82
rents were justifiably cheap. Most of
CBGB’s neighboring buildings were
flophouses full of unemployed ex-cons,
the mentally ill, street prostitutes and
drug addicts. Patti Smith mentioned
that “winos” and musicians shared
the block. “Sometimes you couldn’t
distinguish us from the winos...
These guys looked at us like we were
weirdos.”
The buildings were in deplorable
shape. Power outages, leaks, roach
infestations, street vermin and fires
were all part of the parcel. One night,
during a show, dark red liquid dripped
down from the ceiling onto the stage
- wine from an overturned bottle lying
next to its passed out drinker on the
CBGB was anything but
floor above. (Taking the expression “on
materialistic. Every inch of crumbling
tap” to a higher level?)
wall space was covered in graffiti and
In the late 70’s, as the club caught
posters, the floor was littered with
the attention of music critics around
ashes or shards of glass, the ceiling
town, a wider range of visitors came,
leaked, and then there was that smell.
curios to experience the wild scene
Rot, body odor, beer. Not one thing
they’d heard so much about, even if it
was shiny and new in CBGB, mirroring
meant stepping over bodies on their
perhaps the un-sanitized impulse from
way to the door. CBGB’s fan-base
which punk music came. “Playing
began in a grassroots way and became
what’s within you is most important ”
an ever widening following which
Hilly is famously reported to have said.
included celebrities, critics, music
Just as blues music is the repository of
producers and club goers who intrigued
all things sad or bad, punk music was
with the dangerous sex appeal of the
the repository for all things infuriating,
little club on the lowers east side. It was
unspeakable and rotten.
the undisputed bad boy of clubs – you
After incubating and supporting
loved to hate it, or is it the other way
the process, growth and success of so
around? With the money that started
many artists and bands, Hilly made a
to come in, Kristal bought better sound
rule about playing at CBGB. You were
equipment and quit his second job as
only allowed to play your own music
a mover. Music writers were writing
- no covers. This was unheard of in
about CBGB, the scene and what was
New York. At that time, many of the few
smaller, struggling New York rock clubs
were forced to close down due to the
recession and bigger clubs didn’t want
to take a chance on unknown bands.
Only big names or cover bands could
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CBGB’s address for over 30 years
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