GREAT GILDERSLEEVES--331 Bowery between 2nd and 3rd Streets. Presumably named in honor of the '40s radio show and film series The Great Gildersleeve. In Punk magazine's "Summer 1979 Punk Club Guide" [see Punk: The Original (New York: Trans-High Publishing, 1996)], Gildersleeves is given a 3-star, "This place is smokin!" rating. But to my frustration I've yet to locate any concrete background info about the joint--ownership, exact years of operation, history of the building, atmospheric accounts, etc. Thus the best I can offer is a brief list of some bands who played there. Most gig dates are in the '79-'83 range, so I gather the place didn't see the other side of 1984.
On April Fool's Night, 1979, Elvis Costello and the Attractions played a whirlwind three shows at three separate venues--the Bottom Line, Lone Star Cafe, and Gildersleeves. This was around the time of Elvis' notorious denigrating remarks about Ray Charles; here's a Rolling Stone article which describes the controversy and mentions the extra security needed for the G.G. gig (including a couple of Hell's Angels recruited from around the corner).
Public Image, Ltd., April 22, 1980--a couple of days after a show at the Palladium.
The J. Geils Band, April 27, 1980. That night's rendition of "Love Stinks" was later released on a 12" promo picture sleeve. Listen to the mp3, which starts off with the club's outgoing phone message regarding the gig--apparently the band was billed as Juke Joint Jimmy and His Houseparty Rockers.
Starz, sometime in 1980--read one fan's memories here.
Sonic Youth played the club on June 3, 1981 (their second show ever, as openers for Glenn Branca), and on June 12 the following year. Seems Thurston Moore played there again on February 20, 1983, as a member of Even Worse (which included future Big Takeover honcho Jack Rabid).
Thrash guitarist Neil Turbin played the club as a member of the Newrace and Anthrax. Dig some Village Voice ads for a couple of his '82 gigs here--one of them lists Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers on October 2. Thunders & Co. are also known to have played there on November 27 and New Year's Eve of '82, and February 26, 1983. Here are sound engineer Jimmy Miller's recollections of one of these shows.
The Tickets, various dates in '82/83.
Black Flag, March 13, 1983.
Husker Du, April 17, 1983. Robert Christgau was there and maintains that fewer than a dozen witnesses were present. (Also dig this Christgau state-of-the-scene Voice article dated October 23, 1978, which discusses several noted clubs of the time.)
The Beastie Boys, still in their hardcore period, April 24, 1983. The flyer for this show also lists Reagan Youth, the Blessed, Artless, and You Suck, and further announces a Circle Jerks gig for the following week. Then a "teenage shutterbug," my pal Justina snapped a photo of the Jerks at that show--and also got a few shots of Heart Attack on some other Gildersleeves night.
This flyer for a May 29, 1983 show with S.S. Decontrol also lists several big-name hardcore shows for June of that year, including the Misfits, Minor Threat, G.B.H., and D.O.A. (who also did at least one other date on December 6, 1983).
Other bands/performers associated with the club include Iggy Pop, Another Pretty Face, the Flashcubes, Thundertrain, the Nihilistics, 15 60 75, the Savage Skulls, Amtrak, Kraut, Jackal, the Blind Dates, the Privates, Marshall Crenshaw, Gemini Jones, Doug Wahlberg, the Laughing Dogs, the Crumbsuckers, the Brats, and these unknown mudwrestlers.
One of the few bits of commentary about the club that I was able to find comes from Bruno Ravel of Danger Danger: "I started going there when I was 14 and continued for years until they closed down. It was a great scene. It gave me the bug to become a rock musician. Sure, I loved to play and loved music but hanging out in this club was like being backstage at a concert. Totally decadent, trashy and cool. I wish I could go back, even for one night." The band's 2000 album was entitled The Return of the Great Gildersleeves; its cover photo was taken on the same block where the club had been.
Lord knows what's at 331 Bowery now--probably a condo construction site. But here are a couple of blog entries about the NYC club-closure issue, here's the site for the club currently most at stake, and here's an essay on the history of NY hardcore written by Uncle Al of Murphy's Law.
