It's not even funny how much this closing had affected a lot of people.  I can't even imagine living in the city and knowing, it being quite obvious...that it's closed.  It's hard enough for me to accept, without having to walk past it everyday and it being a constant reminder in everybody's heads.  Also: "I found it very frustrating that the many musicians (still alive) who made it big through the club were never there to help Hilly in his time of need."...I've always wondered this too, I find it hard to understand...

RIP CBGB, let's try as best as we can to rebuild from the rubble...

fuck...my boyfriend recently passed and i feel like i'm loosing something so special and meaningful to me all over again.  i have that sick feeling in my stomach.  my boyfriend Ehren was soooo excited when we moved there and he got to see CB's for the first time.  he walked straight in and asked for a campaign flyer to fill out to try and save it. we all tried, the ones that trully cared and knew that this was thee punk rock birthplace. 

RIP CBGBs w/ my boyfriend Ehren Sinister,

Yes, agreed.  Wholeheartedly.

It's been 20 years of my life, too.

CBGB & OMFUG: requiescat in pace.

Strength,

L.

Have no fear folks you can still hang on to the good old days

with a Cb's shower curtain or dog shirt!!!

See yall in Vegas we can play the CBGBs slot machine!

Blow me Algy.  Your opinion of what's been going on at CBGB in the last 10 years means very little.  You can probably count on both hands how many times you've been there in the last ten years.

Yes, nothing will ever match the intensity ad true underground spirit of the 80's hardcore/punk scene.  Yes, the so-called punk scene today is a friggin joke.

But there will always be a need for a dirty rock club for all the shitty angst ridden young bands that need an outlet to express themselves, punk or not.  There have been a lot of crap shows over the years.  But there have also been some amazing shows and amazing unknown bands, that might have otherwise never had a chance to play.  No, there's no new scene... but that's not the club's fault... that's the kids.  But we were still a home for struggling unknowns... most sucked, some were great.  Here's a piece of info for you... a lot of our shows in the 80's sucked too... but there were some good ones that I'm sure you remember.  Have there been outside promoters and certain bands over charging for lame shows?  Yep.  But that was a rarity.

As to our merchandise being in malls.  Yeah, maybe it's kind of fucked that some Gap kid who has no idea what CBGB is was wearing a CBGB shirt because it's fashionable.  But you know what Algy... that's punk rock.  It's like when a punk pickpockets a yuppie.  We made money off some fashion kid.  CBGB designed, made, and distributed it's own merchandise... the original FUBU.  And some clueless poser kid bought our shirt and helped pay our rent.  Prior to closing, our rent was close to $45,000 per month... over $1,000 per day in rent alone.  We stayed open as long as we did and still afforded to pay our shitty bands thanks to all the suckers wearing our shirts in malls across America.  That's punk rock!

You know, back in the early 80's, old scenesters from the 70's like Legs McNeil and Roberta Bailey would bitch about how punk was dead and underground rock didn't exist anymore.. it all sold out.  You know what?  They didn't have a fucking clue and were speaking out of their asses.  The scene was dead to them, because they weren't hanging out anymore.

Same for you Algy... you came to a few of the big shows at CBGB when big old punk dinosaurs would play.  The promoters overcharged, the kids were retards, and it was just kind of lame over all... so you walk out thinking CBGB is done.  Well where the fuck were you the rest of the nights when a thousand bands you never heard of were playing their hearts out on that stage.  You didn't see them.  So to you CBGB deserved to close because it was lame on the few nights you went.  So why do you think CBGB was irrelevant?  Why do you think CBGB lived past it's day?... BECAUSE YOU STOPPED HANGING OUT.  Well fuck you Algy.  You know nothing about the countless bands (not punk bands though) that lost their home.  You didn't see all the heartbroken people those final weeks... and I'm not just talking about old scenesters being nostalgic.  There were tons of new kids who were regulars there and CBGB was their escape and they were losing a home.  There was a thriving underground rock scene at CBGB outside of punk rock and when CBGB closed it suffered.  Go hang out with Legs McNeil and Roberta Bailey and pat yourselves on the back for being so smart and go on believing you're an expert on something you weren't there to see. 

I've heard this ignorant bullshit from countless oldtimers in the last few years.  CBGB wasn't important anymore... because it wasn't important to them.  I know countless new kids that would disagree with you.  And I'm one old timer that knows better.

Points of information:

1) The CBGB logo was designed by Cosmo Ohms.

2) Television was not the first "punk" band to play CBGB. The Magic Tramps were first, and Wayne/Jayne County also played CBGB (to an audience dominated by Hell's Angels who loved her show) before Terry Ork convinced Hilly to let Television play there.

Point of opinion:

For many years, after Ork left, there was no one in the CBGB hierarchy actually listening to the new bands that played there and therefore, some of the few really great ones were never discovered or nurtured.

