Just down the street from the hotel is the Grass Roots Tavern, a Saint Marks landmark. Anyway, quite a few of my NYHC friends resided in the Hotel on and off. The East Village was pretty squalid back then. Most of the girls were pretty enough (as opposed to street girls since Craig's List made it easy for attractive addicts to hook-from-home). Third Ave and Ninth Street was a hooker area then, as was Second and Tenth, so many girls who made a living that way lived in the hotel. Morality may have been in '82, I never had any money. There was this one very cute but very strung out little blond hooker withĪsymmetrical eyes who always asked me if I wanted "a date." Whatever my While there is a legendary Punk presence there, in '82 the Saint Marks Hotel was largely populated by druggies and Many Punk notables lived there at one time or another, including Spacely/Gringo, a weird crustie Punk who was often called the "Mayor Of Saint Marks Place." Someone did an indie film about him in around '82, and to promote it they painted a huge billboard of his face over Saint Marks and Third. Although they were born too late to notice the basketball star ’ s greatness on the court then. By the time I moved to the East Village in '72 it had become the During the latel 960s, when Luscious Jackson ’ s name sake Lucius Jackson played for the Philadelphia 76ers in the National Basketball League, members of the all-female band were just coming into the world. Passing the baths in '68 and '69 on my way to shows at the FillmoreĮast. The building nest to Trash, the Saint Marks Hotel, is a landmark building, and looms large in the Punk legend. It was just happenstance that we all ended up in NYC today. Lyle (who plays with me in Odd's Bodkin while in New Orleans), Daniel and Jordan do exactly what I do every year, leave NOLA to tour up north. I ran into some of my New Orleans busking buddies just outside the fountain area. Most of it is crappy, but sometimes you hear someone really good. Of course people still busk in the Square. He then walked away, leaving his clothes in a neat pile in front of the band. Then he took off his pants, and danced naked. Then he took off his shirt and danced bare-chested.
He took off his shoes and danced barefoot. Once while we were playing, a guy began dancing. There were a lot of weird things going on when one busked in those days. We would play on the streets of Greenwich Village, either in front of the wrought iron fence around the NYU chapel on MacDougal, or near his house on Bleecker St.
He taught me nearly everything I know about performing. Gene and I played from about '76 through the early '80s in a band called the New York Frets. I learned to play Bluegrass by playing around the Square with some of the best NY musicians, especially Gene Tambor of the Minetta Creek Bluegrass band. In '82, a lot of Punks would skate there. In the fall, winter and spring, the fountain is dry, and becomes a hang-out for skate boarders and hacky sack players. Being a hot summer day, the fountain is watery and wet, and kids and teens splash around in it.