UPDATE 12/29/2012: Unbeknownst to me at the time I wrote this post, the building still exists. A while back I posted a bunch of 1977 and 1978 Gildersleeves ads from the Voice. Here's a 2009 post about the club from the Ffanzeen blog. A Gildersleeves reunion show was supposed to happen in November 2012, but was cancelled due to Superstorm Sandy. And the place gets a brief mention on page 76 of Cyndi Lauper: A Memoir (New York: Atria Books, 2012): "In Blue Angel, we recorded expensive, bad demos to send around to record labels and played clubs like Great Gildersleeves, which was (physically and sort of symbolically) right down the block from CBGB. Gildersleeves was never the place, never the 'scene.' Instead it was always the corny rock place that had the straighter bands."
79 comments:
WORD HAS IT THE CRUMBSUCKERS WILL DO A REUNION SHOW IN NYC!
I was the dj at Gildersleeves. City closed it down and make it a homeless shelter/ business. Typical. Great memories though...
Does anyone remember Moonbeam?
They were Thursday nights. Nickel drinks if I remember
Then shooting across the street to see Wayne County at Studio 10.
Then off to the rooftop for a little latenite blow. Those were the eighties.
I know this is an old posting but I was there the night that The Brats played and someone threw a lit cigarette onto the stage and it exploded one of the flash pots. Many people were burned and and on fire in the club. The Brats had to change their name to The Secrets for awhile for legal reasons after that. And Stevo, I remember Moonbeam. The guitarist was great!! Gildersleeves was a great club with more of a biker atmosphere than punk. Sadly NYC is definintely not that city anymore....
The Brats will be playing Don Hills in NYC on Friday June 27th. Come down and remember what a good time we all had!
inbetween going to max's, cbgb's, and nobodys there was gildersleeves. it was a fantastic venue -- all the great bands who played there -- brats, wonderland, get wet, moonbeam, moon ruckus, the dolls, best --- i can't think of any others --- just so many played there. those were the "good old days" -- wish we had clubs like that today. yvonne
this is not exactly max's or gildersleeves but BBKING is a pretty good venue for bands. i saw the machine there as well as hindenberg.
T Roth and Another Pretty face, Moonbeam was great!, Hotshot, Starz played there at least once, Original Sin, (became Type O negative), lots of great hard rock there. Definitely was the biker chich bar compared to others downtown. Bigger and great stage to play on, good lights and sounfd compared to the smaller clubs...
The Privates were the Great Gildersleeves house band, playing most Saturday nights in 1981 and 1982. The club's owner, Tim Finnegan, was our manager at the time. Tim's (then-) contact info is listed on our band photo. Tim had another club, Gildersleeves North in Greenwood Lake NY. GG was totally a metalloid biker bar, we even had some roadies from the E. 2nd St. Hells Angels. We had a fantastic time in those days and got to share the stage with some incredible bands.
We lost our bass player Mike in 2007, but the rest of the band has just reformed as THE WAVOS. I'm happy to put my own project Rubberlegs on hibernate, while Anthony and I are having such a great time reviving our original new wave sound with Joe and taking it to a new level. Check out our myspace page, come see us live! We're playing in my lower east side / east village neighborhood a couple times a month. The Bowery for sure bears no resemblance to what it once was, but there are still lots of cool venues in the area.
Cheers!
Gordon Smith
April 2009
It was a miserable hole with no atmosphere that did not feel like any other club at the time: it felt like jocks, frats and yuppies, and just stank of poseurs. There was just something tainted with the place, so it was very rare we went there, even though they occasionally had some major shows, including Husker Du and PiL. There weren't many places to do a show around, so a band would play where it could, but it would be like seeing your favorite uncle in a hospice. In wrote a piece about in on my blog, dated 5/2/09: ffanzeen.blogspot.com
I remember it well Murf was the soundman who let me mix the Laura Kay band once in a wile.
