Evidently the New York Dolls are absolutely a-okay with John Varvatos. Read the following press release & weep.
NEW YORK DOLLS CELEBRATE NEW ALBUM MAY 5 WITH RELEASE PARTY AT JOHN VARVATOS 315 BOWERY
LOS ANGELES -- The New York Dolls will christen the band's fourth studio
album, 'Cause I Sez So, with an invite-only release party Tuesday, May 5th
at John Varvatos 315 Bowery, the space that formerly housed the seminal
underground music club CBGB's in New York City. The quintet will perform
the new album, and the world's of music & fashion will fuse together to
celebrate the occasion. Following the show, The New York Dolls will begin
a tour that will include performances in major U.S. cities.
'Cause I Sez So marks the second record of the Second Coming of the Dolls.
With it, they have come full circle, re-enlisting the talents of Todd
Rundgren, the same knob-twirling wizard who produced the original line-up's
first LP in 1973. Recorded at Utopia Sound Studio in Kauai, Hawaii with
David Johansen (vocals); Sylvain Sylvain (guitar); Steve Conte (guitar);
Brian Delaney (drums); and Sami Yaffa (bass), the new album features 11
original compositions and a new version of "Trash," a song that originally
appeared on The New York Dolls' debut. 'Cause I Sez So comes roaring out of
the gate, opening with a classic Dolls riff that is sharp and jagged enough
to open up a tin of soup, ending twelve tracks later with "Exorcism of
Despair," a song that sounds an awful lot like a rock 'n' roll apocalypse.
The New York Dolls swaggered onto the New York music scene in the early '70s, influencing a generation with its subversive mix of high-decibel rock and high-heeled androgyny. The original band recorded a pair of milestone records--New York Dolls (1973) and Too Much Too Soon (1974)--before breaking up in 1977. The surviving members reformed the group in 2004 to much acclaim, but soon lost bassist Arthur Kane to leukemia. Two years later, Johansen and Sylvain reunited again to record the New York Dolls' third studio album, One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This.
destroy CBGB only to put in a high-end boutique that tries to be CBGB. varvatos can kiss my ass.
Posted by: Bowery Boogie | April 08, 2009 at 08:32 AM
I stopped reading after "the world's of music & fashion will fuse together to celebrate the occasion."
Posted by: EV Grieve | April 08, 2009 at 09:32 AM
After eagerly awaiting this release.........I gotta say that I have have now lost interest. Unless of course they trash the place which is highly unlikely.
Ironically, I am listening to an ancient live bootleg of the Dolls as I type this.......
Posted by: hntrnyc | April 08, 2009 at 02:39 PM
Still interested in the new CD but I gotta say I'm pretty disappointed in the Dolls' choice of venue for this release party.
Posted by: NYCDreamin | April 08, 2009 at 04:41 PM
Not to start a flame war (as I too lament these sorts of losses), but I don't imagine they can survive on integrity alone. Gotta' eat something, right?
Posted by: Benjamin | April 08, 2009 at 05:47 PM
Fair point, Ben -- as a working musician yourself, you know it's not always the most lucrative of fields. THAT SAID -- the clout/cred/legend of the New York Dolls is a vast one. I'm quite sure they had other options than to celebrate the release of their new record at this particular venue.
Here's a trivia toss-up for anyone still paying attention: Did the original New York Dolls ever play CBGB? Had they imploded before the club took off? I know Thunders & the Heartbreakers played there, but did the `Dolls themselves? I honestly don't know. They were much more the Mercer Arts Center/Max's Kansas City scene, if I'm not mistaken.
Posted by: Alex in NYC | April 08, 2009 at 06:03 PM
Excellent point Alex. It's a record release party so they could do it almost anywhere. My choice would be the Ukrainian National Home on 2nd Ave. First place to host an Elvis Costello gig in the US, New Order filmed there live video there, and the Misfits had a gig there among many others.
Or how about just playing a gig to celebrate the occasion at Webster Hall or Irving Plaza or The Bowery Ballroom?
Posted by: hntrnyc | April 10, 2009 at 02:00 AM
The New York Dolls never played CBGB back in the day to the best of my knowledge. The first and only show the New York Dolls ever played at CBGB was in 2006.
Posted by: Irving | April 29, 2009 at 08:35 PM
!!!!!!!!! I LOVE NEW YOR DOLLS!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: NIA | May 15, 2009 at 05:46 PM
Justa Busta' but sold out...
Posted by: mmawhichdoctor | May 06, 2011 at 09:03 PM