CBGB, RIP? OMG!

This is not new news. In fact, it's been making waves for a very long time, but I finally felt compelled to dedicate some time to the issue. If you haven't a clue what I'm talking about, I might give you the benefit of the doubt if you have a good reason like you were out of the country (although I'm sure if you were in Europe you might have heard about it anyway). On the slight chance someone has a good reason, I'll explain.

CBGB & OMFUG has been located at 315 Bowery Street in New York City since 1973. Owned and operated by Hilly Kristal, the club has hosted just about anyone who's anyone. As a humourous sidenote, CBGB & OMFUG stands for "Country, Bluegrass, Blues and Other Music For Uplifting Gormandizers." The first three describes the music Kristal had originally intended for the club, but that wasn't happening. After a disasterous show by local rock band Television, the club began to attract rock bands, eventually progressing into punk rock, for which it's most notorious. Today you're likely to see a lot of unknowns, as many of the famous once were when they played there, but occasionally a favorite will appear on its famous stage.

It's something to be remembered when your band plays its first show there. You are, after all, adding your name to a lengthy list of incredible acts who have stood in its spotlights. Everyone from The Talking Heads and Everclear to The Police and The Ramones have performed to tightly packed crowds in this small but historic venue. Suffice to say it's likely one of the most famous rock venues in the country.

Which is why it's hard to imagine that a place so pivotal in the music industry would be shut down. That is, tragically, the fact we all must face. CBGB lies in an area of town that has shaped up over the 32 years since the club opened, causing rent to gradually increase, and eventually skyrocket. The current rent is $38,000, 63.3 times more expensive than the $600 charged in 1973, and likely to increase. The Bowery Residents' Committee is also charging Kristal $91,000 in owed back rent. That, coupled with the need to keep alcohol and ticket prices reasonable and still feature local and unknown acts is creating huge financial woes for the club. At this point, it's next to impossible for Kristal to pay up, and the future of CBGB hangs in the balance.

Does this signify the end of the era of CBGB? One organization says it doesn't have to. Project Save CBGB & OMFUG declares itself "the official project to save CBGB", and that's basically what it is. Although the situation is, quite frankly, dire, and the group is nothing more than a community action group, don't underestimate their strength. Celebrities including Blondie's Deborah Harry, Cyndi Lauper, Tommy Ramone, and, mother of the late Joey Ramone, Charlotte Lesher have all voiced their support for the group's goals and have even made appearances on Project Save CBGB's behalf. The group even has support in Japan.

Since their its conception, the group has hosted press releases, encouraged celebrities to speak out, and are now having guests to the venue fill out surveys, probably in the hopes of proving that the the club is both venue and tourist attraction. The most stressed part of the Project Save CBGB agenda is to get the club landmark status, but that may not even be enough to save the club. It's hard to determine what would.

If you're feeling compelled to give your support to CBGB, the most common way to do that is to buy a t-shirt from the CBGB online store. I actually did that back in high school and I still have my shirt and wear it proudly. I hope that people will contribute their bodies and a little bit of cash to CBGB. I know there are a lot of other worthy causes you could be out there supporting, but there's nothing like CBGB. Sure, there are a lot of really great clubs out there, but there's only one CBGB. The name is synonymous with underground music. The loss of CBGB would be a huge blow to the music industry in my opinion. And even more tragic, it would be just another club to chalk up to high rent. Is there an epidemic? Was there a memo we missed? When did this whole "raise the rent and kick out the music clubs" movement start? I think it would be a good thing to stop, and so, if you're willing to take my advice, do your part, however small that might be, to protect the most historic venue in all of music.

Again, the Project Save CBGB & OMFUG website is right here.

/end rant

In other news...