I also played there as well in several bands. I remember people lik eAce Frehley, Cheeta Chrome Ritchie Scarlett.
I remember the small brick band room.
I was the tech at ROXIE Studios at the time, EVERBODY played there.
It was a "scene" that started turning to total SH** around 1983.
There is a hotel there now but I dont know if the ballroom was incorperated into the structure
-Joe L
Miserable hole with no atmosphere ?
Nothings so great now also.
Whats with this Don Hills joint. I cam in from Long Island to see Rock City Morgue.
I go to get a beer $8 WTF then sombody is tapping my foot befor I PU my change of a 20.
I look down to see a mans size boot, I look up and see this UGLY woman with long blond hair.
It was a guy !!!
In the old days people didnt pull this crap WTF ?
I saw Minor Threat there, June 1983 (I think). Hated the place but saw a couple of good shows. Also stood outside unable to get in once or twice because of age restrictions.
tom
Forget about the clowns who say this place sucked...Great Gildersleeves rocked and Tim was the man. The sound mix was great there as well. I moved to LA in '84 and the Whiskey, Gazzari's and the likes were all pay to play ripoffs. Tim always paid the bands fair and square. Tim even gave my band, "Future Tense", a cut of the bar.
Thanks Tim for giving NYC Gildersleeves and long live Rock and Roll!
Amen Tim was the man.
At the time Great Gildersleeves was the heart of the NYC music scene IMHO.
Places like CBGB were full of punks, Warhole type stuffies trying to be hip.
Hillie was fair but that place was just so small and dirty.
At the time I worked at Roxie we had bands playing all over the city. I played, GT, FOH and backlined tech'd for just about all of the NYC bands at some time.
Gildersleeves and Trax was the shit. They were large venues gave the local bands a chance when all th eother wouldnt look at ya
Tim was cool. He let out band Blue Void play a few times even though most of us were underage. He paid us a cut of the door for every person who showed with one of our handbill back in 80-81. Got to share the bill with Johnny Thunders... He never stiffed us, like Hilly Crystal did down the street.
Gildersleeves was a good time for great music.
PR
Does anbody know what this room (Great Gildersleeves) originall was ?
A Hotel lobby, Vaudville theater perhaps.
It was a very interesting structure, with collums.
Did it have a balcony or some kind of catwalk up there I dont remember ?
Interesting question Joe, I'll try to look into it. Wouldn't be surprised if it was a former theater or music hall of some kind, the old-time Bowery was rife with them.
Thanks D.C
I get conflicting storys
I been told it was part of the old McGurk whorehouse row including suicide hall in the 1800's.
McGurk owned a hotel and also ran all sorts of Vaudeville, burlesque and hooker's
See http://rob.hilluva.com/writing/McGurksSuicideHall.html
I remember Moonbeam, I went there when i was about 14 years old. I was so impressed with the rubinesque type paintings behind the bar. a far cry from cb's down the street. I also remember a band named Mother Goose. Does anyone remember them?
Hi everyone, I was in a band called feedback, drummer, we played, may 1980 at the gildersleeves, what a night....great memorys, John Morin
OMG.. I TOTALLY remember Mother Goose.. Weren't they Australian or something? GG was so much fun.. I used to go there all the time..;-)
To all you fans of The Gildersleeves. I'm sure my brother Tim would love to tell all of you thanks for the rockin good time. And as for the others....Go Fuck your self. I remember all the bands that played and all the incredable talent that passed through those front doors,all the great friends that I met there,and all the great and once in a life experience's I and everyone else had. To All Of You R&R Forever!!!!!
I worked with many bands at Gildersleeves from mid-1979 through 1981 or so. I did many gigs with Falcon Eddy there, and also Dina Regine, and several others. I hung out there a lot when I wasn't gigging, used to play pinball with John Oates. That was such a great place to hang out, such a good vibe, I miss it a lot. Used to eat at Phoebe's down the street, and always got a sandwich across the street at the deli. I, too, remember the small red-brick Dressing Room. I also remember hanging out with Tim and the crew after the show was over and we were done with load out- nice way to unwind. Great memories!
