photos by Greg Cristman

DOWNLOAD: Rocket From the Tombs - Ain't it Fun (MP3)

Rocket From The Tombs played The Bell House on 12/12 and Maxwell's last night (12/13), concluding a string of dates for the protopunk legends. The band, who famously splintered into Pere Ubu and Dead Boys (with songs divided amongst the two), was joined by Abstract Artimus at The Bell House and The Ribeye Bros. at Maxwell's. Pictures from the Brookln show adorn this post.

Rocket From The Tombs performed favorites like "30 Seconds Over Tokyo", "The Final Solution", "Sonic Reducer" and others with a touring lineup featuring David Thomas, Cheetah Chrome, Craig Bell, Steve Mehlman and guitarist Gary Siperko, who sat in for the great Richard Lloyd. Lloyd (Television) did not partake in the dates due to scheduling conflicts, but you can hear Richard Lloyd with the gang on Barfly, their new LP released this past September.

The band also just reissued The Day The Earth Met The Rocket From The Tombs via Fire Records. Download the great "Ain't it Fun", which they also performed at the Bell House, from that album above.

More pictures from the show, below...

Continue reading "Rocket From The Tombs played Maxwell's & Bell House (pics)"

On March, 31st Mickey Leigh posted the following to JoeyRamone.com wrote:

Post subject: Joey Ramone Birthday Bash 2011

As always, the first announcement of this event is posted for the most ardent of his fans right here, on Joey's website.

The birth and career of my brother is set to be celebrated once again, and I hope that many of you will be able to join me at the Joey Ramone Birthday Bash 2011. I want to keep it uplifting so I'm not going to start talking any timelines. I think all of us here are well aware of what this year marks. I always want this to be a special occasion, and something for us to be happy about so:
"Don't be sad, cause I'll be there" - as he would say it.
I know many of you are coming regardless, but I'm sure are still anxious to hear who some of the performers will be. I can't give you the whole line-up yet, but can tell you who I am sure will be coming at this point.

From the band the Ramones played with at The Roundhouse in 1977 (my last tour with them) - The Stranglers' singer/songwriter/guitarist Hugh Cornwell will be performing the classics that made that band legendary. Joining Hugh on drums is Elvis Ramone also, and far more- well known as Clem Burke of Blondie. On bass is Fish -more info on him later.

Black 47 -a revered NYC band Joey went to see frequently, and had even hoped to produce a record for.

Richard Lloyd- co-founder of Television, the band that paved the way for all others to play at CBGB.
Richie Ramone, Tommy Ramone, Holly Beth Vincent, Ed Stasium, Al Maddy, Andy Hilfiger, and many others (TBA.. including myself, will be performing songs from the upcoming Joey Ramone solo album.
Also on the bill is Sunday Masquerade.

Please keep in mind this is just a preliminary notice. More to come soon.

Continue reading "Joey Ramone died 10 years ago today, his next birthday party is at Irving Plaza in May (tix on sale)"

I didn't even know it closed, but Don Pedro's (90 Manhattan Avenue b/w Boerum & McKibben) is now under new management and they closed down the "East Williamsburg" venue "just after new year's" to make some "minor improvements." To celebrate the reopening they've booked '14 bands in 4 nights.' The party kicks off Thursday, January 27th with a Rockabilly evening, continues Friday with "Oops Baby Records" night headlined by Baltimore's The Flying Eyes, brings in some CBGB legends on Saturday with the Richard Lloyd Band and The Waldos featuring Walter Lure, and ends on Sunday with a lineup of all one-man acts. Check out the flyer with more details below...

Continue reading "Don Pedro's reopening w/ new management & 4 shows"

words & photos by Benjamin Lozovsky

Like the store that one of the "hosts" of the evening owns, CBGBs it wasn't. A jerky stroll along downtown New York's dark and decrepit memory lane, it might have been. A show of stormy brilliance from a largely unsung legend still brimming with ability and art-punk attitude? Absolutely.

