I first posted this on Facebook, and then took it down, as there was some confusion as to the cause of the great man's demise. In my haste to eulogize Jimmy Webb, it seems I mistakenly assigned the culprit as COVID-19, when more credible sources have suggested it was cancer. In any case, it's a genuine loss to the East Village community he knew and loved ... and loved him back.
The pervasive stereotype of the punk rocker usually involves a joyless, scowly contrarian, more than happy to spit at your feet or engage in a rampant bout of unprovoked pugilism. For decades, Jimmy Webb, whose age-old punk haberdashery, Trash & Vaudeville, occupied a storied perch in the Hamilton-Holly House at 4 St. Marks Place, was the consummate punk rocker, but defied the above stereotype in every manner.
Sure, visually, he fit the bill — garish skin-tight pants, sleeveless t-shirts, endearingly ridiculous brothel-creepers, blinding peroxide hair, leather jacket — but you cannot a imagine a more affable, smiley fella. Welcoming all into his fabled shop — from the local sneery street-urchins to the Upper East Sider dilettantes and all stripes in between — Webb was buoyantly enthusiastic to help you pick out just the right pair of tartan bondage-trousers to go with the vintage-design Dead Boys t-shirt you were buying, and would be damn happy to chat about it with great giggly aplomb with you. No judgements. Just happy to evangelize the scene, the music, the lifestyle. If Jimmy Webb was your ambassador into the rock’n’roll sartorial underground, you could not imagine a more gracious figure to guide you there. The t-shirts may not have been as cheap as I thought they should've been, at the time, but then again, neither was the rent. It was for that reason that Trash & Vaudeville had to leave that spot on St. Marks Place, but Jimmy found a new spot on East 7th Street, and even opened a new venture further south on the Lower East Side shortly afterwards.
Jimmy Webb was also, without the slightest question, the world’s most fervent Iggy Pop fan. If Iggy or the reunited Stooges came to town, you could bet your bottom dollar Jimmy Webb would be there, and onstage with the great man before too long, usually showcasing is full-back tattoo, loudly proclaiming “I NEED MORE” after the Iggy tune of the same title.
Evidently, Jimmy Webb passed away this week. Another tragic loss in a season of unimaginable sadness.
Pour one out for the great man.
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