January 31, 1997 - The Jesus Lizard headline CBGB

Then Comes Dudley / Gladiator (The Jesus Lizard)

New Year’s Eve 1997 started out like every other NYE party we had. The staff came in for what was early for us to set up the bar – noon – ugh.

Aside from the usual nightly set ups -- cooling beer, getting ice, and restocking, we had to decorate.  Balloons had to be filled, streamers hung and plastic champagne glasses assembled.

Ridiculous as it sounds, decorating CBGB like a Sweet 16 party was an event of its own. Everyone was on call that day, but that didn’t mean we didn’t party and have a great time.  Hilly would inhale helium and make prank phone calls.  Jackie the bartender would make pitchers of Bloody Mary’s while the rest of us would drink and throw streamers.

We probably drank too much and ran out of time because by the time the Jesus Lizard showed up to load in, CBGB looked more like a dethroned beauty queen, than Miss America.

As the band brought gear in, balloons were popping and streamers fell.  We slapped the stuff up the best we could and we kept partying.  To be honest I’m not sure if a countdown to midnight ever happened; we were all involved so busy pouring and passing champagne, throwing noisemakers to customers and kissing strangers.

The Jesus Lizard controlled the chaos.  You can see from the video that the band is fearless and fierce. I love where vocalist, David Yow is swaying in front of the “no stage diving” sign and goes into the crowd. At the end of the clip, you can see him revert back to a ‘regular” guy giving the crowd “high fives.” 

It certainly was a New Years to remember, even if I can’t remember all of it…

CBGB.COM

Experience it: 2001

After attending the California Music Awards, sponsored by BMI in NYC, Green day, from Berkley, CA, headed down to CB’s to see their old friend, Jesse Malin and his new band “Bellvue".  Greenday performed crowd pleasers such as “She” “Longview “and who can forget The Eye Of The Tiger?

Gibby, from High Speed Chase, put the night together. Since he worked at SST sound, he also had the good fortune to get a good deal on a backline consisting of some Marshall amps and DW drums. The fact that no one had to reset up the gear, except for just a little tweaking, made the night run smoother, and not too late.

Coerced by all their friends in the audience, Greenday took the stage. It was after midnight, and they were a bit buzzed, which probably explains their abbreviated songs. When you check out the clip, it’s interesting to see people passing the stage and going to the toilets, totally unfazed by what is happening on stage. At first I thought, “jaded New Yorkers,” but then I realized that the band were just their friends and this was the norm.

In a recent interview Billy Joe said that he went to CBGB to see a band and ended up actually playing on stage, and found that was the ultimate way to experience CBGB.

CBGB.COM

10/30/87 CBGB Record Canteen

Guns N Roses - Used To Love Her (Live)
Uploaded by hushhush112

Hilly got a call from his old friend Danny Heaps, from Geffen Records. He needed a gig for one of their new bands called “Guns and Roses.” He said they were a lot of trouble and unreliable, but he needed them to do something cool. Hilly told Danny that he would love to have them do an in store at the Record Canteen. At the time, CBGB’s Record Canteen….

Hilly asked what the band needed in terms of a performance fee. Danny replied that all they needed was a bottle of Jack and a case of Bud.

On the day Guns and Roses appeared we prepared for the worst. Extra security and barricades were in place. They were tough looking in a metal kind of way, but really polite and seemed surprisingly professional. Their crew set up their gear for an intimate acoustic set. The fans were so happy to see them up close and they knew all the lyrics.

After the set, the band signed autographs and had more drinks. As I was picking up their empties, Slash reached out and put his hand in my shirt pocket. He grabbed my pack of Marlboros, copped a feel, and winked.

“What the fuck was that?” I asked.

He just smiled and asked for a light, so I gave him one.

A fan standing next to me in shock, told me how lucky I was. I just shrugged and said, “I guess.”

She seemed insistent, and finally asked if she could have my shirt. I gave it to her. I was down to a very pretty purple bra when Curtis, threw me a tshirt from behind the bar.

Sal, our doorman had watched this all go down. So in rock and roll spirit, he spent the next five years telling anyone who would listen about that night when Gun’s played and Louise took Axel home.”

To this day people think Axel and slept together – I’ll never tell.

CBGB.COM