No one was listening to bands or nurtured them??

Where do you get that from?  The two times a year you came by to say hello to BG?  There is, however, partial truth in what you say... the main booking agent Louise lost interest in cultivating and nurtuing bands, but that wasn't until the late 90's.  There were other promoters, like me, that picked up the ball.  But since Ork left?... hardly.  Did you miss the entire 80's?  We watched the new bands and when we found ones that were worth it, we cultivated them and placed them as support on great shows to turn them into headliners on their own in a matter of months.   You say there was no one at CBGB listening to or nurturing bands since Ork left... can you even name the people that worked at CBGB doing booking through the 80's and 90's?  We helped many bands get signed and we nurtured the diamonds in the rough and supported a lot of bands that deserved a chance.  I'm sorry you weren't there to see it... but thank you for your opinion about something you weren't around for.

CBGBs was a place that many a band wanted to play around the world, i am so glad i have had the honnor to have done this, As an outsider from another country, all i can say is good luck to you all who lived at CBs waching  differant bands, and hope you manage to keep the punk community strong.

Regards to you all

Yes punk rockers, Grandma cb's has died and gone to heaven, she was very sick for so long and the last few years she was on life support. She has gone to a better place now and she suffers no more. We will miss her, but we will always have great memories of her. Everything Algy wrote in the previous blog is 100% true. Now they talk about rebuilding the "scene", rebuild what?!?! 1977 or the early 80's matinees ??? you can't plan a scene, or market it ,advertise it or invest in it !!! It just happens. It's time to let the new generation take over and find their own sound,attitude, look and scene !!!! does it have to be in the trendy  L.E.S. or williamsburg?  NO !!!! it can happen anywhere! The Ramones just walked in Cb's by accident, and nessesity, because no other place would allow them to play ! Cb's closing is a message, maybe it time to change the guard.

" It just happens. It's time to let the new generation take over and find their own sound,attitude, look and scene !!!! "

yes, but i just cant sleep good at night knowing that the next "scene" will be GHETTO PEOPLE!! kill me before that happens. theyre already wearing studded belts and chains and getting fucking mohawks! not like thats what punk or any rock is about but we know thats where its started. te things that are popular these days...its a disgrace to music

well, do feel free to enjoy the 'wicked tribute' to CBGB, "New York City Song" by Jimi La Lumia & the Psychotic Frogs, posted on the Strong Island Rocks! my space site...

i totally disagree with algy. i have not seen any kids who sound like or resemble the early bands. most of the kids are influenced by the casualties! none of the early bands had mohawks at cbgb. these kids are creating their own scene and cbgb was their playground. i know it was mine! i hear no retro music from the bands that have been playing cbgb. maybe you just dont go to the right shows! as for charging $35 for the bad brains. hey these guys put their blood and sweat in their music and never saw shit! so good for them! for once they get paid a bit what they are due! they influenced tons of bands who are making a shit load more than them! id give my left nut to see the clash . so whats the fucking difference! and for the cbgb t-shirts in malls! good for hilly. he gave you 33 years of punk ! maybe people will see the shirts and look into the club and start their own bands! fucking hell every punk band is in malls now so fuck you! does the club not have to make no money for it to stay cool. should a 74 year old man end up in  a homless shelter cause of your fucking values! yes the ramones walked in and hilly got lucky but remember he let them play there over and over again! if they walked into another club they would have said get the fuck out of here! where would you be then ! these guys created punk and influenced the clash and the pistols. without them you would not be around . without cbgb punk would never had happened! again i see no support for cbgb! this place made you. as for it going to vegas . why dont you shut the fuck up. maybe if you guys would have stood up for the place a bit more it would still be here. its your loss! the way you talk is like spiiting in your parents faces! you people are so high and mighty but what have you contributed to the punk scene! i say good luck to cbgb in vegas cause it seems noone in nyc gives a fuck. $45 dollars a show why dont you go by an ipod and go home and sit on your ass! cause you dont support the punk scene anyways!this is not directed at algy. its to everyone. open up your eyes! the politicians win again! things have go to change. stand up and fight for what you have and believe in! we are losing everything! cbgb is gone and i for one am heartbroken!

cheers todd radict! long live cbgb!

ALGY:  I get your point in that the commercialization of CBs is a commodity for the clueless.  I must admit your statement that nostalgia shouldnt last forever is prob'ly right but that doesnt mean the closing of CBs.  I lived for the shows of the reunion bands, but what Brendan says is true that theres lots of good new bands that need a place.  Altho' there is lots of recycled crap out there, we can only hope that the closing of 'ancient' places will create a new breed of creativity.  That is of course how Punk started and is the only way it will survive.

PS

In my haste to post, I failed to credit the late Dave Parsons (founder of Ratcage) for talking Hilly into having the matinees.