Moonbeam was a great band from Bayonne. Papa Bear had a very funky beat and the band really grooved. Bug played guitar as well as Murtch. One day, they showed up and everything was played with a straight rock beat. I'm guessing that some record company must have said something. They were never the same. Word has it that Ted Nugent tried to recruit Papa Bear as his drummer, but PB turned him down cold. Three months later the band was no more. They were great and deserved a shot at the big time. They should have had a bass player.
Mother Goose was a band that came in from New Zealand a couple of times. They dressed in odd outfits, the oddest of which was the singer's get-up of a baby hat and diapers. They played very well, had good songs and got a nice reception from the Gildersleeves crowd.
The 24th Street Band used to play at the Gildersleeves for a while until they got a call from Paul Schaffer at which time they dumped Cliff Carter and became the David Letterman Band. Will Lee still has that gig although, Hiram Bullock and Stevie Jordan lost their spots.
Public Image Ltd. did a gig there to promote an album and it was a very rockin' night.
It was a great place to hang and and even better place to play.
I did get to see, J. Geils, Hall and Oates, Molly Hatchet, PIL and Elvis Costello play there and got to hang with any number of rockers. One night Jagger and Bowie came together and Jagger walked directly into a wall upon entering the club. That was very funny. Another night found Gene Simmons, Ted Nugent and Robert Palmer sitting together while checking out some bands. Tony Bennt's sons had a band, I think it was Neon, so he would show up every now and then as would the Saturday Night Live gang when John Belushi was still around.
I hate to write this but, both Cindi Lauper and John Bon Jovi opened for bands I played with at the Gildersleeves.
There were almost always, Hell's Angels working in and hanging in the club. On occasion it made for exciting times, but on the whole it made the Gildersleeves a very safe place to be in.
Timmy Finnegan was a great guy and something tells me that he still is!
Thanks so much for the memories, T and others...I think this post has gotten more comments than any other.
I love reading these posts !! It brings me back to 1978. I was 14 or so, too young for the clubs but I was there anyway.Best times at Gildersleeves and CB's
Suicidal Tendencies had their NYC debut there in july or august 83 just after the 1st LP came out, fucking great show, and somehow managed to get a CBGB's show the next day
Thanks to everyone who were fans of Gildersleeves for all the great stories and for helping to jog some old memories back to the surface. We made it in from Jersey for lots of shows, especially to see Moonbeam. I too would love to see some photos. The way people are describing it is not how I recall, despite all the chemicals involved at the time. I liked it better than CBGB's which I thought really was a pit, except for the cat. Peace.
In May of 1978 my friends from Queens took me over into the city to Gildersleeves for my first taste of the nightlife. I was almost 16, and had my altered birth certificate to prove I was two years older. The guy looked at it, looked at me, (all of almost 5 feet, with braces), and said, 'you're almost 18, go on in'. What a great venue. We saw Starz, and the Brats, but what I remember most was Patti Smith Group 'Because the Night' blasting on the sound system, and everyone getting super pumped 'cause she was from that neighborhood and consequentially the excitement was something intense. It was a big, noisy venue, huge columns holding up the ceiling and a great sound system. Red and gold and black Roccoco interior. Very much a place to be. We used to go to the Kiev afterwards for blintzes at dawn, served by stuck-up junky punk waitresses. I tried to etch the whole thing into my memory at the time, because I knew something special and powerful was going on.
Tim Finnegan was the most riteous club owner around at the time.I was with The Barlow Sample Band and we played there alot. With Matt as DJ and Pinball at the bar, it was a great place to be on any given night.
The Bonnie Parker Band ..Moonbeam.. The Wonderland Band ..Sam The Band ..The Brats all rocked he Gildersleeves
t
Starvation Army (Cleveland OH) played with Suicidal Tendencies at GG, summer of 1983 I believe.
