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August 01, 2005
Life During Wartime for CBGB
CBGB - This Must Be The Place
Is another of Rock's iconic clubs about to bit the dust? Can Steven Van Zandt, of the E Street Band and "The Sopranos," singer David Byrne and the filmmaker Jonathan Demme help resolve CB's rent dispute? For the Talking Heads as well as many other 80's rock icons, CB's WAS the Place.With Negotiations Stalled, Clock Ticks Down for CBGB in Rent Dispute
Hilly Kristal was feeling optimistic.
Though CBGB, the landmark Bowery rock club he founded in 1973, is embroiled in a legal dispute with its landlord and faces eviction at the end of the month when its lease expires, there were signs, Mr. Kristal said, that an agreement would be reached soon.
"I think it's going to be settled amicably," he said by phone last week from his office at the club, where, at 73, he still arrives early each morning and answers the phone with a quick, cordial "CB's."
But as Mr. Kristal discussed the situation, his attitude changed. He said he was certain that his landlord - the nonprofit Bowery Residents' Committee, which aids about 8,000 homeless people each year - "wants me out," and he soured on the prospects of a new lease.
Then he excused himself to go to a meeting where, Mr. Kristal said, he would discuss moving the club to Las Vegas.
"If New York doesn't want me," he said, "then I'll try to do something else. There are people out there who do want me."
With 31 days left in its lease, CBGB's future remains uncertain, and though a motley group of celebrities, public relations specialists and punk activists have worked steadily in recent weeks to help the club negotiate with its landlord, no agreement has been reached, and stomachs have tightened all around.
Today, Steven Van Zandt, of the E Street Band and "The Sopranos," who has been leading the celebrity volunteer effort to save the club, is to announce an Aug. 31 rally, planned for Washington Square Park. Depending on the success of a proposal that Mr. Van Zandt's team has submitted to the committee on behalf of the club, the rally could be CBGB's last hurrah or the start of its new life.
"This is the last rock 'n' roll symbol left," Mr. Van Zandt said. "We have seen one iconic rock 'n' roll venue after the other disappear, and we finally said, 'Let's draw a line here, and save at least one.' "
Read it all Clock Ticks Down for CBGB
This ain't no party,this ain't no disco,
This ain't no fooling around
This ain't no mudd club, or CBGB,
I ain't got time for that now
[Lyrics excerpt from Talking Heads - Life During Wartime]
[ Related Punk + late 70’s + CBGB’s + Loud + Fast = The Ramones ]
Posted by BIGBAER at August 1, 2005 12:10 PM
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