin Bacon), the room was less than half full. People apparently couldn't stay awake - not because of the performance, but because of the (type of crowd it was and the) long wait time followed by the late ending. The show ended around 2:45am.

More pictures, a video and the full setlist below....

Continue reading "Guns n Roses played the Varvatos store (pics, video, setlist)"

by BBG with photos by Samantha Marble

Rich Hall, aka 1000 Knives, is a NYC-based booker that is responsible for some of the most forward-thinking hardcore shows in NYC since he started working at CBGB in the early 2000s. After CBGB closed, Rich took a break, but has been back booking shows independently again for about a year.

During his career he's booked early shows by Isis, Botch, Daughters, The Red Chord, Blacklisted, and many, many more. Recently he put together the upcoming Disembodied show at Santos as well as the recent (and possibly final?) Burnt By The Sun show at Cake Shop (pictures here and here) which was a co-production with Brooklyn Vegan... a relationship that continues into the future as BV & 1000 Knives are proud to present three more shows together in January alone. Check out the list at the bottom of our interview with Rich...

Continue reading "an interview w/ NYC talent booker Rich Hall (1000 Knives)"

"John Varvatos is hosting a benefit concert on January 7, 2010, for the non-profit organization Road Recovery with a one-time performance given by Grammy-Award Winning Artist Peter Frampton and FX's Emmy nominated Rescue Me star and comedian Denis Leary, along with his band The Enablers. The evening's concert will take place at John Varvatos' Bowery NYC store as part of Varvatos' Thursday Nite Live Concert Series held at the space that formerly housed the seminal underground music club CBGB's. This special concert will be sponsored by WRXP Radio 101.9-FM, and have spirited headliner Matt Pinfield, and his radio partner Leslie Fram, as emcee." [Tickes are on sale]

Flyer below...

Continue reading "Peter Frampton & Dennis Leary playing a benefit in the John Varvatos Store (aka CBGB)"

"Morrison Hotel, the legitimately rock-historical art gallery that shares the former home of CBGBs with John Varvatos, is moving out. The gallery has several other locations, but the Bowery one is their largest. When it moved in over a year ago, we rejoiced that it wasn't "something completely soul-crushing," but will the space get another chance? The broker for the site tells us he's talked to "a lot of retailers, restaurateurs and bar operators," but nothing's been concluded yet." [Racked]

photos by Tim Griffin

""Oh, this is beautiful!" said singer David Johansen, who emerged before a wall-to-wall crowd in a snug black blazer and skin-tight jeans, with a silky leopard print scarf draped around his neck, and who, along with guitarist Syl Sylvain, is one of the band's two surviving original members. (Guitarist Johnny Thunders died a mysterious, drug-related death in 1991, and bassist Arthur "Killer" Kane passed away from leukemia just weeks after the British singer Morrissey reunited the Dolls for a concert in London in June 2004.)

"This is beyond my wildest dreams," the rail-thin Mr. Johansen continued a few songs later. "Did you hear that shit? That was good. Let's dance to this next one!"

To the disappointment of some in the audience, almost all the songs played during the roughly 45-minute set were new, save a half-blazing, half reggae-esque version of the iconic Dolls' anthem "Trash" during the encore. But the performance was, after all, a record release party for the band's new disc, 'Cause I Sez So, as well as the launch of Mr. Varvatos' new rock 'n' roll show on Sirius Radio, which was broadcast live. [The New York Observer]

Continue reading "NY Dolls @ the John Varvatos Store (ex-CBGB) in NYC - pics "

Passing Strange

Spike Lee got this Broadway hit on film. Now you can see this coming-of-age Bohemian rhapsody on the big screen.

A reminder (and this is from the tickets page): Never Say "Sold Out" - Even if advance tickets are no longer available, don't give up--just think RUSH TICKETS. We admit those standing in the RUSH TICKETS line approximately 15 minutes prior to a film or panel's scheduled start time, until a theater is at capacity. Lines begin forming approximately 60 minutes before each screening, so be sure to arrive early.

