Installment Vol.4 Page 6

Have I forgotten "SUICIDE"? Ah, now there is a band that exemplifies their name. They were a rare kind of 2 piece band. Marty Rev was base extraordinaire and then there was Alan Vega who played a very old keyboard/synth, combination. The sound of the instrument was unique and his playing certainly was. I would say they were loud!!! High energy, experimental, maybe you could say, abstract, grunge, (20 years before grunge). They attained a cult following that included many musicians. I'll never forget running into Marty in a London hotel elevator with his manager, Marty Thou. His head was bandaged and I believe another extremity was in a cast. They had just finished a tour, opening for the Clash. The Clash's fans seemed to get off on throwing everything they could get a hold of at the pair on stage, including food cans and bottles. Suicide definitely was an appropriate name (I thought at time) And they were really "living it."

AS I've said, 1976 started off as a promising year. It presented challenges, disappointments and the first of a three year period when dreams became reality, and reality was not so wonderful in every way for CBGB. Adversity was overcome and punk, new wave, and new rock in general managed to push its way through the establishment.

To  Installment Volume V

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