Vulture’s Matthew Jacobs’ intro to this interview with Griffin Dunne is glibly threadbare, but since I’ve devoted such an inordinate amount of bandwidth to this particular film, I figured it was worth sharing. Read Griffin Dunne Asks Every Question We Have About “After Hours.”
I’ve probably mentioned this on any one of the qaudrillion entries I’ve posted about the film, but Griffin Dunne and I used to live on the same block (that being East 12th Street between Broadway and University Place – don’t look for either of us there today, however, as we’ve both vacated our respective apartments there). I used to routinely see the man traversing this way and that and, on occasion (usually fueled by copious amounts of alcohol consumed at the then-nearby Cedar Tavern, also long gone and over-documented here), I would duly accost Dunne and badger him with logistical quandaries about the plotlines of “After Hours” and why a proper Criterion Collection release of the film had never transpired. After one of these encounters, the man used to pointedly look away from me when he spotted me walking in his direction. Can’t blame him, really.
The great RB Korbet posted the video below on Facebook the other day, and it dates back a few months, but I figured it was well worth sharing here.
Regular readers here might remember a couple of posts I dedicated to the band Lubricated Goat here back in 2016 and 2019. In a nutshell, the band – led by the inimitable Stu Spasm – were Aussie ex-pats and NYC contemporaries of favorites of mine like Cop Shoot Cop and Foetus, even sharing members from personnel of both endeavors here and there over the years. As mentioned in this recent post, meanwhile, after a comparatively brief stint in a band called Crunt in the `90s with his then-wife Kat Bjelland of Babes in Toyland and, following that, another iteration of Lubricated Goat in the early 2000s, Stu – who now trades under the nom de guerre Art Gray -- has since channeled his musical impulses into an outfit called the Art Gray Noizz Quintet, featuring “Bloody” Rich Hutchins of Live Skull on drums and Ryan Skeltonboy of the band Woman on bass. They make a glorious racket, but seem to only release their music on vinyl and …er… cassette. Check out their site here, and their YouTube channel here.
Suffice to say, however, Art Gray’s musical oeuvre enjoys the adoration of an audience that can be best described as niche. Coupled with the crippling compromises put on touring musicians by the pandemic – let alone the artist-hostile, streaming-dominated music business of today – Art has sought out other ways to make ends meet. Boasting a distinctive aesthetic and keen eye, Stu/Art had always handled the design aspects for his musical projects and has since embraced studio art.
Just a quick one. Now that the holidays are upon us, I thought I'd evangelize some pertinent links, should you be on the hunt for Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/whatever presents for the little n'erdowells in your own family.
I realize I said I wasn’t going to post again until Thanksgiving, but I just spotted this, so thought I’d quickly share it.
Back in 2019, some might remember a quick entry about a long-lost concern called The Pit, which was — if my memory correctly served — a tiny boutique that sold gear for biker types. If you were in the market for leather duds, a black t-shirt with a skull on it or some ominous sartorial invocation of the superiority of Harley-Davidson motorcycles, the Pit had you covered. My memory of it was triggered by some photographs of one of my favorite bands, the Sisters of Mercy, sporting some finery they’d evidently procured at the Pit.
Well, as it happens, the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation has a photo of the Pit during its tenure on St. Marks Place. See it below, and read more about the photo right here.
Today, the spot that had been The Pit is, I believe, now a Chinese noodle shop.
Hey all. It’s the week of Thanksgiving, and life is busy, busy, busy. We’re doing college application stuff with my daughter, work is fairly demanding right now and I’ve got some medical issues I’m trying to nip in the bud, so to speak, before the looming Christmas holidays. I probably won’t have much else to post here prior to Thanksgiving, so I thought I share these two items and wish you a happy Turkey Day.
The first is the flyer above, which I believe dates back to this date in 1982. The mighty Bad Brains played at CBGB a ton of times in 1982 — some of its famously on video, but not this show, as far as I could glean. In November of 1982, I would have been a sophomore in high school — the same age my son is now. I was not, however, at this show. While I was certainly aware of Bad Brains, by this stage, I would not have been in a position to be venturing down to the Bowery during Thanksgiving week, although I know I couple of folks who were probably there.
The video below, meanwhile, is not from the show in question. This is some genuinely amazing footage from 1979 that looks to have only been uploaded as recently as this past October, and it’s really a striking document of the band’s earlier incarnation. The crowd is comparatively sedate -- more "pogo" than "pit," but you can see where Bad Brains were headed.
Please enjoy and remember not to spar with your relatives about politics, this Thanksgiving. It’s simply not worth it. Stay safe, smart, healthy and keep that Positive Mental Attitude, as Bad Brains would say.
ADDENDUM: Right after I posted this entry, I emailed it over to my friend Glen E. Friedman, who'd recently discovered that ancient Minor Threat video. As if by fate, I ended up once again running into Glen the next day on University Place, and we did our usual chinwag wherein both of us start multiple narratives and rarely finish any of them. In any case, in the course of discussing this Bad Brains video, he mentioned that he'd recently put one of his own photos of Bad Brains up for sale in a limited run on high quality paper. If you're familiar with Glen's work at all, you know he very rarely does this sort of thing. In any event, if you're interested in buying one, details and ordering information can be found right here.
Just a quick plug. I was tremendously blown away, yesterday, to receive my copy of filmmaker/archivist/musician Drew Stone's excellent new book, “The New York Hardcore Chronicles Vol. 1 (1989 - 1989): A Flyer Oral History.” I've invoked Drew several times here before (notably here, here, here and here, among others) but he gamely asked me, some time back, to pen a piece for this project, and I am truly honored to see my contribution so prominently placed as the forward to the book. While probably a niche concern to most, this book is a genuine labor of love and a crucial document for any fan of New York City's rich and vibrant history of underground music and culture. I was thrilled to be a small part of it.