This reminder applies to quick-selling flicks like Bon Jovi: When We Were Beautiful, Burning Down the House: The Story of CBGB, and Soundtrack for a Revolution. Don't forget: there is also the chance of additional screenings being added.
[A Song For You: The '09 Festival's Musical Films]

NY Dolls @ SXSW 2009 (by Stereocourier)

In support of their new album 'Cause I Sez So' produced by Todd Rundgren, New York Dolls return to US with Summer 2009 dates. MORE DATES TO BE ANNOUNCED IN THE NEXT WEEK! [NYDolls.com, April 15th]

NY Doll David Johansen is also appearing at Red Bank, NJ's Count Basie Theatre for its Friday, May 1st Writers in the Raw show. He'll share the stage that night with Rhett Miller (of Old 97's), Alec Ounsworth (of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah), and Ashton Shepherd for "an informal evening of songs and stories."

A video of the band at SXSW, new album tracklist, and all dates, below...

Continue reading "NY Dolls playing CBGB (Varvatos store) & other places"

Pete's Candy Store (bitchcakesny)

tonight in NYC
* Chris Cornell @ Webster Hall
* The Rakes & Radical Dads @ Union Hall
* The Gay Blades, Demander @ Mercury Lounge
* James Yuill, The Answering Machine @ Coco 66
* White Hills, Gunslingers, Bogan Dust @ Cake Shop
* Millions, Telecult Powers, Noveller @ Monkey Town
* Jenny Scheinman, Nels Cline & Steve Cardenas @ Blue Note
* Scary Mansion, Tiger Saw, Tripping Lily @ Pete's Candy Store
* Here We Go Magic, The Antlers, Hymns @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Jason Trachtenburg, Ching Chong Song & Phoebe Kreutz @ Cameo
* My Education, Youth Group, Dylan Connor, Eastern Midwestern @ Pianos
* Drunkdriver, Rice, Deskonocidos, Sacred Shock, Teenage Night War @ Death By Audio
* Thurston Moore/Okkyung Lee/Ikue Mori Trio, Fat Worm, Noise Nomads @ Santos Party House

Beatrice Inn shut down.

CBGB in 3-D.

"According to sources at the club, someone aboard a Verizon-sponsored Keith Urban tour bus emptied the vehicle's septic tank outside [Webster Hall] at 3 a.m., after the show. "There was about 150 square feet of gunk, a half an inch think, outside the main entrance," says one employee. "It was a literal [expletive] show."" [Daily News]

What else?

"But just as CBGB is getting its due [at the new Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Annex in NYC] alongside John Lennon's piano and Jimi Hendrix's guitar, its ownership and legacy are being challenged by a lawsuit that has riven the family of its proprietor, Hilly Kristal, who died last year. Like the battle over the Brooke Astor estate -- minus $100 million or so, but still worth plenty, thanks to the popularity of CBGB T-shirts -- the case is filled with accusations of fraud and deception, and it adds a bitter coda to the story of a beloved New York institution.

In the suit, filed last year in Surrogate's Court in Manhattan but amended in a hearing last week, Mr. Kristal's 83-year-old former wife, Karen [pictured (Robert Stolarik for The New York Times)], says she is the rightful owner of the business, and that Mr. Kristal and their daughter, Lisa Kristal Burgman, 53 -- who inherited the bulk of her father's estate of more than $3 million -- systematically deceived her by hiding money from the sale of merchandise." [NY Times]

Bowery Poetry Club, Sep 7 2008

As part of the 2008 Howl Festival in NYC's East Village, a panel discussion on the topic 'Unrest in the 70s - US vs UK' at Bowery Poetry Club, directly opposite the old CBGB premises, brought together a number of punk veterans from both sides of the pond.

