why save cbgb?

[NCDan]

I was at CBGB almost every weekend from 1978 – 1988. It was a great club, but times change. If the world can live without A7, the Pyramid, Great Gildersleeves, the Peppermint Lounge, Rock Hotel and Max’s, it can certainly do without the lame CBGB of today.

[dorado]

rock action-
i should book the bands? what the hell are you talking about….they book shit bands in a random manner night after night consistently. that means they don’t give a fuck about music. do you know how many magic moments happened at the mudd club or max’s kc? just as many and it’s just as ridiculous to be so nostalgic and corny about remembering or keeping those places around. they closed down and that’s it. move on.
it’s because so many people (mostly non new yorkers) see cb’s as a symbol of "punk rock" because they’ve heard and read about it their whole lives but it’s not and has never been. it was a cool club that used to host some amazing shows.
that’s all im saying when i compare it to brownies. not the legal/lease situation but the fact that brownies honestly gave a shit about what they were doing- not just there to sell $7 heinekens and 30 t-shirts.
i don’t need to book the shows at cb’s ’cause i can go to mercury lounge, go to bowery ballroom ….they are still doing it right.

[rockaction]

"dorado " wrote:

rock action-
i should book the bands? what the hell are you talking about….they book shit bands in a random manner night after night consistently. that means they don’t give a fuck about music. do you know how many magic moments happened at the mudd club or max’s kc? just as many and it’s just as ridiculous to be so nostalgic and corny about remembering or keeping those places around. they closed down and that’s it. move on.
it’s because so many people (mostly non new yorkers) see cb’s as a symbol of "punk rock" because they’ve heard and read about it their whole lives but it’s not and has never been. it was a cool club that used to host some amazing shows.
that’s all im saying when i compare it to brownies. not the legal/lease situation but the fact that brownies honestly gave a shit about what they were doing- not just there to sell $7 heinekens and 30 t-shirts.
i don’t need to book the shows at cb’s ’cause i can go to mercury lounge, go to bowery ballroom ….they are still doing it right.

I would agree that they should of kept maxs and all the other places… getting rid of cb’s doesnt put any of that right in terms of nyc artist landmarks and cultural preservation… I am being nostalgic and corny? hmmmmm… would you not agree o’enlightend one, that punk rock itself is nostalgic and for anyone playing it now or attempting to recreate it could be considered in some circles to be very corny? Do you play in punk band? Sounds like you do. And the fact that your old band played CbGb’s way back when( in 1999 probably)the same random garbage you speak of was playing night after night then as well – and no doubt your band was among them. I dont think its fair to say that they dont care about music.. I mean after all they booked your great "punk rock" band so you can get up and impress 15 of your friends – whats wrong with them doing that now? The may not care about your music. You seem to be an insider to this great punk rock explosion happening and you still havent told me all the great punk bands
that all of us "non new yorkers" are missing out on!!! its fucking 2005!! What other music establishment left in NYC would best symbolise "punk rock" then? bowery ballroom?? merc lounge? i dont think anyone with half a music brain would argue that – yet you seem to being doing just that.

I think they should keep cbgb’s open just to piss you "DR PUNK" right off!

[dorado]

i did play there many times starting in 1985, not 1999. Â i’m 36 yrs old. Â did most of my bands suck back then- yes they probably did but that’s not the point i’m trying to make. Â yeah, of course it’s fine to have a club that puts on shit shows (including my band) but there shouldn;’t be this outcry just because it’s gonna close down. Â i’m not writing on this message board to say cb’s should be closed because the place sucks-i’m saying no one should give a shit if it does. Â can you understand that rockaction? Â do you have the capacity?
i’m not trying to come off as the ultimate authority on what "punk" means but it’s not the music from the 70’s and 80’s that defines it- it’s a way of life and a code of ethics. Â doing things your own way for the sake of ART. Â that could be a band, a writer, a CLUBOWNER etc…so no, punk is not nostalgic and should never be. Â the bowery and the merc and a couple of places out in bklyn are certainly doing it and if you’re gonna support anything, support them and make sure they don’t close because it’s not easy running a nightclub in this city. Â booking cutting edge bands and taking chances on big guarantees etc. is what’s punk for sure. Â do you see the light yet? Â it’s not green mohawks and 3 chord songs.
maybe i am dr.punk because you sure as hell don’t know what the fuck it’s all about.

[Smallstone]

In the UK in London there was/is a club called the Marquee. It has in the course of it’s 40+ year history had about 4 different locations. In the mid 1960s its 2nd venue was a small lane just off of Wardour St in the heart of Soho. Hendrix, the Who etc played there. It was by all accounts ‘the place to play’. Sometime in the 1970s I think it got moved to Charring Cross road about 1/2 a mile away. The original venue (nestled next to the mighty Ship Inn – great pub, if you’re in London check it out) was turned into a car park! Even that has now been knocked down. Recently it was re-developed and its now luxury flats!
The 2nd ‘official’ Marquee was kinda famous for putting on ‘rock’ shows. Hordes of metal bands, poodle rock, hard rock, Â indie rock etc etc. Guns And Roses played there, Janes Addiction too. You name ’em. It had a little legendary phase and then as the 80s turned into the 90s it seemed to lose it’s way. No one played there, it traded on it’s name, the booker didn’t have his/her finger on the pulse. Whatever. I can remember there being a bit of an outcry when it was announced that it was gonna be shut as the brewery who owned it thought they could turn more profit running it as a theme pub in what is a touristy part of town. People moaned and moaned. But frankly the place was well past it’s prime and the scene (for what it was) had moved up the road to Camden or wherever. It’s now a terrible chain pub called the Moon Under Water. No one goes there!
Then about 3 years ago they opened a NEW Marquee in a shopping centre in Islington which is in North London. Quite a way from Soho. I think Dave Stewart the dude from the Eurhythmics had a hand in it. It was however AWFUL!! Soulless mini shopping mall. New Marquee situated next to a cinema, a Borders, couple of theme pubs! Didn’t work. Within a year it has shut down with the club re-opening as the Islington Academy. Terrible place to see bands.
Now they’ve re-opened the Marquee back in the centre of London in Leicester Sq, which may be closer to Soho in location but still a million miles away in spirit. The location is a 3 floored ex-dance venue. I’ve been there once to see a ‘showcase’. No one plays there. The place is seen as a bit of a joke (my band are playing there in 2 weeks – so it must be a joke!!). Never seen ANYONE of any merit booked to play. It’s kind of a tourist trap.
My point? Don’t really have one:) Just an observation. I think its sad that CBGBs is shutting. But if the place has ‘had it’s day’ better it shut and folks remember it for what it was than for it’s turned into. I agree with Dorado in that ‘punk’ isn’t a nostalgia thang. Don’t know New York, but if there is something going on up the road then better to get involved and make your own ‘scene’ (for want of a better word) than hanging onto one that has by all accounts had it’s time.
Hope this doesn’t upset the apple cart – this is just an observation about an almost similar situation in London:)

[Author]

Posts