Parallel Universe / RE: (TV) pre-tv cb's story

["Leo Casey" <LeoCasey@comcast.net>]

I too played at Hilly's before Television and other "punk" bands but it was
in a parallel universe :>).

Maybe this guy who is a friend of Steve is as old as me and is starting to
have his memory play tricks on him. 

E.g.
> He recalls it as being mid 74 or so ..
>  ....he remembered Hilly telling then he was going to try some new music
>the next weekend and a woman named Patti Smith was going to perform

Television were the first rock/punk band to play CBGBs ----afterall they
literally re-built the small stage-----that first show occurred on March 31,
1974 (Patti Smith wasn't on the bill).  

However maybe she was in the audience as Television had almost no one but
their friends at their early CBGB gigs.   [Sources:  The Wonder, Pete
Frame's "Rock Family Trees", and Heylin's "From The Velvet's To The
Voidoids"] 

>From "Rock Family Trees": 
Formerly a Hell's Angels' hangout, CBGBs was transformed into a magnetic
rock bomb-shelter in the spring of 1974.  Richard Lloyd:

"In April, Tom and I were walking down from his
house to the loft of Chinatown, and we passed 
this place (on Bowery Street at the dead end of 
Bleecher), which the owner (Hilly Kristal) was 
outside fixing it up.  We asked if maybe we could
play there---and he told us he was going to call 
the place Country Blue Grass and Blues.  
So we said, 'Yes, we play stuff like that; we do
all kinds of stuff including our original material."  
He gave us a gig, so we got a whole bunch of 
friends down and convinced him to give us every
Sunday night for a month.  Soon after, Blondie 
started began to play there----and very slowly the
ball started to roll."  CBGB' peaked in 1975/early
1976, after which it seemed to decline into an 
over publicized tourist attraction characterized 
by copy bands and peacock audiences. 


Hey, even Richard, who has a better memory than TV, is a little off since
there's a picture/poster at http://www.marquee.demon.co.uk/facts/index.htm
(on the Wonder) for them playing March 31 so it wasn't during an *April*
walk on Bowery Street. 

	Leo
-----Original Message-----
From: tv-owner@obbard.com [mailto:tv-owner@obbard.com] On Behalf Of robin
dunn
Sent: Monday, September 20, 2004 5:40 PM
To: tv@obbard.com
Subject: (TV) pre-tv cb's story

the following story was posted at babel-list today.  i
thought it was tangentially relevant, as tv has been
credited with opening cb's up to punk (etc.):

---------------

Hey here's a funny story from a friend here in
Spokane. In 1974 he and some friends were playing in a
bluegrass group in NYC. He is a fine musician now, but
admits they were less than polished at the time. They
managed to land their first gig at CBGB's . This of
course is before TV or Patti or the Ramones had played
there. He recalls it as being mid 74 or so. 

He says they played their gig to a very small bored
audience, and after the gig Hilly told them "thanks
guys but there was no one here and I think I'm
going to change the format, this country thing isn't
working out real well." He even made them pay for
their beer!

My fiend said he remembered Hilly telling then he was
going to try some new music the next weekend and a
woman named Patti Smith was going to perform. My
friend, who isn't a real punk fan, says he remembers
hearing her name quite a bit later on the radio, and
realized it was the performer from CB's.

Anyone here actually go to CB's before the punks
played? My friend claims this was his big claim to
fame, that if his band wasn't't so bad, the punks
would never have been able to play there! Ha!

Steve J


		
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