I've recently been on a Death Cab for Cutie kick, again. Ever since I heard that their most recent attempts at songwriting following their signing with Atlantic have been more than successful, I've gotten my hopes up. I've always tried to stay optimistic about the band considering how much talent they have and how dedicated they've always been to maintaining their integrity. So while I'm anticipating their upcoming September 10th release, Plans, I can sit back and watch their DVD documentary, Drive Well, Sleep Carefully: On the Road With Death Cab For Cutie. The film will first be released to audiences at the Seattle Film Festival in June and then have a national release on July 26th. The documentary, filmed during their 2004 North American tour, takes the viewer on tour with Death Cab, giving him or her the opportunity to access places the normal concert-goer would never see. I'm expecting it to be highly insightful, and I hope that it will give conclusive evidence that the band's goals were, are, and always will be music first money second. This is especially important considering they're on Atlantic now. So soften your hearts for a few months and hope for the best.

A while back I told you about a band named Bunky. I thought it was funny that I had just named my stuffed monkey Bunky when I found out about the band. Now you can check out the video for their song "BaBa" at their website. Hooray!

Calling all 14-year-old girls: sign the petition to bring back Franz Ferdinand lead singer Alex Kapranos' lovely locks back! Seriously, who cares? It's hair. It doesn't change the fact that they're really awesome. So when you're done talking about how, lyk, Franz Ferdinand iz soooo hott n u cn't w8 2 c dem liv n ull cri wen u c dem, stand up for what you believe in and sign this stupid petition.

So, yeah, I'm practically peeing myself over how good this new Sufjan Stevens album is. I haven't been able to shut up about it at all. I'm surprised that I'm not listening to it right now (I'm listening to Sunny Day Real Estate's Diary... ah, the good old days). It should come as no surprise, then, that when I saw the headline "Sufjan Stevens Reveals First Round of 2005 Tour Dates!" on Pitchfork's main page, I got my hopes up. Then I find out when I click it that, oh yeah, they're all on the friggin' west coast! Grr! This is just the first round, though, so maybe Columbus won't be the crap for crap place it usually is and Stevens will get a gig here. That would make my month. By the way, Illinois comes out July 5th, which happens to be my birthday. Not that I'm trying to remind anyone or anything...

This isn't news, but I thought it might be beneficial for all you readers to get a re-cap of something I'd forgotten about. Caribou is Manitoba, just under a different name due to a really really inane lawsuit. Read the whole story so you're caught up.

Leave it to the Gallagher brothers to stir up trouble. This time it's Liam Gallagher taking cues from his brother Noel, both of Oasis fame. Liam reportedly spoke to The Bravery's Sam Endicott and encouraged him to continue his fight with The Killer's Brandon Flowers. Says Liam, "It's really good to see bands fighting again." One might remember that the Gallaghers are no strangers to fighting. Remember Blur? Ah yes, the life of a self-righteous rock star is never boring.

Wonder what to buy tomorrow? You might be interested in checking out these few albums. Remember Headphones is the side project of Pedro the Lion's David Bazan and others. Also, don't blame me if the new Weezer album sucks. I'm not telling you to buy it or anything, I'm just saying you might want to hear it so you know that it sucks.
Headphones - Headphones
Spoon - Gimme Fiction (w/ bonus disc)
Weezer - Make Believe

Upcoming Columbus Shows

5.13 - Mae w/ The Academy Is... and Jamison Parker - Little Brothers
5.15 - Andrew Bird w/ Antenna - Little Brothers
5.17 - Stereo Total w/ Les Georges Leningrad - Little Brothers
5.27 - The Killers w/ Hot Hot Heat and Robbers on the Street - Promowest Pavilion
6.03 - Tokyo Rose - High Five
6.08 - Modest Mouse - Promowest Pavilion
6.13 - Iron and Wine - The Newport
6.29 - Black Eyed Peas w/ Talib Kweli - Promowest Pavilion
8.31 - Coldplay - Germain Ampitheater

Daily Downloads
From Regnyouth:

The Juliana Theory - Love (link, mp4)
Ben Folds - Songs for Silverman (link, mp3)
The Arcade Fire - Funeral (zip)