Hilly Kristal
September 23, 1931 – August 28, 2007
Hilly with Little Steven
Opened in 1973, Hilly Kristal’s CBGB became the epicenter of the punk and new wave movement thanks to his early bookings of such acts as Blondie, Talking Heads, New York Dolls, Patti Smith, Television and the Ramones. After moving to New York City after serving in the Marines, Kristal became manager of the storied Village Vanguard jazz club where he booked such acts as Miles Davis. In 1968, he co-founded the Central Park’s Schaefer Music Festival which, over the next decade, hosted the likes of the Who, Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen, the Doors and Aerosmith. In 1973, he opened CBGB – OMFUG, which stood for “Country, BlueGrass, Blues and Other Music For Uplifting Gormandizers.” He closed the club during a much publicized rent dispute in 2006. Hilly Kristal died of lung cancer at the age of 75.
Phil Seymour was a singer, songwriter and musician who gained a following during the new wave era thanks to such power pop classics as “Precious To Me” as well as “I’m On Fire” from his days fronting the Dwight Twilley Band. Seymour grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma where he met Dwight Twilley, another aspiring musician at a 1967 screening of the Beatles’A Hard Day’s Night. The struck up a friendship and a musical partnership that would eventually get them signed to Shelter Records who in 1975, released their first single, “I’m On Fire” which reached #16 on the Billboard singles chart. They would record just two classic albums together before Seymour went of on his own. Before the release of the first of his two solo albums, Seymour did session work, playing drums on power pop icons 20/20’s debut album, as well as singing backing vocals on Tom Petty’s “American Girl” and “Breakdown.” During the early ’80s, Seymour released two albums, Phil Seymour (featuring “Precious To Me”) and Phil Seymour 2 before the death of label head, Neil Bogart derailed his record company as well as Seymour’s career. In 1984, he joined the Textones, a Los Angeles band fronted by Carla Olson that was alt-country twenty years before the genre had a name. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with lymphoma not long after recording an album and touring with the band. Phil Seymour died as a result of the cancer at the age of 41.
Rick Garberson was the drummer for Akron, Ohio based post-punk band, the Bizarros, who formed in early 1976. Hailing from the city that gave us Devo, Pere Ubu and Chrissie Hynde, the Bizarros were an integral part of the scene and were in fact, the first local band to be signed by a national label, Mercury imprint, Blank Records. Garbeson died of carbon monoxide poisoning on July 15, 1979.
Rick Garberson was the drummer for Akron, Ohio based post-punk band, the Bizarros, who formed in early 1976. Hailing from the city that gave us Devo, Pere Ubu and Chrissie Hynde, the Bizarros were an integral part of the scene and were in fact, the first local band to be signed by a national label, Mercury imprint, Blank Records. Garbeson died of carbon monoxide poisoning on July 15, 1979.