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When most venues close they don't necessarily get all sentimental and pack up every piece of floorboard and pint glass that resided there...but CBGB was different, with every peeling sticker a commodity. The NY Times takes a look at where it all went following their closing and dismantlement in 2006, and keeping in tune with the venue's recent history: it's pretty grim.
Sure, the awning lives on at the new Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Annex in SoHo, but the bar is now held in a trailer in Connecticut, and the rest in a 3,000-square-foot storage space in Williamsburg. But wait, it gets more depressing! The club's old manager, Louise Parnassa-Staley, along with the former barman (son-in-law of the late Hilly Kristal) are also in the storage space, running what's left of the business, including CBGB Fashions, from the same desk that used to greet the venue's audience.
Parnassa-Staley told the paper, “It’s sad, but it’s not really dismal. It’s quiet here, you know. And there’s no rats.” There's always an upside. As for what will become of the venue's remains, they're exploring "what to do with the club’s vast trove of paperwork," which includes set lists, band contracts and other documents that have become a part of New York's music history.
Photo via Joe Holmes's Flickr.
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I just read that the actual, not the introductory admission, fee is $28 for the R&R Hall of Fame museum annex. And if I read the post correctly from the other day, it's only the awning frame, not the "canvas" awning that is on display at the new R&R Hall of Fame Annex. I could see spending the bucks if the actual awning was on display, but really just the frame? Plus the incredible changing exhibit on "The Clash." Talk about a draw.
What to do with the rest of the junk? Donate it to the R&R Hall of Fame and take a tax write off, or ebay the shit, or burn the crap along with most of the idiots that went there to see the wacko talent that performed there. Wow! Debra Harry, the Ramones, Patti Smith. And those are the highlights of that venue.
Where's Joey Dee and the Starliters and the Peppermint Lounge along with a wax version of Elsa Maxwell tapping her toe?
Before anyone hates on Cleveland; I'm sure the real Rock and Roll HOF would love it for their collection - besides, it'd be a much more dignified place to retire, as opposed to being scattered across Hard Rock Cafe display cases...
There should be a Soft Rock Cafe where they play Pat Boone and Barry Manilow music. Also is there a special Neil Sedaka corner at this new museum?
Wow, snoopy. Well, I'm sure this will set of a flame demanding that everyone from Milton Ager to Gershwin and Bobby Vinton get *their* fair shake, but:
While I agree the place was nothing more than some rat hole dive on the bowery, to undermine its place in rock and roll history makes it easy not to take you very seriously.
Talking Heads, Television, Blondie, Ramones, Misfits, Patti Smith and more, not to mention every touring band who ever pulled into the place coming back to Athens, Austin, Seattle, or Los Angeles as if they'd made their bones by playing the place ----- it was an institution to post-punk rock that stood 33 years.
Are there IFIC buttons on display? I really must go see this and report back if it's worth the money.
What happened to the master plan of building a CBGB in Las Vegas?
"an institution to post-punk rock that stood 33 years." WOW! Like I said, "Talking Heads, Television, Blondie, Ramones, Misfits, Patti Smith and more," yes the list goes on and on. Unfortunately the list is shallow, it reflects a blip in the history of "Rock and Roll." A pimpled scaggy blip at that.
A lot more acts and performers came out of the Apollo theater than that shit house on the Bowery. How about Max's Kansas City?
Thanks for reminding me about Bobby Vinton. He is alive and well and has a theater in Branson Missouri. Can't say that much for the "Talking Heads, Television, Blondie, Ramones, Misfits, and Patti Smith."
I never wanted to undermine the importance of CBGB and its place in the history of Rock and Roll, but it was like beating a dead horse for more than 23 years of its 33 year history. It's like saying Hogs and Heifers in the meat packing district is a biker bar. It was dead a long time before it died. It was one of many venues in NYC. There's nothing sacred about it. The Apollo yes, CBGB not so much.
#3, I think your brilliant "Soft Rock cafe" concept did indeed happen. It's called Branson Missouri.
Nanny I've been there. My in-laws had a place on Table Rock lake. They are all down there. Bobby Vinton, Andy Williams, Tony Orlando (you know that guy that banged on the pipes and tied yellow ribbons on trees), and they have a great 50's revival restaurant with lots of vinyl and chrome. Plus to cap it all off there is a theater and TV studio featuring the Reverend Jimmy Bakker on his new 600 acre development property.
Plus Silver Dollar City and that violin player Shoji Tabuchi, and that Russian comedian Yakov Smirnoff (he kills me with his accent), also the Lennon Sisters and the Osmonds. Life doesn't get much better than that does it?
If it wasn't for the chiggers I would consider moving down there. Talk about the twilight zone.
^ Omg! How much for a villa by the paddleboat pond?