RETROSPECTIVE – CBGB

To many, the birth of punk took place at 315 Bowery in Manhattan, New York, during the mid-1970s. The location was a rundown and sleazy venue called CBGB, a sweat-soaked and graffiti-ridden nightclub that served as an early platform for a host of artists who were looking to break out of the local music scene. There were very few spots where unsigned bands could perform in front of paying crowds and so CBGB served as a training ground for the likes of the Ramones and Patti Smith. For over thirty years it would remain one of the most iconic rock clubs in the world and would play host to some of the most acclaimed musicians of the last three decades, including AC/DC, Joan Jett, the Pixies, the Dead Kennedys and Sonic Youth.

CBGB was first opened by Hilly Kristal in December 1973, its name an acronym for Country Bluegrass Blues, the type of music that Kristal was most interested in. It had never been his intention to open a club that would cater to the rock and punk crowd. Indeed, the first act to perform at the venue was the Con Fullam, a folk singer from Maine who, throughout the course of his career, would collaborate with the likes of Johnny Cash, Gram Parsons and George Carlin. Fullam would share the opening night bill with two other acts; Elly Greenberg and the Wretched Refuse String Band, neither of which would resemble the kind of music the club would subsequently become famous for. Within a few months CBGB had attracted the attention of a recently formed local group called Television and, following negotiations with their manager, Kristal agreed to book the band for a Sunday performance.

A meagre $1 door charge and poor turn-out would produce little profit, while Kristal found their music to be less-than-impressive, yet further persuading from the manager saw Television returning for a second date on August 16th 1974, accompanied by another up-and-coming act called the Ramones. Kristal was even more disappointed with the performances of both bands but, admitting that he had little understanding of modern rock music, decided that as long as the crowd enjoyed the music he would keep his opinions to himself. Another future star to emerge from the early days of CBGB was Debbie Harry, who would make her debut in the club with The Stilettos. When the band split soon afterwards, Harry and guitarist Chris Stein formed the New Wave punk band Blondie, eventually earning major success with their hits Call Me and Atomic and becoming regular staples of the club.

Despite being based in a rough part of the city, where patrons had to step over vagrants to reach the door, CBGB soon gained momentum as it allowed struggling bands the chance to practice their material in front of an intoxicated and occasionally enthusiastic audience. Through Television frontman Tom Verlaine, a young poet called Patti Smith was introduced to the club and, joining forces with guitarist Lenny Kaye, formed the Patti Smith Group. Their performance at CBGB was intended as an audition for Arista Records and, with Television as their opening act, took to the stage and not only won over the crowd but also the label. The Patti Smith Group were signed by Arista founder Clive Davis following several shows at the club and soon commenced work on their debut album, the critically acclaimed Horses.

Another band who would later enjoy great success was the Talking Heads, a collection of graduates from the Rhode Island School of Design who would play their first set at CBGB opening for the Ramones on June 20th 1975. Despite the rawness of their earlier material, the band would become most famous for their 1980s pop hits Once in a Lifetime and Road to Nowhere. CBGB’s reputation began to grow due to the quality of artists that had appeared onstage at the venue and soon acts from around the country were travelling to New York to perform in the club. The Ramones frontman Joey Ramone would suggest a new band to Kristal called The Dead Boys. Hailing from Cleveland, Ohio, the outrageous punk band included controversial singer Stiv Bators, who would odten mutilated himself onstage during performances. Bators would gain further acclaim during the 1980s when he formed the punk-goth group The Lords of the New Church with members of The Damned, Sham 69 and The Barracudas.

By this time CBGB had developed a loyal roster of regular patrons who would come each night to watch whatever bands were playing, while also meeting up with other locals. The venue itself had become an ideal location for labels to showcase promising new acts, as MCA Records would do with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Both the Patti Smith Group and the Ramones had been signed, released their debut albums and had brought further exposure to the club, which was now attracting artists from overseas. London-based rock group The Police made their North American debut at CBGB to a relatively small audience. By the late 1970s punk had become the dominant guitar-based music, both in the United States and Great Britain, and this as reflected by the types of bands who appeared at the club. Among the bands to perform during this period were the X-Ray Spex, The Cramps, former Velvet Underground John Cale (who had produced Horses for the Patti Smith Group) and Bad Brains.

Although the punk scene would begin to die off during the early 1980s, making way for New Wave, CBGB continued to attract popular rock acts throughout the decade. May 6th 1984, the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap (who, the same year, would star in the mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap) appeared at the club. What was most memorable, however, was how the local press had been fooled by the events that had unfolded in the band’s faux movie and had believed them to be a fledging rock band from Britain, instead of a group of actors. Some of the more obscure acts to appear during the mid-1980s were the Circle Jerks and Warzone. In 1987 an up-and-coming rock group from Los Angeles called Guns N’ Roses performed an acoustic set, in which they previewed several tracks from their forthcoming EP GN’R Lies (Patience, Used to Love Her and One in a Million), as well as re-workings of songs from their previous releases.

Over the next few years CBGB would remain relatively low-key, although it would continue to host performances from artists both old and new, ranging from Lou Reed, Dee Dee Ramone and Debbie Harry to Living Colour. In August 1992, barely a year after forming in Virginia, the Dave Matthews Band were booked to perform at the club. Having made an impression on Kristal earlier in the night when he had listened to their soundcheck, he immediately called around several record companies in an effort to generate interest in the new act. The only label to send a representative was RCA Records, who signed the band and agreed to re-release their earlier material, which had been issued through independent company Bama Rags. The same year Nirvana, who had broken out of the Seattle music scene with their major label debut Nevermind, were set to make an appearance at the club but, following disputes over door charges and security, cancelled their show. On April 24th the Rollins Band performed the first of a two-night stint at CBGB in support of their latest album The End of Silence. The opening act for both shows was Tool, who had released their first EP Opiate two months earlier. Although the punk scene was long gone, CBGB remained a popular venue for acts from all genres and, over the next fifteen years, would see the likes of Joan Jett, Anthrax, Joey Ramone and even The B-52′s gracing the stage.

But after over thirty years of being the centre of New York’s alternative scene, CBGB closed its doors for the final time on October 15th 2006, following a dispute between Kristal and his landlord, the Bowery Residents Committee, over rising rental fees. Several artists, including the Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band and Steven Van Zandt, offered their support to the venue but the committee refused to renew the lease. The final act to perform at CBGB was, perhaps fittingly, Patti Smith, more than three decades after the club gave the punk icon her first break. Sadly less than a year later, on August 28th 2007, Kristal passed away due to complications from lung cancer. He had expressed interest in resurrecting CBGB in Las Vegas but had died before having the chance to take action. The premises at 315 Bowery was revamped soon afterwards to make way for a boutique by fashion designer John Varvatos.

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