Yes, I know we’re still only halfway through November, but let’s face it --- by and large, 2021 is over. I mean, sure, maybe I’ll post something in the next month and a half that I really like, but who knows? One can’t count on these things.
The following is a list of posts from the last eleven months that I really liked putting together. It’s not that they’re necessarily the best-written or the most viewed or the most-commented on (not really that informative a metric here, alas). They’re just the ones that I enjoyed researching and was pleased with how they turned out. Results may vary and you may beg to differ, but this is my list. Feel free to make your own.
Just a quick one. My friend EV Grieve just recently reported that the Patagonia outlet at 315 Bowery has decamped and shuttered. Prior to being a Patagonia, of course, that space was fleetingly a spot for the Morrison Hotel Gallery (they sell pricey rock photos) and, of course, before that it was CBGB’s 313 Gallery and, further back, it was CBGB’s Record Canteen.
It’s all, of course, ancient history, now, but I remember seeing a number of acts at 313, over the years. The space arguably lacked the atmosphere of its more storied namesake to the north, but it was still a cool spot. If memory serves, the very last band I saw perform in the 313 space was Paul Wallfisch’s Botanica.
Here’s a very early incarnation of The Unsane raising an unholy ruckus within the confines of 313 circa 1989.
I’ve spoken about Second Coming Records on Sullivan Street several times here, most notably and recently here, wherein I consolidated all the pics I’ve ever found of the place. Well, as it happens, this morning, someone surfaced this photograph, allegedly from 1989, by one Walter Leporati. At first glance, I was stopped dead in my tracks, as not only did it feature my beloved Second Coming, but I would have sworn on a stack of rare, imported vinyl that the figure in the foreground was my friend Steve H. (immortalized here), but he says he never owned sneakers like that. Ah well.
In any case, given some of the sleeves pictured in the window — South by Shona Laing, Tunnel of Love by Bruce Springsteen, Hot Animal Machine by Henry Rollins, Lovesexy by Prince — I’m more inclined to say this picture was taken in 1988, but y’know … whatever.
Incidentally, whenever I hear an invocation of Sullivan Street, my mind instantly starts playing “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)” by Billy Joel. While I was never a fan, Joe’s stranglehold on the tri-state area’s rock radio since the `70s has ensured that his music has been nigh on inescapable. In the song in question, Joel invokes a restaurant called Mr. Cacciatore’s “down on Sullivan Street, across from the medical center.” For a start, there has never been a medical center of any discernible kind on Sullivan Street, although I cannot speak about a Mr. Cacciatore’s. But, y’know, Billy Joel is certainly no stranger — pardon the pun — to the concept of poetic license.
For whatever stupid reason, 1994 still doesn’t seem *THAT* long ago, to me. I still regularly listen to some fairly crucial albums that were released that year – Portishead’s Dummy, Jeff Buckley’s Grace, Nick Cave’s Let Love In, Massive Attack’s Protection, Release by Cop Shoot Cop, Pandemonium by Killing Joke, Orange by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and many, many others. It was a great, great year for music. I was still technically living on the Upper East Side, at the time, but spending most of my time downtown. I would have just been starting my gig at the TIME Magazine News Desk and freelance writing for various music periodicals.
But, obviously, once I take off my rose-tinted shades, I realize that 1994 was freakin’ 27 years ago. Pre-O.J. trial. Pre-Oklahoma City bombing. Pre-Princess Di death. Pre-9/11. Pre-Afghanistan. Pre-Iraq War. Pre-Indian Ocean tsunami. Etc. Etc. Etc. On a personal level, it was before I met the woman who’d become my wife, before our wedding, before we moved to our current apartment and, very obviously, before we had kids. It was verily several lifetimes ago.
Never is this more apparent than in the video below. Shot in 1994, “NY SCENE” was an “alternative” New York City tourism documentary. Here’s the official description:
NY SCENE is an alternative New York City travel documentary from 1994. As the tape says, "How to do New York... without looking like a tourist." Ripped from a VHS tape that I found while rummaging through The Thing thrift store in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Featuring many defunct and some still-functioning New York City establishments, local alternative music from the time and a superfluous use of the word "funky," NY SCENE is an incredible snapshot of NYC culture in 1994.
From the back of the VHS tape: NY SCENE is the ultimate insider's guide to New York City. This 52-minute travel documentary is a sonic blast of New York sights and sounds. Price down peddlers at the 25th St. flea market, feast at an Indian row restaurant, breeze past the ropes of Manhattan's hottest clubs. It's much more than the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building. NY SCENE will show you where to find the New Yorker's New York. A few more NY SCENEs: Day Activities: Street art, funky museums and Central Park like you've never seen it. Cheap Eats & Dining Out: Bagels, falafels, coffee shops, Indian, Mexican, Sushi... and more! Night Out: From performance poetry to Showtime at the Apollo... and everything in between. Tips Around Town: How to get around and get by- without getting taken.
Travel expert Julie Karlin walks you from St. Marks to Soho and real-life cabbie Clinton Herrington gives you the tips for a change. Fueled by a soundtrack from some of NYC's hottest bands, NY SCENE is for those who want to be part of the scene... even before they get there.
So, yeah.
For all its bluster, the recommendations herein are nothing too especially radical, but it’s fun to see several since-vanished concerns again, like Howdy-Do, the Sixth Avenue flea markets, the Yaffa Café, Magical Childe, the Ludlow Street Cafe and the old Japonica and invocations of since-closed ventures like Wetlands, Downtown Beirut, Club USA and even my old neighbors at the 24-hour pool hall, Le Q (which is now a sedate antiques emporium). It's a very different city.
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