A civil court judge ruled in favor of the punk rock landmark, CBGB's. The judge ruled that the venue could not be evicted from it's Bowery location in lower Manhattan. The dispute between the venue and The Bowery Residents' Committee started back in 2001 when CBGB's was given a bill for over $300,000 in unpaid rent, rent increases, interest and fees. CBGB's stated that they had no idea that they owed the money. The bill had been mostly paid off when CBGB’s received another bill earlier this year for $76,000. The ruling does not confirm the renewal of their lease but it does give CBGB's the upper hand. The unpaid rent, rent increases, interest and fees spawned from a series of accounting mistakes from The Bowery Residents' Committee end and not from CBGB's. The Bowery Residents' Committee is a non-profit organization that aides the homeless people of the Bowery and lower Manhatten.

CBGB's 12 year lease is up at the end of August. The venue has staged a month (8/7-9/11) long concert series to raise the money to save CBGB's from eviction. The shows include such bands as, Against Me!, Misfits, Gorilla Biscuits, Black Train Jack, Living Colour, The Vandals, Jerry's Kids, Kid Dynamite, Grey Area, Thursday, Dead Boys, Peter and The Test Tube Babies, Adrenalin O.D., Anti-Nowhere League, Flipper, Sham 69, Youth Brigade, Sick Of It All, Dr. Know, The Exploited, Circle Jerks, D.I., Adolescents and many more.
CBGB's has been a punk landmark since the mid seventies with bands like Blondie, The Damned, The Misfits and The Ramones playing shows there. Other great bands, The Talking Heads, Joan Jett, Bruce Springsteen, MC5s, The Police, Iggy Pop and Pearl Jam, graced the small stage at the venue. During the late 80's, the venue became not only a punk Mecca but also a hardcore stronghold. All the great hardcore bands played on stage where Joey Ramone first paved the way for all of them play what they wanted to play. Bold, Bad Brains, Youth Of Today, Gorilla Biscuits, Judge, SSD, Murphy's Law, Agnostic Front, Reagan Youth, Sick of It All, Sheer Terror, Underdog, Black Train Jack, 7 Seconds, Slapshot and many others lead the mosh pits.

I was able to attend only one show at CBGB's. The Cro-Mags, American Nightmare (Give Up The Ghost) and Burn in the spring of 2001. It was one of the most amazing times I have ever had. Even my trip to the bathroom was amazing. I just thought, I'm going to the bathroom where Joey Ramone and Civ (gorilla biscuits/CIV) have. It sounds pathetic but it is a historic landmark. It was like walking around Mt. Vernon and sitting on the porch where George Washington sat and smoked a pipe. I was amazed that such a small and dank place could help explode a small youth movement into an unprepared world and it could grow into a huge uprising all over the world that spawned many more genres and gave black sheep youth a place to find themselves and share themselves and their love for art and angst with others who felt the same way and danced to the same beat.


*Chaz