"Do you remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?" (Events - Exhibition)
Underground rock takes root at London's Proud Camden gallery tonight with the launch of Budweiser Presents CBGB: The Home of Underground Rock.
The exclusive photographic exhibition airs previously unseen shots from the inner sanctum of New York club CBGB which famously nurtured everyone from the Ramones to Patti Smith and The Damned to Television. Abigail Parkin 3 June'09
(Above) The Ramones at CBGB, 1977 © Lisa J. Kristal
The
exhibition pays homage to the New York music scene spawned by CBGB
founder Hilly Kristal. Keeping it close to source, the photographer is
Hilly's daughter Lisa Kristal who portrays the CBGB bands and lifestyle
in true access-all-areas format.
Up until CBGB's closure in 2006 the club demonstrated the inextricable link between a legendary venue and its equally legendary musical influence. Guns N' Roses, Elvis Costello, PJ Harvey, AC/DC, Soundgarden, the Police, Sonic Youth and, latterly, Green Day, Good Charlotte and the Strokes formed just some of the roster at CBGB.
Fittingly, Budweiser beer is behind the exhibition harking back to CBGB's opening in 1973 when its iconic neon signs hung over the punk-era club. Budweiser will resurrect the music of the era on a special night hosted by Zane Lowe who will rewind the musical clock back to CBGB's punk heyday on June 24th.
All photos © Lisa J. Kristal
(Below) Arturo Vega & Blondie's Chris Stein and Debbie Harry - Blitz Benefit Concert, 1978:
"I am very sorry that Hilly is gone. He was a big help to Blondie and to the New York music scene for many years. His club CBGB has become a part of New York lore and rock and roll history."
Debbie Harry
“CBGB
became an outlet for those who believed in music as a form of
expression, whoever they were and from wherever they came. People say
CBGB changed the course of music history, who knows where we'd be
without it. All I know is that it certainly made a huge impact on those
individuals and groups who were a part of it and its legacy continues
to do so to this day.” Lisa Kristal
"Hilly was an integral part of the punk scene from 1974 until his death. He was always supportive of the genre and of bands like the Ramones, Blondie, Talking Heads, and Richard Hell and the Voidoids, and will hold a prominent place in music history. We are all grateful to him and will miss him."
Ramones drummer Mark Bell, a.k.a Marky Ramone
(Above) Andy Warhol at CBGB, 1976
"I
saw such varieties of music in that club. Sometimes you forget, in
terms of the mythology, how great a place it was to see music.. It had
a great stage, a great sound system ... and [Kristal] was always there,
at the front desk, seven days a week, rain or
shine, watching the [crowds] come in. He was a great New York character. He was family." Lenny Kaye (Patti Smith guitarist)
(Below) Hilly Kristal outside CBGB, 1976
(Below) John Cale, Lisa Robinson, Lou Reed and Alan Lanier of the Blue Oyster Cult
"Hilly
always gave Sonic Youth a break, from the moment I walked in there
looking for a gig. He knew I had been going there every night since
1977. I think we made $8 on a Tuesday night in front of hardly anyone
[on that first gig], but Hilly was there, listening, and he told me
that we could next play
a Thursday night.
"He
was fatherly in the truest sense, always having the time to talk with
you without any condescension. Amid the chaos of Bleecker & Bowery,
he was a figure of decency." Thurston Moore, Sonic Youth
Venue - Proud Camden
Launch night: 3rd June 2009
Public exhibition runs from: 4th June to 9th August 2009
Related screenings___________________________________
Free Range Student Exhibition Mike Figgis 5 Senses
Gerald Laing Goldie's Riot Electronic Art