This was the club I hung at as a teen. I remember the night Paul Stanley came into the club. It was one of the biggest thrills as a teen to stand next to him. I always came to see the band "Moonbeam" whenever they played. I recently looked up the lead singer Michael Powers. He is still going strong as a blues singer. I will always miss this amazing club, great memories.
Mat was not the dj steven meinster was he was great he played real rock
Hey DJ Matt! Today, January 3, 2013, I finally happened to stumble across a GG blog. Do you still have any of that old vinyl I used to bring you, circa 1981, '82 & '83? Then we'd hit The Nursery! (What was that couple with the dog that lived nearby and hung with me and Joanne K? We flocked to Brownies on Ave. B! Plentiful party favors! Whatever? Anything! Remember my brown Buick Skyhawk? Not sure where we ever found ourselves parked come daylight. I remember your leather, sleeves rolled up. Other unmentionables! Still in Queens? Funny, the last time I was in Japan a few months ago, I actually thought of you - flashback of your cologne, perhaps? Find me on FB. Best, Bonnie (clue: I kept my ex last name, it starts with a "K" and I am a "grey tabby cat" yes, all fifty shades!) PS: Moonbeam rocked! Murch, Mike at the time, Bug, PB. Also, what was that Blues Club on 2nd Av that Murch and Bug gigged after MB disolved? Reflecting back, I can't believed I survived. Luckily I switched gears a tad before the height of the AIDS epidemic. Bless us all, survivors of the '70-'80s.
Sorry Steven Meinster, I beg to differ - Matt (lean and good thick dark hair, at the time) was the DJ cos I remember up in the booth and it wasn't you. I don't know Matt's time span, but it was the better part of the early '80s. Perhaps there was more than one DJ during the heyday of GG? I probably know you anyways. I pretty much knew everybody. Pauly Orlando was the door man. Yeah, I knew him too. I forgot the sound guys name. Once, I brought in a band "Feedback" who were normally pretty good, but the effed up cos they got too freakin high. I forget that biker beertender, scary - looked like wild Ozzie hair, but I liked when the opened up the other side behind the bar that actually had a quieter area with skanky booths. They were an escape from wild. The balcony was great, but OMG, those stairs with the red heels I used to rock back then with my side-zipped hot pants, which I actually still have as a souvenir of the night. Take care y'all! BK
Steve Meinster played inane classic rock n roll late 70`s who was in a time warp thinking he was still dj`ing on Wrong Island at Speaks.. Tim got rid of him, and preferred me. The majority know the years I was there.. Thank-you Bonnie for those kind words. Going to look you up:)
My Mom, Quita Koyaan(Bodley) Used to run lights for the Gildersleeves (mostly for The Brats in 78 and 79). I was 15 and would visit her for a month or so in the summers. I spent a lot of time there, pretty much got corrupted by the waitresses, I loved that place, eating at Phoebe's and sneaking into CBGB's occasionally. I always thought The Brats were the shit, good times.
I used to see them almost every time they played. Bonnie parker band was another really great band and Trigger.
For a while in the late 70's my company, Bagshot Road Sound was the house PA system....
It's interesting reading about what went on all those years ago at the beginning of what was to become a major industry (as far as sound and lighting production)
A band from the Bronx named "Innocence" was actually the first band to play at Gildersleeves. They went on to become the Wednesday night house band.
Don't kno what it used 2b. But I started going' 80 till closing. It did have a balcony/catwalk with tables. The floor was woodbeams resembling logs. If u spilled a drink or like my friend did one nite..started hurling, it wud rain down on everyone below. Lmao. Not cool, but great memories.
Stevo
Moonbeam was probably the main reason myself and my friends went to TGG. If i recall the had two guitarists a keyboardist and a wicked drummer, i think his name was Papa Bear? I believe the lead guitarists was Merch any how they always rocked it made you wonder why they never had a record deal. Their rendition of Little Wing still resonates in my spirit and they had a song aboit some girl that they " know she looked better/ i swear she looked better/ take off, take off, take off her rock and roll sweater". There were other bands that were good too like WOWIE, MOTHER GOOSE, but on those nights Moonbeam was there we were upstairs drinkin henies and rockin out.
