THE BRAZENBLOG MUSEUM, PART 1: WILLIAMSBURG

So of course, this wave of NYC nostalgia presently goin' 'round, coupled with the wave of requests I've received recently for historic materials, has made it inevitable that I go through some old boxes and drawers to find artifacts of my own bohemian existence folks might be interested in. I have found quite a bit of stuff, so much good shit in fact that I'm going to have to break it up into multiple parts on this blog. Suffice it to say my old trusty scanner has seen quite a workout, and that I've found some extreme rarities to preserve, starting with a whole load of old flyers announcing gigs I've seen and played in NYC in the late '80s and '90s, particularly in Williamsburg. So here, especially in light of the Brazenblog being cited by the NY Times, are some vintage Billburg flyers, with stories about each: 

LIZARD'S TAIL SCHEDULE, JULY 1989 -- Starting things off with a bang, here is a full month's schedule of events at the coolest place any of us ever played at, EVER. I draw your attention to the last event listed on this flyer. An incredible night of hypnotic wonder headlined by the Gamma Rays, who as great as they were as always, found themselves quite the tough act to follow this time thanks to two incredible performances preceding theirs: Dina Emerson, who did some incredible vocal loop pieces with her absolutely amazing voice... and SMACK DAB, playing their second gig ever (according to notes in an old journal of mine). This was my very first time seeing the amazing Linda Hagood (oh, what a babe) do her thing backed by Bill Berger, who had first heard Linda on a tape she submitted to his legendary Lo-Fi program, on drums. It would be far from my last as Linda quickly became a significant force in the little scene we had going there at the time. Truly a night to remember forever!

BILLY SYNDROME, LIZARD'S TAIL, 1988/89 -- And here are flyers for two Syndrome shows of high importance for me: the first time I caught him at the Tail, then that time seven months later when Living Guitars opened for him. These kids today don't know the half of it...

LIVING GUITARS & JURASSICS, LIZARD'S TAIL, JANUARY 5, 1990 -- The last of our three gigs at the Tail, along with our "brother band," whom Jet was an original member of before leaving them to partner with me. This was also to be our next-to-last gig as Living Guitars. Jurassics actually lasted another year when I joined them after we broke up, though the only gig we played during my time was at a private bachelor party with My Sick Friends (remember that one, Jet? Our "battle of the bands," if you will, and I think yours won!). The flyer was designed by Lonesome Steve a/k/a Big Drag, and though it's one of the more unconventional gig flyers in my collection, our love of White Castle is nonetheless very real. 

THUNDERING URBAN UNDIES RAID, APRIL 28, 1995 -- Handwritten flyer by Malcolm Tent, who had formed Thai Raid just a few months earlier with myself and two of the Nice Undies. The name was Malcolm's clever condensation of the original lineup of Thundering Lizards, Urban Outdoorsmen, Nice Undies, and Thai Raid (whom Malcolm and I formed after both leaving the Lizards). This one's a LONG story, folks. The Right Bank had closed, sort of, at the end of 1994, but some folks wouldn't let it die. This led to a few more on-and-off re-openings over the next few months and a few more shows under the Tepkar banner (I HATED that name), of which this was the very last one to be held in its big back room. This would also turn out to be the last Nice Undies show. Just before the show, Conrad, frontman for the Urban Outdoorsmen, quit the band and moved back to his home state, Texas. There were more crazy and twisted goings-on at this thing than I should detail here... but let's say this gig almost didn't happen. Shortly afterwards, the Right Bank closed again, sealed off the back room, and then reopened, with gigs taking place in the back of the bar instead up till 2003 when it closed for good.

 

THAI RAID, RIGHT BANK, JUNE 20, 1997 -- And here is the first flyer I ever designed on a computer, for a show at our official home base. We'd just released our first EP on orange vinyl which we'd recorded right around the corner in a studio in a dark alley...

VARIOUS THUNDERING LIZARDS FLYERS 1992-1995 -- Feast your everlovin' eyes on this gallery, folks. This is a virtual treasure trove of original flyers drawn by Karl Lorenzen a/k/a K.L. He started off as a floating member of the Lizards, but quickly found his place within the group as both its resident poet and artist extraordinaire, and later a full-fledged performing member himself. K.L., apart from being one of the coolest and most humble humans you'd ever want to meet, designed most of the Lizards' flyers as well as the sleeve for our first single, and I only wish I knew where the hell he is now because I lost touch with him as soon as I moved to Florida... if anyone out there has any info, let me know ASAP! (Yeah, I know only the first one is for a show in Williamsburg, but who's counting?)

I also found three issues of The Curse, a local xeroxed art and literature zine published and distributed in Williamsburg in the mid-1990s which in my view was WAY cooler than Waterfront Week. These include guest articles from the likes of Jim Marshall (a/k/a ex-WFMU DJ The Hound) and Legs McNeil, and enough vintage time-period content to make old Billburg residents cry in their beer.

One last artifact before I go... particularly, the flyer for Evil Jim Friendly's 40th birthday party at the Right Bank. If you knew Billy, you certainly knew Jimmy. JFK Jr. Royal Airforce was the last band he and Billy had before Billy had his stroke. He lives in Florida now, just like me. How it all comes down to fate in the end... 

That's it for Part 1, folks, stay tuned for more from the Brazenblog Museum in the very near future!