Category Archives: punk

#17 By Peter Nolan Smith

In April of 1976 I drove a stolen car from Boston to New York. The Olds 88 wasn’t really stolen, since a Back Bay lawyer paid $300 for the disappearance of gas-guzzler. Several hours later I abandoned the Detroit clunker by the Christopher Street pier after midnight. I threw the plates into the Hudson and […]

MAYBE TOMORROW – A novel – Chapter 1

The November sun set behind the Jersey Palisades and flashed a feeble ray off a West Village window. The wavering reflection stalked the Christopher Street pier to a lone youth tuning a battered guitar. The blonde twenty year-old appeared unaware of the approaching glow, then he broke into a smile shy of surprise, as the […]

Anarchy in the UK – CBGBs

In November 1976 the Sex Pistols released ANARCHY IN THE UK on the UK. The revolutionary punk song was immediately banned by the BBC. The British authorities were worried about the sensibility of the royalists. Within the week ANARCHY IN THE UK was # 1 on the charts without getting any airplay. Describing the social […]

Best Punch At CBGBs

Back in the 1970s CBGBs was a rough bar. The Hell’s Angels frequented the Bowery bar and no one challenged their claim to the punk rock venue, since the Angels scared off other asshole bikers, although not every night. In 1978 a packed house of garage rock fans greeted the Cramps’ debut and the Akron […]

Pinball CBGBs 1978

Throughout the late 1970s I stood at the front of CBGBs for the Contortions, Damned, and the Voidoids. Afterwards I drank beer and play pinball at the back of the club. I was never friends with the big names. The bartenders were my friends, the doorman with the yellow construction helmet let me in for […]