Try as it might, Richard Lloyd's show with Hey Battlefield last Thursday at the Studio at Webster Hall wasn't the-larger-than-life punk tribute it hoped to be. Rock photo legend Bob Gruen was in attendance, I'm sure 'co-writer of I Slept with Joey Ramone' (as he was introduced in publicity material) scenester Legs McNeil was there too. Neither served as hosts (as advertised) by any means however, more just like colorful wallflowers set amongst the spattering of younger fans and Mudd Club veterans that showed up for the under-attended performance. It was fortunate that it never felt like a prehistoric echo of remembrance though; instead it was just a high-caliber rock show with some gooey bits of nostalgia tucked inside for Television faithful.

continued below...

Continue reading "Richard Lloyd played Television & Hendrix @ the Studio - pics"

"When I saw Tom Verlaine play for the first time, I realized he had 'it,' and all my life I've looked to try and teach people 'it' and usually come away with great despair," Lloyd said. "You can teach harmony, but you can't teach melody. You can show someone the craftsmanship of songwriting, but they're the ones who have to put out the antenna and wait for the universe to send them a song.

"The actual creative process is not one over which human being have control. I always thought that; otherwise I wouldn't have picked Tom. I'm the one who made the decision and suggested to our first manager, Terry Ork, that he put Tom and I together as a guitar-playing team." [Richard Lloyd to the Daily Times]

Speaking of CBGB and Richard Lloyd, his old friend Patti Smith (who played the final show at the club with Lloyd in 2006) has a trio of end-of-year shows around the corner from CBGB, at Bowery Ballroom. Tickets are still available for all of them.

Patti, along with Jerry Seinfeld, Jackie Gleason, Woody Allen, Allen Ginsberg and 395 others, was just named one of the New York City 400 by the Museum of the City of New York. It's the "first-ever list of New York City's 400 ultimate movers and shakers since the city's founding in 1609".

A flyer for the Studio show and a pair of videos from Lloyd's show with the Sufi-Monkey Trio at LPR in September are below...

Continue reading "Television's Richard Lloyd playing The Studio, Patti Smith part of the New York City 400"

Former Television (current Rocket from the Tombs and frequent Matthew Sweet) guitarist Richard Lloyd and his band The Sufimonkeys will be touring this month [April] and next - dates below. The Sufimonkeys features Television drummer Billy Ficca and bassist Keith Hartel.

[As briefly mentioned before,] Parasol Records will be releasing a new album of Jimi Hendrix covers by Richard entitled The Jamie Neverts Story. Though the Hendrix covers CD won't be officially released until September 2009 Richard will have finished CDs available for purchase at these shows.

As mentioned above, Lloyd will be joined by Television member Billy Ficca. The two were scheduled to play together - AS TELEVISION - at Central Park Summerstage in 2007, but sadly, Lloyd missed that date which would have also been his last with the band. Television are recording a new album, but with Jimmy Ripp instead filling in on guitar (as he did that day at Summerstage).

Lloyd's connection to Hendrix (besides the cover album described above) is documented quite strangely (And without sources) in Lloyd's Wikipedia entry...

In his middle teens he met a scrawny black kid from Brooklyn named Velvert Turner who had the audacity to claim to know Jimi Hendrix. Lloyd was the only one of a group of friends who believed him on first sight and it turned out to be true; in fact, Jimi considered Velvert his "little brother", and took him on as his protégé, inviting him to various clubs and teaching him guitar from Jimi's apartment on W 12th St. As Velvert and Richard Lloyd were best friends, Velvert asked for permission to teach Lloyd what he was learning, and so Lloyd and Velvert began practicing together under the teaching auspice of Hendrix, and frequently attended his shows as well as those of other well-known acts such as Led Zeppelin, The Who, The Jeff Beck Group with Rod Stewart, The Allman Brothers Band, Grateful Dead etc.