Yes. Thank you for this.
Moonbeam!!!
Somewhere around '78 - '79, while I was playing in a band in Miami, I ventured home to NYC and caught Moonbeam....one great tune I recounted to my bandmates in F-L-A..."Thank God She's a Foxy Bitch!" If only for the title, they should have made the R&R Hall of Fame.....fierce guitarists...one thin white dude looked like he could run track...one larger black dude whose hand wrapped around that Strat...keyboard danced on the piano stool while holding down the bass line left-handed, soloing & comping with the right...loved them!
Hello. Use to frequent the club in 78 around there. I'm using quayside time, can't remember. Had great times there. Met some very nice girls now and then. Had a little fling thing with a waitress who lived on 14th.
It was not a hipster club by any means. It was rock and roll. When I went there, it was punks,old glitter fans, Jersey and tunnel crowd. Never left without a girl in tow. Great times. Pre-aids.
T. Roth, Wonderland, Lover, all good bands. The problem was, this club belonged in the mid-west where kiss and cheap trick fans were plentiful. Every other club was cooler. I went for the girls.
As for John Montgomery. My last and only encounter with him was a time waster. John Anonymous seems to have delusions of grandeur.
He was far from an important player on any scene. He will tell you otherwise. Don't make plans with this guy. That's all I'm saying.
Rik Fox introduced us. I haven't spoken to Rik since.
I worked as a roadie for the Wonderland band from approximately 1977 to 1983. I also owned a small lighting company and worked in almost all the major clubs in New York City during that time period.I probably worked and hung out at Gildersleeve's on a couple hundred occasions at least. I remember it to be a fantastic location with a great big wooden stage and a great big wooden bar in the back. The facility was old and almost all wooden. I thought the house lighting system and Soundsystem were of excellent quality.The place was a little ratty and trashy but in a good way. I remember the Hells Angels frequently hanging out and serving as bouncers. Never had an issue with the Angels and they were always good to me and my crew. The other roadies for the Wonderland band were Billy King, Sean Healy and Bobby ramos. The old Wonderland band always rocked especially Teddy wonder on keyboards and Rick the lead singer. As I recall U2 had their first or one of the first American gigs when they opened for Wonderland back in the late 70s at Guildersleeves.I also remember the Ramones brothers hanging out at the club and sometimes taking a nap on the sidewalk in front of the club during the day. I also worked at CBGB's on occasion and although it is a legendary club I always felt Guildersleeves was a superior venue for sound and music quality. I remember a waitress named Carol who lived on 14th St. that my friend Billy was dating. I also remember that the wonderland band lived together on 14th St. and had their rehearsal studio there-wonderland signed a record deal with Atlantic and put out two albums I believe and were the musical host on Saturday night live in the early 80s. They had to change their name to 3-D and become a little more new wavy. A lot of this is somewhat hazy as there was a lot of drug use in that time. And I remember the great Gildersleeve having liberal drug policies, including cocaine being chopped on many of the tables. Shout out to all my buddies from those glorious days.
Danny O
@Danny O
Sounds like you have some good memories. Me too. Ahhh the old times
Motorbaby
Loved Moonbeam.
I remember members of The Hell's Angels bouncing at Gildersleeves around 1980, and it seemed perfectly normal at the time. NYC now bears almost no resemblance to the way it was back then. Have to admit, I miss those days.
Hello, I am the younger brother of the owner of the great Gildersleeve in New York City... It is so great to read the stories and remember all the nights there, they were probably the best times of my life. There was so much awesome talent that came in that room, during the time that it was opened. The end of the club came when my brother wanted to buy the upstairs from the city that was a flop house, and at the same time the city wanted to take the whole building over to expand the flophouse, homeless shelter... The last night the club was open was in the middle of a long drawn out lawsuit battle, at the end of one particular night most of the pipes that were running through the floor upstairs in the homeless shelter burst and flooded the whole club, at that point I remember my brother saying lock it up when done here... The city roundup condemning the building for a little while and forcing my brother out... But he did manage to win a lawsuit against the city for damages... I will never forget this great times I had had the great Gildersleeve, I could tell stories for hours, what time it was...
