Friday, December 5, 2008

Photo Fridays: CBGB's Forever

I took this shot when I was in New York in 2006 two weeks after the landmark underground music club, CBGB's closed. I've been there a few times for music since the mid 90's and a couple times during the day when you can wander in without all the crowds. Definitely an end to an era - most of the Ramones are dead and the owner Hilly Kristal died last year. And now his family fights over the estate.

It's rare to find a place where so many artists, musicians, writers, poets, and the avant garde created a community that influenced so many people. CBGB's was an incubator for creativity and experimentation - the effects still being felt today - 30 years after it's peak.

The day after I took this photo (on my way out of town), I passed by CBGB's in a cab. The graffiti and sign were painted over with all white - as if CBGB's never existed.

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