Continue reading "Television's Richard Lloyd - touring w/ Billy Ficca (Sufimonkeys dates), releasing Hendrix cover CD"

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)"

Hüsker Dü

According to this totally random list I found, the 25 'Greatest Punk Rock Artists' are:

1. The Clash
2. MC5
3. The Ramones
4. The Sex Pistols
5. The Stooges
6. Dead Kennedys
7. Fugazi
8. Black Flag
9. The Misfits
10. Bad Brains
11. Minor Threat
12. Joy Division
13. The Buzzcocks
14. Husker Du
15. Bad Religion
16. Minutemen
17. The Damned
18. The Circle Jerks
19. X
20. Television
21. Stiff Little Fingers
22. Patti Smith
23. Green Day
24. Crass
25. Gang Of Four

DOWNLOAD: Rob Dickinson - The End Of The World (MP3)

Amy Winehouse @ the Mermaid Parade - June 21, 2008 (heartonastick)

today in NYC
* FREE STUFF
* Coldplay @ MSG
* Annihilation Time @ The Charleston
* The Fashion & Bodega Girls @ The Annex
* Annihilation Time & Vermefug @ Cake Shop
* Herman Dune and Jeffrey Lewis @ Maxwell's
* Bride of Frankenstein showing @ Bryant Park
* Richard Lloyd and the Sufimonkeys @ Knitting Factory
* Harvey Milk, Growing, A Storm of Light, & PIGS @ Europa
* Rob Dickinson (Catherine Wheel) & The Sharp Things @ Mercury Lounge

The Fashion are back in town from Denmark and I'm being told that there will be open bar at their show at The Annex tonight from 11-12. The show is a night off from their tour with Alkaline Trio that actually does hit NYC on July 12th (at Irving Plaza).

Richard Lloyd and the Sufimonkey trio (that's Richard Lloyd of Television fame) are also playing Southpaw on July 23rd. "Richard Lloyd in the guise of Jamie Neverts has finished recording and mixing his record of Jimi Hendrix covers which will likely be released by Parasol Records in the fall. It will contain 10 songs on nine tracks."

Rob Dickinson's Fresh Wine for the Horses (deluxe 2-CD set) was released June 10, 2008 on Fontana International.

The Voodoo Experience fest announced their lineup. Modest Mouse played a very late show at Music Hall of Williamsburg.

A Storm of Light are playing with Harvey Milk at Europa tonight. Check out our interview with Josh Graham.

What else?

Richard Reinhardt (a.k.a Richie Beau, Richie Ramone) (born August 11, 1957) is an American drummer best known for his work with the punk rock group the Ramones.

Before working with the Ramones he drummed with Velveteen, and is also reported to have drummed with Annie Golden's band The Shirts. He joined the Ramones on February 13, 1983, at a show at Utica, New York, after second drummer Marky Ramone was fired. He took part in the Subterranean Jungle tour of 1983, where he signed autographs as "Richie Beau", which was the name he went under whilst drumming with Velveteen. [Wikipedia]

Continue reading "Joey Ramone's 2008 birthday lineup, Richie Ramone's lawsuit "

DOWNLOAD: Tom Verlaine - From Her Fingers (MP3)

Sadly, Tom Verlaine announced that guitarist Richard Lloyd was (still) in the hospital. Jimmy Ripp filled in for him. (june 16, 2007)

I personally missed Dragons of Zynth, Apples in Stereo, and the rain. Read all about the show in the comments.

Richard Lloyd @ Knitting Factory, NYC - May 19, 2007 (CRED)

If you've been reading the comments in today's Television post, you probably heard something like this sad news posted on Richard's website:

Message from the webmaster, 1st June 2007:
I am sorry to report that Richard is currently unwell. He has been in hospital Intensive Care for 8 days with pneumonia as a primary medical problem. This has responded to treatment and he has shown some improvement and is now free of the breathing apparatus.

It's also worth pointing out (as it was also already in the comments), that this may be Richard's last Television show ever (well, it's about time! just kidding)...

Continue reading "RICHARD LLOYD - recently sick, but supposedly playing with TELEVISION (for the last time?)"