For those of you who are wondering including the author of this column the owners name is Tim Finnegan, tim has owned and operated several clubs since back then but always thinks of the great Gildersleeve as something very special. Tim is now in Florida and is on Facebook, and has just recently opened another bar in Palm Coast Florida that also has live entertainment
Oh Honey, lay your hooch down...
I was a drummer that played in a lot of bands in New York back in the 80's and 90's. One of my favorite nights was playing great Gildersleeve with a band called Orphan Annie. I was wanted to play there before it closed. It was a fun venue.
I was a drummer that played in a lot of bands in New York back in the 80's and 90's. One of my favorite nights was playing great Gildersleeve with a band called Orphan Annie. I was wanted to play there before it closed. It was a fun venue.
I know this is a very old post but I just wanted to add that I loved Great Gildersleeves. I lived right nearby at the time and went quite often. I loved Mother Goose and became friends with them. They were from New Zealand and I am actually still in touch with some of them today!
Matt better get his shit together he got the job as being the DJ because I got married and then I came back and Tim F never fired me for any reason and it was my EQ that I let Matt use when I was not there so why are you lieing about me Matt that's not right I don't say anything bad about you we when friends for over 40years and I don't know what happen to you that you would post a lie about me
Moonbeam was great....circa '81 I was working college radio in Brooklyn and I was pushing them into rotation. Trouble was they had no decent demo ready for AirPlay. Also arranged a gig for them at Brooklyn Zoo as part of the radio station fundraiser. Solid musicians who deserved more.
Moonbeam was great....circa '81 I was working college radio in Brooklyn and I was pushing them into rotation. Trouble was they had no decent demo ready for AirPlay. Also arranged a gig for them at Brooklyn Zoo as part of the radio station fundraiser. Solid musicians who deserved more.
Hey...I was a little kid who booked a lot of local opening bands the nights ALEXANDER/HAMMER booked HC shows. I managed The Young +The Useless and BEASTIES Boys and Antidote in the early 1980's. Sometimes I'd do lights also. I lived that place. Really good times.
Moonbeam were fantastic! Merch is actually Michael Powers, and put out a blues album around 2004. The other guitarist was a kind of Frampton look alike called Bug, who used a talkbox, as well as some sort other sort of effects box that sat on a wobbly table next to him. Papa Bear was the drummer, and I think he sang their version of "Foxy Bitch". The songs I remember were 'R&R Sweater' (always the set opener), 'Bayonne Beauty', and 'Let 'Er Rip!". Great band. I also remember Susan (Ricky Bird left them and joined Joan Jett), T. Roth, and my faves, The Brats (Scott Sheets left them and played on Benatar's first 3 albums).
Matt was the DJ WHEN I LEFT TO GET MARRIED AND THEN ICAME BACK. THE ONLY REASON MATT WAS THE DJ IS BECAUSE I LET HIM . AND AS OF TODAY MATT IS A LOW LIFE. FOR SAYING LIES ABOUT ME THST ARE NOT TRUE. HE SHOULD GET HIS LIFE IN ORDER. I NO MATT FOR 50 PLUS YEARS AND I FEEL SORRY FOR HIM TO SCOPE SO LOW
I worked at Great Gildersleeves from the summer of 1983 until they closed in January of 1984. I can tell you a bit about the club's ownership and why it closed. I also worked at CBGB and can give a perspective on that place like no other. I was assistant manager from 1985 - 1989. I also worked briefly at s.n.a.f.u. Great place and worth knowing about. Feel free to contact me about any of this.
Also..Angry Samoans played here in '83 and it's driving me crazy..I think Antidote opened but it might have been the young and the useless. Anyone remember?