Panelists:
Richard Lloyd (Television)
Ari Up (Slits)
Cynthia Sley (Bush Tetras)
Judy Nylon (Snatch)
Walter Lure (Heartbreakers)
Arturo Vega (Ramones)
Steve Garvey (Buzzcocks)
Moderator: Mary Harron

Continue reading "Howl Festival Punk Panel 2008 (60 minute Punkcast video)"

Tickets to the The Hold Steady/Virgins show happening at Webster Hall on Friday May 2nd are still on sale (and now you don't need an American Express to buy them).

On a related note, The Hold Steady played that John Varvatos store opening too - the one people were protesting. Rolling Stone has some good video from the whole night.

The Hold Steady also may or may not be playing McCarren Pool this summer. More official Hold Steady tour dates below...

Continue reading "Hold Steady - Webster Hall tix on sale, played CBGB too"

Rebecca Moore & friends outside Morrison Hotel Gallery last night (jeremoss)

tonight in NYC
* DANCE
* Culture Shock
* Silent Raving
* Not Brooklyn Fest
* "The Misfits" @ Warsaw
* Slick Rick @ Studio B
* Kids in the Hall @ Nokia Theatre
* Dead Meadow @ Music Hall of W
* New Model Army at Knitting Factory
* Cloud Cult, the Forms & Illinois @ Bowery Ballroom
* Tapes n Tapes & White Denim @ the Fillmore Irving Plaza
* High Places, Ecstatic Sunshine, Cex, & Evangelista @ Market Hotel

Where ever you go, watch your stuff.

That's another picture of Rebecca Moore up there - protesting outside the John Varvatos store last night.

ALSO THIS WEEKEND: NY Comic Con

What else?

last night (April 17, 2008) in NYC....

More than a few special guests (and I don't mean the protesters) showed up to the opening party/benefit inside the John Varvatos store (aka CBGB) on the Bowery last night (April 17, 2008). All photos by Randy Haecker, and there's more where they came from at his Flickr.

A lot of these guys were in town to play a different benefit show the night before.

Reverend Billy & friends outside CBGB last night - April 17, 2008 (jeremoss)

Reverend Billy joined Rebecca Moore & friends at a planned protest outside a party happening inside the new John Varvatos store which happens to be inside the former home of CBGB. George Bush calls Reverend Billy's visit to the Bowery "unbelievable", "a special moment"....

Continue reading "Reverend Billy & friends protested John Varvotos (CBGB)"

inside the John Varvatos store (Hardcore Shutterbug)

this + this =

Continue reading "protest outside CBGB tonight"

some of them anyway....

The VH1 Save The Music benefit party you heard John Varvatos talk about on Fox is now (unfortunately?) sold out.

The cast of characters playing/appearing at this thing make it look like it could have been one of the 2005 'Save CBGB' lineups, or even one of the final shows the venue hosted before being shut down.

I wonder what Jesse Malin thinks of Rebecca Moore's efforts. He probably saw her sitting there on his way over to his new bar.

Continue reading "John Varvatos discussing his CBGB store on Fox news (video)"

Rebecca Moore @ Tonic, NYC - April 14, 2007 (more)

I realize I already wrote that the CBGB protester is Rebecca Moore, and I did think it was weird that she brought up Tonic, but it wasn't until just now that I realized she is REBECCA MOORE Rebecca Moore.

John Varvatos Opens at 315 Bowery (Curbed)

The interior looks dark and a little foreboding, perhaps in homage to the space's gritty past and the punks who once performed here. Red glowing church candles are positioned next to racks of vintage vinyl to the right, and spectacular black and white photographs of rock gods are framed on the left wall of the store. A gigantic Statue of Liberty stands in the left front window--an interesting touch that got the attention of many passers-by. [Racked]

After the John Varvatos boutique officially opened its doors last weekend in the old CBGB space, activist Rebecca Moore held court on the sidewalk. This past Tuesday she sat outside the retail shop in protest with a sign that read: "One small loss of a music space, one large step for pants," and was joined by a few other supporters. Moore says her statement isn't about just one music space (CBGB).... [Gothamist]

The 313 Gallery next door is now a Morrison Hotel.

RIP HILLY