On August 16, 1974, a young, four-man rock group took the stage at a dingy East Village bar. Unbeknownst to those attending, this event would become legendary in the punk and music scenes, so much so that momentous occassion would be celebrated decades later. This is, of course, The Ramone’s first performance at the legendary […]
Hillel (Hilly) Kristal, founder of legendary rock club CBGB, was born on September 23, 1931 in New York City. His early life, well into adulthood, might not have given any hint of the legendary status he would earn in the Pantheon of rock and roll, and particularly as one of the prime forces behind the […]
It’s rare to become a published poet by age 16, finding yourself praised by the some of the foremost Beatnik writers. It’s even rarer when no less than Patti Smith says that by age 21 you were ‘pretty much universally recognized as the best poet” of your generation. Add to that having your first album […]
If you were to ask me to name a truly perfect album, it would take a very quick punk-rock-beat to say “London Calling!” Released on December 14, 1979, this iconic album has been called the first post-punk album; “merry and tough, passionate and large-spirited” by one reviewer; and one of the five greatest albums by […]
On April 23, 1976, the Ramones self-titled debut album was released, changing the face of music forever. Clocking in at just 29 minutes, ‘The Ramones’ was the absolute antithesis of the bloated, album-oriented, arena rock of the era. It was quick, it was simple, and anyone could play it in their basement or local bar […]
On March 30, 1974, the Ramones played their very first public performance. The Ramones are of course considered the inventors of punk rock, as well as the ultimate downtown band and the embodiment of the CBGB’s scene. The Ramones’ lightning-fast performances rarely lasted more than a few minutes.
On Saturday, December 10, 2016, the extraordinary Patti Smith accepted the Nobel Prize for Literature on behalf of Bob Dylan in Stockholm, Sweden. In a transcendent performance, Smith was overwhelmed with emotion when she stopped mid-performance only to begin again and drive home her powerful rendition of Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” to a […]
On this day in 1979, The Talking Heads released their single ‘Life During Wartime‘ from the album Fear of Music. The song not only went on the be a classic of the band’s, the era, and the genre, but perhaps no song better captured the anarchic, chaotic, and ultimately creative feeling of the East Village/Lower […]
