Another Nail in the Punk Rock Coffin

Whether it's ordering OMFUG chocolate or sending a letter to the landlord, our inbox has been full of pleas to help save CBGB's. The iconic NY rock club is famed for providing an appropriately grimy teat to nurse punk rock to healthy immaturity: The Ramones, Patti Smith, Blondie, Sonic Youth, Talking Heads, Television and many more have strutted and fretted upon its stage. It has stayed true to its roots, packing 7 unknown bands in a single night and booking semi-mega-stars like TSOL and Blues Explosion for the big shows. Located in what was once the dirt-cheap Bowery, CBGB's has experienced rent inflation and is now in a legal dispute with the building's owner — a nonprofit that provides aid to the homeless — over $91,000 in unpaid rent. While we can sympathise, LA lost Al's Bar, our own iconic punk rock club, in 2001 and we can see the writing on the wall. And while we hate to lose another criminally unsanitary bathroom to history, we have to wonder: are these punk rock clubs better off dead?

photo copyright godlis