Francisco Daum Flowers outside of CBGB in 2001, after the deathof Joey Ramone.
Yesterday, The Local posted news, which appeared in The Times today, of the upcoming CBGB music festival. In a follow-up interview, we spoke with the two bookers of the upcoming festival, Louise Parnassa-Staley, who held the same job at the old CBGB, and Diane Gentile, who also handles booking at Bowery Electric.
So what’s the state of the local music scene that CBGBs will be returning to?
Ms. Parnassa-Staley: The music scene is still there. You just go down the block from where CBGB used to be and you have Bowery Electric. A lot of future CBs bands will be playing there. I don’t think since the original CBs closed that the music has stopped.
Ms. Gentile: I’ve been at Bowery Electric for about four years. When I first got there, there was no music on the Bowery because CBs had closed. We started to book bands and it was a little slow-going in the beginning. It just started to build. We had a tremendous response from bands in New York City and Brooklyn who wanted to play. And it built up to the point where we started getting calls from booking agents and bands that were from out of town.
Is the local scene mostly in Brooklyn?
Ms. Gentile: I would say it’s both. When CBs closed — and obviously during the middle of the financial crisis — people went out to Brooklyn. But I think that now they’re finding that Brooklyn is just as expensive as Manhattan.
There definitely is a music scene in New York — in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Bands play both boroughs. Rockwood Music Hall opened on Allen Street as a little acoustic room with a beautiful grand piano. Then it opened up a room next door that is a 200-capacity live room. And there’s the Living Room, Pianos, and Lit. There’s Bowery Electric and City Winery. Le Poisson Rouge has like 750-capacity.
But what about Lakeside Lounge and Angels and Kings? Their closing doesn’t seem to bode well for those other clubs.
Ms. Gentile: I can’t speak for those rooms. But we have a great room. We try to book four to five bands a night if we can. I don’t think there’s a lack of talent. I don’t think Lakeside and Angels and Kings are going out of business because music isn’t a draw anymore.
There has been a change in the area, and there are more people living in the downtown and East Village area that come from Texas and, you know, other cities that have moved here to work. So things have changed, but if you’re a business and you want to have a music venue I still think there are millions of people that want to come out and see live music.
What are some of the bands still in the local scene today?
Ms. Gentile: The Strokes are still around. They were at Bowery Electric two weeks ago. A friend of theirs was ill and they decided to raise money for a benefit. They came in and all DJed. Adam Green, with a new local band called the Skaters played. James Levy has a side project with Allison Pierce. There’s The Silos, The Orion Experience. There is a great band called Mother Feather with this singer Ann Courtney. She actually waitresses over at Rockwood but they play Bowery Electric on a Friday and sell it out. The Netherlands. There is a girl named Vanessa Bley who is signed to Blue Note for her jazz project but she has an incredible rock band — she’s very local. The Liza Colby Sound.
Those bands are playing on a Bowery that has changed so much just since the Bowery Electric opened in 2008.
Ms. Gentile: Well, when you have a hardcore show brought in by Black and Blue Productions, and you come walking down the block, it still looks like 1974 — there’s a danger to it. We still have a homeless shelter on the right-hand side of Bowery Electric, and then of course Peels is on our left, which is kind of humorous. The bands bring in the type of people at the club. If you’re a great band you’re going to bring in cool people. And there are still cool people. We don’t see them every day, walking around. We don’t see them on the Bowery on a Friday at 12 a.m. — the weekends definitely are a whole other world. But if you have a band like D Generation that just got back together, or Michael Monroe — people come in that look exactly like you would expect them to look for those bands.
How do you feel when you walk by the old CBGB space, which is now a John Varvatos boutique?
Ms. Parnassa-Staley: I’ve been in a couple of times. They did a great job, it’s beautiful, and nostalgic. But, it’s not CBGB. CBGB was always about the live music, the crowds and no velvet ropes. Bands and customers were always together. There wasn’t a backstage. With the festival, CBGB will be all over the city, not just confined to 315 Bowery. I don’t want to say that music doesn’t exist there — John [Varvatos] has his concept and the kids have a great time there. But my view of CBGB is that it’s more about freedom. It’s expressive. It’s a little dangerous. It can be naughty. It’s not fashionista.
Interview condensed and edited for clarity.
