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[Dave Dermont]

Below is a bulletin posted by the CBGB MySpace people.


It is with deep sadness and regret that we inform you of the death of Hilly Kristal, who died on Tuesday, August 28, 2007, from complications from Lung Cancer. Kristal, 75, founded the legendary rock club CBGB and ran the club for 33 years. A singer and songwriter himself, Kristal opened the club to showcase "Country Bluegrass and Blues"; instead the club became a breeding ground for Punk rock. Among the many acts that called CBGB home were Blondie, the Talking Heads, Television, Living Color, Patti Smith and the Ramones. The club closed in October 2006, but CBGB continues, with a retail store in New York City and worldwide merchandise sales; in addition, there currently are plans to open new CBGB clubs in several locations.

Kristal is survived by his daughter, Lisa Kristal Burgman, son, Mark Dana Kristal, son-in-law Ger Burgman, grandchildren Jenny and Adam Burgman, CBGB, and the thousands of artists and musicians who played the club.

A private memorial service is planned. A public memorial will be held at a later date. Contributions in Hilly's honor may be made in his name to the American Cancer Society or to the Hilly Kristal Foundation for Musicians and Artists (168 Second Avenue, PMB 207, New York, NY 10003).

[Andy Peters]

NY Times article.

I do not mourn the loss of CBGB; its usefulness ended when clubs like Mercury Lounge and Brownies opened and started booking three good bands a night instead of seven shitty ones.  Anyone who had to deal with Louise knows exactly why the venue ceased to be relevant for showcase gigs.

And yeah, those Sunday punk matinees were as chaotic and as dangerous as you've been told.

But if it wasn't for Hilly opening the place and letting all of those good bands play there, we'd all be a lot worse off.  Don't believe me?  Then you clearly don't own a copy of Television's Marquee Moon and your life sucks so go kill yourself and post your suicide video on YouTube, or something.

Once upon a time, a dear friend worked at the CBGB Record Canteen, one of the many businesses Hilly tried to make fly in the buildings on either side of the club.  One day, while visting her and having a beer at the bar, Hhilly wandered in and sat down.  Jill introduced me to him by saying, "Andy does sound at Maxwell's" and Hilly didn't miss a beat: "So, you've got a megaphone in there?"  Gotta love that friendly club competition.

-a

(PS: not quite a megaphone but in retrospect, it was the 8088 PC-XT vs today's Core 2 Duos of PA systems.)