Tag Archives: cbgbs

Cleveland’s Finest

November 2, 2019 – 6:57 am

Cleveland was supposedly the site of the first rock and roll concert. March 21, 1952. A little more than two months before my birth in late May. 20,000 youths crowded the 10,000 capacity Cleveland Arena. The police shut down the show before the opening act, Paul “Hucklebuck” Williams, finished his first song. The civic leaders […]

By Peter | Posted in cool, East Village, music, NEW YORK, punk, youth | Also tagged , | Comments (0)

315 The Bowery

March 28, 2018 – 12:14 am

CBGBs existed from 1973 to the summer of 2008 as a mecca for punks. Prior to Hilly Kristal’s leasing the ground-floor and basement of 315 The Bowery, the location had served as a The Palace Hotel Bar for the flophouse above it, housing as many as 600 men every night. There was life at 315 […]

By Peter | Posted in Activities | Also tagged , , | Comments (0)

Poppers ReDux

February 5, 2015 – 8:24 pm

Jan. 2 1979 Suicide was headlining CBGBs. The duo weren’t for everyone, but the screaming fury of Alan Vega and monotonal drone of his keyboard player Martin Rev were an effective remedy for a long holiday of drinking, especially if the holidays were not ready to call it quits. My hillbilly girlfriend was in West […]

By Peter | Posted in Beast, Drugs, East Village, music, punk, semi-fiction | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)

TOMMY RAMONE RIP

July 15, 2014 – 9:09 pm

There are no more Ramones on Earth. Tommy Ramones joined his three brothers. I was lucky enough to catch them in 1976. On a winter night I was walking up the Bowery. I heard CALIFORNIA SUN from a bar. I walked inside. My life was changed forever. They were our band. Here is an excerpt […]

By Peter | Posted in 70s, punk, RIP | Also tagged , , | Comments (0)

MAYBE TOMORROW a punk novel by Peter Nolan Smith on KINDLE

April 26, 2014 – 2:17 am

CHAPTER 1 The November sun flashed off a West Village window. The wavering reflection stalked the Christopher Street pier to a lone youth tuning a battered guitar. The twenty year-old in a battered leather jacket broke into a sly smile, as the sapphire shimmer transformed the blonde leather boy into a fallen angel regaining his […]

By Peter | Posted in kindle, punk | Also tagged , , , | Comments (0)