CBGB was a famous club in the East Village that was open between 1973 to 2006. Its owner, Hilly Kristal, initially intended the venue to host country, bluegrass, and blues music (what the club’s name stands for), however, it ended up being a place where smaller bands of any kind would come to play. By the 80s, CBGB became a hub for punks and rockers to play and listen to music, and New York City’s punk scene was born. Other than punk, it also often featured new wave, rock, and metal bands. Many famous 80s musicians such as Blondie, the Ramones, and Talking Heads got their start there. Throughout the decades, other reputable bands became associated with the venue including Korn, Green Day, and Guns N’ Roses. The venue continued to be a popular spot until its closure when Kristal lost his lease on the building. Something that made CBGB so revolutionary for the time is how it created a space for alternative culture that wasn’t there before. In an article posted to today.com, Tommy Ramone, the drummer for the Ramones, commented on how “At the time, there were no places to play in New York… But CBGB’s allowed bands — original bands, no less — the freedom to go and play and do whatever they pleased.” It was rare for a bar at the time to let original bands play, most just wanted covers of songs. CBGB was unique in that it supported musical innovation, which was vital for the punk community to form. If the bar hadn’t opened, there would have been no place for people to gather together to celebrate their love of experimental music, fashion, and culture. CBGB was a place that allowed anyone to come and find relief or release pent-up stress. In an interview from 1977, guests were interviewed, and many shared this sentiment; the bar was a place for escaping the outside negativity and coming together to embrace what was new and exciting (https://youtu.be/9DAWMu1CMKM?feature=shared) Sources: Arnold, Chuck. “How Iconic Rock Club CBGB Launched Blondie, Talking Heads, the Ramones and More.” New York Post, New York Post, 11 Dec. 2023, nypost.com/2023/12/08/entertainment/how-cbgb-became-the-nyc-rock-club-that-launched-blondie-talking-heads-and-more/. The Associated Press. “CBGB’s Closing Its Doors after 33 Years.” TODAY.Com, TODAY, 9 Oct. 2006, www.today.com/popculture/cbgb-s-closing-its-doors-after-33-years-wbna15195272. “CBGB History.” CBGB & OMFUG, www.cbgb.com/about. Accessed 7 Jan. 2024. Schade, Alessandra. “NYC’s CBGB Still Leaves a Powerful Legacy 50 Years Later.” Time Out New York, Time Out, 20 Dec. 2023, www.timeout.com/newyork/news/nycs-legendary-cbgb-still-leaves-a-powerful-legacy-50-years-later-122023.

Question: How important is it to have spaces like this in the modern day? Do you believe that online interaction supplements in-person spaces for creativity? How does the internet allow underground bands to succeed whereas before it was so hard? Activity: Listen to some artists/bands that got popular at CBGB like The Ramones, Television, or The Patti Smith Group. Can you hear any of their influences in modern-day alternative music?

Trash and Vaudeville is a fashion store founded by Ray Goodman in 1975. It was one of if not the first store in the city that catered specifically to alternative fashions, and soon became the place to go for both rockstars and everyday people to find unique clothing items. The store opened its original location in St. Marks Place, a hot spot for alt culture with lots of rock and underground music venues, so Goodman opened a clothing store to match. The location moved after 41 years due to rising rent and the area losing its previous punk rock scene, however, its new location a couple of blocks down is still regularly frequented by modern-day alt-fashion enthusiasts. Trash became so impactful because it allowed alternative fashion to be more accessible to the community. The store is heavily associated with Tripp NYC, as Goodman’s wife is the creator of the brand. Alongside Tripp clothing, Trash and Vaudeville has been known for selling black skinny jeans, leather jackets, and Dr Martin boots. In fact, it was one of the first locations in the United States to stock the British boots that were so popular in the European punk scene. A clothing store may not seem as important to a community as a music venue or bar, but fashion is a very important aspect of alt culture. Alternative fashions like punk, goth, and emo are founded on the basis of pushing social norms. Trash and Vaudeville was considered to be one of the only places people could buy punk, goth, and other avante-garde styles of clothing. It created a space that provided resources for anyone in the community to express themselves through fashion. Sources: Bishop, Naomi Melati. “Remembering Trash and Vaudeville, The Home of NYC Punk.” I-D, 14 Mar. 2016, i-d.vice.com/en/article/7xvj84/remembering-trash-and-vaudeville-the-home-of-nyc-punk. Correal, Annie. “Trash and Vaudeville, a Punk Emporium, Leaves Its East Village Home.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 29 Feb. 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/02/29/nyregion/a-punk-emporium-and-mecca-for-misfits-leaves-its-east-village-home.html. “Trash and Vaudeville History.” Trash And Vaudeville, www.trashandvaudeville.com/pages/trash-and-vaudeville-history. Accessed 11 Jan. 2024.