What a great place G. Gildersleeve was. Terrific sound, size & sound. Always felt safe, Hells Angels made sure of that.Get your hand stamped & you could go out get some air between acts & come back in as you pleased.Always a great crowd.CBGB while iconic..was a tiny pisshole compared to TGG.Enjoyed Moonbeam, The Privates, Sic Fucks,Richard Hell Voidoids,Starter,Red Alert. Caught what had 2b one of Johnny Thunders last shows, he passed shortly afterwards & many other bands.Always stayed till closing around 4a.m. My biggest regret was being short on cash the day the club announced they were selling an album of bands they recorded there live. Surely a collectors item today. Still looking for it today. Any info?
Wow! Murf!!! I remember him well. My band, Sacrifice, actually played there about 10 times after Danny Dennison from The Laura Kay band (who recorded us at his SEI Studios) got our feet in the door. I loved Great Gildersleevss because they gave the option to make free passes to get people to come (knowing what so few club owners today know -- that once people are out, they will spend the money on drinks). Murf always referred to my guitarist's Marshall stack as "The Tower Of Power". GREAT MEMORIES!!!
I played at this club back in the late 70s with a band called Bullitt. Mary Bracken Phillips was a Broadway star and she formed a New Wave band , we made a few demos but no cigar. Great club, lots of fun. Wild crowd! We used to be the warm up act for Moonbeam. They were great. Dont know why the didnt make it. Good songs...Bayonne Beauty, Rock and Roll Sweater...etc. Good memories of the good ol days of real rock ! Vin the bassman.
Eddie, any fans of the great Moonbeam can see Michael March Powers perform at Terra Blues NYC on Mondays and Fridays, still a phenomenal guitarist, check him out
Did not like the Brats AT ALL
It was a great place to see the best of our local bands, it only needed the stage and the bar. What more do you need when there are good bands and the owners and bartenders were great
You guys have good memory banks! I played with Bug Esposito from Moonbeam in his next band (a two-piece outfit called One Plus One where Bug played a monophonic guitar synth) and I knew Papa Bear (drums) Beanie (keys) and guitarist Murch (Michael Powers) who is a very nice guy and made a mean potato salad at parties back in the day.
Moonbeam were well known at Great Gildersleeves, and they were pretty much the house band at the Big Apple in their native Bayonne NJ. They were very adventurous for their time, even covered Autobahn by Kraftwerk.
Now here's a question, does anybody remember a hard rock band called Sun (or Son?) with a guy who played a fretted electric violin? I saw them at Gildersleeves and was quite impressed.
How about rouge! Left overs from Jon Lennons elephant memory band!
I just happen to pawn this blog. Saw your comment. John Montgomery passed away a few years ago. He was very talented but developed a drinking problem. Rik Fox is still around. I talk to him all the time. I'm actually going to see him in March when he comes to Nashville where I live now. If you want to tell me your name, I'll let him know! Or look him up on Facebook!
Damn talk to text, I tried to say found, not pawn!
My name is Mike. My best friend Ben and I ventured into TGG on a Thursday night, the night we always were out in the city. As my memory recalls it was the night TGG opened. We were the only two customers at the bar. We met Tim and Eric, the owners, Nelson and Eddie, the bartenders, Paul, the guy at the front door and from that night on we were treated like royalty. We never paid to get in, we always had a great time and got to know the guys at the club pretty well. For a couple of winters I ran the coat check just for kicks and I was there any way so why not. Ben bartended a couple of years later. We even got to know a few of the Hells Angels fairly well and were invited to backstage when the Grateful Dead played Radio City. The music was always good and sometimes great. Moonbeam was a really good band...Let It Rip! I worked the night Zebra played and got a copy of their new LP. We saw the J Geils show. It became home away from home for a couple of years. I lived in Queens and later at night could drive over the Williamsburgh Bridge and be there in 15 minutes. Those were the days!
I loved GG. I remember walking by CB’s when the heads were playing there, said fuck this Moonbeam’s playing at the sleeves.
David Lynch’s. There was a second club behind the bus station. It
Post a Comment