Question: How important is fashion to you and how do you use it to express yourself? Activity: Find a way to push some social norm with an outfit, even if it’s in a small way. Draw on your jeans or shoes, wear a bold makeup look, or anything else that many people may question.

Trans-Pecos is an all-ages music venue and community center opened in 2013 by Todd Patrick, an underground concert organizer, and Sam Hillmer, founder of the band Zs. The two wanted to create an inclusive, community-centered space to fill the hole left when the previous venue, Silent Barn, was chased out of the area. Silent Barn was a similar venue that was forced to move out of the location by the city and eventually closed down in its second location in 2018 due to financial and location struggles. When Silent Barn moved, the area lost a vital community space, and in 2012, Todd Patrick was asked by the building’s owner to revive the place. Patrick designed Trans-Pecos to be a small, independent venue that didn’t have to be reliant on large turnouts or commercial success to stay afloat. When describing his initial intentions, Patrick stated “I want it to be a self-sustaining entity that’s doing intriguing and interesting stuff.” Because of this, the venue is a place for a variety of underground artists to perform avante-garde sets. While the venue mostly focuses on music, but also hosts events open to the community such as workshops, comedy shows, zine fests, and more. Something that makes Trans-Pecos so special is its focus on being a place for everyone. The venue creates a multitude of spaces for people of all ages, backgrounds, and subcultures to meet others like them and feel safe and included in offline spaces. The event that I usually go to, called Club Kitten, is a reoccurring event with live performers and DJs playing anything from Breakcore to Screamo. The event is intended to be a safe space for trans people, furries, and any other social outcasts to be silly, wear animal ears, and feel safe to be themselves. Other performing groups like Sissies of Mercy, Critical Hit, and BADDANCE provide a space for goths, people of color, ravers, queer people, and alternative thinkers of every kind so long as they are inclusive and kind to one another. Under a post from November 13th, 2023, the Trans-Pecos Instagram states “What ties us together? That we put humanity and community first. Even over the art. Once you enter the toom we believe that, by putting each other first, what we can create is beyond our wildest imagination.” This is why venues like Trans-Pecos are vital to a better future for everyone. Places like these that focus on creating community spaces for alternative people to meet safely and easily in person and make connections are important to maintaining alternative culture. Sources: Beta, Andy. “Living Rooms: Visiting New York DIY Space Trans-Pecos.” Pitchfork, 10 Feb. 2016, pitchfork.com/features/article/9805-living-rooms-visiting-new-york-diy-space-trans-pecos/. “Instagram @trans.Pecos.” Instagram, www.instagram.com/trans.pecos/?hl=en. Accessed 5 Jan. 2024. Koslow, Tyler. “Inside Trans-Pecos, the Inclusive Ridgewood Venue and Community Center.” Brooklyn Magazine, 28 July 2015, www.bkmag.com/2015/07/28/trans-pecos/#:~:text=The%20Silent%20Barn%20space%20was,same%20space%20in%20December%202013. “A Message from the Silent Barn Collective.” Silent Barn, silentbarn.org/. Accessed 5 Jan. 2024. Schaefer, John. “At Trans-Pecos, Musical Life after Brooklyn: WNYC: New York Public Radio, Podcasts, Live Streaming Radio, News.” WNYC, www.wnyc.org/story/trans-pecos-musical-life-after-brooklyn/. Accessed 5 Jan. 2024.

Questions: How do you feel about safe spaces for specific people being open to others? For example, how would you feel if Club Kitten, an event specifically curated for queer and trans people, was heavily attended by people outside the LGBT+ community? Does this make a space more inclusive or does it ruin a safe space? What is the most important aspect of underground venues like Trans-Pecos? Do you believe that the more popular a venue gets, the less it maintains its inclusiveness and intimacy? Activity: Go to an underground music show and a more popular club or venue. Take notice of the music, the people, and the environment in each and contrast. Compare the differences in the crowd and how they interact with one another. How might each venue make someone feel more at home or out of place?